LITTLE PEOPLE EVERYWHERE
GERDA IN SWEDEN
BY ETTA BLAISDELL McDONALD AND JULIA DALRYMPLE
Authors of "Kathleen in Ireland," "Manuel in Mexico," "Umé San in Japan,"
"Rafael in Italy," "Fritz in Germany," "Boris in Russia," "Betty in
Canada," etc.
1910
PREFACE
The Swedish people are a hospitable, peace-loving race, kindly and
industrious, making the most of their resources. In the south of Sweden
are broad farming-lands with well-tilled fields and comfortable red
farmhouses; in the central portion are hills and dales, rich in mines of
copper and iron which have been famous for hundreds of years. In the
cities and towns are factories where thousands of workers are employed,
making all sorts of useful articles, from matches to steam-engines. The
rivers which flow down to the sea from the western chain of mountains
carry millions of logs from the great dark forests. As soon as the ice
breaks up in the spring, whole fleets of fishing boats and lumber vessels
sail up and down the coast; sawmills whirr and buzz all day long; the hum
of labor is heard all over the land.
In this Northland the winter days are short and cold; but there are the
long sunny summer days, when even in the south of Sweden midnight is
nothing but a soft twilight, and in the north the sun shines for a whole
month without once dipping below the horizon. This is a glorious time for
both young and old. The people live out-of-doors day and night, going to
the parks and gardens, rowing and sailing and swimming, singing and
dancing on the village green, celebrating the midsummer festival with
feasting and merry-making,--for once more the sun rides high in the
heavens, and Baldur, the sun god, has conquered the frost giants.
Just such a happy, useful life is found in this little story. Gerda and
her twin brother take a trip northward across the Baltic Sea with their
father, who is an inspector of lighthouses. On their way they meet Karen,
a little lame girl. After going farther north, into Lapland, where they
see the sun shining at midnight, and spend a day with a family of Lapps
and their reindeer, Gerda takes Karen home to Stockholm with her so that
the child may have the benefit of the famous Swedish gymnastics for her
lameness. Then such good times as the three children have together! They
go to the winter carnival to see the skating and skiing; they celebrate
Yule-tide with all the good old Swedish customs; and there is a birthday
party for the twins, when Karen also receives a gift,--the very best gift
of all.
CONTENTS
CHAPTER
I. GERDA AND BIRGER
II. THE SURPRISE BOX
III. ON BOARD THE "NORTH STAR"
IV. GERDA'S NEW FRIEND
V. CROSSING THE POLCIRKEL
VI. THE MIDNIGHT SUN
VII. ERIK'S HOME IN LAPLAND
VIII. FOUR-FOOTED FRIENDS
IX. KAREN'S BROTHER
X. A DAY IN SKANSEN
XI. THROUGH THE LOCKS
XII. A WINTER CARNIVAL
XIII. YULE-TIDE JOYS
XIV. SPURS AND A CROWN
XV. THE MIDSUMMER FESTIVAL
GERDA IN SWEDEN
CHAPTER I
GERDA AND BIRGER
If any one had stopped to think of it, the ticking of the tall clock that
stood against the wall sounded like "Ger-da! Ger-da!"
But no one did stop to think of it. Everyone was far too busy to think
about the clock and what it was saying, for over in the corner beside the
tall stove stood a wooden cradle, and in the cradle were two tiny babies.
There they lay, side by side, in the same blue-painted cradle that had
rocked the Ekman babies for over two hundred years; and one looked so
exactly like the other that even dear Grandmother Ekman could not tell
them apart.
But the mother, who rocked them so gently and watched them so tenderly,
touched one soft cheek and then another, saying proudly, "This is our
son, and this is our daughter," even when both pairs of blue eyes were
tightly closed, and both little chins were tucked under the warm blanket.
There is always great rejoicing over the coming of new babies in any
family; but there was twice as much rejoicing as usual over these babies,
and that was because they were twins.
Little Ebba Jorn and her brother Nils came with their mother, from the
farm across the lake, to see the blue-eyed babies in the worn blue
cradle; and after them came all the other neighbors, so that there was
always some one in the big chair beside the cradle, gazing admiringly at
the twins.
It was in March that they were born,--bleak March, when snow covered the
ground and the wind whistled down the broad chimney; when the days were
cold and the nights colder; when the frost giants drove their horses, the
fleet frost-winds, through the valleys, and cast their spell over lakes
and rivers.
April came, and then May. The sun god drove the frost giants back into
their dark caves, the trees shook out their tender, green leaves, and
flowers blossomed in the meadows. But still the tall clock ticked away
the days, and still they questioned, "What shall we name the babies?"
"Karen is a pretty name," suggested little Ebba Jorn, who had come again
to see the twins, this time with a gift of two tiny knitted caps.
"My father's name is Oscar," said Nils. "That is a good name for a boy."
"It is always hard to find just the right name for a new baby," said
Grandmother Ekman.
"And the task is twice as hard when there are two babies," added the
proud father, laying his hand gently upon one small round head.
"Let us name the boy 'Birger' for your father," suggested his wife,
kneeling beside the cradle; "and call the girl 'Anna' for your mother."
But Grandmother Ekman shook her head. "No, no!" she said decidedly. "Call
the boy 'Birger' if you will; but 'Anna' is not the right name for the
girl."
