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+*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 40647 ***
+
+LITTLE GRETA OF DENMARK
+
+[Illustration: THE LITTLE MERMAID]
+
+
+
+
+     LITTLE GRETA
+     OF DENMARK
+
+     BY
+
+     BERNADINE BAILEY
+
+     _Illustrated with Photographs
+     Taken by the Author_
+
+     GROSSET & DUNLAP
+     _Publishers_       NEW YORK
+     _by arrangement with the A. Flanagan Company_
+
+
+
+
+COPYRIGHT, 1939, BY A. FLANAGAN COMPANY
+
+PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
+
+                                                          _Skarum Molle,
+                                                          Vemb, Denmark_
+
+_Dear Mrs. Bailey:_
+
+_Thank you very much for the privilege of reading the manuscript of
+LITTLE GRETA OF DENMARK. You have given a very faithful and realistic
+picture of my country._
+
+_I am extremely happy to know that the children in America will have a
+chance to learn about Denmark through such a book as yours. It will help
+to unite America and Denmark in even stronger bonds of mutual
+understanding and friendship._
+
+                                             _Sincerely yours,
+                                                      Laurids Villemoes_
+
+_February 1, 1939_
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS
+
+
+                                             PAGE
+
+     Chapter I
+     A Search Begins                           9
+
+     Chapter II
+     The Search Continues                     21
+
+     Chapter III
+     A Ride down the River                    34
+
+     Chapter IV
+     Excitement in the Forest                 50
+
+     Chapter V
+     The Storks                               63
+
+     Chapter VI
+     Dinner at Vosborg Castle                 74
+
+     Chapter VII
+     A Day at the Shore                       88
+
+     Chapter VIII
+     A Second Visit to Vosborg               106
+
+     Chapter IX
+     Chouse Seeks the Spotlight              118
+
+     Chapter X
+     A Day of Happy Surprises                130
+
+     Chapter XI
+     The Best Surprise of All                147
+
+     Chapter XII
+     Chouse Is Homesick                      165
+
+     Chapter XIII
+     "Goodbye"                               186
+
+[Illustration: LITTLE GRETA OF DENMARK]
+
+
+
+
+LITTLE GRETA OF DENMARK
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I
+
+A SEARCH BEGINS
+
+
+Greta opened very sleepy eyes and stretched a long, long stretch. Every
+single morning, before she got out of bed, she put her arms above her
+head and stretched as far as she could reach. Greta wanted to grow tall,
+and she thought that maybe if she pulled her arms 'way up and her feet
+'way down, she would grow tall more quickly. Greta had been named after
+the most famous queen of Denmark, and so she wanted to be tall and
+graceful, just as that queen had been.
+
+In about two minutes she jumped out of bed and started to dress. If she
+dressed very fast, she would have time to run out to the barn and see
+the kittens before breakfast. The kittens were only a week old, and
+Greta loved them every bit as much as their own mother did. Greta lived
+on a very large farm, and on the farm was a very large barn. In fact,
+the barn was about three times as large as the house Greta lived in. The
+barn was built of red brick and it formed three sides of a square. The
+house itself made the other side of the square. It was also built of
+brick, but it was painted white.
+
+The horses were kept in one part of the barn, the cows in another part,
+and the pigs in still another part. Then there was one large section
+where the hay was kept. When the kittens were born, Greta made a nice
+soft bed of straw for them in the farthest corner of the barn, where the
+pigs and cows and horses could not possibly reach them. Every morning
+she ran out to see the kittens to be sure that they were all right. She
+picked up each of the four soft, furry little animals and gave it a
+special hug before she went off to school. And when she came home from
+school she played with the kittens until it was time for dinner.
+
+Of course Chouse didn't like this one little bit. Chouse was the
+wire-haired terrier, and he had always been Greta's special pet. In the
+summer he played with her every minute of the day. But things were very
+different now, since the kittens had come. Greta didn't pay much
+attention to Chouse. The kittens took every minute of her time. Just the
+same, Chouse was waiting for her this morning outside her bedroom door.
+Breakfast would be ready in five minutes, so Greta ran quickly, with
+Chouse barking at her heels. All out of breath, she reached the farthest
+corner of the barn, where the kittens had their bed of straw.
+
+Then Greta stopped very still. She rubbed her eyes. Surely this was just
+a bad dream. The soft bed of straw was empty. No one would have taken
+her kittens, and none of the horses or cows or pigs could reach them.
+Where in the world could they be? She began to look all over that end of
+the barn, poking about the straw that covered the floor. There wasn't a
+sign of the soft balls of fur. Two large tears rolled down Greta's face.
+Just then she heard her brother Hans calling.
+
+"Greta, where are you? Breakfast is all ready and we are waiting for
+you."
+
+There was such a big lump in the little girl's throat that she could
+hardly answer. Finally she said, "Here I am, Hans, but my kittens are
+gone."
+
+"Gone? What do you mean?" Hans had found her by now and he put his arm
+around her shoulder. "Don't cry, Greta. We'll find them all right. Come
+on to breakfast now."
+
+[Illustration: GRETA'S HOME]
+
+"I don't think I can eat anything, Hans. I wish I didn't have to go to
+school today. I want to look for my kittens."
+
+"I'll help you look for them as soon as we get home from school. Come
+on, now. Mother and Father are waiting."
+
+So Greta wiped the tears from her face and went into the house with
+Hans. She sat down at the table, but the lump just wouldn't go out of
+her throat, and she could hardly swallow.
+
+"Remember, Greta, there are only two more days of school, and then you
+will have all summer to play with the kittens." Hans tried his best to
+cheer up his little sister. Hans was fifteen years old, so of course he
+couldn't possibly be upset over a little thing like the loss of four
+small kittens.
+
+"Maybe Chouse has hidden your kittens, Greta," suggested her father.
+"Day before yesterday I saw him chasing the baby pigs. I punished him
+for that, but he didn't seem to learn, for yesterday he was chasing the
+baby chickens and he killed two of them. Now you know we can't have that
+sort of thing going on. I think we had better send Chouse away to some
+other farm."
+
+Greta could hardly believe her ears. "You don't really mean that you
+would send _Chouse_ away?"
+
+"Yes, I mean just that, Greta. We can't have a dog that is destructive.
+And if he has hurt your kittens, I don't think you would want to keep
+him, either."
+
+Greta didn't say a word, but a choking feeling came into her throat.
+
+"Finish your breakfast, Greta, or you will be late for school," reminded
+her mother.
+
+Greta went to school in the village, a mile away. When the weather was
+good, she rode her bicycle. But whether she walked or rode, Chouse
+always went with her to the door of the school. And he was always
+waiting for her when school was out in the afternoon.
+
+Greta didn't know her lessons very well that day. Her mind was on Chouse
+and the kittens. She couldn't bear the thought of losing her playmate,
+and yet, if he had hurt the kittens, maybe he ought to be sent away.
+Suddenly she heard the teacher call her name.
+
+"Greta, what was the Union of Kalmar?"
+
+Greta's thoughts were far away from Danish history, and it was hard to
+bring them back. Everyone in the room was looking at her. Slowly she
+rose to her feet.
+
+"The Union of Kalmar took place in 1397, when Norway and Sweden came
+under the rule of Denmark." Gradually it was coming back to her.
+
+"And who was the ruler of Denmark then?" asked the teacher. "You should
+know that, Greta, better than anyone else in the class."
+
+Greta's cheeks flushed a bright pink. How could she have forgotten?
+
+"Queen Margrete brought about the Union of Kalmar," explained Greta.
+"That is why she was the greatest queen Denmark has ever had." The other
+children smiled when Greta said this. They all knew that her name was
+really Margrete and that she had been named for this famous queen of
+long ago.
+
+[Illustration: HANS, GRETA, AND THE KITTENS]
+
+Greta thought it was the longest day of her life, but school was finally
+over. Chouse was waiting for her at the door when she came out of the
+building. He was such a faithful little playmate, how could she bear to
+send him away? Well, maybe she wouldn't have to.
+
+She got on her bicycle and rode home just as fast as her legs could
+pedal. Before she went into the house she looked again in the barn to
+see if the kittens had, in some wonderful way, come back to their bed of
+straw. But the bed was still empty.
+
+Hans helped her search every part of the large barn--where the horses
+were kept, where the cows were kept, where the pigs were kept, and where
+the hay was kept. They took sticks and poked around in the hay. At last
+the children decided that the kittens simply were not in the barn at
+all.
+
+"Let's go look in the chicken house, Greta," suggested Hans.
+
+So they looked all through the chicken house just as carefully as they
+had looked in the barn. But still there was no sign of the dear little
+kittens.
+
+"Oh, Hans, what am I going to do?" Greta was crying now as if her heart
+would break. "Do you think that Chouse has taken them away some place?"
+
+"No, I don't think so, Greta. But maybe one of the Nisser has carried
+them off."
+
+"Oh, Hans, why would a Nisse take my darling kittens?"
+
+"Well, if you do something to make a Nisse angry at you, he is bound to
+punish you in some way."
+
+The Nisser are the little fairy folk, or brownies, that live in every
+home in Denmark. If you are kind to them, they will do something nice
+for you; but if you hurt them or make them angry, they will punish you.
+
+When Greta went to bed that night she pulled the warm feather cover
+tightly around her shoulders. She wasn't exactly afraid of the Nisser,
+but she felt much better when she was all covered up. It was late in
+June, but the nights were quite cool. Greta was glad that her mother had
+left the feather cover on her bed. It was a large, thick cover, but it
+was light and warm, for it was filled with duck feathers.
+
+Soon Greta fell asleep, and all night long she dreamed that a little
+Nisse was sitting on the foot of her bed, saying, "Greta, do you
+_really_ want your kittens back again?"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II
+
+THE SEARCH CONTINUES
+
+
+Greta was up earlier than ever the next morning. Maybe the Nisser had
+decided not to punish her after all. Maybe the mysterious little
+creatures would bring her kittens back. So Greta dashed out to the barn
+to look. But the bed of straw was still empty.
+
+All day long there was sadness in her heart. The other children at
+school were very gay, for this was the last day of school. There was
+much singing and there were many games. There was more singing and games
+and laughter than there were lessons. But Greta was not gay. She kept
+thinking of her lost kittens, and every now and then there was the
+awful fear that she might lose Chouse, too.
+
+She hurried home from school even faster than the day before. Chouse had
+to run, run, run to keep up with her bicycle. He barked and barked, as
+if he wanted to say, "Greta, don't go so fast." But Greta kept right on
+going. Nothing could stop her. She rode right up to the barn door and
+ran inside. Maybe the kittens had come back. But no, the bed of straw
+was empty.
+
+Then Greta remembered that she had not looked in the garden. Maybe the
+kittens were out there playing, and the Nisser hadn't taken them at all.
+Joyously she ran across the courtyard, with Chouse close at her heels.
+Chouse thought his little mistress was going to play with him again, as
+she used to do, so he ran on ahead of her and hid under a peony bush. He
+lay there without making a sound, waiting for Greta to find him. But
+Greta paid no attention to the little wire-haired terrier.
+
+[Illustration: THE ROAD TO SCHOOL]
+
+She walked slowly up and down the garden paths, looking carefully to the
+right and left. Then she began to look under the rose bushes and the
+peony bushes and the big clumps of iris. After a while Chouse came out
+from his hiding place and followed his young mistress all around the
+garden. It was no use trying to get her to play with him.
+
+It took a long time for Greta to search the entire garden. Every home in
+Denmark has a flower garden, and this was one of the largest and
+prettiest for miles around. Greta looked under every inch of the thick
+hedge that surrounded the garden. She looked all through the bed of
+marigolds and the bed of poppies and the bed of tulips. By this time
+Chouse seemed to know that she was searching for something and he tried
+to help her. He began poking into all the flower beds himself. While
+they were in the midst of their search, old Peter, the gardener, came
+along and stopped to watch them.
+
+"Chouse, you naughty dog, get out of the flower beds!" Old Peter was
+angry. He had worked very hard all spring to make the garden beautiful.
+For many hours he had raked and hoed and watered the flower beds. And
+now, in ten minutes, this naughty Chouse had undone all his work.
+
+[Illustration: CHOUSE]
+
+"Oh, Peter, I've lost my kittens and Chouse is helping me look for them.
+Please don't scold him." If Peter complained about Chouse, then her pet
+surely would be sent away, thought Greta.
+
+"Lost your kittens, Greta? Well, now, that's too bad. Maybe I can help
+you find them."
+
+So old Peter took his hoe and he started poking among the flower beds,
+too. He poked and he poked, but not a kitten did he find. Greta got down
+on her hands and knees and looked and looked, but not a kitten did she
+find. And Chouse poked and scratched and dug up the earth, but not a
+kitten did he find. The kittens just weren't there.
+
+Every evening, between nine and ten o'clock, the family gathered in the
+living room for coffee. This was an old, old custom in Denmark, where
+the people like coffee better than any other drink. Greta was usually in
+bed by nine o'clock, but since there was no school the next day, her
+mother let her stay up with the rest of the family. Instead of coffee,
+Greta had a bowl of strawberries and cream. They were large, sweet
+berries, fresh from the strawberry patch on the farm. June was the
+strawberry month in Denmark. They seemed to grow everywhere, and
+everyone ate them, three or four times a day.
