finished the job before the middle of the day; but, when
it got late on in the afternoon and the sun gave notice as he sank
behind the western cliff that the evening was drawing nigh, there was
still much to finish; and so, much to the elder brother's chagrin, the
task had to be abandoned for the day in an incomplete state.

"Never mind," he said to Eric--when, putting their spades and other
tools into the wheelbarrow, they trundled it homeward in turn, like as
their friends the penguins practised their domestic duties--"we'll get
it done by to-morrow, if we only stick to it."

"I'm sure I will do my best, brother," responded Eric; "but, really, I
do hate digging. The man who invented that horrible thing, a spade,
ought to be keel-hauled; that's how I would serve him!"

"Is that anything like what the penguins did to you this morning?" asked
Fritz with a chuckle.

"Pretty much the same," said Eric, grinning at the allusion. "I declare
I had almost forgotten all about that! However, I'll now go and get a
change of clothes, and have a bath in the sea before sitting down
comfortably to our evening meal;" and, anxious to carry out this resolve
at once, the lad set off running towards the hut with the wheelbarrow
before him, he having the last turn of the little vehicle.

"There never was so impetuous a fellow as Eric," Fritz said to himself,
seeing the lad start off in this fashion. "Himmel, he is a regular
young scatter-brain, as old Lorischen used to call him!"

"Pray be quick about your bath," he called out after him. "I will get
the coffee ready by the time you come back."

"Good!" shouted Eric in return. "Mind and make it strong too; for, I'm
sure I shall want something to sustain me after all my exertions!"

The day terminated without any further incident; although the wind
having calmed down, the young fellows heard the penguins much more
plainly through the night than previously. Still, this did not much
affect their rest; for in the morning they turned out fresh and hearty
for another day's experience of gardening.

But, again, they were unable to finish the plot of land properly on this
second day, to Fritz's satisfaction, so as to begin planting their
seeds. The ground was so hard and there were such numbers of roots and
weeds to remove from the soil, that it took them up to the middle of the
afternoon of the third day ere their little plot could be said to be
clear of all extraneous matter. The