Gerda in Sweden | Page 3

although no
one but Odin was ever allowed to take the lofty seat, Frey mounted the
steps and sat upon the All-father's throne.
"He looked out over Asgard, shining in the morning light, and saw the
gods busy about their daily tasks. He gazed down upon the earth, with
its rugged mountains and raging seas, and saw men hurrying this way
and that, like tiny ants rushing out of their hills.
"Last of all he turned his eyes toward distant Jötunheim, the dark,
forbidding home of the frost giants; but in that gloomy land of ice and
snow he could see no bright nor beautiful thing. Great black cliffs stood
like sentinels along the coast, dark clouds hung over the hills, and cold
winds swept through the valleys.
"At the foot of one of the hills stood a barren and desolate dwelling,
alone in all that dark land of winter; and as Frey gazed, a maiden came
slowly through the valley and mounted the steps to the entrance of the
house.
"Then, as she raised her arms to open the door, suddenly the sky, and
sea, and all the earth were flooded with a bright light, and Frey saw that

she was the most beautiful maiden in the whole world."
* * * * *
Kerstin looked up at her husband and spoke quickly. "That is like the
coming of our two babies," she said. "In the days of ice and snow they
brought light and gladness to our hearts. Let us call the sweet daughter
'Gerda' after the goddess of sunshine and happiness."
So the two babies were named at last. When the children of the
neighborhood heard of it, they flocked to the house with their hands
full of gifts, dancing round and round the cradle and singing a merry
song that made the rafters ring. The wheels of thin Swedish bread that
hung over the stove shook on their pole, the tall clock ticked louder
than ever, and the twins opened their blue eyes and smiled their
sweetest smile at so much happiness.
But they were not very strong babies, so Anders Ekman went off to his
work in Stockholm and left them in Dalarne with their mother and
grandmother, hoping that the good country air would make them plump
and sturdy.
Dalarne, or the Dales, is the loveliest part of all Sweden, and the
Ekman farm lay on the shore of a lake so beautiful that it is often called
the "Eye of Dalarne."
It was in the Dales that Gerda and little Birger outgrew their cradle and
their baby clothes, and became the sturdy children their father longed to
have them.
When they were seven years old their mother took them to live in
Stockholm; but with each new summer they hurried away from the city
with its schools and lessons, to spend the long vacation at the farm.
"Gerda and Birger are here!" they would cry, opening the door and
running into the living-room to find their grandmother.
"Gerda and Birger are here!" The news always ran through the

neighborhood in a twinkling, and from far and near the boys and girls
flocked down the road to bid them welcome.
"Ger-da! Ger-da!" the old clock in the corner ticked patiently, just as it
had been ticking for eleven long years. But who could listen to it now?
There were flowers and berries to pick, chickens to feed, and games to
play, through all the long summer days in Dalarne. Surely, Gerda and
Birger had no time to listen to the clock.
CHAPTER II
THE SURPRISE BOX
All day long the gentle breezes blowing through the city streets, and the
bright sun shining on the sparkling water of Lake Mälar, called to the
children that spring had come in Stockholm.
Great cakes of ice went floating through the arches of the bridge across
the Norrström, and gray gulls, sailing up from the bay, darted down to
the swirling water to find dainty morsels for their dinner.
The little steamers which had been lying idly at the quays all winter
were being scraped and painted, and made ready for their summer's
work; children were playing in the parks; throngs of people filled the
streets;--spring was in the air!
But in the Ekman household Gerda and Birger had been as busy as bees
all day, with no thought for the dancing blue water and the shining blue
sky. Their tongues had flown fast, their fingers faster; they had hunted
up old clothes, old books, old games; and had added one package after
another to the contents of a big box that stood in the corner of the
pleasant living-room.
"Perhaps I can finish this needle-book, if I hurry," said Gerda, drawing
her chair up to the window to catch