contention
for her, but which now would have gone right over if he had not saved it
by a spring.

Towards the evening of the same day we see the contending parties again
met in

THE GARRET.

"Are you yet angry?" asked Harald, jokingly, as he stretched in his head
through the garret-door, where Susanna was sitting upon a flour-tub, as
on a throne, with all the importance and dignity of a store-room queen,
holding in her hand a sceptre of the world-famous sweet herbs--thyme,
marjoram, and basil, which she was separating into little bundles,
whilst she cast a searching glance around her well-ordered kingdom.

The bread-chests were heaped up, for she had just baked oaten-bread;
bacon-sausages and hams hung full of gravy, from the roof, as well as
great bundles of dried fish; little bags full of all kinds of vegetables
stood in their appointed places, and so on.

Harald looked also around the garret, and truly with the eye of a
connoisseur, and said, although he had yet received no answer to his
question--

"It is certain that I never saw a better provided or better arranged
store-room!"

Susanna would not exhibit one gleam of the pleasure she felt at this
praise.

"But," continued Harald, "you must confess that it does not require so
very much skill to preserve the store-room and cellar well supplied in a
country so rich in all the good things of life as our Norway--

Well-beloved land, with heaven-high mountains,
Fruit-bearing valleys, and fish-giving shores!"

"Fish also have we, thank God, in Sweden," replied Susanna, drily.

"Oh, but not to compare with our fish! Or would you seriously set your
perch and carp against our mackerel, herrings, haddocks, flounders, and
all our unparalleled quantities of fish?"

"All your Norwegian kind of fish I would give for one honest Swedish
pike."

"A pike! Is there then in Sweden really nothing but pike?"

"In Sweden there are all kinds of fish that there are in Norway, and a
great deal bigger and fatter."

"Yes, then they come from our coasts. We take what we want, and that
which remains we let swim to Sweden, that down there they may have
somewhat also. But I have forgotten that I myself am going a-fishing,
and will catch little fishes, great fishes, a deal of fish. Adieu,
Mamsel Susanna. I shall soon come back with fish."

"You had best stop with your Norwegian fishes," cried Susanna after him.

But Harald did not stop with the fishes. On the morrow we s