Bernadine Bailey

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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, [Pg 94] peonies, iris, pansies, or other brilliant flowers wherever one looked.
"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. ”

“ 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." ”

“ 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. ”

“ As they walked to Christiansborg, Anna told Greta a funny story about the Round Tower. [Pg 171]
"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. ”

“ 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 [Pg 90] 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. ”

“ He always stands on one leg, just like that, when he rests."
"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. [Pg 66]
"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. ”

“ 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." ”

“ 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 [Pg 75] 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. ”

“ 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 [Pg 95] 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. ”

“ 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. [Pg 31]
EVERY HOME HAS ITS GARDEN
"And I'll let her use my new boat, too," added the boy. ”

“ 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. ”

“ A forest fire is a dreadful thing in this part of the country, where the wind from [Pg 56] 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. ”

“ 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. [Pg 172]
"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." ”

“ 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." ”

“ 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 [Pg 150] 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. ”

“ After driving about fifteen miles, they turned off the main road and drove [Pg 153] 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." ”

“ 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?" [Pg 146]
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. ”

“ 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, [Pg 131] Greta? ”

“ 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 [Pg 141] ladies. "Thank you very much, my dear." She and her companion then started down the narrow stairway. ”

“ 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, [Pg 107] it's way too steep a hill to climb on a bicycle." ”

“ Greta threw her arms around her mother's neck. "I must tell Hans right away." And off she dashed, with Chouse at her heels.
[Pg 63]
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. ”

“ 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 [Pg 187] 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ Sometimes he puts [Pg 64] 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." ”

“ 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?" [Pg 15]
"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." ”