Knut was a poor orphan boy who lived with his grandmother at Perlebank in a little hut on the shore.

He had a shirt, a jacket, a pair of trousers and a cap; and what more does one need in summer? In winter he had woolen stockings and birch-bark shoes. That wasn't so little, after all. He was cheerful,—always happy indeed, though always hungry. It is a great art to know how to be happy and hungry at the same time!

His good grandmother was so poor that she seldom had enough food for the boy to eat all he wanted. She spun woolen yarn and sent Knut with it to Mr. Peterman's grand estate, The Ridge, several miles away, where he could always sell the yarn. When Knut returned with the money, Grandmother would buy flour and bake bread. She made it in big flat cakes with a hole in the middle, strung these cakes on a stick and hung the stick high up in the hut where the cakes would dry and harden, and could be kept for a long time. If the yarn brought a good price, she might even buy some sour milk, too. Potatoes they got from a tiny fenced-in field, no larger than the floor of a small room. Then, too, Grandmother owned a fish-net, so they had fresh fish sometimes,—when Fisher Jonas's boy could help Knut to put out the net.

It was indeed seldom, however, that Knut and his grandmother were well supplied with food, and the boy's little stomach often called for more; but even then he was as cheerful as ever.

One morning he sat on the beach, picking up yellowish stones that looked a little like soft, warm, boiled potatoes. Poor Knut! They would not do to eat, and he laughingly threw them away, but as he did so, he happened to see something that lay among the stones. Picking it up, he found that it was a little whistle or pipe made of reed, such as children often make for themselves when playing on the shore. There was nothing at all remarkable about it, but Knut thought he would see if it gave any sound. Good! It really did. You could play three tones upon it,—pa, p?, and pu. When Knut discovered that, he just for fun stuffed the whistle into his jacket pocket.

To-day happened to be a hungry day; Knut had had no breakfast. "Suppose I were sitting now in Mr. Peterman's kitchen at The Ridge," thought Knut; and at once he imagined he could smell herring being fried!

Well, he must do something; so he seated himself on a big rock near the water and began to fish, but the fish would not bite. There had been a storm the day before, but to-day the sea shone like a mirror under the bright sun, and its slow heaving waves swung clear as glass against the shore.

"I do wonder what Grandmother has for dinner," thought Knut to himself.

Just then a wave rolled up so high that it wet Knut's bare foot, and he heard a voice murmur from the wave, "Knut, have you found the magic pipe that belongs to the sea-princess? She left it on the shore and wishes she could find it. You can blow three tones on it, pa, p?, pu; and they all work magic,—pa makes the hearers sleep, p? makes the hearers weep, but pu sets them to laughing."

"What?" exclaimed Knut. "Is it a magic pipe? Well, you may go your way, big wave. I found the pipe and I think I shall keep it for a while."

The wave murmured something,—no one knows what,—rolled slowly away and did not come back again.

Knut took the pipe from his pocket and looked closely at it. "So you are a magic pipe, are you? And can charm, can you? Well, charm a fish on to my hook, if you please." And with that he blew pa, pa.

He had not blown very long before a perch, then a pike, then a white fish floated up to the surface of the water, lying on their sides as if they were asleep.

"Here are fresh fish to be had," thought Knut; and he continued to blow. In a short time the whole surface of the water near the shore was covered with floating fish, more white fish, several kinds of perches, sticklebacks, bream, carp, pike, and salmon,—all the lively finny throng that live in the sea.

"This will be a great catch!" thought Knut, and he sprang up to the house to get a hand-net.

When he came back, the shore was crowded with water-birds. The sea-gulls were the greediest and shrieked "Grab! Grab! Grab!" so that they could be heard a mile away! But there were many others keeping them company,—ducks and wild geese, together with swans. All these ravenous visitors were hard at work devouring the floating fish; and in the midst of the throng was a great sea-eagle that had swooped down and seized a large salmon in his talons.

"Go away, you thieves!" called Knut, picking up stones from the beach and throwing them at the birds. Some were hit in the leg, others in the wing, but none seemed to think of dropping his prey.

Just then a shot sounded, then another and another, from a near-lying bay. Some of the birds fell to the water and floated, lying on their sides like the fish. The firing continued until all the birds had been either shot down or sent screaming away, scattering in every direction.

