In general, wherever I, as translator or editor, have varied from the original, I have done so to make the stories as directly appealing, as delightful, and as profitable as possible, for our boys and girls.
THE PRINCESS LINDAGULL 39 CHAPTER I. The Palace of Shah Nadir 39 CHAPTER II. The Arena 48 CHAPTER III. The Captivity 58 CHAPTER IV. The Release 72
ANTON'S ERRAND, OR THE BOY WHO MADE FRIENDS BY THE WAY 138
It was a life-and-death race (Page 126) _Frontispiece_
"Good-day, Knut Spelevink," said the Snow King 24
The pine-tree raised itself high in air 32
Since Shah Nadir could refuse her nothing, he granted her request 46
Lindagull stepped forth in the clear day 70
Out of the mist arose a slender figure 80
"Oh, ho!" exclaimed Sikku, recognizing her as the troll woman 90
On the back of the reindeer with golden horns 126
The lizard lay perfectly still, listening 146
"Turn back, turn back," said the dove 158
The Mayor was overwhelmed with wonder 172
Nina stood with arms around her little brother 178
Klaus brought forth his only treasure 196
Knut was a poor orphan boy who lived with his grandmother at Perlebank in a little hut on the shore.
He had a shirt, a jacket, a pair of trousers and a cap; and what more does one need in summer? In winter he had woolen stockings and birch-bark shoes. That wasn't so little, after all. He was cheerful,--always happy indeed, though always hungry. It is a great art to know how to be happy and hungry at the same time!
His good grandmother was so poor that she seldom had enough food for the boy to eat all he wanted. She spun woolen yarn and sent Knut with it to Mr. Peterman's grand estate, The Ridge, several miles away, where he could always sell the yarn. When Knut returned with the money, Grandmother would buy flour and bake bread. She made it in big flat cakes with a hole in the middle, strung these cakes on a stick and hung the stick high up in the hut where the cakes would dry and harden, and could be kept for a long time. If the yarn brought a good price, she might even buy some sour milk, too. Potatoes they got from a tiny fenced-in field, no larger than the floor of a small room. Then, too, Grandmother owned a fish-net, so they had fresh fish sometimes,--when Fisher Jonas's boy could help Knut to put out the net.