A letter had been written to tell Christian, and the next day he came home from the school.  His uncles in the city begged him to stay with them, but the boy said earnestly:  “If my father must cross the sea, I too must go with him.”

They waited only for the winter’s cold to pass away, and when the first robins began to sing among the naked trees, they had left the fine large house,—­left the beautiful gardens where the children used to play, left the great, comfortable arm-chairs and sofas, the bookcases and tables, and the little beds beside the wall.  Besides their clothes, they had taken nothing with them but two great wooden chests full of beautiful linen sheets and table-cloths.  These had been given to the mother by her mother long ago, before any of the children were born, and they must be carried to the new home.  You will see, by and by, how glad the family all were to have them.

Did you ever go on board a ship?  It is almost like a great house upon the water, but the rooms in it are very small, and so are the windows.  Then there is the long deck, where we may walk in the fresh air and watch the water and the sea-birds, or the sailors at work upon the high masts among the ropes, and the white sails that spread out like a white bird’s wings, and sweep the ship along over the water.

It was in such a ship that our children found themselves, with their father and mother, when the snow was gone and young grass was beginning to spring up on the land.  But of this they could see nothing, for in a day they had flown on the white wings far out over the water, and as Louise clung to her father’s hand and stood upon the deck at sunset, she saw only water and sky all about on every side, and the red clouds of the sunset.  It was a little sad, and quite strange to her, but her younger brothers and sisters were already asleep in the small beds of the ship, which, as perhaps you know, are built up against the wall, just as their beds were at home.  Louise kissed her father and went down, too, to bed, for you must know that on board ship you go down stairs to bed instead of up stairs.

After all, if father, mother, brother, and sister can still cling to each other and love each other, it makes little difference where they are, for love is the best thing in the universe, and nothing is good without it.

They lived for many days in the ship, and the children, after a little time, were not afraid to run about the deck and talk with the sailors, who were always very kind to them.  And Louise felt quite at home sitting in her little chair beside the great mast, while she knit upon her stocking,—­a little stocking now, one for the baby.

Christian had brought his flute, and at night he played to them as he used at home, and, indeed, they were all so loving and happy together that it was not much sorrow to lose the home while they kept each other.

Sometimes a hard day would come, when the clouds swept over them, and the rain and the great waves tossed the ship, making them all sick, and sad too, for a time; but the sun was sure to come out at last, as I can assure you it always will, and, on the whole, it was a pleasant journey for them all.