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884 SKETCHES.
and have enjoyed it vastly; and I know that it will interest
you to hear all about it.
But the mother and children of whom I am about to tell
you, I have not known myself; a good friend of mine has
told me all that I am now going to relate to you.
Well, you see, children, there was a cottage lying on the
margin of a dark-green pine forest, and upon it and round
about it the snow fell in large flakes, one dark winter’s
night. But the interior of the cottage was light, for the
fire was blazing merrily upon the hearth, and threw its
friendly glare upon the pine-tree which stretched its heavy
snow-laden branches against the outer wall of the cottage,
and the fire also threw its light into the forest where the
large owl sat screeching, “Uh, hu, hu, hu!” Merrily the
smoke was curling up through the chimney, and the sparks
danced about amongst the snow-flakes so that these became
quite giddy, and tumbled down through the chimney into
the porridge-pan, that is to say, they would have tumbled
into it, if they had not melted on their way through the
smoke.
It was the Christmas porridge which sputtered and bub-
bled on the hearth, besides other Yule fare ; for it was now
Christmas Eve, and according to the custom in the rural
districts in Sweden, the food for the whole Christmas holi-
days was to be prepared, so that it only required to be
warmed up for the meals during those days.
Tt was not, you may believe, rich man’s fare which was
being cooked in the cottage. For in it there lived only a
cottar’s wife— and she was a widow with three children.
But she was an industrious and thoughtful woman, and a
good mother, and had now, in honor of Yule time, prepared
the very best; and that was not to be despised. ‘Three
pounds of meat she had bought, and it was now boiling
together with parsly-roots and celery, and promised to
make a savory soup, with cabbage, on Christmas Day. For
in the country people must have cabbage-soup on that day.
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