+
+Greta said hardly a word all evening. She was afraid to ask her father
+what he was going to do with Chouse. Maybe he would forget the whole
+matter if nothing were said about it. And she didn't mention the
+kittens, for that would bring up the subject of Chouse.
+
+Greta's mother noticed that the little girl was unusually quiet.
+
+"Greta, how would you like to have Anna come and visit you this summer?"
+her mother asked.
+
+"Oh, Mother, that would be wonderful." Greta's face was one big smile.
+Anna was her cousin, and she lived in Copenhagen. Four years ago she
+had spent the summer on the farm with Greta and Hans, and the three
+children had had fun together all summer long.
+
+[Illustration: GRETA ON HER BALCONY]
+
+[Illustration: HANS AND CHOUSE]
+
+"You can write her in the morning and invite her to visit you."
+
+Greta ran across the room to her mother and gave her a big hug. "Oh,
+Mother, you are _so_ sweet!"
+
+Greta's mother smiled. She understood little girls. She knew that Greta
+had been sad, and she wanted to make her happy.
+
+"I guess Anna is quite a big girl by now, Greta. Let's see. She must be
+thirteen years old."
+
+"Do you suppose she will act like a young lady? Or will she want to play
+with me?"
+
+"Her mother says she is quite a tomboy, so I'm sure she will want to
+play with you."
+
+"Shall I ask her to bring her bicycle?" After her family and her dog and
+her kittens, Greta liked her bicycle better than anything else in the
+world. She knew that she wouldn't want to leave _her_ bicycle at home if
+she went away for the summer. So surely Anna would like to bring hers
+along.
+
+"She doesn't need to bring her bicycle, Greta," said Hans. "She can use
+mine."
+
+"Yes, I think that will be best, Greta," said her mother.
+
+[Illustration: EVERY HOME HAS ITS GARDEN]
+
+"And I'll let her use my new boat, too," added the boy.
+
+"Why, Hans, you won't let _me_ use your boat."
+
+"But you are only ten, and Anna is thirteen," argued Hans.
+
+"Even if I am only ten, I can paddle a boat."
+
+"Time for bed now, Greta," reminded her mother. She didn't want the day
+to end in a quarrel.
+
+"I'll get up early, Mother, and write Anna the very first thing."
+
+Greta kissed her mother and father good night and started to bed. Her
+own little room was just across the hall from the living room. The
+dining room, the living room, and three of the bedrooms were on the
+second floor of the house. On the first floor there was the kitchen, the
+maids' rooms, and the large office for Greta's father. Greta liked her
+little room, and she especially liked the balcony that was just outside
+her room. It was a small balcony looking out over the courtyard. It was
+fun to play on this balcony and to pretend that she was an actress
+bowing to a large crowd of people.
+
+Just as she was ready to jump into bed, Greta heard a scratching sound
+on her door. It was Chouse, who felt very much neglected because Greta
+had forgotten to pat him good night. This was the first time she had
+forgotten it, but Chouse hadn't forgotten. So there he was.
+
+Greta hugged him tight. "Oh, Chouse, I _can't_ let Father send you away.
+Whatever would I do without you? Even if you did hide my kittens, I
+don't want to lose you. And you _will_ be a good dog, won't you?"
+
+Chouse barked once, which meant "Yes," and Greta hugged him again, just
+for luck.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III
+
+A RIDE DOWN THE RIVER
+
+
+Greta read her letter over carefully to see if all the words were
+spelled right. This is what she had written to Anna:
+
+     "_Dear Anna:_
+
+     _I would like to have you come and visit me this summer. I know we
+     can have lots of fun. Hans says you may use his bicycle and also
+     his boat. That is a real honor, for he won't let me use his boat.
+     He says I am too small._
+
+     _I had four darling little kittens, but now they are gone and I
+     can't find them anywhere. Do you suppose a Nisse took them away?_
+
+     _Chouse, my dog, has been very naughty and Father says he may have
+     to send him away. I hope he won't, because I like to play with
+     Chouse._
+
+     _Come as soon as you can. Mother and Father and Hans all send their
+     love. So do I._
+
+                                                       _Your cousin
+                                                                Greta._"
+
+She addressed the envelope, writing "Copenhagen" in very large letters.
+Just as she was going out of the door, her mother called to her.
+
+"When you are in the village, Greta, please stop at the bakery and bring
+back some bread. I told Marie to bake an extra loaf today, but she
+forgot it. And we have company coming tonight."
+
+"All right, Mother. I won't forget."
+
+As Greta rode into the village she thought of all the things that she
+and Anna could do that summer. She didn't have to pay much attention to
+cars coming down the gravel road, for there were many more bicycles than
+automobiles. Chouse ran right along beside her bicycle, but once in a
+while, when he saw a rabbit, he would suddenly dart away into the field.
+In a short time he would come tearing back and soon catch up with Greta.
+
+The fields were especially beautiful right now. The hay was yellow and
+almost ready to cut. Greta could see for several miles in every
+direction, for the land was flat and there were not many trees. In this
+part of Denmark the trees do not grow very large because of the wind
+that blows all the time, summer and winter. This wind from the North Sea
+never seems to stop blowing, and it blows so hard that the trees all
+lean to one side, away from the wind. There are scarcely any branches on
+the side that the wind comes from.
+
+The farmers are thankful for this wind from the sea, because it keeps
+their windmills turning. And from the windmills they get electric power
+to light their houses.
+
+Greta mailed her letter and started back home. She didn't stop to visit
+with any of her friends in the village, because she was eager to get
+home and look for her kittens again. She hadn't given up the hope of
+finding them, though she really didn't know where to look. When more
+than halfway home, she suddenly remembered the loaf of bread.
+
+"Come, Chouse. We must go back to the village." Chouse had run to the
+side of the road, looking for rabbits again.
+
+[Illustration: A BARBER'S SIGN]
+
+From away down the road, Greta could see the sign of the bakery. Shaped
+like a large pretzel, it hung 'way out in front of the store. Every
+bakery had a sign like this, and many of the other shops had their own
+special signs. Each barber shop had a large metal plate hanging out in
+front. The plate was cut in a deep curve on one side, where it was
+supposed to fit around a man's neck when he had his hair cut. Of course
+barbers didn't use plates like this any more, but these signs were
+still used to mark a barber shop.
+
+[Illustration: A BAKERY SIGN]
+
+When Greta got home, Hans was just getting ready to start out in his
+new boat.
+
+"Want to come along, Greta?"
+
+"Sure I do. Where are you going?"
+
+"Oh, just down the river." The little river which ran in front of the
+house and wound around through the fields seemed like the nicest part of
+the farm to Hans and Greta. They fished in the river in the summer and
+skated on it in the winter. Hans was proud of his new boat, which was a
+birthday present from his father. Although he never let Greta go out in
+it alone, he often asked her to go with him.
+
+"Wait just a minute, Hans. I must take this bread in the house and then
+I'll go with you."
+
+Chouse was already in the boat when Greta came out. The minute that Hans
+started toward the boat, Chouse always jumped in ahead of him. He never
+sat still in it long. He would dash back and forth from the front to
+the back, and every now and then he tried to jump out, when he saw a
+rabbit running across the field.
+
+[Illustration: CHOUSE LIKED THE BOAT]
+
+"Are you going to let me paddle, Hans?" asked Greta.
+
+"Maybe I will, after while."
+
+Greta had to be content with this sort of a promise. She was very happy
+just to be out in this beautiful new boat. By the time they had gone
+around the first bend of the river, Greta began to think of her kittens
+again.
+
+"Hans, do you think that a Nisse really did take my kittens away?"
+
+"Well, of course, I don't _know_, Greta. But it looks like it."
+
+"I thought you didn't believe in the Nisser, Hans."
+
+"Why, one _has_ to believe in the Nisser. There is just no other way to
+explain some of the things that happen."
+
+"Do you remember the time my doll disappeared and I couldn't find her
+for months and months?"
+
+"Sure I do. And then all of a sudden she appeared again."
+
+"And you know, Hans, how I had looked simply _everywhere_ for that
+doll."
+
+"Yes. And then you found her under the bed in your room. That is why I
+say that you have to believe in the Nisser. There is no other way to
+explain things like that."
+
+While they were talking, Chouse had been running back and forth in the
+boat. Suddenly he put his front feet up on the side and started barking.
+He barked and barked and wagged his tail. He was trying so hard to tell
+them something.
+
+"I guess Chouse sees a rabbit. He wants to get out of the boat."
+
+"Let's let him out, Hans, and see what he does."
+
+Hans quickly turned the boat and paddled over to the shore. Chouse
+jumped out before the boat had even touched the bank. In fact, he almost
+fell into the river, he was in such a hurry to get out. Then he ran
+across the field and was soon out of sight, swallowed up in the field of
+hay.
+
+"Hans, please let me paddle now."
+
+"Wait until we get around the next bend in the river."
+
+Hans's boat was still so new that he liked to paddle it himself.
+
+"Well, all right." Greta was disappointed, but she had to be content.
+
+Hans pushed the boat away from the shore and paddled down the middle of
+the river. The river was quite straight here. Greta thought that the
+next bend was very far away indeed. And it seemed that Hans was
+purposely going just as slowly as he could. Oh, why did he want to tease
+her this way? Greta hoped that her father would get her a boat when she
+was fifteen years old. But that was a long time off--five whole years.
+
+"I wonder where Chouse has gone, Hans."
+
+"Oh, he's chasing rabbits all over the field."
+
+Just then they heard Chouse bark, but it was a very faint bark, as if he
+were far away. The children looked and looked, but they couldn't see
+him anywhere. He barked again, and this time it sounded a little bit
+louder, but he was still out of sight. As Greta and Hans went on down
+the river, the barking got louder and louder.
+
+"Oh, Hans, I see Chouse," cried Greta in great excitement.
+
+"Where is he, Greta?"
+
+"He's way down there in front of us, right down by the water near that
+group of trees. Hurry, Hans. Let's see why he is barking."
+
+Hans pushed the boat forward with strong, swift strokes. He knew exactly
+how to handle his boat, and in no time at all they had reached the group
+of trees that was growing by the edge of the water.
+
+"Oh, Hans, the kittens! There are the kittens!" Greta stood right up in
+the boat. "Hurry, Hans. One of the kittens is in the river."
+
+"You'd better sit down, Greta, or you'll be in the river yourself."
+
+With one strong stroke of his paddle, Hans drove the boat against the
+grassy bank. Both children jumped out and ran over to Chouse and the
+kittens. One kitten was lying on the grass, but it looked more like a
+rat than a kitten. Its soft fur was soaking wet. Chouse was working hard
+to pull the other kitten out of the river. Finally he got it up on the
+bank just as Hans rushed up to help with the rescue.
+
+"Oh, Hans, the poor little things are almost drowned." Greta picked up
+the two mewing kittens and held them close to her, trying to make them
+dry and warm and comfortable.
+
+"It certainly is lucky that we came along when we did," said Hans. "Or
+rather, it's lucky that Chouse was hunting rabbits along here."
+
+[Illustration: SAFE AGAIN]
+
+"But where are the other two kittens, Hans?"
+
+Hans didn't answer right away. He walked along the shore for a little
+distance, stopping now and then to look carefully in the water. At one
+place he got down on his knees and looked. Then he walked back quickly
+to Greta.
+
+"I'm afraid we shall never find them, Greta. Come on. Let's go home so
+that we can get these kittens really dry and warm. We must give them
+some warm milk, for I know they are hungry."
+
+All the way home Greta was very quiet. She took off her sweater and
+wrapped it around the kittens, holding them in her lap. Suddenly she
+looked up at Hans with a smile.
+
+"Hans, this certainly proves that Chouse didn't try to do away with the
+kittens, for he was the one who _rescued_ them. Surely Father won't send
+him away now."
+
+"I don't know, Greta. I saw Chouse chasing the chickens again
+yesterday."
+
+"Did Father see him?" asked Greta with a worried look.
+
+Hans was in a teasing mood and he didn't answer Greta right away.
+Finally he said, with an annoying smile on his face, "I think I'd better
+not tell you, Greta."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV
+
+EXCITEMENT IN THE FOREST
+
+
+"Oh, Father, I'm afraid to go any higher." Greta clung to her father's
+arm in terror. This was the first time she had climbed up the lookout
+tower in the forest, and even now she was only halfway up. It seemed
+such a fearfully long way to the top.
+
+"I just can't go on," the little girl pleaded.
+
+"Why, Greta, for months you've begged to climb up here."
+
+"But I didn't know it was so high."
+
+"You won't be scared if you don't look down at the ground. Just hold
+tightly to my hand and you will be all right. Remember, Greta, a girl
+who is named after a queen must not be afraid of anything."
+
+"All right, Father, I'll go on."
+
+[Illustration: AT THE TOP OF THE TOWER]
+
+In no time at all they reached the very top of the tower, which stood in
+the middle of the forest.
+
+"Why, Father, I can see all of Denmark from here."
+
+Her father laughed. "Not quite all of it, Greta. But you can see all of
+our farm and a good many other farms, too. By the way, Greta, just how
+large _is_ Denmark?"
