"Elsa and Karl must have been out in the country to see their grandmother," said Sigrid, as a sleigh jingled past. The mother and two children were cosily packed in front. The driver stood on a little platform built in the rear. A white net with a wide border of tassels covered the back of the horse and the dasher of the sleigh.
"Father," burst out Erik, as he came in from the cold, "we did have the best time. Little Anders can skate as well as the rest of us now."
"Well," replied Major Lund, "you certainly look as though you had enjoyed yourself. But somebody will lose his porridge if he is not ready for supper soon."
The family gathered about the table. Before they began, the father turned to his oldest child and said,
"Erik, I believe it is your turn to say grace to-night. Sigrid said it yesterday."
Every one stood while the boy solemnly bowed his head and said the simple words.
Oh, they were so hungry! Didn't their supper of rice porridge, flat rye bread, pancakes and milk taste good! The three children sat very quietly at the table and ate all the food that was served them. Not a spoonful of porridge or a crumb of rye bread was left.
Perhaps you never saw Swedish flat bread. Even the king's family eat these big brown cakes, which are as much as a foot across, and look like a thin, crisp cookie. They have a large hole in the centre. In the farmers' houses, they run a long pole through this hole, and hang their bread from the ceiling.
When the meal was over, each child rose and shook hands with the father and mother and said, "Tack för matin," or as we should say, "Thanks for food." Then the parents thanked each other. So many thanks may seem very strange to you, but it is an old and beautiful custom in Sweden.