Little Greta of Denmark Part 6

"This was to be the test of his work. If he turned around to look at the tower, the owner of the castle would know that the builder was not sure of his own work. If there were even the smallest doubt in his mind, he would be certain to look around at once. But the English builder was very sure that his work was well done. Not once did he look back. Not for a minute did he pause in his journey. But as he walked on, he said to the servant from Vosborg, 'The tower does not lean. Tell your master that I have done my work well; he did not spend his money in vain. He has the finest tower in all Denmark. But also tell him that one day Vosborg will be destroyed by a man in a blue coat.'

"The servant told his master. Fear and astonishment ran through the castle like a flame. Who was the mysterious man in the blue coat who would one day destroy the castle? No one knew. No one could even guess.

The owner of Vosborg was well liked by all the people. Surely no one would do him harm. The years went by and the castle remained unharmed.

Gradually everyone forgot about the prophecy of the English builder. The man in the blue coat was no longer feared.

"Then one year there was a dreadful storm on the ocean. Never before had the people seen such an angry sea. The waves dashed and pounded against the sh.o.r.e as they had never done before. The water rose like a wall and spread over the land for many miles. No one had ever seen a storm like this one. The water pounded against the outer wall of Vosborg. It crumbled and fell. Within a few hours the ocean had rushed in and washed away the rampart around the castle. There was then just one wall left as a protection against the angry sea. It wasn't enough. On the second day of the storm the waves became even more fierce and violent.

Finally, that wall crumbled and the whole castle of Vosborg was knocked down by the force of the waves.

[Ill.u.s.tration: THE ENTRANCE TO THE INNER COURTYARD]

"Thus the prophecy, told many years before, had at last come true. The English builder had spoken truly. Vosborg was, as he had predicted, destroyed by a man in a blue coat--the ocean."

"But I thought the ocean was several miles away," said Anna in surprise.

"It is now, Anna, but in those days it was very near. Every few hundred years the sh.o.r.e line changes, due to the rising or falling of the land.

So Vosborg is now a mile or more from the ocean."

By this time they had reached the courtyard of the castle. The paving stones that covered the ground had long ago been worn to a smooth, polished roundness. On three sides of the courtyard there were low, white buildings. One of these contained the servants' quarters and the kitchens. Another contained the huge library of the castle. The third was made up of the stables. On the fourth side of the courtyard stood the imposing, four-story building that made up the main part of the castle. In the center of the courtyard there was a lovely, round pool.

"Oh, Greta, it's beautiful," said the delighted Anna, as she looked all around her.

Dinner was served in the Knights' Hall, a long, stately room on the second floor. Tall candles lighted the banquet table and threw flickering shadows in the far corners of the room and against the high ceiling. The walls were covered with brilliant paintings of the knights and ladies who had lived at Vosborg in olden days. Now and then, as the candlelight caught the gleam of a bright red waistcoat or the silken beauty of a lady's satin gown, Greta turned suddenly to look at the portraits. Once she thought that one of the great ladies of long ago was smiling at her. But when she looked again, the lovely face showed only the calm, quiet beauty of a painting. Had she really smiled? Greta could not be sure.

After dinner Mr. Christianson showed them the room that King Frederick had used when he visited Vosborg Castle many years ago.

"This room used to be the chapel," explained Mr. Christianson, "but it had to be changed for a very amusing reason. The owner of the castle used to put his turkeys to roost in the chapel and even left them there on Sunday. When the minister began to preach, all the turkeys babbled in answer. Of course the whole church service was upset and the minister couldn't go on. He refused to preach at Vosborg any more. When the king heard what had happened, he said that there would be no more chapel services at this castle. So the chapel was changed into a bedroom. Many years later a tiny chapel was built outside the castle wall. It is a lovely, quiet place of worship. The inside walls are lined with moss, and the outer walls are covered with thatch. It is really a little temple in the woods."

[Ill.u.s.tration: THE CHAPEL IN THE WOODS]

"Could we see it, Mr. Christianson?" asked Anna, as they were going back to the drawing-room.