+
+"I thought school was over for the summer," laughed Greta. "But I'll
+tell you anyway. Denmark covers exactly 16,574 square miles. Besides
+that, Denmark owns Greenland and the Faroe Islands. Any more questions,
+teacher?"
+
+"Not right away. I'll try to think up a really hard one next time."
+
+Greta's father began looking closely at the forest. He was very proud of
+the rows and rows of sturdy evergreens that covered a hundred acres of
+his farm. Each year a certain number of trees was cut. Some of them were
+sold, and some of them were used for fuel. But always, every year, new
+trees were planted to take the place of those that were cut.
+
+Greta was gazing off into the distance, but suddenly her attention was
+caught by Chouse, who was running along the road that led to the tower.
+If only her father didn't see him, thought Greta. Not a word had been
+said about Chouse for the last two days, and Greta hoped that the whole
+matter had been forgotten.
+
+When Chouse reached the foot of the tower he began barking loudly. He
+had never climbed the tower and he wasn't as brave as Greta, for he
+didn't even try. He just kept on barking and barking and barking. Greta
+called to him, but he paid no attention. He merely barked more loudly
+than before. Of course her father heard him.
+
+"What's that dog up to now, Greta? I guess you'll have to go down and
+see what he wants. Are you afraid to go down the tower alone?"
+
+"No, of course I'm not afraid." Greta was glad of the chance to show
+how brave she really was.
+
+But when she got down and patted him, Chouse still kept on barking.
+Something was the matter, but Greta couldn't imagine what it was. Soon
+her father came down, and Greta could see that he was annoyed. Chouse
+rushed up to him and barked, trying so hard to tell him something. The
+dog dashed down the road a short distance and then ran back, barking
+furiously all the time.
+
+"I guess we shall have to follow, Greta."
+
+When Chouse saw that they were following, he stopped barking and was
+quite content. Once in a while he would run on ahead in a great hurry.
+Then he would run back to Greta and her father and bark again.
+
+"There must be something wrong in the forest," said Greta's father. "I
+have never seen Chouse so upset."
+
+"You were just up in the tower, Father. If there had been a fire, you
+would surely have seen it."
+
+[Illustration: SOME TREES ARE CUT EACH YEAR]
+
+"Maybe not, because I was watching the men cutting the trees, trying to
+decide how many we should cut this year. I hadn't looked over the rest
+of the forest yet."
+
+A forest fire is a dreadful thing in this part of the country, where the
+wind from the North Sea blows all day long. It can blow a fire in front
+of it until all the trees are gone. That is why the forests are always
+watched so carefully.
+
+Suddenly Chouse darted off the main road into a narrow path. Greta and
+her father followed right at his heels, for they knew that the dog was
+leading them somewhere. This was his only way of telling them something
+that he thought they should know. Soon he turned off to still another
+path. Never for a moment did he hesitate. Chouse knew exactly where he
+was going.
+
+When they came to the very edge of the forest, Chouse dashed around and
+jumped up and down in great excitement. At last they had reached the
+place to which he had been leading them. And no wonder that Chouse was
+so excited, for right in front of them, just a few feet from the line of
+trees, there was a fire!
+
+"Oh, Father, will the whole forest burn down?" asked Greta, as she
+watched the flames which crackled through the pile of twigs and
+underbrush.
+
+"No, Greta. Thanks to Chouse, we got here in time. But if the wind
+should change suddenly, the whole forest could very easily burn down."
+
+"How did such a fire ever get started?"
+
+"I told old Peter to clear out some of the twigs and underbrush,"
+explained her father, "but I also told him that he must never go away
+when these piles were burning. He must stay with them every minute."
+
+"I wonder where he is now?"
+
+"I don't know. But he should be right here, watching this fire."
+
+"If the wind did change, how would he put out the fire?"
+
+"By throwing earth on it, Greta."
+
+While they were talking, Chouse was standing near by, wagging his tail
+and looking very proud of himself.
+
+[Illustration: IN THE FOREST]
+
+"Chouse, you are the best dog in the whole wide world," said the happy
+little girl. "First you rescued my kittens and now you have saved the
+whole forest from burning. We couldn't possibly send Chouse away. Could
+we, Father?"
+
+Her father didn't answer right away. Finally he said, "By the way,
+Greta, have you named the kittens yet?"
+
+"No, I haven't. I've been trying to think of some very special sort of
+names, but I just can't think of any."
+
+"Maybe Anna can help you find the right names," her father suggested.
+
+"Of course she can. But I wonder when Anna is coming? I haven't heard
+from her yet."
+
+"Why don't you run home and see if you got a letter this morning? I must
+stay here and watch this fire until old Peter comes."
+
+"All right, Father."
+
+It didn't take Greta long to get home. Even Chouse could hardly keep up
+with her. She hadn't been away from her kittens for this long a time
+since the day Chouse had rescued them. You would never know now that
+they had been almost drowned. Their fur was just as soft and fluffy as
+it had ever been.
+
+"Oh, there you are, Greta. I've been looking everywhere for you." Her
+mother greeted her at the door of the house. "Here is a letter for you
+from Anna."
+
+Greta read the letter eagerly.
+
+     "_Dear Greta:_
+
+     _Thank you for your nice invitation. I shall be very happy to come.
+     Can you meet me at the train at Holstebro? I shall arrive next
+     Monday at half past two._
+
+                                                      _Lovingly yours,
+                                                                  Anna_"
+
+"Another letter came this morning, Greta, and I have a real surprise for
+you."
+
+[Illustration: THE LETTER FROM ANNA]
+
+"Oh, Mother, what is it?" Greta's eyes were already dancing with
+happiness.
+
+"We are invited to Vosborg for dinner next week."
+
+"You mean the beautiful castle up on the hill," asked Greta, "the one
+that I have always wanted to visit?"
+
+"Yes, dear, that very castle."
+
+"But I thought that Mr. Christianson didn't live there any more?"
+
+"He has been away for many years, but now he has come back to live in
+Vosborg."
+
+"And you mean that _I_ can go, and Hans, and Anna, too?"
+
+"Yes, Greta."
+
+"Oh, _Mother_!" Greta threw her arms around her mother's neck. "I must
+tell Hans right away." And off she dashed, with Chouse at her heels.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V
+
+THE STORKS
+
+
+"Greta, I didn't know that you had storks on your farm," said Anna.
+
+"Of course we do," said Greta. "Every farm has a nest of storks."
+
+Hans and Greta had been showing Anna the garden and the river and all
+the animals on the farm. Greta herself had almost forgotten about the
+storks, because she was so used to them. And anyway, they weren't
+animals you could play with, like the kittens and the dog.
+
+"They bring us good luck," explained Hans. "Every farmer puts up an old
+wheel, or something else that is round, so the storks can build their
+nest on it. Sometimes he puts it on the roof of the barn and sometimes
+on the house."
+
+"Don't you have storks at home, Anna?" asked Greta.
+
+"Goodness, no! I don't think there's a stork in all Copenhagen, except
+maybe in the zoo." Anna couldn't take her eyes from the large round nest
+on the roof of the barn. "Do they stay here all the year round?" she
+asked.
+
+"It's too cold for them here in the winter. When cold weather comes,
+they all fly south. Father says that some of them go as far as Africa.
+But early in the spring they always come back."
+
+"Does the same family of storks come back every year?" asked Anna.
+
+"We _think_ it's the same family," answered Greta, "but we're never
+really sure, for you can't ever get very near the storks."
+
+While the children had been talking, one of the storks was standing on
+one leg on the edge of the nest.
+
+"That's the papa stork that you see now," explained Hans. "He's away
+most of the day, gathering food, but every now and then he comes back to
+the nest to rest. He always stands on one leg, just like that, when he
+rests."
+
+[Illustration: THE STORKS]
+
+"The mama stork has to stay on the nest all the time until the eggs
+hatch," said Greta. "Sometimes she stands up for a little while, but she
+never flies away."
+
+"I wonder how many eggs there are." Anna was more interested in the
+storks than in anything else on the farm.
+
+"Only four this year," said Hans. "I climbed up on the roof yesterday to
+find out. Some years there are five, and sometimes only three."
+
+"My, but you _are_ brave, Hans!" Anna looked at Hans in admiration.
+"That roof is terribly steep. I know _I'd_ be afraid to climb it."
+
+"But you are only a girl, Anna," teased Hans.
+
+"Just the same, I can climb as well as a boy. I'll show you." And before
+Hans could argue, Anna ran over to the house and climbed up the tree to
+Greta's balcony.
+
+"I'll take it all back, Anna. You really _can_ climb." Hans hadn't
+expected this cousin from the city to be such a tomboy. He would have to
+find some other way to tease her.
+
+"When will the baby storks hatch out, Greta?" Anna couldn't get her mind
+off this fascinating subject.
+
+"In another week or two, I expect."
+
+"If the Nisser don't take the eggs first," said Hans.
+
+"Oh, Hans, you don't _really_ think they would?" Greta was upset at the
+very thought.
+
+"You know how the kittens disappeared, Greta. The same thing might
+happen to the baby storks." Hans told Anna about the lost kittens and
+how only two of them were found. "Greta and I decided that the Nisser
+took them," he finished.
+
+"Why, Hans, how very silly!" said Anna. "Of course the Nisser wouldn't
+do a thing like that. In fact, I don't believe there is such a thing as
+a Nisse anyway."
+
+Greta didn't know whether to be shocked or not. There were times when
+she herself had her doubts about the Nisser, but right now she felt sure
+that they were the ones who had carried off the kittens.
+
+"The Nisser don't play pranks all the time, Anna. They do lots of nice
+things for us, too. Do you see that castle on the hill over there, with
+the trees all around it?"
+
+Greta pointed to Vosborg Castle, about a mile away. "Let me tell you
+what the Nisser did _there_ one winter. There was snow five feet deep
+and it lasted for more than a week. No one could get outdoors at all.
+The cows were in the barn, where they had plenty of food, but there were
+six new calves in a shed out in the field. Everyone was afraid that they
+would starve to death, but no one could get out and feed them. When the
+snow finally melted and the men went out to see the calves, they found
+them fat and healthy! The Nisser had taken care of them and fed them
+during the snowstorm."
+
+"So you see there really _are_ Nisser," said Hans.
+
+Anna wasn't at all convinced, but she didn't know how to argue against
+proof like this. Finally she asked, "When did this happen, Hans?"
+
+[Illustration: ANNA IS A TOMBOY]
+
+"Oh, a long time ago. A hundred years ago, I guess."
+
+"Then no one can really _prove_ it," argued Anna. "It's just a story
+that has been told over and over again, like a fairy tale." Anna
+believed in the things she could _see_, not in the things that people
+imagined they saw.
+
+"We're going to this castle for dinner on Wednesday evening," said Hans.
+"Then you can ask Mr. Christianson himself. He will certainly know
+whether or not this really happened."
+
+"We're going to a real castle for dinner?" asked Anna. "That will be
+lots of fun. Do you know how many rooms there are in the castle?"
+
+"At least fifty," answered Hans. "Greta and I have never been in
+Vosborg, for Mr. Christianson has been living in England for a long
+time. But now he has come back here to live."
+
+[Illustration: ON THE BRIDGE OVER THE RIVER]
+
+While they were talking about the castle, Greta's mother called to Anna.
+"Wouldn't you like to write your mother, Anna, and tell her that you
+arrived safely?"
+
+"Oh, yes, Tante [Aunt] Agnes. And I'll tell her that we are going to a
+real castle for dinner." Anna ran into the house in great excitement.
+
+"Hans, I wonder why Anna doesn't believe in the Nisser," said Greta.
+"_You_ believe in them, don't you?"
+
+"Of course I do, Greta." Hans was quiet and thoughtful for a minute, and
+then a merry twinkle came into his eyes. "Before Anna goes back to
+Copenhagen, _she_ will believe in the Nisser, too."
+
+"What do you mean, Hans?" Greta knew that her brother had some kind of
+mischief in mind.
+
+"I mean just that. She will believe in the Nisser just as strongly as
+you and I believe in them."
+
+"I don't see how you're going to convince her, Hans."
+
+"_I'm_ not going to convince her, Greta. The Nisser themselves will do
+that." Greta begged and begged, but Hans would not explain. "Just wait
+and you'll find out, Greta." And Hans started off toward his boat,
+whistling to Chouse to come along.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI
+
+DINNER AT VOSBORG CASTLE
+
+
+"The carriage should be here any minute now." Greta ran to the window
+again to look down the road.
+
+"The carriage!" said Anna in surprise. "Are we going to Vosborg in a
+_carriage_, Greta?"
+
+"Yes. Mr. Christianson is sending his carriage for us. He doesn't like
+automobiles, so he still keeps the old coach that has belonged to the
+castle for a hundred years."
+
+"There it is now, Greta," said Hans, who was just as eager to visit the
+castle as Greta and Anna were.
+
+Soon they were all on their way to Vosborg. Although it stood on a hill,
+you could hardly see the castle itself, because of the trees all around
+it. After a short ride they reached the castle's outer wall and drove
+through the wide entrance, with its high tower that formed an archway.
