"I wish Erik and Anders could have come too," said Mrs. Lund when they were on deck again. She almost never took a journey without her whole family.
"Grandmother would be very lonely if we were all gone. Our two weeks' trip will soon be over," replied her husband.
"Father," said Sigrid, a few hours later, "sometimes the canal is not much wider than the boat. Why, it seems just as if we were riding on top of the land instead of the water."
"Yes, I know what you mean." Major Lund was amused at the child's distress of mind. "We shall go through several places in the canal, so narrow that trees on opposite banks arch over the boat. But when we reach the big lakes you will think we are at sea. Sometimes they are so broad, you cannot see the shore."
"I thought it was the Göta Canal all the way," said Sigrid.
"So it is," replied her father. "But that is like a family name for wide rivers, big lakes, and little short canals that all join hands to make a waterway across the country."
Long before bedtime, Sigrid felt quite at home in her new quarters. After supper, she again sat on deck with her parents.
Suddenly, they heard a sharp cry. "Oh, Isabella, you will drown! Can't you get her, father? What shall I do! Oh! Oh!"
Several people hastened to the side of the boat where the cry rose. A pretty child was weeping bitterly, while her father was trying to comfort her.
"She has only lost her doll in the water, madam," explained the gentleman to Mrs. Lund, who was eager to help. He spoke in English.