Part 7 (1/2)
[Ill.u.s.tration: ALONG THE Sh.o.r.e OF THE NORTH SEA]
”Look, Greta, at the two little patches of green gra.s.s 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. They are the graves of Vikings.”
”But I thought that the Vikings lived more than a thousand years ago,”
interrupted Anna.
”Yes, they did. 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 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. May we, Father?”
”Yes, if you want to.”
It didn't take Greta and Anna long to climb the narrow, winding stairs.
From the top of the lighthouse they could see for many miles over the ocean and over the land. Heavy waves beat upon the beach, and even as they looked, the sand hills kept s.h.i.+fting, for the wind from the North Sea was very strong. Not far away was the harbor, and in its quiet waters some of the fishermen had fastened their sailboats. Near by they had hung up their nets to dry. Each net was carefully spread over a rope that was fastened to stakes in the ground. Other fis.h.i.+ng boats, with sails full spread, were far out at sea.
[Ill.u.s.tration: THERE ARE MANY BOATS IN THE HARBOR]
”Anna, do you see those people way down the beach? I wonder what they are looking for.” Greta pointed to two women who were evidently searching for something along the sh.o.r.e.
”I haven't any idea. Shall we go help them with their search? Look, Greta. Your father is motioning to us to come down. I think Chouse wants us, too.”
Greta's father had to go on to the next village, but he told the girls that they could stay here until he came back.
”Chouse will take good care of you while I'm gone,” he said, ”that is, if he doesn't run off and get into some kind of mischief himself.”
Greta and Anna were curious about the women they had seen down the beach, so they decided to join them. With Chouse jumping and barking at their heels, they ran along the water's edge. The tide was coming in, and every now and then a large wave almost caught them. As they went farther from the harbor, they found more and more sand dunes: gently rolling hills with long blades of gra.s.s poking up here and there through the sand. Along this part of the beach there were many summer cottages, with fences around them to keep the sand from covering them completely.
[Ill.u.s.tration: ALMOST EVERY FARM HAS ITS WINDMILL]
”Have you lost something?” asked Anna as they came near the two women.
”We'll be glad to help you look for it.”
”No, we haven't lost anything,” answered one of the women. ”We thought we might find some amber along the beach.”
”Amber?” asked Greta in surprise. ”I didn't know it was found here.”
”Oh, certainly. We have often found some very fine pieces of amber on this very beach.”
”Is amber a stone?” asked Greta. ”Of course I know what it looks like, but what is it made of?”
”It has taken thousands of years to form the lovely clear yellow material that we call amber,” explained the second woman. ”It was once the sticky, yellowish fluid given off by the pine trees. As time went by, those trees were buried under the ground or under the water. The sticky fluid gradually became hard as stone. It is those stone-like pieces that we sometimes dig up along the beach of the North Sea.”
[Ill.u.s.tration: CHOUSE LIKES TO PLAY]