run wildly to and fro like a lost sheep, and when his commander gives a signal, the soldier must know exactly what to do, and do it at once. It has to be so, because a soldier cannot have arms and feet for his own sake, but must be ready and willing to sacrifice life and limbs for the cause he fights for; and that cause is the honor and freedom of his country, you understand! Keep your arms straight, stand at attention, you lazy urchins - that's the true soldier spirit; for then he has forgotten himself, and sacrifices himself for his dear old country. Do you understand that, lads?" "Yes," they all answered.

"You must say, 'Yes, Mr. First Sergeant,' for that sounds right," Pepper-and-Salt corrected. Once more he turned to the curly-headed boy, saying:

"And then there is yet another reason: the soldier must stand at attention because he is not supposed to ask silly questions of his commander.”

Pepper-and-Salt looked sternly at the boy, who was not a bit frightened, but answered frankly:

"Yes; but if I had not asked, I should not have known why 'Attention' is the first command; now I know it." "You are right, my boy; and now go back to the ranks, place yourself at the right end, and see to it that that row is straight, absolutely straight."

"I should rather be in the ranks with the others," answered the boy. "It is more pleasant to be commanded by one who knows how than to command when you don't know how."

"There is true soldier stuff in that boy," Pepper-and-Salt said admiringly as he looked at him, and there was a quiver in his voice. "I wish your father could have seen you, boy! All right, go ahead, and learn how to obey before you learn

how to command. Then your mother and your country will be proud of you some day."

The boy blushed and went back to his place. Pepper-andSalt faced the boys. One of them was a little restless, and the First Sergeant raised his finger threateningly at him, saying:

"Don't jump like an old spider, boy!"

"A spider does not jump."

But Pepper-and-Salt replied with emphasis:

"When you are in the ranks and I tell you that a spider jumps, then it does jump, jumps without asking silly questions, do you understand that? Well, a soldier must harden himself. A march of a hundred miles with nothing to eat and nothing to drink, that's what he must suffer without flinching; courageously he must march through rain and storm and through the deadly hail of the enemy's bullets. Do you understand that, boys?"

"Yes, Mr. First Sergeant," answered all the "soldiers," and the curly-headed boy added:

"Mother gave me a sandwich; I want to let the enemy have it."

Hearing this, the "enemy" came forward. With eager eyes and ears he had followed the instructions. Pepperand-Salt would have no disturbance among his soldiers, so he continued, disregarding the untimely appearance of the mighty foe:

"And now, boys, remember that you must be brave. A soldier simply has to be brave, not because he will be punished if he is a coward, but because he loves his country and would rather lie as dead as a stone on the ground than desert his land and his flag in the hour of danger."

The "enemy" drew nearer, and the curly-headed boy

looked, with tears dimming his eyes, at Pepper-and-Salt whose features, however, betrayed no emotion.

"And then, boys, we say, 'Keep your head high,' for one who does not keep his head high is no soldier. You have to look the enemy straight in the face, and you must not be afraid of having God's sun look into your own eyes. The soldier should not fight for a cause that fills him with shame, but he must face Truth and Justice. Dare you, boys, keep your head high, and strike in the name of Justice and Truth, and dare you show the enemy your face?"

"Yes, Mr. First Sergeant," all the boys answered, and they certainly stood at attention now.

The enemy drew nearer and nearer.

Pepper-and-Salt looked at his pupils, sternly and at the same time somewhat wistfully:

"Now, boys, you are in position, and now you can continue what I have begun, for I am old and weary. And you, Curly-Head, you take the flag. It's yours, for you have deserved it. But honor it wherever you carry it and be true as gold to your country and to your people until you are as old as I. My boy, take your mother greetings from the flag." His voice softened and he laid his hand on the boy's head. We had to haul it down-he, your father, and I — but mark you, boys, no spot ever soiled it as long as we had it in our hands. No spot must soil it in yours, and you must never let it wave over a fight that is unjust. If the enemy knew how deeply he wounds, he would never, never wound anyone. Carry that flag high above your heads in honorable fights for Justice and for Truth! Battalion, attention! "

Pepper-and-Salt suddenly had to make an effort to remember that he was in command, for the boys forgot discipline and "Attention," when they saw their own, their dear, their

dishonored flag unfurl in the faintly stirring breeze above their heads. During the last part of their commander's speech, they had quite unreservedly raised their hands to their moist eyes, but his final words made them stand as erect as pillars.

And now he said:

"Remember what I told you, boys. Now, forward—march! You have the enemy right in front of you, and don't forget to start with your left foot: throw it high up in the air! Attention-march!

And they marched.

the enemy

But just now the enemy came up to them whom they had had to buy! He was very meek and peaceful, and did not look at all bloodthirsty.

"What's the matter?" the curly-headed boy asked. "Why didn't you stay where you were? You know that you are the hostile army that must flee in the wildest disorder. Why else did I give you my knife?"

But instead of answering, the Mounted Policeman's son laid all his gifts in a heap and said in a quivering voice:

"There, take it all. I don't want it. Let me go with you!" A tear trickled down his cheeks: "I don't want to be the enemy, I cannot be the enemy."

Magnanimously, the curly-headed boy answered:

"Nobody should be compelled to be an enemy," and as all the other boys shared that noble sentiment, they took their gifts and admitted the enemy to their ranks.

But Pepper-and-Salt was not quite satisfied at that turn of events, and said:

"But then you have no enemy, after all. Whom, then, are you going to fight?"

And there they stood, without an enemy, and without the

possibility that an enemy would appear in the Happy Forest. But Curly-Head said:

"Then we'll go to find an enemy, and when we have found him, we will fight him. Attention-march!"

And away the army marched, in quest of the fundamental necessity of war: An enemy.

"Those boys promise well," the old warrior said as he leaned heavily on his walking stick, looking sadly at them. And the old trees nodded, and the young flowers thought it was wisely spoken.

Since that day there has been no hostility between Pepperand-Salt and the Mounted Policeman, who cannot understand why no forbidden songs are heard from the lonely, old house, nor why the forbidden flag has disappeared.

But every day, Pepper-and-Salt commands his "soldiers" in the Happy Forest, and there they all sing the forbidden songs while the forbidden flag proudly waves above their heads. And the boys are still looking for that indispensable necessity of war: An enemy.

Translated from the Danish

THE BATTLE OF BLENHEIM

ROBERT SOUTHEY

It was a summer's evening,
Old Kaspar's work was done,
And he before his cottage door
Was sitting in the sun;

And by him sported on the green
His little grandchild Wilhelmine.