a distant roar suddenly made Rosa scream with terror. 'The
waterfall! oh, the waterfall!'

Her father had told her of the great waterfall somewhere on the river.
She must be getting nearer and nearer to it every second. She looked
desperately to the banks; they seemed ever so far away, and the current
was swifter than ever, and looked dreadfully hungry and cruel.

'It will go quicker and quicker,' she thought, 'and the noise will be
louder and louder and louder, and there will be the edge, and then---- '

But Rosa never got any further; there was a jerk and a jar; the logs ran
into something with a bump and Rosa felt herself thrown off them on to
some hard, firm surface. She lay quite still for some time, for the
noise of the waterfall thundered in her ears, and she felt she must hold
on for dear life.

When at last she looked up, to her surprise she found herself on a tiny
beach, lying half in the water. She jumped to her feet, meaning to run
home as fast as she could; but she found that was impossible, for she
was on a little island just a few yards from the edge of the waterfall.

At first she could not think of anything but how glad she was to be on
dry land; but that feeling did not last long. She was soaking wet, and
very hungry; the weather had changed too--it was raining a little, and
the wind sighed through the great forest trees, making them creak and
groan.

All that Rosa could do was to make a poor little supper of a few wild
strawberries and beech-nuts, which grew on her island, rest against a
tree, and try to sleep. She woke early the next morning (for Swedish
summer nights are very short), and after eating some more strawberries
and beech-nuts, ran about in the sunshine to try to get warm.

Suddenly she spied a pair of little black eyes looking at her through
the leaves. It was a squirrel, very surprised to see a little girl in a
scarlet frock running about his island. He began to chatter to her, and
Rosa felt happier now she had a companion. She was so taken up with
watching him running up and down the trees, hunting for breakfast, that
she jumped when she suddenly heard a cry of 'Rosa, Rosa!' being shouted
behind her. It was her father on the mainland. She was so pleased to see
him that she nearly cried for joy. She could not get to him, however,
and it was some time before a boat could breast the current and rescue
her from her island.

Rosa was so pleased to be at home that she almost forgot h