[Illustration: A SKI JUMPER] Then the other jumpers came in turn. Several failed to land on their feet. But most of them laughed with the people looking on over their failures even though they must have hated badly to lose. The longest jump that day, and the longest that had ever been made at that time, was two hundred and thirty-five feet. That is a long jump, but, no doubt, some of the schoolboys who were watching the jumpers will beat that record in a few years. Some of Olaf’s playmates were able then to jump eighty feet. They are eagerly waiting to be old enough to enter the big contest. The boys learned much by watching expert ski-jumpers. One of their favorite jumpers is the King’s son, Prince Olaf. Prince Olaf was in the big contest several times when he was a young man. The boys often saw Prince Olaf on skis. One day the Prince stopped where Olaf and his playmates were practising and told them how to hold their feet to make a safe landing. Olaf never forgot what the Prince said. And he was glad too that his mother had named him _Olaf_. 2. WITH THE SKATERS A line of skaters on a waterway of Sweden was set for a race. The skaters looked more like huge white birds than the young boys they were. Each skater wore heavy skates and held tightly to a frame of a large white sail. [Illustration: SAIL SKATING] Away they flew over the smooth ice! The strong wind which blows over the lands carried them along swiftly. Most of the boys were skillful in guiding their course with the wind and keeping on the clear ice. But here and there a skater had trouble. One skater was tossed to the bank; another was sent sprawling on the hard ice, for the wind does not deal too gently with those who cannot follow its path. [Illustration: SLEDS ON THE ICE] When the race was over, the winner was hoisted in the air and cheered. The skaters went their way to try again another day. Skaters in Denmark use sails too. The flat lands have such strong winds that sail skating is great sport for Danish children. But even in the flat lands of Denmark there are days when the sail skaters are disappointed. They gather for a race to find no wind that day; and, of course, no wind means no race. But sail skating is only a part of the skating fun in those northern lands. Children all over Norway, Sweden, and Denmark skate during the winter months. In many places playgrounds are flooded to make safe skating grounds for the girls and boys. On the safe ice even the tiny girls and boys slide on the ice and ride on the chair-like sleds which are pushed along by the larger girls and boys. The children of those northern lands learn early that outdoor sports help to build strong and healthy bodies. At School in the Far North