Little Erik of Sweden
()
Read more from Madeline Brandeis
The Little Spanish Dancer Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLittle Jeanne of France Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLittle Philippe of Belgium Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMitz and Fritz of Germany Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Little Indian Weaver Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsShaun O'Day of Ireland Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLittle Tony of Italy Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Wee Scotch Piper Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Related to Little Erik of Sweden
Related ebooks
Our Little Swedish Cousin Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsOur Little Swedish Cousin Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsGerda in Sweden Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMind Pictures Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsCourage, True Hearts Sailing in Search of Fortune Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsTristin and Isolde Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsTwo Love Stories Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsPrice of Passage Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsWolfskin Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Viking Passion Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Viking Tales Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Gerda in Sweden Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Very Scandinavian Christmas: The Greatest Nordic Holiday Stories of All Time Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Karik's First Battle: The Legends of Karik, #1 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsTwo Love Stories: Tristin and Isolde | What is Love? Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsImmensee Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Spirit within us: A saga of two bold families who helped build a democracy Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Heathen Horde: A gripping historical adventure thriller of kings and Vikings in early medieval Britain Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsTwo Royal Foes Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Count of Nideck adapted from the French of Erckmann-Chartrian Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHuntingtower Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsTristin and Isolde: A Retelling of the Legend (a novella) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsOur Little Danish Cousin Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAnimal Stories from Eskimo Land: Adapted from the Original Eskimo Stories Collected by Dr. Daniel S. Neuman Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLone Pine The Story of a Lost Mine Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Golden House Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Prisoner who Sang Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHild: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Edmund Dulac's Fairy-Book: Fairy Tales of the Allied Nations Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsFirebird Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Reviews for Little Erik of Sweden
0 ratings0 reviews
Book preview
Little Erik of Sweden - Madeline Brandeis
The Project Gutenberg EBook of Little Erik of Sweden, by Madeline Brandeis
This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or
re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.net
Title: Little Erik of Sweden
Author: Madeline Brandeis
Release Date: June 5, 2011 [EBook #36333]
Language: English
*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK LITTLE ERIK OF SWEDEN ***
Produced by Juliet Sutherland, Judith Wirawan and the
Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net
Transcriber's Notes:
Obvious punctuation errors repaired.
The author's spelling has been kept.
The remaining corrections made are indicated by dotted lines under the corrections. Scroll the mouse over the word and the Transcriber's Note will appear
.
LITTLE ERIK
OF
SWEDEN
STOCKHOLM
LITTLE ERIK OF SWEDEN
BY
MADELINE BRANDEIS
Photographic Illustrations
GROSSET & DUNLAP
publishers new york
by arrangement with the A. Flanagan Company
copyright, 1938, by a. flanagan company
printed in the united states of america
Those who posed for the pictures in LITTLE ERIK OF SWEDEN:
Hearty thanks go to all of you. And many thanks, too, to the photographer, Carsten Grande, Sr., who directed the posing, made the pictures, and added a large share to the attractiveness of this book.
CONTENTS
LITTLE ERIK OF SWEDEN
LITTLE ERIK OF SWEDEN
"As a child I sang with every step I took,
and with every jump my feet made."
—Jenny Lind.
CHAPTER I
THE GNOME
Erik sang as he skated across the lake. The lake glistened with chill, bluish crispness like steel.
It was as natural for Erik to sing as it was for most little boys to breathe. Sometimes it seemed that he had the throat of a bird.
"Down the mountainside came thundering,
Fierce and wild, a giant tall."
It was Greta who had taught Erik these fairy-tale
songs. Greta made them up. She was the eighteen-year-old daughter of Fru Hansson, who owned Hanssonborg, the large estate where Erik lived. Erik was the son of a poor tenant farmer, but Greta had always treated him like her own little brother. They were often together, and Erik thought her as beautiful as any fairy-tale
princess.
"Carried off the lovely princess,
To his gloomy dungeon—"
HANSSONBORG, WHERE ERIK LIVES
Suddenly Erik stopped singing and stood still to listen. He had heard the music of sleigh bells on the other side of the snowy pine forest. Now came the thud of horses' hoofs and the crunch of a sleigh's runners, as it stopped before the Hansson home.
Christmas is coming!
smiled Erik, and struck out again in big, vigorous strides. Christmas in Sweden means visitors and fun and lots of food; and Erik licked his lips. His cheeks glowed with health like ruddy, round apples. His blue eyes caught the icy sparkles from under his feet, and he began to sing once more.
"So the brave prince slew the giant,
Carried off the princess fair."
But Erik would not have been so happy if he had known who it was that had just arrived at Hanssonborg. He would not have sung so lustily about wicked giants carrying off fair princesses. For something unpleasant and very real was happening to his friend Greta.
Darkness was falling fast. In Sweden, the winter sunlight is shy. It shows itself late in the morning, and then by early afternoon, it has run away again.
Erik skated to shore. He took off his skates and started walking through the woods toward home. A Swedish law says that everyone who cuts down a tree must plant a new one; so the Swedish forests are thick and beautiful.
Little, lighted candles glowed in the windows of Erik's cottage, which was painted red and had white window frames. Vacation time was a good time, he thought, as he stamped into the cozy kitchen, where a big fire crackled.
GRETA
His brother Nils sat at a rough, wooden table. Nils's arms were crossed in front of him, and his head rested upon them. How could he study with his head so low? Surely he was not asleep—not big Nils! Why, he was always far too busy studying his farm books or working on the estate to fall asleep in the daytime. What was the matter?
Erik stood in the center of the room with his legs apart and his snow cap pushed back upon his fair, curly hair.
Ho, Nils!
he shouted.
The older brother did not stir. Erik went over and tapped him on the shoulder.
I say, what's wrong?
The young man raised his head. He had a strong, brave face, but just now there was a shadow over it.
Have you heard the news?
he asked.
The little boy shook his head.
Baron Karl von Engstrom from Stockholm arrived at Hanssonborg today,
said Nils. "He is to spend the holidays here, and