Little Greta of Denmark Part 3

"He's way down there in front of us, right down by the water near that group of trees. Hurry, Hans. Let's see why he is barking."

Hans pushed the boat forward with strong, swift strokes. He knew exactly how to handle his boat, and in no time at all they had reached the group of trees that was growing by the edge of the water.

"Oh, Hans, the kittens! There are the kittens!" Greta stood right up in the boat. "Hurry, Hans. One of the kittens is in the river."

"You'd better sit down, Greta, or you'll be in the river yourself."

With one strong stroke of his paddle, Hans drove the boat against the gra.s.sy bank. Both children jumped out and ran over to Chouse and the kittens. One kitten was lying on the gra.s.s, but it looked more like a rat than a kitten. Its soft fur was soaking wet. Chouse was working hard to pull the other kitten out of the river. Finally he got it up on the bank just as Hans rushed up to help with the rescue.

"Oh, Hans, the poor little things are almost drowned." Greta picked up the two mewing kittens and held them close to her, trying to make them dry and warm and comfortable.

"It certainly is lucky that we came along when we did," said Hans. "Or rather, it's lucky that Chouse was hunting rabbits along here."

[Ill.u.s.tration: SAFE AGAIN]

"But where are the other two kittens, Hans?"

Hans didn't answer right away. He walked along the sh.o.r.e for a little distance, stopping now and then to look carefully in the water. At one place he got down on his knees and looked. Then he walked back quickly to Greta.

"I'm afraid we shall never find them, Greta. Come on. Let's go home so that we can get these kittens really dry and warm. We must give them some warm milk, for I know they are hungry."

All the way home Greta was very quiet. She took off her sweater and wrapped it around the kittens, holding them in her lap. Suddenly she looked up at Hans with a smile.

"Hans, this certainly proves that Chouse didn't try to do away with the kittens, for he was the one who _rescued_ them. Surely Father won't send him away now."

"I don't know, Greta. I saw Chouse chasing the chickens again yesterday."

"Did Father see him?" asked Greta with a worried look.

Hans was in a teasing mood and he didn't answer Greta right away.

Finally he said, with an annoying smile on his face, "I think I'd better not tell you, Greta."

CHAPTER IV

EXCITEMENT IN THE FOREST

"Oh, Father, I'm afraid to go any higher." Greta clung to her father's arm in terror. This was the first time she had climbed up the lookout tower in the forest, and even now she was only halfway up. It seemed such a fearfully long way to the top.

"I just can't go on," the little girl pleaded.

"Why, Greta, for months you've begged to climb up here."

"But I didn't know it was so high."

"You won't be scared if you don't look down at the ground. Just hold tightly to my hand and you will be all right. Remember, Greta, a girl who is named after a queen must not be afraid of anything."

"All right, Father, I'll go on."

[Ill.u.s.tration: AT THE TOP OF THE TOWER]

In no time at all they reached the very top of the tower, which stood in the middle of the forest.

"Why, Father, I can see all of Denmark from here."

Her father laughed. "Not quite all of it, Greta. But you can see all of our farm and a good many other farms, too. By the way, Greta, just how large _is_ Denmark?"

"I thought school was over for the summer," laughed Greta. "But I'll tell you anyway. Denmark covers exactly 16,574 square miles. Besides that, Denmark owns Greenland and the Faroe Islands. Any more questions, teacher?"

"Not right away. I'll try to think up a really hard one next time."

Greta's father began looking closely at the forest. He was very proud of the rows and rows of st.u.r.dy evergreens that covered a hundred acres of his farm. Each year a certain number of trees was cut. Some of them were sold, and some of them were used for fuel. But always, every year, new trees were planted to take the place of those that were cut.

Greta was gazing off into the distance, but suddenly her attention was caught by Chouse, who was running along the road that led to the tower.

If only her father didn't see him, thought Greta. Not a word had been said about Chouse for the last two days, and Greta hoped that the whole matter had been forgotten.

When Chouse reached the foot of the tower he began barking loudly. He had never climbed the tower and he wasn't as brave as Greta, for he didn't even try. He just kept on barking and barking and barking. Greta called to him, but he paid no attention. He merely barked more loudly than before. Of course her father heard him.

"What's that dog up to now, Greta? I guess you'll have to go down and see what he wants. Are you afraid to go down the tower alone?"

"No, of course I'm not afraid." Greta was glad of the chance to show how brave she really was.

But when she got down and patted him, Chouse still kept on barking.

Something was the matter, but Greta couldn't imagine what it was. Soon her father came down, and Greta could see that he was annoyed. Chouse rushed up to him and barked, trying so hard to tell him something. The dog dashed down the road a short distance and then ran back, barking furiously all the time.

"I guess we shall have to follow, Greta."

When Chouse saw that they were following, he stopped barking and was quite content. Once in a while he would run on ahead in a great hurry.

Then he would run back to Greta and her father and bark again.

"There must be something wrong in the forest," said Greta's father. "I have never seen Chouse so upset."

"You were just up in the tower, Father. If there had been a fire, you would surely have seen it."

[Ill.u.s.tration: SOME TREES ARE CUT EACH YEAR]

"Maybe not, because I was watching the men cutting the trees, trying to decide how many we should cut this year. I hadn't looked over the rest of the forest yet."

A forest fire is a dreadful thing in this part of the country, where the wind from the North Sea blows all day long. It can blow a fire in front of it until all the trees are gone. That is why the forests are always watched so carefully.

Suddenly Chouse darted off the main road into a narrow path. Greta and her father followed right at his heels, for they knew that the dog was leading them somewhere. This was his only way of telling them something that he thought they should know. Soon he turned off to still another path. Never for a moment did he hesitate. Chouse knew exactly where he was going.

When they came to the very edge of the forest, Chouse dashed around and jumped up and down in great excitement. At last they had reached the place to which he had been leading them. And no wonder that Chouse was so excited, for right in front of them, just a few feet from the line of trees, there was a fire!

"Oh, Father, will the whole forest burn down?" asked Greta, as she watched the flames which crackled through the pile of twigs and underbrush.