The Wonderful Adventures of Nils | Page 2

trap. "There they go
congratulating themselves, I suppose, in the belief that they've hit upon
something so good that I'll be forced to sit and hang over the sermon
the whole time that they are away," thought he.
But his father and mother were certainly not congratulating themselves
upon anything of the sort; but, on the contrary, they were very much
distressed. They were poor farmers, and their place was not much
bigger than a garden-plot. When they first moved there, the place
couldn't feed more than one pig and a pair of chickens; but they were
uncommonly industrious and capable folk--and now they had both
cows and geese. Things had turned out very well for them; and they
would have gone to church that beautiful morning--satisfied and
happy--if they hadn't had their son to think of. Father complained that
he was dull and lazy; he had not cared to learn anything at school, and
he was such an all-round good-for-nothing, that he could barely be
made to tend geese. Mother did not deny that this was true; but she was
most distressed because he was wild and bad; cruel to animals, and
ill-willed toward human beings. "May God soften his hard heart, and
give him a better disposition!" said the mother, "or else he will be a
misfortune, both to himself and to us."

The boy stood for a long time and pondered whether he should read the
service or not. Finally, he came to the conclusion that, this time, it was
best to be obedient. He seated himself in the easy chair, and began to
read. But when he had been rattling away in an undertone for a little
while, this mumbling seemed to have a soothing effect upon him--and
he began to nod.
It was the most beautiful weather outside! It was only the twentieth of
March; but the boy lived in West Vemminghög Township, down in
Southern Skane, where the spring was already in full swing. It was not
as yet green, but it was fresh and budding. There was water in all the
trenches, and the colt's-foot on the edge of the ditch was in bloom. All
the weeds that grew in among the stones were brown and shiny. The
beech-woods in the distance seemed to swell and grow thicker with
every second. The skies were high--and a clear blue. The cottage door
stood ajar, and the lark's trill could be heard in the room. The hens and
geese pattered about in the yard, and the cows, who felt the spring air
away in their stalls, lowed their approval every now and then.
The boy read and nodded and fought against drowsiness. "No! I don't
want to fall asleep," thought he, "for then I'll not get through with this
thing the whole forenoon."
But--somehow--he fell asleep.
He did not know whether he had slept a short while, or a long while;
but he was awakened by hearing a slight noise back of him.
On the window-sill, facing the boy, stood a small looking-glass; and
almost the entire cottage could be seen in this. As the boy raised his
head, he happened to look in the glass; and then he saw that the cover
to his mother's chest had been opened.
His mother owned a great, heavy, iron-bound oak chest, which she
permitted no one but herself to open. Here she treasured all the things
she had inherited from her mother, and of these she was especially
careful. Here lay a couple of old-time peasant dresses, of red homespun
cloth, with short bodice and plaited shirt, and a pearl-bedecked breast
pin. There were starched white-linen head-dresses, and heavy silver
ornaments and chains. Folks don't care to go about dressed like that in
these days, and several times his mother had thought of getting rid of
the old things; but somehow, she hadn't had the heart to do it.
Now the boy saw distinctly--in the glass--that the chest-lid was open.

He could not understand how this had happened, for his mother had
closed the chest before she went away. She never would have left that
precious chest open when he was at home, alone.
He became low-spirited and apprehensive. He was afraid that a thief
had sneaked his way into the cottage. He didn't dare to move; but sat
still and stared into the looking-glass.
While he sat there and waited for the thief to make his appearance, he
began to wonder what that dark shadow was which fell across the edge
of the chest. He looked and looked--and did not want to believe his
eyes. But the thing, which at first seemed shadowy, became more and
more clear to him; and soon he saw that it was something real. It was
no less a thing than an elf