+There was a long stretch of level ground inside the wall, before one
+came to the stone bridge over the moat. The moat was a wide, deep ditch
+filled with water, which ran all the way around the castle. In the olden
+days it was an important protection, for enemies could not cross it and
+thus could not reach the castle buildings. Inside the moat there was a
+rampart, or a high ridge of earth, which was also a protection to the
+castle. Then there was still another wall before one finally reached the
+castle itself.
+
+"There has been a castle on this spot for hundreds of years," Greta's
+mother told the children as they rode along in the old coach. "This
+building is only four hundred years old, so you see that it is rather
+new! The castle that stood here before was destroyed in 1532."
+
+[Illustration: MR. CHRISTIANSON'S COACH]
+
+"Mother, tell Anna about the Englishman who built the tower of Vosborg
+Castle," urged Hans.
+
+"All right, Hans," said his mother. "A long, long time ago, when the
+first castle was being built, the owner decided that he wanted a tower
+on his castle that would be finer than that of any other castle in
+Denmark. He hunted the country over, but he couldn't find anyone who
+could build such a grand tower. Finally he heard of a man in England who
+could do this. So he sent for this man and told him to build a tower on
+Vosborg that would be the finest in the land. The Englishman solemnly
+promised that he would do so.
+
+"It took him three full years to build the tower, for he was determined
+to make it the finest in all Denmark. And it was. When it was done he
+went to the owner of Vosborg and asked if he were satisfied. The owner
+was well pleased, and he paid the builder a large sum of money. Long
+before this, however, he had decided that he would test the builder and
+the honesty of his work. So after the Englishman had left the castle and
+was walking down the road, a servant from Vosborg came running after
+him, shouting, 'The tower is leaning.'
+
+"This was to be the test of his work. If he turned around to look at the
+tower, the owner of the castle would know that the builder was not sure
+of his own work. If there were even the smallest doubt in his mind, he
+would be certain to look around at once. But the English builder was
+very sure that his work was well done. Not once did he look back. Not
+for a minute did he pause in his journey. But as he walked on, he said
+to the servant from Vosborg, 'The tower does not lean. Tell your master
+that I have done my work well; he did not spend his money in vain. He
+has the finest tower in all Denmark. But also tell him that one day
+Vosborg will be destroyed by a man in a blue coat.'
+
+"The servant told his master. Fear and astonishment ran through the
+castle like a flame. Who was the mysterious man in the blue coat who
+would one day destroy the castle? No one knew. No one could even guess.
+The owner of Vosborg was well liked by all the people. Surely no one
+would do him harm. The years went by and the castle remained unharmed.
+Gradually everyone forgot about the prophecy of the English builder. The
+man in the blue coat was no longer feared.
+
+"Then one year there was a dreadful storm on the ocean. Never before had
+the people seen such an angry sea. The waves dashed and pounded against
+the shore as they had never done before. The water rose like a wall and
+spread over the land for many miles. No one had ever seen a storm like
+this one. The water pounded against the outer wall of Vosborg. It
+crumbled and fell. Within a few hours the ocean had rushed in and
+washed away the rampart around the castle. There was then just one wall
+left as a protection against the angry sea. It wasn't enough. On the
+second day of the storm the waves became even more fierce and violent.
+Finally, that wall crumbled and the whole castle of Vosborg was knocked
+down by the force of the waves.
+
+[Illustration: THE ENTRANCE TO THE INNER COURTYARD]
+
+"Thus the prophecy, told many years before, had at last come true. The
+English builder had spoken truly. Vosborg was, as he had predicted,
+destroyed by a man in a blue coat--the ocean."
+
+"But I thought the ocean was several miles away," said Anna in surprise.
+
+"It is now, Anna, but in those days it was very near. Every few hundred
+years the shore line changes, due to the rising or falling of the land.
+So Vosborg is now a mile or more from the ocean."
+
+By this time they had reached the courtyard of the castle. The paving
+stones that covered the ground had long ago been worn to a smooth,
+polished roundness. On three sides of the courtyard there were low,
+white buildings. One of these contained the servants' quarters and the
+kitchens. Another contained the huge library of the castle. The third
+was made up of the stables. On the fourth side of the courtyard stood
+the imposing, four-story building that made up the main part of the
+castle. In the center of the courtyard there was a lovely, round pool.
+
+"Oh, Greta, it's beautiful," said the delighted Anna, as she looked all
+around her.
+
+Dinner was served in the Knights' Hall, a long, stately room on the
+second floor. Tall candles lighted the banquet table and threw
+flickering shadows in the far corners of the room and against the high
+ceiling. The walls were covered with brilliant paintings of the knights
+and ladies who had lived at Vosborg in olden days. Now and then, as the
+candlelight caught the gleam of a bright red waistcoat or the silken
+beauty of a lady's satin gown, Greta turned suddenly to look at the
+portraits. Once she thought that one of the great ladies of long ago was
+smiling at her. But when she looked again, the lovely face showed only
+the calm, quiet beauty of a painting. Had she really smiled? Greta
+could not be sure.
+
+After dinner Mr. Christianson showed them the room that King Frederick
+had used when he visited Vosborg Castle many years ago.
+
+"This room used to be the chapel," explained Mr. Christianson, "but it
+had to be changed for a very amusing reason. The owner of the castle
+used to put his turkeys to roost in the chapel and even left them there
+on Sunday. When the minister began to preach, all the turkeys babbled in
+answer. Of course the whole church service was upset and the minister
+couldn't go on. He refused to preach at Vosborg any more. When the king
+heard what had happened, he said that there would be no more chapel
+services at this castle. So the chapel was changed into a bedroom. Many
+years later a tiny chapel was built outside the castle wall. It is a
+lovely, quiet place of worship. The inside walls are lined with moss,
+and the outer walls are covered with thatch. It is really a little
+temple in the woods."
+
+[Illustration: THE CHAPEL IN THE WOODS]
+
+"Could we see it, Mr. Christianson?" asked Anna, as they were going back
+to the drawing-room.
+
+"I'm afraid it's too dark out there now. But I should be delighted to
+show it to you if you care to come again, during the daytime."
+
+"Oh, I'd love to. Thank you so--Oh, what's that noise?" Anna looked at
+Greta, whose face had turned white. She, too, had heard a most unusual
+sound.
+
+"I didn't hear any noise," said Mr. Christianson.
+
+"It sounded like heavy wooden wheels," said Greta, who looked quite
+scared.
+
+"It couldn't be that, Greta," said Hans. "No one has come into the
+courtyard."
+
+"But I heard them _inside_ the castle," insisted Greta.
+
+"Oh, of course. I had forgotten." Then Mr. Christianson explained. "A
+long time ago, when this castle was first built, the entrance to the
+courtyard was in the center of this building, instead of at the side, as
+it is now. In fact, this drawing-room was built where the entrance used
+to be. Up to the very day of his death, the old coachman never approved
+of this change. So every evening, about this time, he drives his coach
+and four over the old road and through the old entrance. He has to come
+right through this room and that is why you always hear him."
+
+The two girls looked at Mr. Christianson in wonder.
+
+"You mean his _ghost_ drives through here every evening?" asked Greta.
+
+"Yes, Greta."
+
+"But I didn't think there were any _real_ ghosts," said Anna.
+
+"I don't know, my dear. No one has ever _seen_ him, but you yourself
+heard the rumble of the wooden wheels of the coach just now."
+
+"I certainly heard _something_," admitted Anna.
+
+"What else could it be?" asked Hans, who was delighted to hear Anna
+admit even this much.
+
+On the way home from Vosborg, Anna was very quiet. Finally she just had
+to ask, "Tante Agnes, do _you_ think that was the old coach that we
+heard tonight?"
+
+Her aunt smiled. "I don't know, Anna. I think you had better go to
+Vosborg again in the daytime. Then you can find out for yourself whether
+or not it has any ghosts."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII
+
+A DAY AT THE SHORE
+
+
+"Why don't you have a windmill on your farm, Uncle Frederick?" asked
+Anna. "Every one of these farms has a big windmill."
+
+Anna and her uncle and Greta were driving through the country on their
+way to the shore. Greta's father had to make a business trip to a small
+town on the coast, and he was taking the girls with him. Chouse was
+comfortably curled up on the back seat.
+
+"We don't need a windmill, Anna, because we have the river."
+
+"But how can the river take the place of a windmill?" asked Anna.
+
+[Illustration: THE WINDMILLS PROVIDE ELECTRIC POWER]
+
+"Greta, haven't you shown Anna the dam in the river?" asked her father.
+"This dam causes the water to fall from a great height. The force of the
+water, as it falls on a large machine, provides the power that is
+turned into electricity. These other farms get their electric power from
+the windmills. As the great arms are turned by the wind, they provide
+power that is changed, by the machinery, into electricity."
+
+Anna had lived in Copenhagen all her life, and everything about the
+country was new to her. She liked to watch the men cutting the hay and
+piling it up on the large wagons. On some of the farms the women were
+also working in the fields. This was the busiest time of year on the
+farm, and everyone had to help. Children hoed the long rows of cabbages
+and potatoes and beets.
+
+Every time they drove through a village, Greta and Anna played a game to
+see who could be first to find the oldest house. Each house had a name
+painted in large letters over the door or near it. This wasn't the name
+of the family; it was the name of the house itself. The year when the
+house was built was usually there, too. So each girl tried to be the
+first one to find the oldest house. Greta usually found it before Anna,
+because Anna saw so many other things that interested her.
+
+[Illustration: MIRRORS ON THE WINDOWS]
+
+"What are those funny little mirrors in front of the windows, Greta?"
+Anna pointed to the two small projecting mirrors fastened by an iron
+frame to the window of a small brick house.
+
+"Oh, the people put those there so that they can sit beside the window
+and see who is coming down the street," explained Greta. "There is one
+mirror facing up the street and one facing down the street. With these
+mirrors they can sit in the house and still see everything that goes
+on."
+
+"But they have so many plants and flowers in the windows that I don't
+see how they can see anything outdoors."
+
+Every home, whether in a village or on a farm, had a large flower
+garden. And in every home, large or small, there were many plants in the
+windows, where they could get the sunshine. All Denmark looked like a
+large garden, for there were roses, poppies, peonies, iris, pansies,
+or other brilliant flowers wherever one looked.
+
+[Illustration: ALONG THE SHORE OF THE NORTH SEA]
+
+"Look, Greta, at the two little patches of green grass in the middle of
+that field of hay. Why in the world did the farmer skip those spots?"
+
+"I'll tell you why, Anna," said her uncle. "You will notice that those
+little green patches are always on small hills. They are the graves of
+Vikings."
+
+"But I thought that the Vikings lived more than a thousand years ago,"
+interrupted Anna.
+
+"Yes, they did. They were a strong, bold race who lived in what is now
+Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. They roamed the sea and conquered many
+other lands. Some of them even went to America, long before the time of
+Columbus. It is against the law for anyone to disturb a Viking grave.
+You will see many of these little mounds on the farms in this part of
+the country. The farmers never plant anything on these graves. They
+carefully plow all around them."
+
+"We must be quite near the ocean now, for there's a lighthouse," said
+Greta. "It would be fun to climb to the top of it. May we, Father?"
+
+"Yes, if you want to."
+
+It didn't take Greta and Anna long to climb the narrow, winding stairs.
+From the top of the lighthouse they could see for many miles over the
+ocean and over the land. Heavy waves beat upon the beach, and even as
+they looked, the sand hills kept shifting, for the wind from the North
+Sea was very strong. Not far away was the harbor, and in its quiet
+waters some of the fishermen had fastened their sailboats. Near by they
+had hung up their nets to dry. Each net was carefully spread over a rope
+that was fastened to stakes in the ground. Other fishing boats, with
+sails full spread, were far out at sea.
+
+[Illustration: THERE ARE MANY BOATS IN THE HARBOR]
+
+"Anna, do you see those people way down the beach? I wonder what they
+are looking for." Greta pointed to two women who were evidently
+searching for something along the shore.
+
+"I haven't any idea. Shall we go help them with their search? Look,
+Greta. Your father is motioning to us to come down. I think Chouse wants
+us, too."
+
+Greta's father had to go on to the next village, but he told the girls
+that they could stay here until he came back.
+
+"Chouse will take good care of you while I'm gone," he said, "that is,
+if he doesn't run off and get into some kind of mischief himself."
+
+Greta and Anna were curious about the women they had seen down the
+beach, so they decided to join them. With Chouse jumping and barking at
+their heels, they ran along the water's edge. The tide was coming in,
+and every now and then a large wave almost caught them. As they went
+farther from the harbor, they found more and more sand dunes: gently
+rolling hills with long blades of grass poking up here and there through
+the sand. Along this part of the beach there were many summer cottages,
+with fences around them to keep the sand from covering them completely.
+
+[Illustration: ALMOST EVERY FARM HAS ITS WINDMILL]
+
+"Have you lost something?" asked Anna as they came near the two women.
+"We'll be glad to help you look for it."
+
+"No, we haven't lost anything," answered one of the women. "We thought
+we might find some amber along the beach."
+
+"Amber?" asked Greta in surprise. "I didn't know it was found here."
