“ The favorite hero of most Norwegian fairy tales is called "Askeladen," a sort of male "Cinderella" and is always the youngest son of the family.
There is beauty in the forest, When the trees are green and fair; There is beauty in the meadow, Where wild flowers scent the air; There is beauty in the sunlight, And the soft, blue beam above: Oh, the world is full of beauty When the heart is full of love! ”

“ The granite rocks disorganize, And feed the hungry moss they bear; The forest leaves drink daily life, From out the viewless air.
There is no death! The leaves may fall, And flowers may fade and pass away; They only wait through wintry hours, The coming of the May.
There is no death! An angel form Walks o'er the earth with silent tread; He bears our best loved things away ”

“ Far, far away in a lake lies an island,—on that island stands a church,—in that church there is a well,—in that well swims a duck,—in that duck there is an egg,—and in the egg—well, there is my heart. ”

“ Notwithstanding the little man's ill-temper, the girls gave themselves all imaginable trouble, in order to release the dwarf, but in vain—the beard was held too fast.
"I will run and call somebody else," said Rosy-red. "Idiot," replied the dwarf, "who would go and fetch more people? here are already two too many; can you not think of anything better?" "Do not be impatient," said Snow-white, "I will try and consider." Clapping her hands, as if she had found a remedy, she took out her scissors, and instantly released the dwarf by cutting off the end of his beard. ”

“ But wherever party spirit shall strain the ancient guarantees of Freedom, or bigotry and ignorance shall lay their fatal hands upon education, or the ignorance of caste shall strike at equal rights, or corruption shall poison the very springs of national life, there, Minutemen of Liberty are your Lexington-Green and Concord-Bridge, and as you love your country and your kind, and would have your children rise up and call you blessed, spare not the enemy! Over the hills, out of the earth, down from the clouds pour in resistless might. ”

“ I've longed for courage, just to dare Dress softly—then trip down the stair, And in the parlor pop my head With "No, I will not stay a-bed!"
I'll do it yet, all quick and bold, No matter how our Bet may scold, For oh! I'm sure it can't be right To keep me here each dismal night, Half scared by shadows grimly tall That dance along the cheerless wall Or by the wind, with fingers chill, Shaking the worn-out window sill— One might as well be sick, or dead, As sent, by eight o'clock, to bed!
[Pg 245]
THERE IS NO DEATH.
LORD LYTTON.
There is no death! ”

“ So the merry brown thrush sings away in the tree, To you and to me, to you and to me; And he sings all the day, little girl, little boy, "Oh, the world's running over with joy! But long it won't be, Don't you know? Don't you see? Unless we are as good as can be." ”

“ Gone! gone for ever!—like a rushing wave Another year has burst upon the shore Of earthly being—and its last low tones, Wandering in broken accents on the air, Are dying to an echo.
The gay Spring With its young charms, has gone—gone with its leaves— Its atmosphere of roses, its white clouds Slumbering like seraphs in the air—its birds Telling their loves in music—and its streams Leaping and shouting from the up-piled rocks To make earth echo with the joy of waves. ”

“ I have a stepmother who has bewitched me, and I am now a white bear by day and a man by night. But now all is over between us, and I must leave you and go back to her; she lives in a castle which lies east of the sun and west of the moon, and in the same castle there is a princess with a nose two yards long, and now I must marry her. ”

“ I have walked the world for four score years, And they say that I am old— That my heart is ripe for the reaper, Death, And my years are well-nigh told. It is very true—it is very true— I am old, and I "bide my time;" ”

“ One day she wished to go into the wood, to fetch some provision; so she called them all together, and said, "My dear children, I am going into the wood; but while I am gone, pray take care of the wolf; if he comes in here he will devour you, skin and all. He often disguises himself; but you will always be able to know him by his gruff voice and black feet." The little kids replied, "Mother, dear, you may go without any fear, for we will take all possible care of ourselves." So the old goat bleated, to express her satisfaction, and went away without mistrust. ”

“ Great in life, he was surpassingly great in death. For no cause, in the very frenzy of wantonness and wickedness, by the red hand of murder, he was thrust from the full tide of this world's interest, from its hopes, its aspirations, its victories, into the visible presence of death—and he did not quail. ”

“ I am willing to die when my time shall come, And I shall be glad to go— For the world, at best, is a dreary place, And my pulse is getting low; But the grave is dark, and the heart will fail In treading its gloomy way ”

“ Not a bird of the forest e'er mates with him, All mock him outright by day; But at night, when the woods grow still and dim, The boldest will shrink away; O, when the night falls, and roosts the fowl, Then, then, is the reign of the horned owl. ”

“ Over my heart in the days that are flown, No love like mother-love ever has shown; No other worship abides and endures,— Faithful, unselfish, and patient like yours; None like a mother can charm away pain From the sick soul and the world-weary brain. Slumber's soft calms o'er my heavy lids creep ”

“ Can you not come and see if you can help me?" "What have you been doing, little man?" asked Rosy-red. "Silly inquisitive goose:" answered the dwarf, "I wanted to split the tree that I might chop it into sticks for the kitchen; thick logs would burn up the small portion of food we cook, for we do not swallow great mountains of provisions, as you coarse greedy folks do. I have driven in the wedge, and should soon have done what I wanted, but the tool sprang out of the split, which closed again so quickly, that my beautiful white beard was caught, and here I am detained for I cannot get away." ”

