"Yes, that was the way of it. The name Greenland sounded very pleasant to the people of Iceland and a large company of them went back with Eric to settle among the icy mountains you sing about. "We come now to the third accident and the third step that brought the Norsemen to our own land. "Eric the Red had sons. They were bold and daring sailors, like their father. During the long winter evenings they used to listen to the stories of the older people. There was one that they liked best of all. It was the tale of a young man named Biarne who was trying to find the way from Iceland to Greenland. His father had gone there with Eric, and Biarne wished to follow him. "He started off in the right direction. When he had sailed out of sight of land, a thick fog settled down. Then a north wind began to blow. Day after day, the ship was driven by the strong north wind. Biarne could do nothing but wonder, 'Where are we going? Surely, this wind will never carry us to Greenland.' "At last the fog cleared away and not long after that the Norseman and his crew found they were sailing near a shore on which trees were growing. Low hills rose behind it. It could not be Greenland, truly, for Biarne had been told that the hills there were high and that they were covered with ice. "When Biarne refused to land, his men were quite angry. 'I must go on with my search for my father,' he told them. 'I only care now to find him.' "Again they set sail and after two more days they saw land again. It was low and wooded, so Biarne knew that this could not be the country he was seeking. "'I will not stop here,' he told his men. Of course they grumbled, but they were obliged to do as he wished. "Three more days passed, and a land with high and snowy mountains came into sight. "'I am sure this is not Greenland, either,' said Biarne, and he would not stop. He sailed along its shores, however, long enough to find it was an island. "In three days from that time, he reached the shores of Greenland. When Biarne at last cast anchor he was very near that part of the country where his father was living. "Whenever Eric's sons heard this story of Biarne, they thought, 'When we grow up, we will go to sea. Then we will try to find the country with green hills and many trees. Who knows what else we shall see in such a pleasant land?" "The time came at last when the eldest son of Eric was old enough to start on a long voyage. It was in the year 1000. Biarne went with him. "The first shore that met their eyes was Newfoundland. They landed and found it was a plain covered with stones. They returned to the ships and soon Nova Scotia came in sight. "After they had looked over that land, they started once more and sailed southward. They came to our own New England. I believe they were not a hundred miles away from where we are this very minute.