YES, that was little Tuk. His name was not really Tuk; but when he could not speak plainly, he used to call himself so. It was to mean “Charley”; and it's a good thing to know that. Now, he was to take care of his little sister Gustava, who was much smaller than he, and at the same time he was to learn his lesson; but these two things would not go well together. The poor boy sat there with his little sister on his lap, and sang her all the songs that he knew, and every now and then he gave a glance at the geography book that lay open before him; by tomorrow morning he was to know all the towns in Zealand by heart and to know everything about them that one can well know.

Now his mother came home, for she had been out, and took little Gustava in her arms. Tuk ran to the window, and read so that he almost read his eyes out, for it became darker and darker; but his mother had no money to buy candles.

“There goes the old washerwoman out of the lane yonder,” said his mother, as she looked out of the window. “The poor woman can hardly drag herself along, and now she has to carry the pail of water from the well. Be a good boy, Tuk, and run across, and help the old woman. Won't you?”

And Tuk ran across quickly, and helped her; but when he came back into the room it had become quite dark. There was no talk of a candle, and now he had to go to bed, and his bed was an old settle. There he lay, and thought of his geography lesson, and of Zealand, and of all the master had said. He ought certainly to have read it again, but he could not do that. So he put the geography-book under his pillow, because he had heard that this is a very good way to learn one's lesson; but one cannot depend upon it. There he lay, and thought and thought; and all at once he fancied some one kissed him upon his eyes and mouth. He slept, and yet he did not sleep; it was just as if the old washerwoman were looking at him with her kind eyes, and saying,

“It would be a great pity if you did not know your lesson tomorrow. You have helped me, therefore now I will help you; and Providence will help us both.”

All at once the book began to crawl, crawl about under Tuk's pillow.

“Kikeliki! Put! put!” It was a Hen that came crawling up, and she came from kj ge. “I'm a kj ge hen!” she said.

And then she told him how many inhabitants were in the town, and about the battle that had been fought there, though that was really hardly worth mentioning.

“Kribli, kribli, plumps!” Something fell down: it was a wooden bird, the Parrot from the shooting match at Pr$st e. He said that there were just as many inhabitants yonder as he had nails in his body; and he was very proud. “Thorwaldsen lived close to me. Plumps! Here I lie very comfortably.”

But now little Tuk no longer lay in bed; on a sudden he was on horseback. Gallop, gallop! hop, hop! and so he went on. A splendidly-attired knight, with shining helmet and flowing plume, held him on the front of his saddle, and so they went riding on through the wood to the old town of Vordingborg, and that was a great and very busy town. On the King's castle rose high towers, and the radiance of lights streamed from every window; within was song and dancing, and King Waldemar and the young gaily-dressed maids of honour danced together. Now the morning came on, and so soon as the sun appeared the whole city and the King's castle suddenly sank down, one tower falling after another; and at last only one remained standing on the hill where the castle had formerly been; and the town was very small and poor, and the schoolboys came with their books under their arms, and said, “Two thousand inhabitants”; but that was not true, for the town had not so many .

And little Tuk lay in his bed, as if he dreamed, and yet as if he did not dream; but some one stood close beside him.

“Little Tuk! little Tuk!” said the voice. It was a seaman, quite a little personage, as small as if he had been a cadet; but he was not a cadet. “I'm to bring you a greeting from Kors r; that is a town which is just in good progress----a lively town that has steamers and mail coaches. In times past............