“ To the well behind the hedgerow Trot the little lad and maiden; From the well behind the hedgerow Now the little pail is laden.
How they please me! how they tempt me! Shall I snatch them up to-night? Snatch them, set them here forever, In the middle of my light?
Children, ay, and children's children Should behold my babes on high, And my babes should smile forever, Calling others to the sky?" [Pg 64]
Thus the philosophic Moon-man Muttered many years ago, Set the babes with pole and bucket, To delight the folks below.
Never is the bucket empty, Never are the children old ”

“ Don't crowd; the world is large enough For you as well as me; The doors of all are open wide— The realm of thought is free. In all earth's places you are right To chase the best you can— Provided that you do not try To crowd some other man. ”

“ To-morrow when twilight creeps Along the hill to the old church-yard, O'er the grave where mother sleeps, When the dusky shadows gather, They'll lay your boy in his grave, For nearly betraying the country He would give his life to save. ”

“ One day, when passing by a bush, a dwarf popped out of it, and [Pg 236] accosted him, saying, "Whither away my merry fellow? I see your load of cares is not heavy to bear."
"Why should I be melancholy?" answered Fritz; "I have plenty of money; I have my three years' earnings safe in my pocket."
"How much may your treasure be?" said the dwarf. "How much? Three whole farthings," replied Fritz. "I wish you would give them to me," said the other; "I am very poor and needy, and can earn nothing; but you are young, and can easily work for your bread." ”

“ And oh! frost and snow lay on the ground, but Spottie nestled and revelled in his hay.
"If you refuse to sell the lamb, you quit my cottage," this was the threat the angered squire sent them.
"The lad simply defies me—it is not the first ill turn he has played me," so he reasoned in his blindness and loftiness, while poor Jep's heart was well-nigh breaking. Still he never flinched or yielded, but locked the innocent lamb into the outhouse, and carried the key in his pocket. ”

“ What a strange waywardness is in the half of us, to find amusement in that which is another's suffering! When at last master Ru let his prisoner out, with much ado, pretended or real, the sun was past its meridian, and the sheep—ah! the sheep—one, two, many of them were beyond the shepherd's tending and doctoring.
"They must e'en die," said he before sundown, with tears in his eyes—and that night Jep wept in the dewy orchard, one hand in wee Margaret's, the other stroking Spottie, with a sore smarting back and the squire's angry dismissal making his heart equally sore and smarting. ”

“ Don't crowd the good from out your heart By fostering all that's bad, But give to every virtue room— The best that may be had: To each day's record such a one That you might well be proud: Give each his right—give each his room, And never try to crowd. ”

“ The morning found Troy in ashes, her wealth in the hands of the Greeks, and her inhabitants dead or in slavery.
Priam was slain at his own family altar, and the beautiful but perfidious Helen, the cause of so much bloodshed and misery, the cause of the overthrow of one of the greatest cities of ancient times, was taken captive by her former people.
Think for thyself—one good idea, But known to be thine own, Is better than a thousand gleaned From fields by others sown. ”

“ That he who smites the summer weed, May trust Thee for the autumn corn.
Give fools their gold, and knaves their power; Let fortune's bubbles rise and fall; Who sows a field, or trains a flower, Or plants a tree, is more than all. ”

“ On the following morning when the wild ducks rose and saw their new comrade, they said: "What sort of a creature are you?" Upon which the duckling greeted them all round as civilly as he knew how.
"You are remarkably ugly," observed the wild ducks, "but we don't care about that so long as you do not want to marry into our family." Poor, forlorn creature! He had truly no such thoughts in his head. All he wanted was to obtain leave to lie among the rushes, and drink a little of the marsh water. ”

“ The anger and sorrow of the old goat can scarcely be described; but at length she became calmer, and taking her kid with her, resolved to seek her enemy. When she arrived at the meadow, she discovered him under the tree, snoring so loudly that the twigs trembled. She examined him on all sides, and saw that something was moving and jumping inside him. "Can it be possible," said she, "that my poor children whom the monster has swallowed for his supper, are still alive?" Full of hope, she sent her kid quickly home for scissors, needle and thread, and upon her return ripped the wolf up ”

“ From the heights a view was now and then obtained between the lofty pine and fir trees of the valley below, with its smiling fields and variegated woods of birch and alder trees, between which the river wound like a narrow silvery streak. The red-painted farm-houses, peculiar to Norway, lay picturesquely scattered on the higher points of the undulating valley where men and women were busy hay-making. From some chimneys rose [Pg 69] columns of blue smoke, which appeared quite light against the dark back-ground of thickly studded pine forests on the mountain slopes. ”

“ Mrs. Cratchit made the gravy (ready beforehand in a little saucepan) hissing hot; master Peter mashed the potatoes with wonderful vigor; Miss Belinda sweetened the apple-sauce; Martha dusted the hot plates; Bob took Tiny Tim beside him in a tiny corner at the table; the two young Cratchits set chairs for everybody, not forgetting themselves, and mounting guard, upon their posts, crammed spoons into their mouths, lest they should shriek for goose before their turn came to be helped. ”