Little Tuck

" she explained. "It's wet! Very wet! My town is just like a bottle-you go in with the cork, and you have to come out the same way. In the old days I used to have beautiful fish there, and now I have red-cheeked little boys down in the bottom of the bottle. They learn a lot of wisdom there - Greek! Greek! Hebrew! Hebrew! Ko-ax!" It sounded like the croaking of frogs, or the creaking of big boots as you walk across the moor; always the same sound-so monotonous-so tiresome-yes, so tiresome that Little Tuck fell into a deep sleep, which was the best thing in the world for him.

But even in this sleep he had a dream or something like that. It seemed that his little sister, Gustava, with her blue eyes and golden curly hair, had suddenly become a grown-up beautiful lady, and she could fly without wings. Together they flew over the green forests and the deep blue waters of Seeland.

"Do you hear the cock crowing, Little Tuck? Cock-a-doodle-do! The hens are flying up out of Kjöge. You'll have a big, big chicken yard; you'll never suffer want or hunger; yes, you shall shoot the parrot, as the saying goes; you shall be a rich and happy man. Your manor shall rise up like King Valdemar's towers, and it shall be richly adorned with marble statues, like those in Praestö! Can you understand me? The fame of your name shall travel around the world, like this ship that was to sail from Korsör!" And from Roskilde town came the voice of King Hroar, "Remember the towns of the kingdom!"

"There you shall speak wisely and well, Little Tuck. And when you are in your grave you shall sleep as peacefully as-"

"As if I were in Sorö!" cried Little Tuck, and then he woke up.

It was broad daylight, and he couldn't remember the smallest part of his dream. And he wasn't supposed to either, for we shouldn't know things that are going to happen in the future.

Now he sprang quickly out of bed and read his geography book, and at once he knew the whole lesson!

And the old washerwoman put her head in the door and nodded good morning to him.