"We come now to the third accident and the third step that brought the Norsemen to our own land.
"Eric the Red had sons. They were bold and daring sailors, like their father. During the long winter evenings they used to listen to the stories of the older people. There was one that they liked best of all. It was the tale of a young man named Biarne who was trying to find the way from Iceland to Greenland. His father had gone there with Eric, and Biarne wished to follow him.
"He started off in the right direction. When he had sailed out of sight of land, a thick fog settled down. Then a north wind began to blow. Day after day, the ship was driven by the strong north wind. Biarne could do nothing but wonder, 'Where are we going? Surely, this wind will never carry us to Greenland.'
"At last the fog cleared away and not long after that the Norseman and his crew found they were sailing near a shore on which trees were growing. Low hills rose behind it. It could not be Greenland, truly, for Biarne had been told that the hills there were high and that they were covered with ice.
"When Biarne refused to land, his men were quite angry. 'I must go on with my search for my father,' he told them. 'I only care now to find him.'
"Again they set sail and after two more days they saw land again. It was low and wooded, so Biarne knew that this could not be the country he was seeking.
"'I will not stop here,' he told his men. Of course they grumbled, but they were obliged to do as he wished.
"Three more days passed, and a land with high and snowy mountains came into sight.
"'I am sure this is not Greenland, either,' said Biarne, and he would not stop. He sailed along its shores, however, long enough to find it was an island.