{"product_id":"2940012941848","title":"LITTLE ERIK OF SWEDEN","description":"CONTENTS\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e                                                         Page\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  Chapter I\u003cbr\u003e    The Gnome                                               9\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  Chapter II\u003cbr\u003e    The Ghost                                              22\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  Chapter III\u003cbr\u003e    The Plan                                               35\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  Chapter IV\u003cbr\u003e    The Christmas Celebration                              46\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  Chapter V\u003cbr\u003e    The Spring                                             61\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  Chapter VI\u003cbr\u003e    The Capital                                            78\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  Chapter VII\u003cbr\u003e    The Wedding Date                                       95\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  Chapter VIII\u003cbr\u003e    The Trip                                              110\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  Chapter IX\u003cbr\u003e    The Göta Canal                                        126\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  Chapter X\u003cbr\u003e    The Return                                            136\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  Chapter XI\u003cbr\u003e    The Rescue                                            148\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e[Illustration: LITTLE ERIK OF SWEDEN]\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eLITTLE ERIK OF SWEDEN\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e    \"_As a child I sang with every step I took,\u003cbr\u003e    and with every jump my feet made._\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e                                        --Jenny Lind.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eCHAPTER I\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eTHE GNOME\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eErik sang as he skated across the lake. The lake glistened with chill,\u003cbr\u003ebluish crispness like steel.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIt was as natural for Erik to sing as it was for most little boys to\u003cbr\u003ebreathe. Sometimes it seemed that he had the throat of a bird.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e    \"Down the mountainside came thundering,\u003cbr\u003e    Fierce and wild, a giant tall.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIt was Greta who had taught Erik these fairy-tale songs. Greta made them\u003cbr\u003eup. She was the eighteen-year-old daughter of Fru Hansson, who owned\u003cbr\u003eHanssonborg, the large estate where Erik lived. Erik was the son of a\u003cbr\u003epoor tenant farmer, but Greta had always treated him like her own little\u003cbr\u003ebrother. They were often together, and Erik thought her as beautiful as\u003cbr\u003eany fairy-tale princess.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e    \"Carried off the lovely princess,\u003cbr\u003e    To his gloomy dungeon--\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e[Illustration: HANSSONBORG, WHERE ERIK LIVES\u003cbr\u003e_Paul's Photos_]\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eSuddenly Erik stopped singing and stood still to listen. He had heard\u003cbr\u003ethe music of sleigh bells on the other side of the snowy pine forest.\u003cbr\u003eNow came the thud of horses' hoofs and the crunch of a sleigh's runners,\u003cbr\u003eas it stopped before the Hansson home.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Christmas is coming!\" smiled Erik, and struck out again in big,\u003cbr\u003evigorous strides. Christmas in Sweden means visitors and fun and lots of\u003cbr\u003efood; and Erik licked his lips. His cheeks glowed with health like\u003cbr\u003eruddy, round apples. His blue eyes caught the icy sparkles from under\u003cbr\u003ehis feet, and he began to sing once more.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e    \"So the brave prince slew the giant,\u003cbr\u003e    Carried off the princess fair.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBut Erik would not have been so happy if he had known who it was that\u003cbr\u003ehad just arrived at Hanssonborg. He would not have sung so lustily\u003cbr\u003eabout wicked giants carrying off fair princesses. For something\u003cbr\u003eunpleasant and very real was happening to his friend Greta.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eDarkness was falling fast. In Sweden, the winter sunlight is shy. It\u003cbr\u003eshows itself late in the morning, and then by early afternoon, it has\u003cbr\u003erun away again.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eErik skated to shore. He took off his skates and started walking through\u003cbr\u003ethe woods toward home. A Swedish law says that everyone who cuts down a\u003cbr\u003etree must plant a new one; so the Swedish forests are thick and\u003cbr\u003ebeautiful.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eLittle, lighted candles glowed in the windows of Erik's cottage, which\u003cbr\u003ewas painted red and had white window frames. Vacation time was a good\u003cbr\u003etime, he thought, as he stamped into the cozy kitchen, where a big fire\u003cbr\u003ecrackled.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eHis brother Nils sat at a rough, wooden table. Nils's arms were crossed\u003cbr\u003ein front of him, and his head rested upon them. How could he study with\u003cbr\u003ehis head so low? Surely he was not asleep--not big Nils! Why, he was\u003cbr\u003ealways far too busy studying his farm books or working on the estate to\u003cbr\u003efall asleep in the daytime. What was the matter?\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eErik stood in the center of the room with his legs apart and his snow\u003cbr\u003ecap pushed back upon his fair, curly hair.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Ho, Nils!\" he shouted.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe older brother did not stir. Erik went over and tapped him on the\u003cbr\u003eshoulder.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"I say, what's wrong?\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe young man raised his head. He had a strong, brave face, but just now\u003cbr\u003ethere was a shadow over it.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Have you heard the news?\" he asked.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe little boy shook his head.","brand":"SAP","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47145530654960,"sku":"2940012941848","price":0.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/2940012941848_p0.jpg?v=1763574778","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/2940012941848","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}