A boat containing three hunters now approached the beach. The men were Mr. Peterman and two friends of his, and it was they who had shot the birds. They stepped ashore in good humor to gather up their booty.

"Why, there is Knut!" said Mr. Peterman. "How in the world did you get so many birds together here at Perlebank?"

"I was playing on my pipe for the fish and the birds came to the party," answered Knut, jokingly.

"Then you must certainly be a wonderfully clever player," said Mr. Peterman. "And hereafter, your name shall be Knut Spelevink."[2]

"All right," said Knut. He had had no surname before and thought he might as well have Spelevink as Anderson, SÖderlund or Mattsson.

"But listen, Knut Spelevink; why do you look so poorly to-day? You are as thin as a rail," said Mr. Peterman.

"Why shouldn't I look poorly, who see all this food and have not eaten anything since yesterday noon?" replied Knut, in his cheerful fashion.

"H'm," said Mr. Peterman. "Well, come to The Ridge to dinner to-day, since you have provided us with such a good catch. But don't come until four o'clock because the birds won't be plucked and roasted before that."

"Thank you most humbly," answered Knut; but he thought to himself that four o'clock was rather late for any one who had eaten nothing since yesterday!

Mr. Peterman and his friends rowed away and Knut went home to his grandmother.

"Well, Knut, have you seen any fish to-day?"

"Oh, yes! I've seen plenty; but the birds ate the fish and Mr. Peterman shot the birds."

"Too bad, Knut. We have nothing for dinner but two herring, four little potatoes and a half-slice of bread."

"No matter, Grandmother; you eat that. I am invited to The Ridge for dinner and I shall bring you a bit of cheese in my pocket if I can."

"Don't take the short cut through Kiikkala Forest, Knut; there are elves there, and three troll-kings,—the Mountain King, the Snow King and the Forest King. Go, rather, along the shore,—that way is safer; only there you must look out for the mermaids."

"But it is a long way around by the shore, Grandmother, and I haven't had anything to eat since yesterday."

"Well, go whichever way you will then, but don't think about food. That leads one into temptation."

"No, Grandmother. I shall think about the next Catechism examination, and study hard as I go along."

Knut started on his way, thinking about the Catechism, but when he came to the beginning of the short cut, he thought: "Surely I should be a goose if I, with such an empty stomach, should walk seven miles instead of half that."

And so he turned off into the short cut through Kiikkala Forest and determined to hear himself say the Catechism while he was going through the woods.

He had not gone far before he saw a thin little old man, dragging a cart loaded with twelve iron bars.

"Good-day, Knut Spelevink," said the old man. "Why do you look so poorly to-day?"

"Why shouldn't I look poorly, when I have eaten nothing but Catechism since yesterday noon? But how did you know my new name?"

"I know all names," answered the old man, who was really a troll.

"Sha'n't I help you?" asked good-natured Knut. "You are all out of breath with that heavy load."

"Push away if you like, Spelevink." So Knut pushed, and the old man pulled and they soon came to a big mountain in the forest.

"This is where I live," said the old man. "Step in and I will give you something good to eat, because you helped me with my load." So saying, he entered the mountain. Knut's stomach said follow him, and Knut followed.

Soon they were in a great underground palace where everything glittered with gold, silver and precious stones.

"Do you live here?" asked Knut.

"I should say I did," replied the old man. "I am the King of the Mountain. To-morrow I give the marriage feast for my daughter; and my servants are so driven with work that I myself had to bring my food from the forge where these bars are made."

"Wasn't that iron in the cart?" asked Knut.

"Bar iron, my lad, bar iron of the best sort. That is something far finer than simple iron ore. Bar iron is my favorite food, especially when it is at white heat. Have you ever eaten bar iron?"

"Not that I can remember," said Knut.

"Then you shall be allowed to taste something extra fine for once. See, I lay two bars in the hot furnace fire. In three minutes they will be at white heat, and you shall creep into the furnace and eat of them hot,—fresh cooked!"

"Thank you very much," said Knut. "But give me rather a bit of bread and a bowl of sour milk."

"Oh, come now! You don't know what is good! Get into the furnace there. Be quick! The iron is red hot already."

"I believe you!" said Knut. "It is almost too hot for me."

"What nonsense!" growled the old troll. And he tried with all his might to thrust Knut into the furnace.

