Most of the subjects the Norwegian girls and boys study in the third grade are the same as those which American pupils study in the third grade. American girls and boys study English; but on Harold’s time plan instead of English is _Norsk_. Norsk is the name for the language of Norway. In one of the reading texts which many children read the first picture is a flag of Norway. Across the page from the picture is a poem about Norway. The poem is in Norsk of course. Children in Norway learn that poem so that they can say it without looking at the words. Ja, vi elsker dette landet, som det stiger frem, furet, værbitt, over vannet, med de tusen hjem; elsker, elsker det og tenker på vår far og mor og den saganatt som senker drømme på vår jord! (Yes, we love with fond devotion Norway’s mountain domes, Rising stormlashed o’er the ocean, With their thousand homes; Love our country while we’re bending Thoughts to fathers grand, And to saga night that’s sending Dreams upon our land, And to saga night that’s sending, Sending dreams upon our land.) [Illustration: HAROLD’S TIME PLAN] On the seventeenth of May each year the Norwegian girls and boys march through the streets carrying flags and singing “Ja, vi elsker dette landet.” The seventeenth of May to them is what the Fourth of July is to us. It is their Independence Day. [Illustration: NORWEGIAN CHILDREN CELEBRATING INDEPENDENCE DAY] For many, many years Norway, Sweden, and Denmark were governed by one king. But in 1905 Norwegians became free to govern themselves. They chose a king for their country. On the seventeenth of May each year school children of Oslo and towns near Oslo parade past the palace of the King. The King watches their parade. The children stand very quietly then while the King speaks to them about Norway, their country. Harold’s sister is in the seventh grade. Her time plan is shown on page 137. Many pupils in the seventh grade find English to be their hardest subject. Only a few English words are like Norsk words which they speak. On the time plan you see the names of the days of the week—Mandag (Monday), Tirsdag (Tuesday), Onsdag (Wednesday), Torsdag (Thursday), Fredag (Friday), Lørdag (Saturday), Søndag (Sunday). They are much like English names for the days of the week. Norwegian pupils soon learn the English word “summer,” for the Norsk word is “sommer.” They soon can say “come,” for in Norsk they say “komme,” and “Many thanks” which in Norsk is “Mange takke.”