"Anna, please don't walk so fast," begged Greta. The two girls were walking down Langelinie, the beautiful parkway along the ocean. Greta was much shorter than Anna and she could not walk nearly so fast. Then, too, she liked to stop and watch the boats coming into the harbor. The name Copenhagen means "merchants' harbor," and this city has one of the finest harbors in Europe. All kinds of ships, from tiny sailboats to large ocean liners, come here from all parts of the world.

When they had gone a little farther, Greta wanted to sit down and rest.

"Can't you walk just a tiny bit more, Greta? On the other side of this little bay there is someone I want you to meet."

"Who, Anna?"

"She is called 'Den Lille Havfrue,'" said Anna.

"'Den Lille Havfrue,'" repeated Greta. "'The Little Ocean Lady.' I still don't understand, Anna. Who can this be?"

"Just keep on walking, and I'll show you," answered Anna in her most mysterious manner.

In a few minutes the girls had gone around the bay.

"Oh, Anna, how beautiful she is!" said the delighted Greta. Sitting on a rock at the edge of the water was the statue of a lovely mermaid—"the little ocean lady."

"She looks like a real live person," went on Greta, "except for her fish's tail instead of feet. Is there really such a person as a mermaid, Anna?"

"I'm not sure, Greta, whether there is or not. But if there really is a Nisse, then maybe there are mermaids, too. This Little Mermaid is the most beautiful statue in Copenhagen. Some people think it is the loveliest one in all Europe."

"How large is Copenhagen, Anna?"

"It has about a million people. That's a third of the whole population of Denmark."

After a short walk the girls came to a large fountain, the largest that Greta had ever seen. At the top of the fountain there was a statue of four oxen, hitched to a plow and driven by a woman.

"This is called the Gefion Fountain, and it shows how the island of Zealand was made," explained Anna. "There is an old, old story that says that Denmark was given permission to take as much of Sweden as one could plow around in a day. So the ruler of Denmark changed her four sons into oxen and with them she plowed out the island on which Copenhagen stands. This statue shows how she had to whip them and urge them on in order to plow out this large island before night came."

"Oh, I wish we had brought Chouse along," said Greta. "He would love to play in this fountain."

"Chouse likes to play in lots of places where he shouldn't. I think it's a good thing that we left him home. He was very naughty at Tivoli the other night."

"He didn't mean to be naughty, Anna. Don't you think we can take him with us sometime?"

"Maybe; sometime," said Anna.

As the girls walked along they stopped now and then to look in the shop windows. Whenever Greta saw a window full of beautiful silverware or china she wanted to stop and buy a gift for her mother. This china, decorated with figures in a soft blue color, was called Royal Copenhagen Porcelain, and it was famous all over the world. The silverware was designed by a Danish artist named Georg Jensen, and it was also very famous.

"You will have lots of time to buy a gift for your mother, Greta. Don't stop now. I hope you aren't tired, for we have a hard climb ahead of us."

"A climb? Why, there isn't a hill in all Copenhagen."

"Do you see that church with the dome-shaped roof that's all green and shiny? Well, that's what we are going to climb."

"Oh, Anna, how can we? Why, it's taller than any of the other buildings in Copenhagen." Greta looked around her at the four- and five-story buildings. The shiny green dome of the church rose far above them.

"It is usually called the Marble Church," explained Anna, "because it is built of marble. Its real name is Frederick's Church, because it was built by King Frederick the Fifth."

"That shiny green dome isn't made of marble, is it?" asked Greta.

"Oh, no," laughed Anna. "The church cost a great deal to build, and when they had gotten as far as the dome, there was no money left. So all the housewives in Copenhagen gave their copper kettles to be melted up and used to make the dome of the church."

Inside the church it was cool and quiet. The girls started up the stairs and climbed for quite a while without saying a word. Greta began to think that they would never reach the top.

"Is it much farther, Anna?"

"This is the easy part of the climb, Greta. Don't give up yet."

They kept on climbing. The stairs wound round and round, and as the girls went higher and higher the stairs became more and more narrow. Finally they came to the place where the stairs were so narrow and so steep that a rope had been hung from the top to help those who climbed. It was like climbing the side of a mountain.