+
+"Oh, certainly. We have often found some very fine pieces of amber on
+this very beach."
+
+"Is amber a stone?" asked Greta. "Of course I know what it looks like,
+but what is it made of?"
+
+"It has taken thousands of years to form the lovely clear yellow
+material that we call amber," explained the second woman. "It was once
+the sticky, yellowish fluid given off by the pine trees. As time went
+by, those trees were buried under the ground or under the water. The
+sticky fluid gradually became hard as stone. It is those stone-like
+pieces that we sometimes dig up along the beach of the North Sea."
+
+[Illustration: CHOUSE LIKES TO PLAY]
+
+"They are very valuable, aren't they?" asked Anna.
+
+"Yes, some of them are. Those that are perfectly clear and have no
+flaws always bring a good price."
+
+"We'll help you look," said Greta.
+
+The two girls began to search for the little yellow lumps that lay
+hidden in the sand. At first it was fun, but after a while they got
+tired. They were just about to quit, when one of the women called out
+happily, "Here is a beautiful, large piece. It must weigh a pound."
+
+The others rushed up to look at it. Amber is very light, so it took a
+large piece indeed to weigh a pound. After this they began searching
+with fresh interest. Suddenly Greta found what she thought was a
+beautiful piece of amber. But when she showed it to the two women they
+said it was much too heavy for amber.
+
+Greta got down on her knees and began poking among the stones and
+shells. Every now and then she dug into the sand and poked and looked
+and dug some more. While the girls were busy in this absorbing work,
+Chouse ran up and down the beach. No one paid any attention to him. Once
+in a while he ran up to Greta to see if she would play with him. But she
+just pushed him away. "Run away, Chouse. I'm too busy to play now."
+
+[Illustration: FISH NETS SPREAD OUT TO DRY]
+
+When Chouse got tired of playing by himself, he lay down on the sand
+near Greta, watching her every minute. Suddenly he noticed something
+wriggling along the sand not far away. He sat up and looked. Soon the
+wriggling stopped. But Chouse kept on watching this strange object. Then
+he got up and walked nearer to it, walking ever so quietly and
+carefully. He simply _must_ see what this strange creature was. Greta
+wasn't paying any attention to Chouse or to the strange object near by.
+She was too busy looking for amber. Chouse stood without moving,
+watching the now motionless creature.
+
+"Oh, Greta, I think I've found a real piece of amber!" Anna ran across
+the beach in great excitement. When she was ten feet from Greta she
+stopped in terror. "Greta!" she screamed. "Look out! Run!"
+
+Greta stood up and looked around, too startled to run. What had
+happened? Then she saw. Not two feet away lay a green snake, coiled and
+ready to strike. Greta knew at once that this was the most poisonous
+snake in all Denmark. Her father had often warned her about it. But she
+simply couldn't run. She was so frightened that she had lost the power
+to move. Greta knew that in less than a minute the snake would strike
+her. She knew that she must get away. But she couldn't.
+
+At that very instant Chouse sprang forward. He had been watching this
+crawling green creature for many minutes. Now was the time for him to
+act. And he did act. He seized the snake by the neck and quickly carried
+it off to a high sand dune. In less than two minutes the snake was dead.
+
+Greta sank down on the sand and Anna rushed up to her. "Oh, Greta, are
+you all right?"
+
+"Yes, Anna, I'm all right. But I was so frightened that I couldn't
+move."
+
+Chouse came back to Greta and she took him in her lap. "After this,
+Chouse, I think you will have to go with us wherever we go. I am quite
+sure that Father won't send you away."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII
+
+A SECOND VISIT TO VOSBORG
+
+
+"Are you coming with us, Hans?"
+
+"Where are you going, Greta?"
+
+"Oh, didn't you know? Mr. Christianson has invited Anna and me to visit
+Vosborg. He wants to show us the whole castle. I'm sure he would be glad
+to have you come, too."
+
+"Thank you, Greta, but I think I'll go fishing today. Old Peter says
+they are biting. Come along, Chouse." Hans started toward the river.
+Chouse had run ahead and was already waiting in the boat.
+
+"Shall we go on our bicycles, Greta?" asked Anna, who never walked any
+place if she could take her bicycle.
+
+"No, let's walk. It's only a mile; besides, it's way too steep a hill
+to climb on a bicycle."
+
+The girls walked happily down the road, never once looking back. If they
+had looked back, they would have seen something very strange. Hans had
+started down the river, but he suddenly stopped the boat when he reached
+the first bend. He paddled over near the shore and drew the boat up on
+the bank. Then he cautiously hid behind a large tree trunk. The strange
+thing was that he didn't take his fishing pole out of the boat. He stood
+behind the tree for quite a little while, watching Greta and Anna as
+they hurried along to Vosborg.
+
+When the girls were out of sight, Hans called to the dog. "Come, Chouse.
+It's time for us to go now." They got into the boat again and Hans
+paddled slowly and quietly. But Greta and Anna had reached the turn in
+the road, so they could not possibly see which way Hans was going.
+
+In the field outside the castle wall, two storks were walking around on
+their long, slender legs. The girls stopped to watch them.
+
+[Illustration: MR. CHRISTIANSON]
+
+"Oh, Greta, I wish we could get up close to them." Anna ran forward. She
+thought the storks couldn't possibly see her. But when she was still
+twenty feet away they lifted their large wings and rose in the air. Soon
+they had gone over the tops of the trees and high into the sky. Anna
+watched them until they were out of sight.
+
+"What would you like to see first?" asked Mr. Christianson, when he
+greeted his two young visitors at the door.
+
+Both girls spoke at the same time. "The little chapel," said Anna. "The
+library," said Greta.
+
+They visited the chapel first, and then came back to the castle by way
+of a lovely, shaded path which ran by the side of the moat.
+
+"Hans Christian Andersen used to walk along here, when he visited
+Vosborg," said Mr. Christianson. "He thought up many of his fairy tales
+as he strolled along under these trees. In the library there is a volume
+of his stories that I want to show you. Andersen gave this book to my
+grandfather, and in the front he has written a little verse about
+Vosborg."
+
+"Do you suppose we might climb up in the tower?" asked Anna, after they
+had gone all through the garden and had come back into the inner
+courtyard. Anna was very fond of climbing.
+
+"Of course you may." Mr. Christianson took them up narrow stairs that
+kept going up and up and up. Finally they reached the top. From here
+they could see the ocean in the distance.
+
+"This is almost as high as the tower in our forest," said Greta.
+
+"In olden times this tower was very useful," explained Mr. Christianson.
+"From here one could see an enemy when he was still miles away."
+
+"Denmark doesn't have any enemies now, does it?" asked Anna.
+
+"No, Denmark is one of the most peaceful countries in the world. It is
+almost eighty years since we have been at war with any other nation."
+
+After a while they went down to the library. Mr. Christianson led the
+girls past rows and rows of books, placed on shelves that reached from
+the floor to the ceiling. When they came to the farthest corner of the
+room he stopped and reached for the book of Andersen's Fairy Tales
+without even looking.
+
+"You see, I know just where it is." Then a worried look came on his
+face. "Why, I can't understand this," he said. "This book was here last
+night, for I showed it to some friends. And now it is gone."
+
+"Maybe someone has borrowed it," suggested Greta.
+
+"That is impossible, for I keep the library locked, and none of the
+servants has the key."
+
+"Maybe you put it back in the wrong place," suggested Anna.
+
+"I'm afraid that is impossible, too. You see I keep this book in a very
+special place because I prize it more than any other book that I own. I
+am always careful to put it back in this same spot."
+
+[Illustration: THE COURTYARD OF VOSBORG]
+
+"We'll help you look for it," offered Greta. So the three began
+searching one shelf of books after another.
+
+"I suppose Hans would say that one of the Nisser had taken it," said
+Anna jokingly, when they had gone about halfway through the shelves of
+books.
+
+"I wouldn't be at all surprised if one _had_ taken it," answered Greta
+quite seriously.
+
+They kept on looking for almost an hour. By this time Mr. Christianson
+was really worried. He finally called in all the servants and asked if
+any of them had been in the library that day. None of them had. The
+disappearance of the book had become a real mystery.
+
+"I should hate to lose this book more than any other book in the
+library."
+
+"Let's look once more on the shelf where it's supposed to be," said
+Anna.
+
+Mr. Christianson laughed. "But we looked there very carefully when we
+first came in."
+
+Anna wanted to look there again, so she ran down the long room to the
+special shelf.
+
+"Here it is!" she shouted. "Right here on the shelf where it is always
+kept."
+
+The others rushed up at once. "Well, this _is_ strange," said Mr.
+Christianson. "It wasn't here an hour ago, and no one has been in this
+part of the room since then."
+
+"Except maybe a Nisse," said Greta.
+
+In the front of the book Hans Christian Andersen had written a beautiful
+poem about Vosborg. It was no wonder that Mr. Christianson treasured
+this book, for Andersen is the most famous writer of all Denmark.
+Children all over the world love his fairy tales.
+
+"It's getting late, Greta, and I think we should--" began Anna and then
+stopped. A long, low moan cut through the stillness of the room. It
+seemed to come from quite near.
+
+"What--what was that?" asked Greta.
+
+"Oh, I suppose that was Lady Margaret," explained Mr. Christianson.
+"About a hundred years ago she was kept a prisoner in this room for many
+years, and every now and then we hear her moaning."
+
+"Did you ever see her?" asked Anna.
+
+"Well, no, I never did. But whenever we hear that low moan from this
+room we know it is Lady Margaret."
+
+"Doesn't it frighten you?" asked Greta.
+
+"Oh, no. We are quite used to it."
+
+"This is really a haunted castle, isn't it?" asked Anna.
+
+"Every castle in Denmark has at least _one_ ghost, Anna."
+
+All the way home the girls talked about the ghost of Lady Margaret. Anna
+was beginning to think that maybe there really _were_ such things as
+ghosts and Nisser. When they reached the house, Hans was just getting
+out of his boat.
+
+"Did you get any fish, Hans?" called Anna.
+
+"No luck today, Anna."
+
+"Are you sure you were trying to catch fish?" asked Greta, in her most
+teasing manner.
+
+"What do you mean by that, Greta?"
+
+"I thought maybe you had decided to go after books instead."
+
+Anna looked at Hans. Could he have been playing a joke on them at
+Vosborg? Was it Hans who had taken the book and then put it back? But
+how could he have gotten into the library? And anyway, she and Greta had
+both seen him start down the river in the opposite direction.
+
+Just then Greta's mother called from the door. "Anna, you have a letter
+from your mother."
+
+"It's too bad you didn't take Chouse with you today, Greta," said Hans,
+when Anna had gone into the house.
+
+"Why? What happened?"
+
+"He was naughtier than he's ever been before. He chased the young
+turkeys all over the place and injured three or four of them."
+
+"Did Father see him?"
+
+"Yes. He came along just as Chouse caught one of the turkeys and he was
+terribly angry. You know how proud Father is of those turkeys."
+
+"Oh, Hans, what _am_ I going to do?" sobbed Greta. "We can't seem to
+break Chouse of his awful habit of chasing things. And yet I can't bear
+to part with him."
+
+Just then Anna came running out of the house. "Greta, I have the
+grandest news. Mother wants you to come to Copenhagen with me when I go
+home."
+
+For a moment Greta forgot her worries about Chouse. "Oh, Anna, that will
+be wonderful. Let's ask Mother if I may go."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX
+
+CHOUSE SEEKS THE SPOTLIGHT
+
+
+It was soon decided that Greta would go back to Copenhagen with Anna. At
+dinner that evening the girls talked about nothing else, for Greta had
+never been in Copenhagen before.
+
+"While you are away, Greta, I'll look around and find a new home for
+Chouse," her father announced suddenly.
+
+At last it had come--this terrible thing that she had been dreading.
+
+"But I thought that Chouse had been a very good dog lately." For the
+moment Greta had forgotten Hans's report about the turkeys.
+
+"I had hoped he would learn to behave better," said her father, "but
+today he injured several of the young turkeys, and I just _can't_ have
+it, Greta. So we must find another home for him. I know how you love
+Chouse, and I hate to do this, but I don't see any other way out."
+
+"Why can't Chouse come to Copenhagen with us?" asked Anna, hoping that
+maybe this would solve the problem, at least for a while.
+
+"Do you think your mother would want him?"
+
+"Oh, yes, I'm sure it would be all right with Mother," said Anna. "We
+don't have any chickens or turkeys, so Chouse couldn't very well get
+into mischief at my house."
+
+Greta's father hesitated a minute or two before he answered, while Greta
+watched him anxiously. "All right, Anna, Chouse may go to Copenhagen
+with you and Greta."
+
+[Illustration: A TYPICAL VILLAGE SCENE]
+
+Greta sank back in her chair with a deep sigh. By the time she came home
+from Copenhagen, the whole matter would probably be forgotten. At any
+rate, the evil day had been postponed.
+
+When the day came for Greta and Anna to leave for Copenhagen, the whole
+family went to the train with them.
+
+Hans gave Chouse a goodbye pat on the head. "Take good care of my little
+sister, Chouse," he said.
+
+"And you take good care of the kittens, Hans," warned Greta.