But the one who took to his heels at that instant was Knut. He ran for dear life, was lucky enough to find the outside door and was soon again on the forest path.

"Grandmother was right," thought Knut. "I really must hear myself the Catechism and keep my mind on it."

While Knut was thinking of one of the long explanations following the oft-recurring question, "What does that mean?" he suddenly felt very cold. The cause was soon evident, for behold! although it was summer, there, at a turn in the path, stood a snow mountain!

"This is remarkable," thought Knut. "How does any one here ever get warm food?"

With these words he climbed up on the snow, Catechism forgotten and thoughts of food uppermost in his mind; and at once he tumbled down into a deep hole, and found himself in a magnificent palace of glittering ice. Starlight and moonlight illuminated it. All the great rooms were ornamented with shining ice-mirrors, all the floors were strewn with diamonds of hoar frost. Clumsy snow men rolled about on their stomachs over the floor. Presently one stood upright. He was a long-bodied stiff creature, with icicles in his hair, icicles in his beard, a robe of thin sheet-ice, and shoes of frozen berry-juice.

"Good-day, Knut Spelevink," said the Snow King. "Why do you look so poorly to-day?"

"Why shouldn't I look poorly when I have had nothing but Catechism and bar iron to eat since yesterday noon?" said Knut with chattering teeth.

"You are too hot, young man, you are too hot,—that is what is the matter with you. I am the Snow King and I bring up all my subjects to be ice-clad—turn them into regular lumps of ice,—and I will do the same for you. Chief Officer of the Snow Knights, dip this boy seven times in ice-cold water, hang him on a hook and let him freeze."

"No,—thank you,—wait a little," suggested Knut. "Give me instead a mug of hot posset. I am already a lump of ice!"

"Chief Officer of the Snow Knights, give him a bit of frozen quicksilver, and a mug of chipped ice before you dip him," ordered the Snow King.

Knut wanted to run away but it was already too late. The Chief Officer had grabbed him by the collar, and it would have been all over with Knut if he had not chanced to get hold of his magic pipe. Knowing that there was not another thing he could do to try to save himself but to blow on his pipe, blow he did, right lustily; and this time the sound was pu, pu.

Instantly the long-bodied troll's features were distorted by a grin that should have represented merriment, but he was far from merry. He was boiling with rage over the resistless desire to laugh that unexpectedly took possession of him. He laughed and laughed; yes, he laughed so hard that the icicles fell from his hair and chin, his knees doubled under him, and at last his very head burst into bits! All the snow men laughed so violently that they, too, fell to pieces; the Chief Officer sank to the floor, becoming only a pool of mushy, dirty water. The ice-mirrors broke into small fragments and the whole palace changed into a wild whirl of snow!

Knut himself was so overcome by laughter that it was only by the strongest effort he could hold his lips together on the pipe and keep on blowing.

While the snow still whirled about him, he suddenly noticed that he was again upon the forest path. And lo! the next instant the air cleared, the last of the snow disappeared in swift-running streams, and summer, high summer, ruled once more.

"Now I will look out for myself," thought Knut as he tramped steadily forward; and he began again to pick out from his memory an answer to the question, "What does that mean?"

He had not walked far before he found himself beside the most beautiful little wooded hill, where strawberries gleamed red all through the grass. It could not be dangerous to pick a few strawberries to eat, when one was not to have dinner until four o'clock in the afternoon, thought hungry Knut; and he climbed a little way up the hill.

No sooner was he there than he saw that what he had taken for strawberries was nothing else than many thousand charming little elves in red clothing. They were no taller than a strawberry stem, and were dancing merrily around a green hillock upon which sat their queen who was about three inches tall.

"Good-day, Knut Spelevink," said the elf-queen. "Why do you look so poorly to-day?"

"Why shouldn't I look poorly when I have had nothing to eat since yesterday noon except Catechism and bar iron and frozen quicksilver? I thought that you people were strawberries."

"Poor thing, he is hungry," said the queen to her lady-in-waiting. "Give him a dewdrop and the leg of a gnat so that he may for once eat until he is really satisfied."

"Thank you very much," answered Knut. "But might I perhaps have a dish of berries and a pail of milk instead?"

