Seacrow Island by Astrid Lindgren

Author:Astrid Lindgren
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781590178690
Publisher: New York Review Books
Published: 2015-04-25T04:00:00+00:00

The Odd Thing About Summers

“THE ODD thing about summers,” wrote Malin in her diary, “is that they are over so quickly.”

Before the Melkersons really felt they were settled in, their first summer on Seacrow Island had come to an end, and it was time to go back to town.

“I can’t think of anything more crazy,” said Niklas. “Why do the schools have to begin again in the middle of the summer holidays? Can’t you write to the school supervisors, Daddy, and tell them to change such a stupid habit?”

Melker shook his head. “The school supervisors are as hard as nails. It’s you who must just adapt yourself,” he said.

“It feels as if we got here only a moment ago,” wrote Malin in her diary, “and now we have to leave everything. It seems very hard. Pelle must leave his rabbit and his strawberry patches, Johan and Niklas their huts and fishing rods, their swimming and their sunken wrecks, Daddy his bay in the dawn light and his Carpenter’s Cottage. As for me, what have I to leave? My summer meadows, my apple trees, my mushroom patches, my woodland paths and the silent evenings. No more sitting on the steps of Carpenter’s Cottage watching the path of moonlight across the dark bay. No more swims beneath a night sky bright with stars. No more nights in my attic room lulled to sleep with the cradle song of the waves in my ears. It will be hard. And the people here who have been our friends, we must leave them too. How I shall miss them!

“But we are going to have a farewell party, Daddy decided that, and I have been spending my days thinking out the menu. We will have a mushroom omelette and delicious little rissoles, and a cream cake with our coffee.”

Melker was delighted with his party; he wanted to finish with fireworks, which he said would be the high spot of the summer, but Malin would not have it for she remembered the time when Melker had set off all the firecrackers at the same moment.

“Yes, the high spot of the summer, I can well believe that,” said Malin, “but there are going to be no fireworks here until the last ones have been completely forgotten.”

She said that cream cake was a much more soothing finish, and they ate it out in the garden on a warm August evening with the bay as bright and smooth as a mirror. “Everything more summery than ever!” said Niklas.

Pelle, Tjorven, and Stina sat on the steps of Carpenter’s Cottage and Malin allowed them as much cream cake as they could possibly eat. Pelle enjoyed himself, but he, like Melker, considered that fireworks would have been more fun.

“Yes, but what if you had seen Daddy explode and go sailing away over the bay with his hair on fire?” said Malin. “And, anyway, wasn’t the cake good?”

“Malin, do you know what?” said Tjorven. “It’s so fantastically good that you have to smack your lips when you eat it.

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