he nearly fell off his chair.

"Ay, that's right enough!" he cried, "just as it would have been in
the old days." There was a great deal to ask about and many old
memories to be refreshed; the children had not seen their father so
genial and happy for goodness knows how long. It was easy to see
that his brother's coming had done him good.

And they too had a certain feeling of well-being--they had got a
relation! Since Granny's death they had seemed so alone, and when
other children spoke of their relations they had nothing to say.
They had got an uncle--next after a granny this was the greatest of
all relations. And he had come to the Crow's Nest in the most
wonderful manner, taking them unawares--and himself too! Their
little bodies tingled with excitement; every other minute they crept
out, meddling with the wonderful machine, which was outside sleeping
in the moonlight. But Ditte soon put a stop to this and ordered them
to bed.

The two brothers sat chatting until after midnight, and the children
struggled against sleep as long as they possibly could, so as not to
lose anything. But sleep overcame them at last, and Ditte too had to
give in. She would not go to bed before the men, and fell asleep
over the back of a chair.

Morning came, and with it a sense of joy; the children opened their
eyes with the feeling that something had been waiting for them by
the bedside the whole night to meet them with gladness when they
woke--what was it? Yes, over there on the hook by the door hung a
cap--Uncle Johannes was here! He and Lars Peter were already up and
doing.

Johannes was taken with everything he saw and was full of ideas.
"This might be made a nice little property," he said time after
time. "'Tis neglected, that's all."

"Ay, it's had to look after itself while I've been out," answered
Lars Peter in excuse. "And this trouble with the wife didn't make
things better either. Maybe you've heard all about it over there?"

Johannes nodded. "That oughtn't to make any difference to you,
though," said he.

That day Lars Peter had to go down to the marsh and dig a ditch, to
drain a piece of the land. Johannes got a spade and went with him.
He worked with such a will that Lars Peter had some difficulty in
keeping up with him. "'Tis easy to see you're young," said he, "the
way you go at it."

"Why don't you ditch the whole and level it out? 'Twould make a good
meadow," said Johannes.

Ay, why not? Lars Peter did no