The boys reached the palace about noon. Albert wanted Harold to see the changing of the King’s guards. As they neared the palace, they heard sounds of band music. In the courtyard beside the palace, they saw a line of guards dressed in uniform such as guards of the palace have worn for hundreds of years. Then the line of marching men came into sight. The band in uniform marched first, then the guards who were to take the place of those guards now at the palace. They crossed the bridge and entered the courtyard. The guards drilled for a few minutes at the command of the officer. The band played more music. Then the commander told the new guards what their duties were and the old guards marched away, leaving them to protect the king and his property. The next day Albert was going on a long hike with his Boy Scout troop. The scout leader said that Harold could go with them. Early in the morning the boys gathered near the water front to wait for their leader. Soon Harold felt at home with the group of boys wearing khaki suits and carrying knapsacks even though he could not speak their language. Many of the boys could speak a little English and they talked to Harold in his language. [Illustration: CHANGING THE GUARD IN FRONT OF THE ROYAL CASTLE] The scouts hiked several miles that day. They stopped on the grounds of an old, old castle. In a few minutes tents were pitched for the night. The leader took them into the castle, which had been built hundreds of years ago. They went to the banquet hall of knights of old. Harold had never seen such a beautiful room. The walls were covered with paintings of kings and knights. The ceiling was of gold. The boys stood before the King’s throne and imagined a page kneeling there to be dubbed a knight. They could almost hear the words, “I dub thee knight. Be ever true to your country. Be ever strong; protect the weak; and do good deeds.” Then outside on the courtyard of that old castle, the scouts took their oath—not unlike the one the knights of old had taken so many years ago. They too pledged obedience to the laws of their country. They promised to be strong and to go forth to do good deeds day by day. The Children of the North Celebrate 1. THE YULE-TIDE Long, long ago, so the old stories of the North say, frost giants who lived on the mountains wanted to keep the earth in darkness and cold, and the gods who lived in the valleys fought with the giants to keep sunshine and warmth on the earth.