"What coarseness!" said the elf-queen, highly disgusted with such a gluttonous appetite. "Do you know, you human child, that you came into our kingdom without a pass, and that you trod to death three and thirty of our faithful subjects so that there is nothing left of them but a red stain? And you have refused our gracious offer of food and shown yourself to be disgustingly greedy, besides. Forest spinners of our court, do your duty."

Scarcely were the words spoken before a legion of long-legged spiders swung down from the trees and began to spin around Knut a network of countless fine threads. Knut did not relish this, and thought it a very poor joke. He beat away the webspinners, and tried to return to the forest path, but could not stir from the spot. His feet were tangled in an all too strong net, his arms were glued to his sides, his eyes even were plastered shut, and at last down he fell in the grass.

He could see nothing but he could hear how the whole hill rang with laughter; the elves formed a ring around him, danced over him, nipped him on the cheeks like gnats, and were beside themselves with joy over their comical trick.

"Lie there and starve until you can be satisfied with a dewdrop and a gnat leg," said the elves.

Knut fell to pleading with them. "Listen now, little elves," said he. "I shall be content if I may bite on a small piece of reed I have in my jacket pocket. Will not some of you be so good as to stick it into my mouth?"

The elves thought it would be inexpressibly amusing to see this greedy human child eat a piece of reed; so four of them climbed into his jacket pocket and with their united strength drew forth the magic pipe, which, with great effort, they succeeded in putting into his mouth. Thereupon they danced more merrily than ever around and over him, and the hill resounded with their delicate laughter. It was like the humming of a million swarms of gnats.

Knut no sooner felt the pipe between his lips than he began to blow; and this time the tone was p?, p?. At once the merry laughter came to an end, and sobbing was heard from every direction,—a sound as of a hundred thousand sobbing together, not unlike what one hears in summer when the beating rain lashes the hill.

Knut could not see, but he knew that the elves were crying and he felt that it was a sin, no matter what they had done, to make such merry creatures sob so grievously.

"Set me free and you shall laugh again," said Knut to the weeping elves.

Now it is the elves' greatest joy to laugh. Indeed, they laugh away their short lives in the summer evenings knowing nothing of sorrow.

At Knut's words, hundreds of elves began immediately to chase away the spiders, and to set free the prisoner, loosening his arms and his legs, and unplastering his eyelids. Knut could now see his tiny enemies and his anger rose again, so that he blew p? once more. Oh, how the poor little creatures grimaced and trembled! They wished so much to laugh and yet they must weep because of that frightful p?!

Knut had not the heart to tease them any longer. He changed the note to pu and the elves became almost crazy with joy. They leaped so high in the air that they nearly overtook the larks, and as they came down, some of them alighted upon Knut and he had to shake them off. He did not notice that one elf had fallen into his pocket and remained there.

"Good-bye, little elves," said Knut as he hastily set off again on his way through the forest.

"I must watch out well for that other troll, the Forest King," thought Knut. "He is said to be the worst of all. Where was I in the Catechism? Oh, yes. 'What does that mean?'"

After a while Knut came to a swamp at the roadside where cloudberries grew in profusion.

"It can't be wrong to pick a few of these berries as I pass by, since I sha'n't have any food until four o'clock this afternoon," thought Knut. To reach the swamp he had to climb over a huge fallen pine-tree, which lay in the way. Scarcely did he find himself clambering across its gnarly trunk and thick close branches than the pine-tree, to Knut's great fright, raised itself high in air, and roared with a gruff voice:

"Good-day, Knut Spelevink. Why do you look so poorly to-day?"

Knut, hanging over the road in the pine-tree's top, still found courage to answer:

"Why shouldn't I look poorly when I have had nothing to eat since yesterday noon except Catechism, and bar iron, and frozen quicksilver and a gnat's leg?"

"Well, why did you interrupt my midday nap?" asked the pine-tree. "Don't you know that I am the King of the Forest and rule over all the trees and swamps for seven times seven miles around! Here you see my palace. Haven't I a fine place to live in?"

Knut saw nothing but a bleak wilderness, so did not answer the question but ventured to inquire most humbly if he might not get down and pick some cloudberries to eat.

"What is that? Cloudberries?" roared the Forest King. "Take a fir-tree for a ladle and ladle into yourself seven cartloads of swamp mud. That is what I call a regular meal. It is my favorite food."

"Perhaps you would give me one load of apple marmalade, and a moderately big ditch full of wild honey instead!" suggested merry Knut.