+
+Soon all the goodbyes were said and the two girls were on the train.
+
+"I wish we could get seats by the window," said Greta. They walked up
+and down the aisle, which was on one side of the train, but there wasn't
+a single empty seat beside a window. Each car was divided into a dozen
+sections, like little rooms, with two long seats facing each other.
+There was space for four people on each seat, or eight people in each
+section. The girls sat down in a section where there were only three
+people. At the very next station, two of them got off, and then there
+was a vacant seat beside the window. Greta and Anna decided to take
+turns at sitting there.
+
+"What time will it be when we reach Copenhagen, Anna?"
+
+"After seven o'clock. You see we have to cross the peninsula of Jutland
+and then the island of Zealand before we come to Copenhagen."
+
+"I have never seen a really large city before, Anna."
+
+"You will love Copenhagen, Greta. It has such beautiful parks and shops
+and castles and, oh, _everything_!"
+
+"Oh, look, Anna, here we are at Lemvig already. Do you know the story
+about Lemvig?"
+
+"No; what is it?"
+
+"A long, long time ago, when Denmark was at war with Sweden, the Swedish
+soldiers had been ordered to march upon Lemvig and take the town. You
+can see that almost the whole town is down in the valley; there are just
+a few houses on the hills. The soldiers couldn't see the town at all,
+so they asked a farmer where it was. He pointed to the houses on the
+hill on the other side of the valley. Then the Swedish soldiers rode
+very fast, keeping their eyes on these houses on the distant hill. They
+didn't see the valley at all and they rode so fast that they all fell
+down the hill and into the river. So Lemvig wasn't captured after all."
+
+As the train started again and left Lemvig, Anna leaned out the window.
+"Oh, it's too late now," she said sadly.
+
+"Too late for what?" asked Greta.
+
+"I wanted to get an ice-cream bar, but the train started just as the boy
+with the ice-cream bars came up to our window."
+
+"We'll surely get one at the next town, Anna."
+
+As soon as the train stopped again, Anna let down the window and they
+each bought an ice-cream bar and also one for Chouse. He had been
+standing on Greta's lap, with his front feet on the window sill,
+watching with great interest as they passed fields of yellow hay,
+forests of evergreens, pastures with large herds of cows, and great
+fields of cabbage and beets.
+
+When they had finally ridden clear across Jutland, which forms the main
+part of Denmark, and then across the island of Funen, which is connected
+with the mainland by a large bridge, they came to a wide stretch of
+water called the Great Belt.
+
+"Get your suitcase, Anna," said Greta. "We will have to get off the
+train and take a boat here."
+
+Anna laughed, but she didn't make a move to get her suitcase down from
+the rack overhead.
+
+"The whole train takes the boat, Greta. We don't have to get off at
+all."
+
+"The whole train? But how can it?"
+
+[Illustration: FARM HOUSES IN THE VALLEY]
+
+"Just look out the window and you'll see for yourself."
+
+The railroad tracks ran to the very edge of the water, where a large
+ferry boat was waiting for the train. It had tracks on it, too, and the
+train ran right on to the boat. Greta could hardly believe her eyes. To
+think that one could ride on a train and a boat at the same time! It
+took about two hours to cross the water, and then they were on the
+island of Zealand. The boat went right up to the railroad tracks and the
+train was soon on land again and speeding on its way.
+
+"Everything here looks so different," remarked Greta, as she looked out
+the window. "There are so many more trees, and it isn't so flat as it is
+at home."
+
+Before long they reached the large railroad station in Copenhagen, where
+Anna's mother was waiting for them.
+
+"Your father will be here very soon, Anna, and then we are all going to
+Tivoli for dinner."
+
+"Is Tivoli a restaurant?" asked Greta.
+
+"No, Tivoli is one of the most famous parks in all the world," explained
+Anna. "It's right in the center of Copenhagen. In fact, it's right next
+to this station. Oh, I wish Father would hurry."
+
+When Greta first saw Tivoli she thought she was in fairyland. Surely it
+couldn't be real. The gay beds of flowers and the tinkling fountains and
+the colored lights among the trees all seemed to be part of a magic
+world. Besides all this beauty, Tivoli had many restaurants and theatres
+and places for concerts and games and other amusements.
+
+They had dinner in one of the outdoor restaurants, and Greta was so
+interested in watching the people as they passed by that she could
+hardly eat. After dinner they started to walk through the park and let
+Greta decide for herself what she would most enjoy. When they had gone
+only a little way they came to a large open stage, where a play was
+being given. They all stopped to watch it for a few minutes, and Greta
+wouldn't leave the spot. To her it was the most fascinating thing in
+Tivoli.
+
+Suddenly she noticed that something had gone wrong on the stage. The
+actors seemed confused and they hesitated over their lines. What could
+be the matter? Then, to her horror, she saw Chouse run across the stage
+and jump up on one of the actors. He was a young lad who looked
+something like Hans. Chouse soon saw his mistake and began wandering
+around the large stage as if he were lost. The audience laughed. They
+knew that this wasn't part of the play, and it seemed very funny to
+them.
+
+The minute that Greta saw Chouse she started toward the stage. Going
+around to the back, where the audience could not see her, she whistled
+and called to her dog. Chouse was glad to hear his name. Happily he ran
+off the stage at once and the play went on.
+
+"I think we had better go home now," said Anna's father, when Greta came
+back with the dog, "before Chouse gets into any more mischief."
+
+Greta's heart sank. They had barely gotten into Copenhagen--in fact,
+they hadn't even reached Anna's home yet--and Chouse had already gotten
+into mischief. What in the world was she going to do with him?
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER X
+
+A DAY OF HAPPY SURPRISES
+
+
+"Anna, please don't walk so fast," begged Greta. The two girls were
+walking down Langelinie, the beautiful parkway along the ocean. Greta
+was much shorter than Anna and she could not walk nearly so fast. Then,
+too, she liked to stop and watch the boats coming into the harbor. The
+name Copenhagen means "merchants' harbor," and this city has one of the
+finest harbors in Europe. All kinds of ships, from tiny sailboats to
+large ocean liners, come here from all parts of the world.
+
+When they had gone a little farther, Greta wanted to sit down and rest.
+
+"Can't you walk just a tiny bit more, Greta? On the other side of this
+little bay there is someone I want you to meet."
+
+"Who, Anna?"
+
+"She is called 'Den Lille Havfrue,'" said Anna.
+
+"'Den Lille Havfrue,'" repeated Greta. "'The Little Ocean Lady.' I still
+don't understand, Anna. Who can this be?"
+
+"Just keep on walking, and I'll show you," answered Anna in her most
+mysterious manner.
+
+In a few minutes the girls had gone around the bay.
+
+"Oh, Anna, how beautiful she is!" said the delighted Greta. Sitting on a
+rock at the edge of the water was the statue of a lovely mermaid--"the
+little ocean lady."
+
+"She looks like a real live person," went on Greta, "except for her
+fish's tail instead of feet. Is there really such a person as a mermaid,
+Anna?"
+
+[Illustration: A SIDE VIEW OF THE GEFION FOUNTAIN]
+
+"I'm not sure, Greta, whether there is or not. But if there really is a
+Nisse, then maybe there are mermaids, too. This Little Mermaid is the
+most beautiful statue in Copenhagen. Some people think it is the
+loveliest one in all Europe."
+
+"How large is Copenhagen, Anna?"
+
+[Illustration: THE GEFION FOUNTAIN]
+
+"It has about a million people. That's a third of the whole population
+of Denmark."
+
+After a short walk the girls came to a large fountain, the largest that
+Greta had ever seen. At the top of the fountain there was a statue of
+four oxen, hitched to a plow and driven by a woman.
+
+"This is called the Gefion Fountain, and it shows how the island of
+Zealand was made," explained Anna. "There is an old, old story that says
+that Denmark was given permission to take as much of Sweden as one could
+plow around in a day. So the ruler of Denmark changed her four sons into
+oxen and with them she plowed out the island on which Copenhagen stands.
+This statue shows how she had to whip them and urge them on in order to
+plow out this large island before night came."
+
+"Oh, I wish we had brought Chouse along," said Greta. "He would love to
+play in this fountain."
+
+"Chouse likes to play in lots of places where he shouldn't. I think it's
+a good thing that we left him home. He was very naughty at Tivoli the
+other night."
+
+"He didn't mean to be naughty, Anna. Don't you think we can take him
+with us sometime?"
+
+"Maybe; sometime," said Anna.
+
+As the girls walked along they stopped now and then to look in the shop
+windows. Whenever Greta saw a window full of beautiful silverware or
+china she wanted to stop and buy a gift for her mother. This china,
+decorated with figures in a soft blue color, was called Royal Copenhagen
+Porcelain, and it was famous all over the world. The silverware was
+designed by a Danish artist named Georg Jensen, and it was also very
+famous.
+
+"You will have lots of time to buy a gift for your mother, Greta. Don't
+stop now. I hope you aren't tired, for we have a hard climb ahead of
+us."
+
+"A climb? Why, there isn't a hill in all Copenhagen."
+
+"Do you see that church with the dome-shaped roof that's all green and
+shiny? Well, that's what we are going to climb."
+
+"Oh, Anna, how can we? Why, it's taller than any of the other buildings
+in Copenhagen." Greta looked around her at the four- and five-story
+buildings. The shiny green dome of the church rose far above them.
+
+"It is usually called the Marble Church," explained Anna, "because it is
+built of marble. Its real name is Frederick's Church, because it was
+built by King Frederick the Fifth."
+
+"That shiny green dome isn't made of marble, is it?" asked Greta.
+
+"Oh, no," laughed Anna. "The church cost a great deal to build, and when
+they had gotten as far as the dome, there was no money left. So all the
+housewives in Copenhagen gave their copper kettles to be melted up and
+used to make the dome of the church."
+
+Inside the church it was cool and quiet. The girls started up the stairs
+and climbed for quite a while without saying a word. Greta began to
+think that they would never reach the top.
+
+[Illustration: A COUNTRY SCENE]
+
+"Is it much farther, Anna?"
+
+"This is the easy part of the climb, Greta. Don't give up yet."
+
+They kept on climbing. The stairs wound round and round, and as the
+girls went higher and higher the stairs became more and more narrow.
+Finally they came to the place where the stairs were so narrow and so
+steep that a rope had been hung from the top to help those who climbed.
+It was like climbing the side of a mountain.
+
+"Now we've come to the hard part," said Anna. "Take hold of this rope
+and don't let go."
+
+"Anna, do you think we ought to go any higher?" Greta was frightened but
+she didn't want to admit it.
+
+"Why, of course. There is no point in climbing this far and then
+stopping. You aren't afraid, are you, Greta?"
+
+"I guess not."
+
+"Don't look down at all, and then you'll be all right," advised Anna.
+
+All of a sudden Greta remembered what her father had told her when she
+was climbing the tower in the forest. "A girl who is named after a queen
+must not be afraid of anything." After all, what was there to be afraid
+of? The stairs were narrow and steep, but she would hold tightly to the
+rope and she would be quite safe.
+
+When Greta was about ten steps from the top, she did glance down and saw
+a handkerchief lying on the step below her. Very carefully she backed
+down one step, holding to the rope with her left hand and clutching her
+purse with her right. As she took her left hand off the rope to pick up
+the handkerchief, she started to lose her balance. In terror she grabbed
+at the rope. She didn't fall, but the handkerchief fell six or seven
+steps below her.
+
+Anna had reached the top and called down to Greta. "What's the matter,
+Greta? You mustn't stop now, when you are almost at the top."
+
+"Did you drop your handkerchief, Anna? There is one here on the
+stairs."
+
+Anna felt in all her pockets. "No, I didn't drop mine, Greta."
+
+Greta backed down the steps slowly and carefully. This time she would
+not let go of the rope at all. She laid her purse on the step above
+while she picked up the tiny handkerchief and put it in her pocket. In a
+short time she had reached the top of the stairs, where Anna was waiting
+for her. Greta showed her the dainty little handkerchief, with its wide
+border of lace.
+
+"Look, Greta. It has an 'I' embroidered in one corner."
+
+"I wonder whose it is, Anna."
+
+As the girls walked out on the platform on top of the dome, they almost
+ran into two beautifully dressed ladies. Greta made her prettiest
+curtsy.
+
+"Perhaps this handkerchief is yours," she said, holding it out to them.
+
+"Why, yes, it is," said the taller of the two ladies. "Thank you very
+much, my dear." She and her companion then started down the narrow
+stairway.
+
+"I'm sure I have seen that lady before, but I can't remember where,"
+said Anna, when they had gone. "Come over here, Greta. I want to show
+you the King's palace."
+
+Just a block away from the Marble Church was Amalienborg, the palace of
+the King. The palace consisted of four beautiful buildings, built around
+a large open square. Day and night, a tall guard in uniform marched
+slowly back and forth in front of the palace. King Christian is probably
+the best loved king in all Europe, and no one would ever want to harm
+him. Nevertheless, the guard is always there.
