nests."

When the four children were asleep for the night, and the father and
mother were left alone, they laughed softly together over the situation.

"Who ever heard of bringing a Lapp boy to Stockholm!" exclaimed Herr
Ekman; and his wife added, "Who but Gerda would think of bringing a
strange child here, to be cured of her lameness?"




CHAPTER X

A DAY IN SKANSEN


It was in the Djurgård that poor Erik first learned that he was a
Lapp,--a dirty Lapp.

Of course he knew that his ancestors had lived in Lapland for hundreds of
years; but before he went to the Djurgård that day with Birger and Gerda,
he had never heard himself called a Lapp in derision.

The Djurgård, or Deer Park, is a beautiful public park on one of the
wooded islands near Stockholm. There one finds forests of gigantic oaks,
dense groves of spruce, smiling meadows, winding roads and shady paths.
Through the tree-branches one catches a glimpse of the blue waters of the
fjord, rippling and sparkling in the sun; little steamers go puffing
briskly to and fro; and great vessels sail slowly down to the sea.