"Wait till you see the small state-room with the red plush sofas that turn down at night for a bed," said Major Lund. "We must leave all these posies there before we come on deck again." All three of them had their arms full of flowers which their friends had brought them. "How long will it take us to get to Aunt Frederika's house, father?" "Nearly three days. You will enjoy the trip, Sigrid. We are to cross the whole of Sweden. But we shall see beautiful country and many old castles before we reach Göteborg. You won't have to stay on the steamer all the time, for we shall often get off at the locks and wander through old towns." "Wherever shall we sleep?" Mrs. Lund asked with a smile. The great mass of flowers almost filled the tiniest room you ever saw. They finally had to throw some of them away when they went to bed. "I wish Erik and Anders could have come too," said Mrs. Lund when they were on deck again. She almost never took a journey without her whole family. "Grandmother would be very lonely if we were all gone. Our two weeks' trip will soon be over," replied her husband. "Father," said Sigrid, a few hours later, "sometimes the canal is not much wider than the boat. Why, it seems just as if we were riding on top of the land instead of the water." "Yes, I know what you mean." Major Lund was amused at the child's distress of mind. "We shall go through several places in the canal, so narrow that trees on opposite banks arch over the boat. But when we reach the big lakes you will think we are at sea. Sometimes they are so broad, you cannot see the shore." "I thought it was the Göta Canal all the way," said Sigrid. "So it is," replied her father. "But that is like a family name for wide rivers, big lakes, and little short canals that all join hands to make a waterway across the country." Long before bedtime, Sigrid felt quite at home in her new quarters. After supper, she again sat on deck with her parents. Suddenly, they heard a sharp cry. "Oh, Isabella, you will drown! Can't you get her, father? What shall I do! Oh! Oh!" Several people hastened to the side of the boat where the cry rose. A pretty child was weeping bitterly, while her father was trying to comfort her. "She has only lost her doll in the water, madam," explained the gentleman to Mrs. Lund, who was eager to help. He spoke in English. "What did he say?" asked Sigrid, who was too far off to hear. "She dropped her doll overboard while she was waving her hand to some children on the shore. Poor child! she is all alone with her father." "Is she an English girl?" asked Sigrid. "I think she is an American. Perhaps she would like some of your twisted ring cakes, when she stops crying." When the child's sobs finally ceased, Mrs. Lund said to her kindly: "Won't you come and sit beside my little daughter? She wants to give you some of her cakes." The two children glanced at each other shyly. "May I, father?" asked the American child.