Chapter 6 Karlskrona

It was an evening in Karlskrona.There had been a storm earlier in the day, and now the moon had risen, illuminating the land with a clear light.The weather is comfortable and pleasant, the streets and alleys are empty, and the surroundings are very quiet.The wild geese are flying here in order to get rid of the attack of the fox Smir and look for a safe place to sleep overnight. The boy rides on the back of a goose and flies in the sky. Below is the vast sea, dotted with reefs and islands.Under the dark green sky, the islands looked the same black regardless of their size.There are so many monsters with claws and claws floating on the water around the island. Some of them look like big whales, some like big sharks, and some like other sea beasts.The boy reckoned that those strange things gathered around the island must be water monsters and sea monsters.He felt that all the scenery seemed to have become strange and strange, and there were also ghostly shadows.

The boy noticed that Akka was beginning to descend towards the island, and was terrified out of his wits.When the geese saw the cathedral with a square bell tower on each side, they descended on the flat top of a bell tower.This time the boy was taken aback. It turned out that the whole island was a city.What he took to be narcissists turned out to be ships of various sizes and shapes moored in the waters around the island. In the shallow water close to the land, boats, sailboats, and steamships are moored.In the open distance facing the sea, there are various armored warships moored with smart shapes.

Which city is this?Well, he finally figured it out.The boy's maternal grandfather was an old sailor in the navy.Before he was alive, he used to mention Karlskrona to the boy every day, telling him about the shipyard where warships were built, and other places of interest in the city.Now the boy saw so many warships, and the place where so many warships were anchored could not be any other city, it must be Karlskrona.It is Sweden's naval base and an island military port.He liked boats since he was a child, although he could only play with paper boats in the ditch beside the road.However, he is very happy that he can come to this place that he has heard so many times today.For wild geese, this is indeed a shelter that can avoid the tracking of foxes.It is very pleasant for a boy to get a good night's sleep under the gander's wings.But for some reason, the boy was always restless, and within five minutes of falling asleep, he slipped out from under the gander's wings and crawled to the ground.

Soon the boy came to a large square stretching in front of the church, the ground was paved with cobblestones.The square was empty except for a statue, and there was no one there.The statue is a tall and burly man with a triangular felt hat on his head, a fierce face, an aquiline nose and a very ugly mouth, and a very long cane in his hand. The boy felt that he had never been so small and so pitiful.He wanted to reassure himself with a witty remark, so he said, "What is this thick-lipped, big-mouthed fellow doing standing here?" And he strode away down the street. But the boy hadn't taken a few steps when he heard someone coming behind him. The heavy footsteps of that person trampled loudly on the cobbled street, making the ground tremble and the house shake.

The boy became frightened. "Perhaps the big bronze man followed." He thought to himself and turned into a nearby street. However, after a while, he heard the big bronze man turning into the same street and followed.Boys are really scared.At this moment, he saw a small log church in front of him, and a man next to him was waving to him frequently.The boy was very happy and ran towards him desperately.But when he ran in front of that man, his eyes stared straight in astonishment, because standing in front of him was a poor box in the shape of a wooden figure. He stood there, staring blankly at the wooden man.It was a stout man with a black wooden hat on his head.He remembered that his grandfather had also mentioned this wooden man to him, and said that all the children in Karlskrona liked him very much.The boy looked at the wooden figure and was fascinated... Now the bronze statue will also come here soon.

At this critical moment, the wooden man bent down towards him, and stretched out a broad and thick hand to him.The boy jumped onto his palm without hesitation.The wooden man lifted his hat and stuffed the boy under it.As soon as the wooden man put his arm back to its original place, the big bronze man came in front of the wooden man. The big bronze man asked bluntly and loudly: "Hey, who are you?" The wooden man stretched his arms upwards and raised his hands to the brim of his hat, making a creaking sound from his body.He saluted and replied: "Your Majesty! Please forgive me. My name is Rosenbaum. I used to be a corporal on the battleship 'Dreadnought'. Only the collection box was placed in the front yard of this church."

When the boy heard the wooden man shout "Your Majesty", he was really startled and trembled with fright.It turned out that the bronze statue was not some ordinary person, but the founder of this city - His Majesty King Karl XI himself. "Well, tell me, have you ever seen a tiny little fellow running around town tonight? If the little rascal falls into my hands, I'll make him feel good about me." ’ said the King very angrily, and as he spoke he poked the ground with his stick. "Oh, Your Majesty, yes, I have seen that boy," said the wooden man. "That boy ran towards the shipyard. He must have hid there."

"Well, that makes sense, Rosenbaum! Then you come with me and go find him with me! Four eyes are better than two." But the wooden man said in a pitiful tone: "I beg you most humblely to allow me to stand still here, because I have recently been painted, so I look shiny and handsome, but I am old and useless. I can't move anymore." The big bronze man didn't listen to his explanation at all. Instead, he raised his long cane and slammed it on the wooden man's shoulder, and said, "Don't talk nonsense, come with me quickly, Rosenbaum, if you don't obey the rules, you will be punished." nice."

So the two misfits set off together, one after the other, and they walked the streets of Karlskrona as if they had entered a no-man's land.The boy crouched under his hat and peeped through a chink in the wood.They came all the way to the gate of the shipyard.The big bronze man raised his foot and kicked the door open, and they entered the shipyard.This is a huge port with many warships moored in it. "Look, where is the best place for us to start searching for this kid, Rosenbaum?" asked the big bronze man. "A little man like him must be the easiest to hide in a model ship showroom," replied the wooden man.

They came to a low house and went in. There was a large hall in which all kinds of ships were displayed, old battleships, rowing boats, cruisers, torpedo boats, etc. Wait. The boy was taken to walk among these models of ships. He was proud and kept applauding in his heart, because such a large and beautiful ship was built in Sweden! The big bronze man and the wooden man browsed with great interest while talking endlessly, forgetting other things to the sky.The boy also felt relieved and sat safely under the wooden man's hat, listening to their conversation. At last they came to an open courtyard where the heads of ships adorning the prows of old battleships were displayed.The facial expressions of those figures are very majestic and intimidating.All of them are huge and heroic, heroes full of great pride.

After they came here, the bronze man solemnly ordered the wooden man: "Take off your hat, Rosenbaum, and pay tribute to those who stay here! They all fought bravely to defend their motherland." Like the big bronze man, Rosenboom also forgot why he came here so far. Without thinking, he lifted his hat from his head and shouted loudly: "I take off my hat to pay tribute to those who chose and built this port! To rebuilding Salute to the navy! Salute to the king who made this happen!" "Thank you, Rosenbaum! You speak well! Rosenbaum, you are indeed a very fine fellow... Well, but what's the matter, Rosenbaum?" Because at this moment, he suddenly saw Niels Hogelson standing on Rosenbaum's bald head.But the boy was no longer afraid now, and he waved his little red peaked hat, and cried out, "Long live Big Mouth!" The big bronze man jabbed his stick hard into the ground, but the boy couldn't figure out what he wanted to do.For at that moment the sun had already risen, and in an instant the bronze statue of the king and the wooden man turned into a puff of smoke and disappeared with the wind.The boys stood there, staring blankly at them as they disappeared, while the geese flew over the city.The big white goose quickly saw Nils Hogelson and immediately flew down from the sky to pick him up.