“I feel something tickling my ear now,” said Aunt Polly, when they were all settled, and she told this story about
A PAIR OF OLD SHOES.
Once upon a time in a far, northern country lived a little boy named Lars. His home was a rude cottage on the seashore, but it was a very happy one to Lars, because it contained all that he loved—his good father, who was a great fisherman, and his thrifty mother who knitted his warm socks.
Day after day Lars watched the great ocean and sailed tiny ships on its blue surface. He played hide-and-seek among the rocks and listened to the cry of the sea-birds in their flight.
He held beautiful shells close to his ear to hear the sound of breakers imprisoned there by sea-fairies and every delight that a fisher-boy loves was known to Lars.
Among other things that he liked to do was this:—he would take a small piece of wood and stretch fishing lines or twine of any kind from end to end, making a sort of rude fiddle.
Then he would play on the cords and enjoyed the sounds very much.
One day the father of Lars found an old violin that had been saved from a wrecked ship. He brought it home to his little boy, who danced with delight when he saw it. From that day Lars was a very busy boy. He sat on the rocks and played on the old violin, to his heart’s content.
He had listened to the sea-birds so long that he could make their cries out, and his ear was so acute that he could imitate the moaning of the north wind.
When Lars grew older his fame as a fiddler had spread among the fisher-folk far and wide.