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Main > Fairy tale > All authors > Astrid Lindgren > Fairy tale "The Brothers Lionheart"

The Brothers Lionheart

Jonathan told me that. So of course I understood why Sofia had to keep away from Wild Rose Valley and why Jonathan had to go instead. Tengil knew nothing about him, they though, or so they hoped. Though there was someone who had realized that Jonathan was not just a gardener’s boy: the person who had come to our place in the night, the person I’d seen over by the sideboard. Sofia couldn’t help worrying about him.

“That man knows too much,” she said.

She asked me to send a message over to her if anyone else came snooping around Knights Farm. I said that it was no use anyone trying to sideboard again, because we had moved all the secret papers to another place. Now we had them in the oat bin in the harness room, in a large snuff box which was hidden under all the oats.

Sofia went with me to the harness room and dug up the snuff box and put another message into it. It was a good hiding place, she thought, and I thought so too.

“Stick it out if you can,” said Sofia as she was leaving. “I know it’s difficult but you must stick with it.”

It was difficult, too, especially in the evenings and at night. I dreamt terrible dreams about Jonathan and worried about him every waking moment, too.

One evening I rode down to the Golden Cockerel. I couldn’t bear just sitting at home at Knights Farm, it was so quiet and my thoughts could be heard only too well; they weren’t the kind of thoughts that cheered you up.

They all stared at me; yes, they did, when I came into the inn without Jonathan.

“What now?” said Jossi. “Only half of the Lionheart brothers! What have you done with Jonathan?”

It was difficult for me. I remembered what Sofia and Jonathan had preached to me. Whatever happened, I must not tell anyone what Jonathan was doing and where he had gone. Not a single living person! So I pretended I hadn’t heard Jossi’s question. But Hubert was sitting there at his table, and he wanted to know too.

“Yes, where’s Jonathan?” he said. “Surely Sofia hasn’t got rid of her gardener’s boy?

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