"A long, long time ago, when Denmark was at war with Sweden, the Swedish
soldiers had been ordered to march upon Lemvig and take the town. You
can see that almost the whole town is down in the valley; there are just
a few houses on the hills. The soldiers couldn't see the town at all,
so they asked a farmer where it was. He pointed to the houses on the
hill on the other side of the valley. Then the Swedish soldiers rode
very fast, keeping their eyes on these houses on the distant hill. They
didn't see the valley at all and they rode so fast that they all fell
down the hill and into the river. So Lemvig wasn't captured after all."
As the train started again and left Lemvig, Anna leaned out the window.
"Oh, it's too late now," she said sadly.
"Too late for what?" asked Greta.
"I wanted to get an ice-cream bar, but the train started just as the boy
with the ice-cream bars came up to our window."
"We'll surely get one at the next town, Anna."
As soon as the train stopped again, Anna let down the window and they
each bought an ice-cream bar and also one for Chouse. He had been
standing on Greta's lap, with his front feet on the window sill,
watching with great interest as they passed fields of yellow hay,
forests of evergreens, pastures with large herds of cows, and great
fields of cabbage and beets.
When they had finally ridden clear across Jutland, which forms the main
part of Denmark, and then across the island of Funen, which is connected
with the mainland by a large bridge, they came to a wide stretch of
water called the Great Belt.
"Get your suitcase, Anna," said Greta. "We will have to get off the
train and take a boat here."
Anna laughed, but she didn't make a move to get her suitcase down from
the rack overhead.
"The whole train takes the boat, Greta. We don't have to get off at
all."
"The whole train? But how can it?"
[Illustration: FARM HOUSES IN THE VALLEY]
"Just look out the window and you'll see for yourself."
The railroad tracks ran to the very edge of the water, where a large
ferry boat was waiting for the train. It had tracks on it, too, and the
train ran right on to the boat. Greta could hardly believe her eyes. To
think that one could ride on a train and a boat at the same time! It
took about two hours to cross the water, and then they were on the
island of Zealand. The boat went right up to the railroad tracks and the
train was soon on land again and speeding on its way.
"Everything here looks so different," remarked Greta, as she looked out
the window. "There are so many more trees, and it isn't so flat as it is
at home."
Before long they reached the large railroad station in Copenhagen, where
Anna's mother was waiting for them.
"Your father will be here very soon, Anna, and then we are all going to
Tivoli for dinner."
"Is Tivoli a restaurant?" asked Greta.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account