The two girls began to search for the little yellow lumps that lay hidden in the sand. At first it was fun, but after a while they got tired. They were just about to quit, when one of the women called out happily, "Here is a beautiful, large piece. It must weigh a pound." The others rushed up to look at it. Amber is very light, so it took a large piece indeed to weigh a pound. After this they began searching with fresh interest. Suddenly Greta found what she thought was a beautiful piece of amber. But when she showed it to the two women they said it was much too heavy for amber. Greta got down on her knees and began poking among the stones and shells. Every now and then she dug into the sand and poked and looked and dug some more. While the girls were busy in this absorbing work, Chouse ran up and down the beach. No one paid any attention to him. Once in a while he ran up to Greta to see if she would play with him. But she just pushed him away. "Run away, Chouse. I'm too busy to play now." [Illustration: FISH NETS SPREAD OUT TO DRY] When Chouse got tired of playing by himself, he lay down on the sand near Greta, watching her every minute. Suddenly he noticed something wriggling along the sand not far away. He sat up and looked. Soon the wriggling stopped. But Chouse kept on watching this strange object. Then he got up and walked nearer to it, walking ever so quietly and carefully. He simply _must_ see what this strange creature was. Greta wasn't paying any attention to Chouse or to the strange object near by. She was too busy looking for amber. Chouse stood without moving, watching the now motionless creature. "Oh, Greta, I think I've found a real piece of amber!" Anna ran across the beach in great excitement. When she was ten feet from Greta she stopped in terror. "Greta!" she screamed. "Look out! Run!" Greta stood up and looked around, too startled to run. What had happened? Then she saw. Not two feet away lay a green snake, coiled and ready to strike. Greta knew at once that this was the most poisonous snake in all Denmark. Her father had often warned her about it. But she simply couldn't run. She was so frightened that she had lost the power to move. Greta knew that in less than a minute the snake would strike her. She knew that she must get away. But she couldn't. At that very instant Chouse sprang forward. He had been watching this crawling green creature for many minutes. Now was the time for him to act. And he did act. He seized the snake by the neck and quickly carried it off to a high sand dune. In less than two minutes the snake was dead. Greta sank down on the sand and Anna rushed up to her. "Oh, Greta, are you all right?" "Yes, Anna, I'm all right. But I was so frightened that I couldn't move." Chouse came back to Greta and she took him in her lap. "After this, Chouse, I think you will have to go with us wherever we go. I am quite sure that Father won't send you away." CHAPTER VIII A SECOND VISIT TO VOSBORG