The entrance door was in a
gable-wall at the side of the fireplace, and was so narrow that it was
more like a wicket than a door. In the other gable-wall he saw a low and
broad window with many panes. There was scarcely any movable furniture
in the cabin. The bench on one side, and the table under the window,
were also stationary--also the big bed where he lay, and the
many-coloured cupboard.
The boy could not help wondering who owned the cabin, and why it was
deserted. It certainly looked as though the people who had lived there
expected to return. The coffee-urn and the gruel-pot stood on the
hearth, and there was some wood in the fireplace; the oven-rake and
baker's peel stood in a corner; the spinning wheel was raised on a
bench; on the shelf over the window lay oakum and flax, a couple of
skeins of yarn, a candle, and a bunch of matches.
Yes, it surely looked as if those who had lived there had intended to
come back. There were bed-clothes on the bed; and on the walls there
still hung long strips of cloth, upon which three riders named Kasper,
Melchior, and Baltasar were painted. The same horses and riders were
pictured many times. They rode around the whole cabin, and continued
their ride even up toward the joists.
But in the roof the boy saw something which brought him to his senses in
a jiffy.
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