"In three days from that time, he reached the shores of Greenland. When Biarne at last cast anchor he was very near that part of the country where his father was living.
"Whenever Eric's sons heard this story of Biarne, they thought, 'When we grow up, we will go to sea. Then we will try to find the country with green hills and many trees. Who knows what else we shall see in such a pleasant land?"
"The time came at last when the eldest son of Eric was old enough to start on a long voyage. It was in the year 1000. Biarne went with him.
"The first shore that met their eyes was Newfoundland. They landed and found it was a plain covered with stones. They returned to the ships and soon Nova Scotia came in sight.
"After they had looked over that land, they started once more and sailed southward. They came to our own New England. I believe they were not a hundred miles away from where we are this very minute.
"They were much pleased with the place. They found plenty of large salmon in the waters. Trees grew everywhere about them. The air was much warmer and pleasanter than in Greenland.
"There was one thing which delighted them more than anything else. They found vines with great bunches of grapes growing upon them. This is how it happened. One night one of their party was missing. He had gone with a few men to look around and see what they could discover. This man was a German and his name was Tyrker. His friends came back without him. He had wandered away from them. They believed he was lost.
"Everyone felt bad. They thought they should never see him again. Some of them went to hunt for the missing man. They had not gone far when they met him. He seemed wild with joy. He could hardly speak, he was so glad. At first, his friends thought he had lost his mind.
"After a while he was able to say that he had found vines with grapes upon them. He knew what they were, for he had seen grapes growing in his own country of Germany.