l the others joined in. If he had only laughed himself, I
don't believe it would have seemed so funny--but he was as solemn as an
owl.

"Stop laughing instantly." He struck the table with his ruler so that
the room rang. We quieted down at once except for a hiccough here and
there, but the worst of it was that Mr. Gorrisen stared only at me. I
fixed my eyes on an old map on the wall and thought of all the saddest
things I could, but it was of no use. My laughter burst out again; I was
so full of it that it just bubbled over.

Mr. Gorrisen swayed back and forth in his chair as usual as if to show
how perfectly unembarrassed he was. But suddenly--true as Gospel--if he
didn't almost tip over again! He clutched frantically at the table, gave
a guilty glance at me. "Ha, ha! Ha, ha!" I could hear my own laughter
above all the rest.

Mr. Gorrisen was up in a trice, and I was hurried out of the door so
quickly that, almost before I knew it, I stood out in the cold hall. I
nearly froze, it was so bitterly cold there; for it was nearly Christmas
time, you see.

I opened the door a tiny bit just far enough to put my nose through the
crack.

"Mr. Gorrisen."

"Well?"

"It's so cold out here. I won't laugh any more."

"Very well. Come in."

And so I went in again. At recess they all said they wondered how I ever
dared ask Mr. Gorrisen to let me come in from the hall.

"Pooh!" said I. "I dare do anything with Mr. Gorrisen."

"Oh-h! you don't either! Far from it!"

"Well, I'd really dare pretty nearly anything. I'm not afraid of him."

"Would you dare sing right out loud in his class?" asked Karen.

"Pooh! that wouldn't be anything much to do," said Minka. Then they all
began to tease me.

"Fie, for shame! She is so brave and yet she does not dare to do such a
little thing as that!"

"You shall see whether I dare or not," I said. And, would you believe
it? I did sing aloud one time in Mr. Gorrisen's geography class.

It was several days after he had tipped over. I had been watching my
chance in all his classes, but somehow it didn't seem to come. One day,
however, I was just in the humor, and in the midst of the silence, while
Mr. Gorrisen sat and wrote down marks in the record book, I sang out at
the top of my voice:

"'Sons of Norway, that ancient kingdom'"--

I did not once glance at Mr. Gorrisen but looked around at all the
others who lay over their desks and laughed till they choked. And I sang
on: