"And the sky
talked to the clouds, the clouds to the trees, the trees to
the grass, the grass to the flies, the flies to the animals,
the animals to the children, the children to the grown-up
people...." Oeyvind looked at the mountain, the trees, and
the sky and had never seen them before.

There is delicacy or emotional harmony also in the Mother's song. When
Oeyvind asked, "What does the Cat say?" his Mother sang:--

At evening softly shines the sun.
The cat lies lazy on the stone.
Two small mice,
Cream, thick and nice,
Four bits of fish,
1 stole behind a dish,
And am so lazy and tired,
Because so well I have fared.

The unity is maintained through the central interest of the two
Children and the goat.

The tale is characterized by fairly good mass. As the story aims to
portray a natural picture of child life, obviously it could not
maintain a style of too great solidity and force, but rather would
seek one of ease and naturalness. Mass, as shown in _Oeyvind and
Marit_, appears in the following description of Oeyvind's play with
the goat, after he first realized its return:--

He jumped up, took it by the two fore-legs, and danced with
it as if it were a brother; he pulled its beard, and he was
just going in to his mother with it, when he heard someone
behind him; and looking, saw the girl sitting on the
greensward by his side. Now he understood it all, and let go
the goat.

The story of child-friendship is told in distinct little episodes
which naturally connect. That unmistakable relation of the parts which
is essential to coherence, appears in the following outline of the
story:--

1. A new acquaintance; Oeyvind and Marit meet. The exchange of a
goat for a cake. The departure of the goat. Marit sings to the
goat. The return of the goat. Marit accompanies the goat.

2. New interests. The stories of what the animals say, told to
Oeyvind by his Mother. The first day of school.

3. An old acquaintance renewed: Oeyvind again meets Marit at
School.

The Children's love of the goat, the comradeship of Oeyvind and Marit,
of Oeyvind and his Mother, and of Marit and her Grandfather, are
elements which assist in producing coherence. The songs of Marit, and
the songs and stories of Oeyvind's Mother, especially preserve the
relation of parts. In the following paragraphs