"Is amber a stone?" asked Greta. "Of course I know what it looks like, but what is it made of?"
"It has taken thousands of years to form the lovely clear yellow material that we call amber," explained the second woman. "It was once the sticky, yellowish fluid given off by the pine trees. As time went by, those trees were buried under the ground or under the water. The sticky fluid gradually became hard as stone. It is those stone-like pieces that we sometimes dig up along the beach of the North Sea."
"They are very valuable, aren't they?" asked Anna.
"Yes, some of them are. Those that are perfectly clear and have no flaws always bring a good price."
"We'll help you look," said Greta.
The two girls began to search for the little yellow lumps that lay hidden in the sand. At first it was fun, but after a while they got tired. They were just about to quit, when one of the women called out happily, "Here is a beautiful, large piece. It must weigh a pound."
The others rushed up to look at it. Amber is very light, so it took a large piece indeed to weigh a pound. After this they began searching with fresh interest. Suddenly Greta found what she thought was a beautiful piece of amber. But when she showed it to the two women they said it was much too heavy for amber.
Greta got down on her knees and began poking among the stones and shells. Every now and then she dug into the sand and poked and looked and dug some more. While the girls were busy in this absorbing work, Chouse ran up and down the beach. No one paid any attention to him. Once in a while he ran up to Greta to see if she would play with him. But she just pushed him away. "Run away, Chouse. I'm too busy to play now."