"Apple marmalade? Humph! I shall make marmalade of you for disturbing me in my nap. My Lord Eagle, I give the boy to you. You can tear him into Scotch collops for your young ones."

Knut now became aware of an enormous eagle sitting in the top of the tree and staring at him with ravenous eyes. He could not jump down, for the pine-tree held him fast by his arms and legs. He should soon be torn into Scotch collops.

Knut Spelevink had never eaten collops, but however much he liked food, it seemed unbearable that he himself should become food for eagles.

The situation was indeed dangerous, but at this critical moment Knut felt something light as a flower creeping up his arm, up to his jacket collar, then to his chin and finally to his mouth. It was the little elf that had hidden in Knut's pocket, and was now creeping along and, with incredible difficulty, dragging after him the magic pipe which was seven times as long as himself.

"Blow!" said the elf.

Knut felt the pipe in his mouth and began to blow with a will. This time the tone was again pa.

The Forest King yawned, stretched out his branches, and mumbled something about having been disturbed in his midday nap. Then he threw himself down at full length beside the swamp, and in his fall crushed beneath his huge trunk the big ravenous eagle which the magic pipe had made too drowsy to fly away.

As Knut crept from among the branches, he heard a snoring through the forest as loud as if a hundred bears were growling their best for a wager; and he again took to his heels as nimbly as he could.

"I must certainly look out," thought Knut. "It is indeed dangerous here in the forest."

Without stopping for cloudberries or anything else, he continued to run and run while he could, but it was not easy, and by and by he had to walk slowly for the path was almost overgrown. The bramble-bushes seemed to have a spite against his trousers, tree branches caught hold of his jacket, and clung fast to it; the heather and the twigs of the blueberry-bushes pricked his bare feet But to The Ridge he meant to get and to The Ridge he did get without further adventure, arriving,—tired, hungry and blowsy,—at precisely four o'clock in the afternoon.

"Welcome, Knut Spelevink," said Mr. Peterman. "You look right cheerful this afternoon!"

"Why shouldn't I look cheerful when I have been offered feasts of hot bar iron, frozen quicksilver, a dewdrop and a gnat's leg, and seven cartloads of mud?" laughed Knut.

"Why, that is a good many courses for one day," said Mr. Peterman. "One ought not to think much about food. When any one constantly thinks of what he can get to eat, he is in danger of encountering trolls and such like, who only fool him. But perhaps you are hungry, my boy?"

Knut blinked in embarrassment, squeezed his cap between his hands and said that he was not yet exactly starved to death.

"Now that rejoices me!" exclaimed Mr. Peterman. "I ate a late breakfast and the servants have not yet had time to pluck all the birds. You just wait until eight o'clock and then you shall have some supper."

This was worse than hot bar iron and seven cartloads of mud, Knut thought; but he bit his nails and answered that he could wait, of course, adding to himself, however, "I had better say the Catechism over again to pass the time."

Now this Mr. Peterman was a great joker and was only teasing Knut. He had himself been a poor boy and knew well enough what it meant, when famished, to wait four hours more for food.

"Knut Spelevink," said he, "I perceive that you can do more than think about things to eat. Do you realize that conquering one's self and being able to give up, even to the very necessities of life, what one craves here in this world is a kind of heroism? You can conquer yourself like a hero and keep your merry humor through everything. I like you, my boy, and I am sure you will make a fine man if you have enough to eat and go to school as I mean you shall; for I am going to look after you from this time on.

"But what does that mean?" continued Mr. Peterman, sniffing. "It seems to me I smell roast bird! Walk in, my boy. You shall sit with me, at my own table, and for once in your life eat all you want."

When Mr. Peterman said "What does that mean?" Knut thought it sounded as if catechising were going to begin; but the door to the dining-room was thrown open at that moment, and there stood a dinner-table laden with smoking-hot savory food awaiting the hungry guests.

Mr. Peterman led Knut in by the hand and Knut sat at the table like a lord; and there he might have been sitting yet if he had not long since carried home the promised piece of cheese to his grandmother, and been sent to school.

As for the magic pipe, he had used that three times and once more, and it had served him well in Kiikkala Forest; but try as he might he could never again get the magic tones from it, and one day he lost it. The Catechism, however, stayed in his mind, and Knut could recite it from end to end any time he was asked.

—Z. Topelius.