THE BIRTHDAY
"TEN years old, my daughter. Do you believe you have grown any taller
since last night?" said Mari's mother, when she called her that morning.
"It seems so, anyway," answered the little girl, as she watched her
mother making the birthday cake.
"Bring the citron and currants from the storeroom, Mari. I have sugar
enough, I think. This must be a beautiful cake for my daughter. The
frosting shall be thick. Here comes Ole now with the flowers."
Ole's arms were full. "Do you think I have enough to decorate your cake,
Mari?" He laughed as he spoke.
"We can't use half of them, of course. Look at the quantity of fruit
mother is using. There! see how yellow the dough looks since she put in
the saffron. Won't it be lovely when it is done?"
"Come, Ole, get to work on that tub you are making for me. And, Mari,
take your knitting and go out on the porch. I wish to be quiet while I
watch the baking of the cake. There will be fun enough for you this
afternoon."
Mari's mother had promised her a coffee party in honour of her birthday.
Soon after dinner the children began to arrive. They were dressed in
their best and looked very happy, although the white kerchiefs tied
around the rosy faces of the girls made them appear like little old
women.
There was plenty of coffee to drink, for the children of the North are
as fond of it as the older people. Then there was the magnificent
birthday cake, rich in the fruits and sugar, and trimmed with the
flowers Ole had gathered in the morning. Of course, there were piles of
flat-bread on the table, besides other things of which the children were
fond.
Many games were played outdoors in the sunshine. Mulberry-bush was the
favourite, and it was played over and over again.
"I shall never forget my tenth birthday," said Mari, that night, after
her little friends had gone home. "I have had a lovely time, mother, and
you were so good to let me have the party."
[Illustration: CARVED HOUSES AT THELEMARKEN.]
"You can repay me by being more diligent in all your work the coming
year, my child. Learn to be more careful in your knitting and spinning.
Always be ready, with a cheerful face, to help me in the churning, and I
shall think you are growing to be a noble woman."
Our little cousin certainly had many duties. Her hands were seldom idle
during the long winter afternoons and evenings, for there were
stockings to knit for Ole and herself, scarfs to crochet, wool to be
spun and woven, besides many other things which Norse girls need to
learn if they are to grow up to be good housekeepers.
And Ole had much to do, also. In summer there was plenty of work in the
garden, besides fishing and shooting the wild ducks. During the winter
time he must make many useful things at his carpenter's bench. His
father was his teacher in this kind of work. Why, he had made every
piece of furniture in the house; and although it was not beautiful, it
was well made and strong.
"I love to carve," Ole once said to his sister. "I wish it were the
fashion to decorate our buildings as the people of Thelemarken do. I
have seen pictures of their storehouses. They are just beautiful, Mari.
The men carve with their knives all sorts of figures on the outside.
The side posts of the porches are fairly covered with lovely patterns."
"The people there don't dress as we do, either," answered Mari. "Even
the farmers wear the same clothes at work as on the holidays. I should
think it would be hard to keep clean their white jackets all trimmed
with silver buttons. The women there sometimes make their aprons out of
silk handkerchiefs. And they wear their silver belts and brooches every
day. I should like to go there and see them. Just think, Ole, I've never
been away from this place in my life!"
"Never mind, little sister. You and I will travel some day and go all
over our country. We will even go to the North Cape and see the sun set
at midnight and then rise a moment afterward. We can almost do that here
on midsummer nights, but not quite. You know people from all over the
world travel to the North Cape, Mari."
"What else do they see there besides the midnight sunset and sunrise?"
"Our friend Ernst, over in the village, went there once. He belonged to
the crew of a ship that carries people there every summer. He says it is
a high mass of rocks, and it is hard to climb. When you reach the top,
you can get a good view of the Arctic Ocean, but there is nothing to see
but the dreary water; no land nor ship in sight. That is, of course, as
you look toward the north. On one side of the cape there is a small
glacier, but those can be seen in many other parts of the country. One
doesn't need to go to the North Cape to look at a glacier."
"Our teacher told me, Ole, that a long time ago this whole country was
covered with ice. Of course, there were no people then. But after a
while the land became warmer and the ice went away. Here and there, the
ice-rivers, or glaciers, were left among the mountains, and they have
stayed there ever since. I don't see why."
"Of course, it's terribly cold above us, Mari, up among the mountains.
The snow falls and changes into ice. It slides slowly down into the
valleys and begins to melt, but there is always plenty of ice above.
People like to come to our country to see the glaciers as well as the
other wonderful sights. I declare, I'm getting sleepy and I am going to
bed. Good night, little sister."