Anna had lived in Copenhagen all her life, and everything about the country was new to her. She liked to watch the men cutting the hay and piling it up on the large wagons. On some of the farms the women were also working in the fields. This was the busiest time of year on the farm, and everyone had to help. Children hoed the long rows of cabbages and potatoes and beets. Every time they drove through a village, Greta and Anna played a game to see who could be first to find the oldest house. Each house had a name painted in large letters over the door or near it. This wasn't the name of the family; it was the name of the house itself. The year when the house was built was usually there, too. So each girl tried to be the first one to find the oldest house. Greta usually found it before Anna, because Anna saw so many other things that interested her. [Illustration: MIRRORS ON THE WINDOWS] "What are those funny little mirrors in front of the windows, Greta?" Anna pointed to the two small projecting mirrors fastened by an iron frame to the window of a small brick house. "Oh, the people put those there so that they can sit beside the window and see who is coming down the street," explained Greta. "There is one mirror facing up the street and one facing down the street. With these mirrors they can sit in the house and still see everything that goes on." "But they have so many plants and flowers in the windows that I don't see how they can see anything outdoors." Every home, whether in a village or on a farm, had a large flower garden. And in every home, large or small, there were many plants in the windows, where they could get the sunshine. All Denmark looked like a large garden, for there were roses, poppies, peonies, iris, pansies, or other brilliant flowers wherever one looked. [Illustration: ALONG THE SHORE OF THE NORTH SEA] "Look, Greta, at the two little patches of green grass in the middle of that field of hay. Why in the world did the farmer skip those spots?" "I'll tell you why, Anna," said her uncle. "You will notice that those little green patches are always on small hills. They are the graves of Vikings." "But I thought that the Vikings lived more than a thousand years ago," interrupted Anna. "Yes, they did. They were a strong, bold race who lived in what is now Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. They roamed the sea and conquered many other lands. Some of them even went to America, long before the time of Columbus. It is against the law for anyone to disturb a Viking grave. You will see many of these little mounds on the farms in this part of the country. The farmers never plant anything on these graves. They carefully plow all around them." "We must be quite near the ocean now, for there's a lighthouse," said Greta. "It would be fun to climb to the top of it. May we, Father?" "Yes, if you want to."