+
+[Illustration: AMALIENBORG PALACE]
+
+"That is the famous Round Tower over there," explained Anna. "Some day
+we will climb up in it. The building with all the dragons on the roof is
+the Stock Exchange." Anna went on to point out other interesting
+buildings. Greta was most interested in the harbor and the hundreds of
+boats, which seemed to be everywhere in the city. Little arms of the sea
+come right into the heart of Copenhagen, so there really are boats and
+bridges wherever one looks.
+
+[Illustration: THE KING'S GUARD]
+
+Finally the girls started home. After a long bus ride, they walked the
+few remaining blocks to Anna's home.
+
+"Anna, why does that building have so many little porches? Do they all
+belong to one house?" Greta pointed to a long brick building that had
+fully a hundred porches.
+
+[Illustration: "BIRD CAGE" PORCHES]
+
+"That's a new apartment building, Greta. More than a hundred families
+live there, and each family has its own little sun porch. Notice how
+each porch is built up solid on one side, but the other side and the top
+are open. In that way, every porch gets lots of sunshine, but the
+neighbors can't possibly see in it."
+
+"They look more like bird cages than porches," said Greta.
+
+"Oh, Greta," exclaimed Anna suddenly. "I believe that was the Princess."
+
+"Who, Anna?"
+
+"Why, the lady whose handkerchief you found. Let's hurry home and ask
+Mother. I'm sure she will know."
+
+Greta told Anna's mother about the finding of the handkerchief, and Anna
+described the two ladies.
+
+"Do you suppose it could have been Princess Ingrid, Mother?"
+
+"I think it must have been, Anna. And the other lady was her sister
+Louise. You know that Princess Ingrid, the wife of our Crown Prince, is
+a Swedish princess by birth. Today's newspaper says that Princess Louise
+has come from Sweden to visit her sister Ingrid. Here is their picture.
+Does it look like the two whom you saw?"
+
+Both girls looked at the paper eagerly. "Yes, it _was_ Princess Ingrid
+and Princess Louise," said Greta. "Oh, I must write Hans about this. He
+has never even _seen_ a Princess. And now I have seen two of them and
+even talked to one."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XI
+
+THE BEST SURPRISE OF ALL
+
+
+"Now it's our turn to show _you_ some castles, Greta," said Anna, as she
+and her mother and Greta got in the car. Anna's mother had promised to
+take the girls on an all-day trip to northern Zealand. This part of
+Denmark is as full of castles as a plum-cake is full of plums.
+
+After driving about twenty-five miles along the shore, they came to
+Kronborg Castle, in the town of Elsinore.
+
+"This is the most famous castle in Denmark," said Anna's mother.
+
+"Why?" asked Greta.
+
+"Haven't you ever read 'Hamlet,' Greta?" asked Anna in surprise.
+"Kronborg Castle is where Hamlet lived. Only Shakespeare called it
+Elsinore, which is the name of the town instead of the castle."
+
+[Illustration: KRONBORG CASTLE]
+
+As she walked across the old drawbridge and entered the outer yard of
+the castle, Greta thought that Kronborg was the loveliest castle she had
+ever seen. It was much larger and much more wonderful than Vosborg. When
+they came to the drawbridge across the second moat, Anna pointed out the
+high battlement where the ghost of the murdered king once walked.
+
+"Does he still walk there, Anna?" asked Greta.
+
+"Maybe he does, Greta. All we really know about him is what Shakespeare
+tells us in his play."
+
+When they crossed the last bridge and passed through the last gateway
+into the inner courtyard of Kronborg, Greta stopped in surprise. "Oh,
+Anna, it's so large and so beautiful." Then, just to show that she
+wasn't really afraid of climbing, she asked, "Tante Elsie, do you
+suppose we could climb to the top of one of the towers?"
+
+"Yes, I think so."
+
+From the little balcony on the tower they looked out over the ocean.
+
+"Is that an island across the water?" asked Greta.
+
+"Oh, no, Greta. That is Sweden, only three miles away. In the olden
+days, Kronborg was a fortress that guarded the entrance to the Baltic
+Sea. All the ships that came from the North Sea into the Kattegat and
+then into the Baltic had to pass this point of land, and every ship that
+went by here had to pay money to Denmark. Up here in this very tower
+there were guards who watched all the ships to see that every one
+stopped and paid for the privilege of going past this point. In those
+days, Kronborg was the most important castle in Denmark."
+
+[Illustration: THE MOAT AROUND KRONBORG]
+
+"Don't they have to pay this money now?"
+
+"No. About a hundred years ago Denmark stopped asking for this payment.
+Ships that are going to the Baltic Sea can now go through the Kiel Canal
+in Germany, instead of going all the way around Denmark," explained
+Anna's mother.
+
+As they walked down the narrow, winding stairs, Anna suddenly exclaimed,
+"Oh, Mother, we forgot to tell Greta why Kronborg is still an important
+castle."
+
+"Maybe she already knows."
+
+"No, I don't. Please tell me, Anna."
+
+"According to an old, old story, Holger the Dane sleeps in the dungeon
+that is deep below this tower. If Denmark is ever in trouble of any
+kind, he will awake and come to her rescue."
+
+"I've heard of Holger the Dane, of course," said Greta, "but I thought
+he was just an imaginary person."
+
+"He's no more imaginary than a Nisse," said Anna, with a twinkle in her
+eye.
+
+Greta hated to leave Kronborg, but when Anna told her that they were
+going to see even finer castles than this one, she was willing to go.
+After driving about fifteen miles, they turned off the main road and
+drove down a long avenue of beech trees. At the end of this avenue
+there was a large white building, with a four-cornered tower rising from
+the center.
+
+"This is Fredensborg Palace, where the King and Queen live in the
+autumn," said Anna. "The King comes here for the hunting season."
+
+"Can we go inside this palace?" asked Greta. "I would love to see the
+Queen's own room."
+
+"Of course you would, little Margrete," said Tante Elsie. "We will ask
+the guide to show us the Queen's apartments."
+
+It seemed to Greta that the guide took them through miles and miles of
+rooms. Even then, he showed them only a part of the two hundred and
+seventy rooms. The palace was much larger than it looked from the front,
+for it was very long.
+
+"Surely this isn't the _Queen's_ room," said Greta, as she stood in the
+doorway of the large, sunny bedroom.
+
+"Why not, Greta?" asked Anna in surprise.
+
+"Why, I thought it would be a very grand room, with furniture of gold."
+
+Tante Elsie laughed. "Oh, Greta, you forget that the King and Queen of
+Denmark are people of simple tastes. This is a beautiful room, and it
+shows that the Queen likes lovely things. But it also shows that she
+does not spend money just to make a grand display."
+
+"Perhaps the young lady would like to see the ballroom," said the guide.
+"I think she will find that it is all that she imagined and really fit
+for a queen."
+
+[Illustration: FREDERIKSBORG CASTLE]
+
+He led them through several drawing-rooms and then into the ballroom. It
+was a large, square room, with windows clear up to the ceiling. The
+walls and ceiling were light blue, so that it seemed as if the room
+were open to the sky.
+
+"This is what I always thought a royal palace would be like," said Greta
+in deep contentment.
+
+"The ceiling of this room is eighty-one feet high," explained the guide.
+"It forms the tower in the middle of the palace."
+
+Greta didn't want to leave this lovely room. She was fascinated by the
+pictures painted on the walls, the gorgeous hangings at the windows, and
+the large groups of glass candlesticks that hung from the ceiling and
+sparkled like icicles as the sun shone on them.
+
+"Do you want to see the Queen's crown?" asked Anna, as they reluctantly
+left the beautiful ballroom.
+
+"The Queen's crown?" said Greta. "The Queen is in Copenhagen now; surely
+her crown wouldn't be here at Fredensborg."
+
+"She has a crown here, too. It is really lovelier than the one she wears
+at court," said Anna.
+
+When they came to the garden behind the palace, Greta saw what Anna
+meant. In the middle of the sloping green lawn there was a huge bed of
+pansies, arranged in the shape of a crown. In the lower part of the
+crown the pansies were all purple, and in the upper part they were all
+gold.
+
+"You are right, Anna. This is prettier than any crown of real gold."
+
+"Come, girls. We must be on our way now," said Anna's mother. "We have a
+long ride ahead of us."
+
+"Are we going to see _another_ castle?" asked Greta.
+
+"Yes, the finest one of all."
+
+[Illustration: THE COURTYARD OF FREDERIKSBORG]
+
+After a short drive through a large forest of beech trees, they came to
+Frederiksborg Castle. It was built on three small islands in the center
+of a lake. The castle itself was so large that it covered the islands
+completely and seemed to rise up out of the water itself. When King
+Frederick built the first castle here, nearly four hundred years ago, he
+purposely chose these islands in the center of a lake because they were
+the safest place for a castle. Enemies could not easily reach it here.
+When this old, old castle was destroyed by fire, a much finer one was
+built on the islands.
+
+[Illustration: FREDENSBORG PALACE]
+
+As they crossed the bridge to the main part of the castle, Greta saw two
+women entering the main doorway.
+
+"Look, Anna," she said in great excitement. "Isn't that Princess Ingrid
+and Princess Louise going into the castle right this minute?"
+
+When Anna looked, the women had disappeared. Greta was now more eager
+than ever to visit the castle. Maybe she would see her beloved Princess
+Ingrid again. Would the Princess remember the little girl who had found
+her handkerchief on the stairs of the Marble Church? Greta wondered. She
+was anxious to go inside, but Anna stopped in the courtyard to listen to
+the chimes on the castle tower. Every hour of the day the ringing chimes
+played a different tune.
+
+"Let's see the Knights' Hall first," suggested Anna, when they went
+inside.
+
+Greta wanted to say, "Let's follow Princess Ingrid," but she didn't know
+which way the Princess had gone. So she followed Anna without a word.
+The Knights' Hall was the largest room Greta had ever seen. The walls
+were covered with hangings whose colored threads were woven in such a
+way as to show scenes from Danish history. Greta thought she would like
+to study history if she could learn it from pictures like these instead
+of from textbooks. While she was looking at one of the hangings in a far
+corner of the room, Anna grabbed her arm.
+
+"There they go, Greta. Don't you want to follow them?"
+
+Then Greta remembered that Princess Ingrid was here in the castle. How
+could she have forgotten? She and Anna and Tante Elsie left the Knights'
+Hall and entered the long series of drawing-rooms that filled one wing
+of Frederiksborg. Greta scarcely looked at the paintings that hung on
+every wall. She wanted to see a real live princess, not a painted lady
+in a golden frame. They walked slowly through room after room, but not a
+glimpse of the Princess did they get.
+
+"I guess Princess Ingrid and her sister have left the castle," said
+Greta, in an unhappy tone. She was ready now to leave it herself, for it
+held no further interest for her.
+
+"Now for the most wonderful room of all," said Anna, after they had gone
+through all the drawing-rooms. She almost had to drag Greta to the
+chapel, which formed an important part of the castle itself. When the
+royal family lived at Frederiksborg, services were held here every
+Sunday. This chapel was really as large as a church. As they came in,
+the organist was playing softly, and Greta sat down to listen to the
+music, while Anna and her mother went to look at the paintings which
+were on exhibition in the balcony of the chapel.
+
+Afterwards, Greta never remembered exactly how it happened. She must
+have closed her eyes for a minute in order to enjoy the music
+completely. The first thing she remembered was a soft voice saying, "Are
+you all alone here, my dear?"
+
+When Greta had opened her eyes and recognized the speaker she jumped to
+her feet. "Why, it's the little girl who found my handkerchief the other
+day. How very nice to see you again. When we saw you here asleep, we
+thought you had gotten lost in this great castle."
+
+Greta explained that her aunt and her cousin were up in the balcony.
+Then her eyes shone like stars and her heart almost skipped a beat as
+the lovely Princess Ingrid took a rosebud from the bouquet which she
+carried and held it out to Greta. "Perhaps you would like to wear this
+little flower," she said in her gentle way. Then, with another smile,
+she and the Princess Louise went out of the chapel.
+
+Greta stood like one in a dream. Now she knew how the knights of olden
+times felt when they had been honored by the King. She, little Margrete,
+had a flower from the hands of the Crown Princess of Denmark. All her
+life long she would remember this moment.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XII
+
+CHOUSE IS HOMESICK
+
+
+"Chouse, will you promise to be a _really_ good dog if we take you with
+us?"
+
+Chouse answered Greta by barking three times, which meant, "Yes, I
+will."
+
+Chouse had not been allowed to go with the girls since the evening at
+Tivoli. Greta didn't want to send home any _more_ bad reports about him.
+Even now, she was almost afraid to open her father's letters, for each
+day she expected him to write that he had found a new home for Chouse.
+Sometimes Greta wished that her visit in Copenhagen could go on forever.
+Then she would never have to part with her pet.
+
+"We'll climb up in the Round Tower first of all," said Anna, as she and
+Greta and Chouse started off gaily for a day's wandering. "Then you can
+look over the city and decide what you want to see next."
+
+As they walked through the winding streets of the business district of
+Copenhagen, Anna told Greta the story of the famous Round Tower.
+
+"It was built more than three hundred years ago by King Christian the
+Fourth," she explained. "He wanted to do something that would make the
+people remember him always, so he built this high tower as an
+observatory, where scientists could study the stars."
