"Certainly, Anna. You are very kind to amuse her," said the stranger politely to Mrs. Lund. Sigrid could speak in English as well as Swedish, which seemed to surprise Anna. "What nice sweet pretzels!" said Anna as she nibbled at one of the cakes. "Mother bought them of a peasant girl who came on board at that funny place where the banks were so high we couldn't see the town," explained Sigrid. "Did you bring your doll with you?" asked Anna, who still mourned the lost Isabella. "Oh, yes!" said Sigrid, "and a whole trunk of clothes. Wait a moment and I will get her." She returned with a pretty yellow box on which red and blue flowers were painted. Grandmother had a large chest at home exactly like this toy. "Oh! you have a peasant doll. How I wish I had one like that! Mother bought Isabella for me in Paris," said Anna. During the next two days of the trip, the little girls were often together. "What a giant stairway! I don't see how the steamer can go up to the top," Sigrid exclaimed, the next morning. They had reached the town of Berg, and as she looked at the canal before her, she saw seventeen locks, which mounted to the sky. [Illustration: THE GÖTA CANAL] "But it can," said Major Lund. "Hundreds of vessels climb those locks every year. It will take several hours, so that we may as well go ashore. "When we come to Vadstena, Sigrid, we shall have just time to cross the drawbridge and visit a grim old castle there. Gustaf Vasa, our first Swedish king, built it more than three hundred years ago." "Didn't we have any kings before him?" asked Sigrid. "Yes," said Major Lund. "But he was the first king to unite our people and make Sweden a strong nation." "Mother and I took a trip once while we were in Stockholm. Some one pointed out the Castle of Gripsholm, where a nobleman named Vasa hid during the 'Blood Bath of Sweden.' Was that the same man?" asked Anna, who was standing near. "Erik told me all about that once," replied Sigrid. "I am sure he is the same man. King Christian, the Dane, ruled Sweden then. He was very cruel, Anna. Why, he murdered so many Swedish noblemen that people call that time 'The Blood Bath.' No one knew who would have his head chopped off next." Anna shuddered. "Did they kill Gustaf Vasa?" "His father was slain, but Gustaf Vasa fled away into the mountains," replied Sigrid. Ever since she was a baby, she had heard these stories of the old kings. They were real people to her. "He had many wild adventures in Dalecarlia. Sometime, if you go there, Anna, you will see where he lived. The people there loved him dearly and wanted him for king instead of the tyrant Dane," said Major Lund. "Do tell me about his adventures, Major Lund," said Anna. "Ask Sigrid; I am sure she knows," he replied. Sigrid's eyes shone with delight. "I know, I know," she exclaimed. "He cut off his hair and put on homespun clothes, so he looked like a peasant. Then he worked in the mines and on farms."