Early in the morning the two Smaland children, Osa, the goose girl, and little Mats, were out on the highway leading from Soermland to Naerke.  The road ran alongside the southern shore of Hjaelmar Lake and the children were walking along looking at the ice, which covered the greater part of it.  The morning sun darted its clear rays upon the ice, which did not look dark and forbidding, like most spring ice, but sparkled temptingly.  As far as they could see, the ice was firm and dry.  The rain had run down into cracks and hollows, or been absorbed by the ice itself.  The children saw only the sound ice.

Osa, the goose girl, and little Mats were on their way North, and they could not help thinking of all the steps they would be saved if they could cut straight across the lake instead of going around it.  They knew, to be sure, that spring ice is treacherous, but this looked perfectly secure.  They could see that it was several inches thick near the shore.  They saw a path which they might follow, and the opposite shore appeared to be so near that they ought to be able to get there in an hour.

“Come, let’s try!” said little Mats.  “If we only look before us, so that we don’t go down into some hole, we can do it.”

So they went out on the lake.  The ice was not very slippery, but rather easy to walk upon.  There was more water on it than they expected to see, and here and there were cracks, where the water purled up.  One had to watch out for such places; but that was easy to do in broad daylight, with the sun shining.

The children advanced rapidly, and talked only of how sensible they were to have gone out on the ice instead of tramping the slushy road.

When they had been walking a while they came to Vin Island, where an old woman had sighted them from her window.  She rushed from her cabin, waved them back, and shouted something which they could not hear.  They understood perfectly well that she was warning them not to come any farther; but they thought there was no immediate danger.  It would be stupid for them to leave the ice when all was going so well!

Therefore they went on past Vin Island and had a stretch of seven miles of ice ahead of them.

Out there was so much water that the children were obliged to take roundabout ways; but that was sport to them.  They vied with each other as to which could find the soundest ice.  They were neither tired nor hungry.  The whole day was before them, and they laughed at each obstacle they met.

Now and then they cast a glance ahead at the farther shore.  It still appeared far away, although they had been walking a good hour.  They were rather surprised that the lake was so broad.

“The shore seems to be moving farther away from us,” little Mats observed.

Out there the children were not protected against the wind, which was becoming stronger and stronger every minute, and was pressing their clothing so close to their bodies that they could hardly go on.  The cold wind was the first disagreeable thing they had met with on the journey.