"Now we've come to the hard part," said Anna. "Take hold of this rope and don't let go."

"Anna, do you think we ought to go any higher?" Greta was frightened but she didn't want to admit it.

"Why, of course. There is no point in climbing this far and then stopping. You aren't afraid, are you, Greta?"

"I guess not."

"Don't look down at all, and then you'll be all right," advised Anna.

All of a sudden Greta remembered what her father had told her when she was climbing the tower in the forest. "A girl who is named after a queen must not be afraid of anything." After all, what was there to be afraid of? The stairs were narrow and steep, but she would hold tightly to the rope and she would be quite safe.

When Greta was about ten steps from the top, she did glance down and saw a handkerchief lying on the step below her. Very carefully she backed down one step, holding to the rope with her left hand and clutching her purse with her right. As she took her left hand off the rope to pick up the handkerchief, she started to lose her balance. In terror she grabbed at the rope. She didn't fall, but the handkerchief fell six or seven steps below her.

Anna had reached the top and called down to Greta. "What's the matter, Greta? You mustn't stop now, when you are almost at the top."

"Did you drop your handkerchief, Anna? There is one here on the stairs."

Anna felt in all her pockets. "No, I didn't drop mine, Greta."

Greta backed down the steps slowly and carefully. This time she would not let go of the rope at all. She laid her purse on the step above while she picked up the tiny handkerchief and put it in her pocket. In a short time she had reached the top of the stairs, where Anna was waiting for her. Greta showed her the dainty little handkerchief, with its wide border of lace.

"Look, Greta. It has an 'I' embroidered in one corner."

"I wonder whose it is, Anna."

As the girls walked out on the platform on top of the dome, they almost ran into two beautifully dressed ladies. Greta made her prettiest curtsy.

"Perhaps this handkerchief is yours," she said, holding it out to them.

"Why, yes, it is," said the taller of the two ladies. "Thank you very much, my dear." She and her companion then started down the narrow stairway.

"I'm sure I have seen that lady before, but I can't remember where," said Anna, when they had gone. "Come over here, Greta. I want to show you the King's palace."

Just a block away from the Marble Church was Amalienborg, the palace of the King. The palace consisted of four beautiful buildings, built around a large open square. Day and night, a tall guard in uniform marched slowly back and forth in front of the palace. King Christian is probably the best loved king in all Europe, and no one would ever want to harm him. Nevertheless, the guard is always there.

"That is the famous Round Tower over there," explained Anna. "Some day we will climb up in it. The building with all the dragons on the roof is the Stock Exchange." Anna went on to point out other interesting buildings. Greta was most interested in the harbor and the hundreds of boats, which seemed to be everywhere in the city. Little arms of the sea come right into the heart of Copenhagen, so there really are boats and bridges wherever one looks.

Finally the girls started home. After a long bus ride, they walked the few remaining blocks to Anna's home.

"Anna, why does that building have so many little porches? Do they all belong to one house?" Greta pointed to a long brick building that had fully a hundred porches.

"That's a new apartment building, Greta. More than a hundred families live there, and each family has its own little sun porch. Notice how each porch is built up solid on one side, but the other side and the top are open. In that way, every porch gets lots of sunshine, but the neighbors can't possibly see in it.""They look more like bird cages than porches," said Greta.

"Oh, Greta," exclaimed Anna suddenly. "I believe that was the Princess."

"Who, Anna?"

"Why, the lady whose handkerchief you found. Let's hurry home and ask Mother. I'm sure she will know."

Greta told Anna's mother about the finding of the handkerchief, and Anna described the two ladies.

"Do you suppose it could have been Princess Ingrid, Mother?"

"I think it must have been, Anna. And the other lady was her sister Louise. You know that Princess Ingrid, the wife of our Crown Prince, is a Swedish princess by birth. Today's newspaper says that Princess Louise has come from Sweden to visit her sister Ingrid. Here is their picture. Does it look like the two whom you saw?"

Both girls looked at the paper eagerly. "Yes, it was Princess Ingrid and Princess Louise," said Greta. "Oh, I must write Hans about this. He has never even seen a Princess. And now I have seen two of them and even talked to one."