t, crowding close about her.

[Illustration: "'And Freya came from Asgard in her chariot drawn by two
cats'"--_Page_ 4]

"Hi!" called Nils, "where is Mother Elle? See what Thorolf and I have
got!"

The children scrambled to their feet and gazed with round eyes, their
small hungry teeth munching their morsels of hard bread. Nikolina
plucked a bunch of grass for Snow, the foremost cow, and patted her
as she ate it.

"The little ones were so tired and hungry," she said, "that Mother Elle
said they might have their supper now, while she and Olof and Anders
went on to the saeter. This is wonderful! She was saying only this
morning that she feared all the cattle were dead or stolen."

Within an hour they came in sight of the log huts with turf-covered
roofs that sloped almost to the ground in the rear. A broad plain
stretched away beyond, and the new grass was of that vivid green to be
found in places which deep snow makes pure. Hills enclosed it, and
beyond, a gleaming network of lake and stream ended in range above range
of blue and silver peaks. The clear invigorating air was like some
unearthly wine. The cows at the scent of fresh pasture moved more
briskly; the pony tossed his head and whinnied. Not far from the
cottages there came to meet them a little old woman, dark and wiry, with
bright searching eyes. Her face was wrinkled all over in fine soft
lines, but her hair was hardly gray at all. She wore a pointed hood and
girdled tunic of tanned reindeer hide, with leggings and shoes of the
same. A blanket about her shoulders was draped into a kind of pouch, in
which she carried on her back a tow-headed, solemn-eyed baby.

"Welcome to you, Thorolf Erlandsson," she said, just as if she had been
expecting him. "With this good milk we shall fare like the King."

No king, truly, could have supped on food more delicious than that
enjoyed by Nils and Thorolf on this first night in the saeter. It is
strange but true that the most exquisite delights are those that money
cannot buy. No man can taste cold spring water and barley bread in
absolute perfection who has not paid the poor man's price--hard work and
keen hunger.

When Nikolina, Karen and Lovisa came up with the smaller children the
place had already an inhabited, homelike look. There was even a wise old
raven, almost as large as a gander, whom Nils had christened Munin,
after Odin's bird. The little ones had all the new milk they could drink
from their wooden bow