The saeter belonging to Ormgard and its neighbors was the one
chosen by Mother Elle as a refuge for her flock.
The forest of magnificent firs through which the road passed presently
grew less somber, beginning to be streaked with white birches whose
bright leaves twinkled in the sun. Then it reached the height at which
evergreens cease to grow. The birches were shorter and sparser, and
through the thinning woodland appeared glimpses of a treeless pasture
dotted with scrubby low bushes and clumps of rushes. A glint of clear
green water betrayed a small lake in a dip of the hills. And now were
heard sounds most unusual in that lonely place, the high sweet voices of
children.
Birch trees, little trees, dwarfed by sharp winds and poor soil,
encircled a level space perhaps ten feet across, carpeted with new soft
grass, reindeer moss and cupped lichens. Here sat seven or eight
children eagerly listening to a story told by an older child as she
divided the ration of fladbrod,[3] wild strawberries from a small basket
of birchbark, and brown goat's-milk cheese.
"And Freya came from Asgard in her chariot drawn by two cats--"
Nikolina the daughter of Sven Larsson of the Trolle farm was known
through all the valley, not only as the sole child of its richest
farmer, but for the bright blonde hair that covered her shoulders with
its soft abundance and hung to her waist.
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