While they were talking about the castle, Greta's mother called to Anna.
"Wouldn't you like to write your mother, Anna, and tell her that you
arrived safely?"
"Oh, yes, Tante [Aunt] Agnes. And I'll tell her that we are going to a
real castle for dinner." Anna ran into the house in great excitement.
"Hans, I wonder why Anna doesn't believe in the Nisser," said Greta.
"_You_ believe in them, don't you?"
"Of course I do, Greta." Hans was quiet and thoughtful for a minute, and
then a merry twinkle came into his eyes. "Before Anna goes back to
Copenhagen, _she_ will believe in the Nisser, too."
"What do you mean, Hans?" Greta knew that her brother had some kind of
mischief in mind.
"I mean just that. She will believe in the Nisser just as strongly as
you and I believe in them."
"I don't see how you're going to convince her, Hans."
"_I'm_ not going to convince her, Greta. The Nisser themselves will do
that." Greta begged and begged, but Hans would not explain. "Just wait
and you'll find out, Greta." And Hans started off toward his boat,
whistling to Chouse to come along.
CHAPTER VI
DINNER AT VOSBORG CASTLE
"The carriage should be here any minute now." Greta ran to the window
again to look down the road.
"The carriage!" said Anna in surprise. "Are we going to Vosborg in a
_carriage_, Greta?"
"Yes. Mr. Christianson is sending his carriage for us. He doesn't like
automobiles, so he still keeps the old coach that has belonged to the
castle for a hundred years."
"There it is now, Greta," said Hans, who was just as eager to visit the
castle as Greta and Anna were.
Soon they were all on their way to Vosborg. Although it stood on a hill,
you could hardly see the castle itself, because of the trees all around
it. After a short ride they reached the castle's outer wall and drove
through the wide entrance, with its high tower that formed an archway.
There was a long stretch of level ground inside the wall, before one
came to the stone bridge over the moat. The moat was a wide, deep ditch
filled with water, which ran all the way around the castle. In the olden
days it was an important protection, for enemies could not cross it and
thus could not reach the castle buildings. Inside the moat there was a
rampart, or a high ridge of earth, which was also a protection to the
castle. Then there was still another wall before one finally reached the
castle itself.
"There has been a castle on this spot for hundreds of years," Greta's
mother told the children as they rode along in the old coach. "This
building is only four hundred years old, so you see that it is rather
new! The castle that stood here before was destroyed in 1532."
[Illustration: MR. CHRISTIANSON'S COACH]
"Mother, tell Anna about the Englishman who built the tower of Vosborg
Castle," urged Hans.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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