"I'm afraid it's too dark out there now. But I should be delighted to show it to you if you care to come again, during the daytime."

"Oh, I'd love to. Thank you so--Oh, what's that noise?" Anna looked at Greta, whose face had turned white. She, too, had heard a most unusual sound.

"I didn't hear any noise," said Mr. Christianson.

"It sounded like heavy wooden wheels," said Greta, who looked quite scared.

"It couldn't be that, Greta," said Hans. "No one has come into the courtyard."

"But I heard them _inside_ the castle," insisted Greta.

"Oh, of course. I had forgotten." Then Mr. Christianson explained. "A long time ago, when this castle was first built, the entrance to the courtyard was in the center of this building, instead of at the side, as it is now. In fact, this drawing-room was built where the entrance used to be. Up to the very day of his death, the old coachman never approved of this change. So every evening, about this time, he drives his coach and four over the old road and through the old entrance. He has to come right through this room and that is why you always hear him."

The two girls looked at Mr. Christianson in wonder.

"You mean his _ghost_ drives through here every evening?" asked Greta.

"Yes, Greta."

"But I didn't think there were any _real_ ghosts," said Anna.

"I don't know, my dear. No one has ever _seen_ him, but you yourself heard the rumble of the wooden wheels of the coach just now."

"I certainly heard _something_," admitted Anna.

"What else could it be?" asked Hans, who was delighted to hear Anna admit even this much.

On the way home from Vosborg, Anna was very quiet. Finally she just had to ask, "Tante Agnes, do _you_ think that was the old coach that we heard tonight?"

Her aunt smiled. "I don't know, Anna. I think you had better go to Vosborg again in the daytime. Then you can find out for yourself whether or not it has any ghosts."

CHAPTER VII

A DAY AT THE Sh.o.r.e

"Why don't you have a windmill on your farm, Uncle Frederick?" asked Anna. "Every one of these farms has a big windmill."

Anna and her uncle and Greta were driving through the country on their way to the sh.o.r.e. Greta's father had to make a business trip to a small town on the coast, and he was taking the girls with him. Chouse was comfortably curled up on the back seat.

"We don't need a windmill, Anna, because we have the river."

"But how can the river take the place of a windmill?" asked Anna.

[Ill.u.s.tration: THE WINDMILLS PROVIDE ELECTRIC POWER]

"Greta, haven't you shown Anna the dam in the river?" asked her father.

"This dam causes the water to fall from a great height. The force of the water, as it falls on a large machine, provides the power that is turned into electricity. These other farms get their electric power from the windmills. As the great arms are turned by the wind, they provide power that is changed, by the machinery, into electricity."

Anna had lived in Copenhagen all her life, and everything about the country was new to her. She liked to watch the men cutting the hay and piling it up on the large wagons. On some of the farms the women were also working in the fields. This was the busiest time of year on the farm, and everyone had to help. Children hoed the long rows of cabbages and potatoes and beets.

Every time they drove through a village, Greta and Anna played a game to see who could be first to find the oldest house. Each house had a name painted in large letters over the door or near it. This wasn't the name of the family; it was the name of the house itself. The year when the house was built was usually there, too. So each girl tried to be the first one to find the oldest house. Greta usually found it before Anna, because Anna saw so many other things that interested her.

[Ill.u.s.tration: MIRRORS ON THE WINDOWS]

"What are those funny little mirrors in front of the windows, Greta?"

Anna pointed to the two small projecting mirrors fastened by an iron frame to the window of a small brick house.

"Oh, the people put those there so that they can sit beside the window and see who is coming down the street," explained Greta. "There is one mirror facing up the street and one facing down the street. With these mirrors they can sit in the house and still see everything that goes on."

"But they have so many plants and flowers in the windows that I don't see how they can see anything outdoors."

Every home, whether in a village or on a farm, had a large flower garden. And in every home, large or small, there were many plants in the windows, where they could get the sunshine. All Denmark looked like a large garden, for there were roses, poppies, peonies, iris, pansies, or other brilliant flowers wherever one looked.