Anders Ekman took his hand from the baby's head to put it upon his wife's
shoulder. "Here in Dalarne we have always liked your own name, Kerstin,"
he said with a smile.
"No maid by the name of Kerstin was ever handy with her needle," she
objected. "It has always been a great trial to your mother that I have
not the patience to stitch endless seams and make rainbow skirts. Our son
shall be Birger; but we must think of a better name for the little
daughter."
"It is plain that we shall never find two names to suit everyone,"
replied the father, laughing so heartily that both babies opened their
big blue eyes and puckered up their lips for a good cry.
"Hush, Birger! Hush, little daughter!" whispered their mother; and she
rocked the cradle gently, singing softly:--
"Hist, hist!
Mother is crooning and babies list.
Hist, hist!
The dewdrop lies in the flower's cup,
Mother snuggles the babies up.
Birdie in the tree-top,
Do not spill the dewdrop.
Cat be still, and dog be dumb;
Sleep to babies' eyelids come!"
Nils and Ebba Jorn tiptoed across the room and closed the door carefully
behind them. Anders Ekman took up some wood-carving and went quietly to
work; while Grandmother Ekman selected a well-worn book from the
book-shelf, and seated herself in the big chair by the window to look
over the Norse legends of the gods and giants.
She turned the pages slowly until she found the pleasant tale of Frey,
who married Gerd, the beautiful daughter of one of the frost giants. This
was her favorite story, and she began reading it aloud in a low voice,
while the fire burned cheerfully on the hearth, and the cradle swayed
lightly to and fro.
* * * * *
"Njörd, who was the god of the sea, had a son, Frey, and a daughter,
Freyja. Frey was the god of the seed-time and harvest, and he brought
peace and prosperity to all the world.
"In summer he gathered gentle showers and drove them up from the sea to
sprinkle the dry grass; he poured warm sunshine over the hills and
valleys, and ripened the fruits and grains for a bountiful harvest.
"The elves of light were his messengers, and he sent them flying
about all day,--shaking pollen out of the willow tassels, filling the
flower-cups with nectar, sowing the seeds, and threading the grass with
beads of dew.
"But in the winter, when the frost giants ruled the earth, Frey was idle
and lonely; and he rode up and down in Odin's hall on the back of his
boar, Golden Bristles, longing for something to do.
"One morning, as he wandered restlessly through the beautiful city of
Asgard, the home of the gods, he stood before the throne of Odin, the
All-father, and saw that it was empty. 'Why should I not sit upon that
throne, and look out over all the world?' he thought; and although no one
but Odin was ever allowed to take the lofty seat, Frey mounted the steps
and sat upon the All-father's throne.
"He looked out over Asgard, shining in the morning light, and saw the
gods busy about their daily tasks. He gazed down upon the earth, with its
rugged mountains and raging seas, and saw men hurrying this way and that,
like tiny ants rushing out of their hills.
"Last of all he turned his eyes toward distant Jötunheim, the dark,
forbidding home of the frost giants; but in that gloomy land of ice and
snow he could see no bright nor beautiful thing. Great black cliffs stood
like sentinels along the coast, dark clouds hung over the hills, and cold
winds swept through the valleys.
"At the foot of one of the hills stood a barren and desolate dwelling,
alone in all that dark land of winter; and as Frey gazed, a maiden came
slowly through the valley and mounted the steps to the entrance of the
house.
"Then, as she raised her arms to open the door, suddenly the sky, and
sea, and all the earth were flooded with a bright light, and Frey saw
that she was the most beautiful maiden in the whole world."
* * * * *
Kerstin looked up at her husband and spoke quickly. "That is like the
coming of our two babies," she said. "In the days of ice and snow they
brought light and gladness to our hearts. Let us call the sweet daughter
'Gerda' after the goddess of sunshine and happiness."
So the two babies were named at last. When the children of the
neighborhood heard of it, they flocked to the house with their hands full
of gifts, dancing round and round the cradle and singing a merry song
that made the rafters ring. The wheels of thin Swedish bread that hung
over the stove shook on their pole, the tall clock ticked louder than
ever, and the twins opened their blue eyes and smiled their sweetest
smile at so much happiness.
But they were not very strong babies, so Anders Ekman went off to his
work in Stockholm and left them in Dalarne with their mother and
grandmother, hoping that the good country air would make them plump and
sturdy.
Dalarne, or the Dales, is the loveliest part of all Sweden, and the Ekman
farm lay on the shore of a lake so beautiful that it is often called the
"Eye of Dalarne."
It was in the Dales that Gerda and little Birger outgrew their cradle and
their baby clothes, and became the sturdy children their father longed to
have them.
When they were seven years old their mother took them to live in
Stockholm; but with each new summer they hurried away from the city with
its schools and lessons, to spend the long vacation at the farm.
"Gerda and Birger are here!" they would cry, opening the door and running
into the living-room to find their grandmother.
"Gerda and Birger are here!" The news always ran through the neighborhood
in a twinkling, and from far and near the boys and girls flocked down the
road to bid them welcome.
"Ger-da! Ger-da!" the old clock in the corner ticked patiently, just as
it had been ticking for eleven long years. But who could listen to it
now? There were flowers and berries to pick, chickens to feed, and games
to play, through all the long summer days in Dalarne. Surely, Gerda and
Birger had no time to listen to the clock.