Little Greta of Denmark Part 11

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.

[Ill.u.s.tration: AMALIENBORG PALACE]

"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.

[Ill.u.s.tration: THE KING'S GUARD]

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.

[Ill.u.s.tration: "BIRD CAGE" 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 suns.h.i.+ne, 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."

CHAPTER XI

THE BEST SURPRISE OF ALL

"Now it's our turn to show _you_ some castles, Greta," said Anna, as she and her mother and Greta got in the car. Anna's mother had promised to take the girls on an all-day trip to northern Zealand. This part of Denmark is as full of castles as a plum-cake is full of plums.

After driving about twenty-five miles along the sh.o.r.e, they came to Kronborg Castle, in the town of Elsinore.

"This is the most famous castle in Denmark," said Anna's mother.

"Why?" asked Greta.

"Haven't you ever read 'Hamlet,' Greta?" asked Anna in surprise.

"Kronborg Castle is where Hamlet lived. Only Shakespeare called it Elsinore, which is the name of the town instead of the castle."

[Ill.u.s.tration: KRONBORG CASTLE]

As she walked across the old drawbridge and entered the outer yard of the castle, Greta thought that Kronborg was the loveliest castle she had ever seen. It was much larger and much more wonderful than Vosborg. When they came to the drawbridge across the second moat, Anna pointed out the high battlement where the ghost of the murdered king once walked.

"Does he still walk there, Anna?" asked Greta.

"Maybe he does, Greta. All we really know about him is what Shakespeare tells us in his play."