+
+The Round Tower stood in the very heart of the city. At the time it was
+built it was the tallest building in Copenhagen, but now the Marble
+Church rose high above it.
+
+[Illustration: THE ROUND TOWER]
+
+Just before they reached the tower, Anna surprised Greta by saying,
+"This Tower is over a hundred feet high, but you won't have to climb a
+single step to reach the top."
+
+"But how do we get to the top?"
+
+"You'll see in just a minute, Greta."
+
+"Come, Chouse," called Greta, as the girls reached the door of the Round
+Tower. The dog had started down the street ahead of them. He seemed to
+be looking for something, but he ran back quickly when his little
+mistress called.
+
+Once inside the tower, the children started up a sloping walk that went
+up and up and up. At the same time it went round and round and round,
+like a corkscrew. Every little while Chouse dashed on ahead and then
+came running back, barking joyously.
+
+"This is the funniest tower I have ever seen," said Greta. "Does this
+walk go to the very top?"
+
+"Yes," answered Anna. "They say that a long time ago, when Peter the
+Great, the Czar of Russia, visited Denmark he rode up here on
+horseback, and at another time the Empress Catherine drove her coach and
+four up to the very top of the Round Tower."
+
+[Illustration: THE MARBLE CHURCH, AS SEEN FROM THE TOP OF THE ROUND
+TOWER]
+
+Greta stopped a moment to look at the winding, sloping walk. "I guess
+one really _could_ drive a coach up here. It seems to be wide enough."
+
+From the platform on the top of the tower, the girls could look out over
+the city and the harbor. Wherever they looked, they saw towers and
+spires--on the Parliament Building, on the Stock Exchange, on the
+castles, on the churches. Some of them were gilded and they gleamed
+brightly in the sunshine. Some of them were shiny green, like the dome
+of the Marble Church.
+
+"What is that building whose tower has a crown at the top?" asked Greta.
+
+"That is Christiansborg Castle, where the Parliament meets," explained
+Anna. "Would you like to visit it?"
+
+"Yes. Let's go there next, if it isn't too far away," said Greta.
+
+As they walked to Christiansborg, Anna told Greta a funny story about
+the Round Tower.
+
+"Once upon a time a Norwegian was visiting Copenhagen. The people he
+visited were eager to show him all the wonderful and beautiful things in
+the city. The Norwegians are very proud of their own country, you know,
+and they like to boast about it. When they came to the Round Tower, the
+Danish people said, 'I'm sure you haven't anything like the Round Tower
+in Norway.' The Norwegian looked at it a minute and then answered, 'No,
+but if we had, it would be bigger and rounder.'"
+
+Greta laughed. "But it _couldn't_ be rounder, could it, Anna?"
+
+"No, of course not. If a thing is round, it's round; you can't make it
+more or less round."
+
+When they came to the entrance of Christiansborg, the guard told them
+that dogs were not allowed inside the castle.
+
+"What will we do with him, Greta?" asked Anna.
+
+"He will have to wait here at the door for us," said Greta. Turning to
+the dog she spoke to him very sternly, "Chouse, you must be a good dog
+and stay right here until Anna and I come out."
+
+Chouse barked twice, as if to say, "All right," and then he lay down on
+the floor beside the guard.
+
+"There has been a castle on this spot for eight hundred years," said
+Anna, as they walked through the long hall.
+
+"But this castle looks quite new."
+
+"Oh, there have been three or four castles here. When one burned down,
+they built another one. This one is about forty years old. It was really
+built as a home for the King, but he has never lived here. He likes
+Amalienborg better."
+
+"I think I would, too," said Greta. "These rooms are so large and the
+ceilings are so high that it wouldn't seem like a home at all."
+
+[Illustration: CHRISTIANSBORG CASTLE]
+
+In one part of the castle there were two large halls, where the
+Parliament meets. One hall was for the House of Commons and the other
+was for the Upper House. Parliament did not meet during the summer, so
+Greta and Anna were allowed to visit both these stately halls. Greta
+thought they had seen everything in Christiansborg, when Anna suddenly
+announced, "We're going downstairs now, Greta. The most interesting
+part of Christiansborg is under the ground."
+
+They went down a narrow stairway and carefully made their way through a
+dark, underground passage. Soon they came to a scattered heap of stones
+that marked the outlines of an old, old castle.
+
+"This is the very first castle that was built here," explained Anna. "It
+was built by Bishop Absalon in 1167, when Copenhagen was just a little
+fishing village. Here is the old well that has been used for hundreds of
+years," she said as they walked on farther, "and here is a part of the
+Blue Tower where Princess Leonora Christina was kept a prisoner for many
+years."
+
+"Oh, how could they keep anyone in such a terrible dungeon?" asked
+Greta, who shivered at the thought of spending even an hour in this
+gloomy place. "Let's go upstairs, Anna."
+
+"All right," agreed Anna. "I wonder how Chouse and the guard have been
+getting along."
+
+[Illustration: THE MARKET PLACE IN COPENHAGEN]
+
+The guard looked extremely worried when the girls appeared. Chouse was
+nowhere in sight.
+
+"I turned my back for just a minute," he said, "but when I turned around
+again your little dog was gone. He must have run outside, for you can
+see that he isn't here in the entrance hall."
+
+Greta was so upset that she couldn't say a word.
+
+"Come on, Greta. We shall have to go and hunt for him," said the
+practical Anna. "You go in one direction and I'll go in the other, and
+we'll meet here at Christiansborg in one hour."
+
+There wasn't anything for Greta to do but to start looking. There was no
+use in telling Anna that she didn't know one street from another. There
+was no use in saying that she didn't have the faintest idea of where to
+look. Anna had already started in the other direction and Greta heard
+her calling, every now and then, "Here, Chouse. Come, Chouse."
+
+So Greta started off bravely by herself. Christiansborg was built on a
+small island, so she crossed the Marble Bridge to the mainland and began
+walking slowly along the street by the side of the water. The shore was
+lined with fishing boats and on the sidewalk there were hundreds of
+little stands where the women were selling fresh fish which they took
+right out of the boats. Now and then Greta stopped to ask one of them
+if she had seen a little black and white dog. Not a one of them had seen
+him.
+
+[Illustration: FRESH FISH FOR SALE]
+
+[Illustration: WEIGHING A LOAD OF FISH]
+
+Greta decided that Chouse had not come along this street, so she walked
+back to the bridge and started down another street. Soon she came into a
+large open square filled with fruit and vegetable stands. The housewives
+of Copenhagen came here every morning during the summer to get the
+finest of fresh foods. Greta went from one stand to another, asking if
+they had seen her dog. Surely _someone_ had seen him. Finally she came
+to the very last stand, where a pretty girl was selling flowers. By this
+time tears had filled Greta's eyes and there was such a lump in her
+throat that she could hardly speak.
+
+"Why, yes," said the pretty girl. "I did see a little black and white
+dog not very long ago, but I don't know which way he went from here."
+
+Greta smiled happily at this news. At last she was on the right trail.
+She left the market and took one of the narrow, winding streets that led
+through the main business district. Every little while she called,
+"Here, Chouse. Come, Chouse." But no little dog came in answer to her
+call. Maybe she had taken the wrong street after all.
+
+Half blinded with tears she started across one of the large open
+squares. When part way across she saw Chouse trotting down the street
+ahead of her. Greta started to run and almost bumped into a bicycle. She
+was not used to city streets, crowded with bicycles and automobiles. By
+the time she had crossed the square, Chouse had disappeared.
+
+[Illustration: FISHING BOATS CROWD THE CANALS]
+
+Greta was tired and hungry, but she didn't stop to think about that. She
+was very much afraid that she couldn't find her way back to
+Christiansborg, but she didn't dare to think about that. Chouse was
+somewhere on the street in front of her, and she must find him. So the
+little girl kept on walking. The street had many curves, like all the
+older streets in Copenhagen. In some places the sidewalk was so narrow
+that Greta had to step out in the street to pass the people who stood
+looking in the shop windows.
+
+Suddenly a terrible fear came over Greta. What if she _never_ found
+Chouse? But she simply _must_ find him--and keep him. She knew now just
+how dear he was to her. As she walked along, the tears which filled her
+eyes spilled over on her cheeks. She had never been in this part of the
+city before, and now she was lost just as completely as Chouse was. Oh,
+if only she could find him, nothing else would matter. In some way she
+would get back to Christiansborg and Anna. In some way she would
+persuade her father not to send Chouse away. She looked at her watch.
+Goodness, she had already been walking an hour and a half! Anna would be
+worried about her. But Greta felt that she must keep on looking for
+her dog. She knew now that she was on the right street, at least.
+
+[Illustration: SAILBOATS IN THE HEART OF COPENHAGEN]
+
+Suddenly Greta came into a large open square that seemed familiar. She
+stopped a minute to look around. Maybe she wasn't really lost, after
+all. What was that large building over to the left? Then the tears
+stopped and her face broke into a happy smile. Why, it was the railroad
+station, where she had first come into Copenhagen. She lost all her
+fears about being lost, but a great wave of homesickness came over the
+little girl. Without quite knowing why, she crossed the busy square and
+went into the station.
+
+She would sit down in the station and rest a little bit before going on
+with her search. Just as she found a seat on one of the long benches a
+familiar little black and white figure caught her eye. Tired as she was,
+Greta ran down the long station. Everyone turned to watch the excited
+little girl who was running so desperately. At last she reached him, and
+it really was her beloved Chouse.
+
+[Illustration: A BUSY SQUARE IN COPENHAGEN]
+
+He jumped up at her and barked joyously. "Oh, Chouse, _why_ did you run
+away?" Greta took him in her arms and hugged him close. Then all of a
+sudden she understood why he had gone away. Right in front of her was
+the gate to the very train that she would take back home. Chouse was
+homesick, too. That was why he had come straight to the railroad
+station.
+
+"Everything is all right, Chouse. We will be going home soon," said
+Greta, as a single happy tear fell on his black and white fur.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIII
+
+"GOODBYE"
+
+
+That evening at dinner the two girls told all about their adventures.
+
+"How did you finally get back to Christiansborg, Greta?" asked her aunt.
+
+"I asked a policeman to show me the way, and he was kind enough to go
+all the way back there with me. I don't think I could ever have found it
+by myself."
+
+"Oh, Greta, I almost forgot," said her aunt. "Here is a letter that came
+for you today."
+
+It was a letter from Hans, and Greta opened it eagerly.
+
+     _"Dear Greta:_
+
+     _I have some very good news for you. Father has decided that you
+     may keep Chouse after all. He found that it was the rabbits, and
+     not Chouse, who had been killing the chickens. Every time we saw
+     Chouse running after chickens he was really trying to get the
+     rabbits._
+
+     _We all miss you, Greta, and I think the kittens miss you as much
+     as we do. They are getting so fat that you won't know them unless
+     you come home pretty soon. Give Chouse three pats for me._
+
+                                             _Your loving brother,
+                                                               Hans."_
+
+Greta showed the letter to Anna, saying, "I think it's time for me to go
+home, Anna. The kittens need me, and you can see that Chouse is very
+homesick."
+
+"I'm afraid that Chouse isn't the only one who is homesick," teased
+Tante Elsie. "But we do understand, Greta. We want you to stay as long
+as you can, but if you should be at home with your pets, then you do
+what you think is best."
+
+[Illustration: GRETA AND ANNA]
+
+"Thank you, Tante Elsie. You have all been so wonderful to me and you
+have given me such a very good time. I shall never forget it."
+
+Greta decided that she would go home the next day, so her uncle sent a
+telegram to her father. Anna helped her to pack, while Chouse stood by
+and watched.
+
+"Of course it is really Chouse who is homesick, Anna," insisted Greta.
+"I could stay away all summer."
+
+"Certainly you could," agreed Anna. "But I expect the kittens really do
+need you to look after them."
+
+When Anna and Tante Elsie put Greta on the train the next day she was
+very brave. She had never before been on the train by herself, but she
+was not going to let anyone know that she was just a wee bit frightened.
+After all, Chouse was with her, and this time he would not get away from
+her. He seemed just as happy as she was to be going back home.
+
+Greta kissed Anna and Tante Elsie goodbye. "This has been such a lovely
+summer," she said. "I hope Anna can come to visit me again next
+summer."
+
+"And we want you to come back to Copenhagen next year," said Anna.
+
+Greta waved to them until she could no longer see their handkerchiefs
+waving to her in answer. Then she leaned back in her seat, with Chouse
+on her lap.
+
+"Chouse, this _has_ been the grandest summer we have ever had," said
+Greta, giving her pet a loving hug. Then she took a withered rosebud
+from her purse and looked at it dreamily. "And I know that I am the
+happiest girl in all Denmark."
+
+
+
+
+Transcriber's Note
+
+
+Punctuation and formatting markup have been normalized.
+
+"_" surrounding text represents italics.
+
+Apparent printer's errors have been retained, unless stated below.
+
+Page 136, "It's" changed to "Its". (Its real name is Frederick's Church,
+because it was built by King Frederick the Fifth.)
+
+
+
+
+
+End of Project Gutenberg's Little Greta of Denmark, by Bernadine Bailey
+
+*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 40647 ***