But Little Lasse did not trouble his head with such things ; he gathered together his boats and walked up the shore back to the house . His brother and sister ran to meet him , and called out from the distance , ` Where have you been so long , Lasse ? Come home and get some bread-and-butter . ' The kitchen door stood open , and inside was heard a strange frizzling . The gardener was near the gate , watering the dill and parsley , the carrots and parsnips . ` Well , ' he said , ` where has Little Lasse been so long ? ' Little Lasse straightened himself up stiff , and answered : ' I have sailed round the world in a pea-shell boat . ' ` Oh ! ' said the gardener . He has forgotten Dreamland . But you have not forgotten it ; you know that it exists . You know the beautiful grotto and the bright silver walls whose lustre never fades , the sparkling diamonds which never grow dim , the music which never ceases its low , soft murmur through the sweet evening twilight . The airy fairy fancies of happy Dreamland never grow old ; they , like the glorious stars above us , are always young . Perhaps you have caught a glimpse of their ethereal wings as they flew around your pillow . Perhaps you have met the same dream-boy with the blue eyes and the fair hair , the one who wore the red cap with the silver band and the white coat with pearls on the collar . Perhaps he has taken you to see all the countries of the world and the peoples , the cold waste lands and the burning deserts , the many coloured men and the wild creatures in the sea and in the woods , so that you may earn many things , but come gladly home again . Yes , who knows ? Perhaps you also have sailed round the wide world once in a pea-shell boat . From Z. Topelius . ` Moti ' Once upon a time there was a youth called Moti , who was very big and strong , but the clumsiest creature you can imagine .
So clumsy was he that he was always putting his great feet into the bowls of sweet milk or curds which his mother set out on the floor to cool , always smashing , upsetting , breaking , until at last his father said to him : ` Here , XXXXX , are fifty silver pieces which are the savings of years ; take them and go and make your living or your fortune if you can . '
Dreamland Lasse Moti Topelius dream-boy glimpse grotto hair parsnips twilight