ne of them with such a
feeble voice that he was scarcely heard. "To that land where there is
neither sorrow nor sickness," answered the boy. "Take us along with
you!" said the sick ones. "Not this year," answered the boy. "Not this
year."

When they had travelled still farther on, they came to Huskvarna. It lay
in a valley. The mountains around it were steep and beautifully formed.
A river rushed along the heights in long and narrow falls. Big workshops
and factories lay below the mountain walls; and scattered over the
valley-bottom were the workingmens' homes, encircled by little gardens;
and in the centre of the valley lay the schoolhouse. Just as the wild
geese came along, a bell rang, and a crowd of school children marched
out in line. They were so numerous that the whole schoolyard was filled
with them. "Where are you going? Where are you going?" the children
shouted when they heard the wild geese. "Where there are neither books
nor lessons to be found," answered the boy. "Take us along!" shrieked
the children. "Not this year, but next," cried the boy. "Not this year,
but next."

THE BIG BIRD LAKE

JARRO, THE WILD DUCK

On the eastern shore of Vettern lies Mount Omberg; east of Omberg lies
Dagmosse; east of Dagmosse lies Lake Takern. Around the whole of Takern
spreads the big, even Oestergoeta plain.

Takern is a pretty large lake and in olden times it must have been still
larger. But then the people thought it covered entirely too much of the
fertile plain, so they attempted to drain the water from it, that they
might sow and reap on the lake-bottom. But they did not succeed in
laying waste the entire lake--which had evidently been their
intention--therefore it still hides a lot of land. Since the draining
the lake has become so shallow that hardly at any point is it more than
a couple of metres deep. The shores have become marshy and muddy; and
out in the lake, little mud-islets stick up above the water's surface.

Now, there is one who loves to stand with his feet in the water, if he
can just keep his body and head in the air, and that is the reed. And it
cannot find a better place to grow upon, than the long, shallow Takern
shores, and around the little mud-islets. It thrives so well that it
grows taller than a man's height, and so thick that it is almost
impossible to push a boat through it. It forms a broad green enclosure
around the whole lake, so that it is only accessible in a few places
where