NCERT Textbook: The Rattrap | English Class 12 PDF Download

 Page 1


The Rattrap
About the author
Selma Lagerlöf (1858-1940) was a Swedish writer whose stories 
have been translated into many languages. A universal theme 
runs through all of them — a belief that the essential goodness 
in a human being can be awakened through understanding and 
love. This story is set amidst the mines of Sweden, rich in iron 
ore, which figure large in the history and legends of that country. 
The story is told somewhat in the manner of a fairy tale.
Notice these expressions in the text.
Infer their meaning from the context.
??  keep body and soul together ??  hunger gleamed in his eyes
??  plods along the road ??  unwonted joy
??  impenetrable prison ??  nodded a haughty consent
??  eased his way ??  fallen into a line of thought 
??  things have gone downhill
Once upon a time there was a man who went around selling small 
rattraps of wire. He made them himself at odd moments, from the 
material he got by begging in the stores or at the big farms. But 
even so, the business was not especially profitable, so he had to 
resort to both begging and petty thievery to keep body and soul 
together. Even so, his clothes were in rags, his cheeks were sunken, 
and hunger gleamed in his eyes.
No one can imagine how sad and monotonous life can appear 
to such a vagabond, who plods along the road, left to his own 
meditations. But one day this man had fallen into a line of thought, 
which really seemed to him entertaining. He had naturally been 
thinking of his rattraps when suddenly he was struck by the idea 
that the whole world about him — the whole world with its lands and 
seas, its cities and villages — was nothing but a big rattrap. It had 
never existed for any other purpose than to set baits for people. It 
4
Chap 4.indd   32 12/11/2024   11:19:34 AM
Reprint 2025-26
Page 2


The Rattrap
About the author
Selma Lagerlöf (1858-1940) was a Swedish writer whose stories 
have been translated into many languages. A universal theme 
runs through all of them — a belief that the essential goodness 
in a human being can be awakened through understanding and 
love. This story is set amidst the mines of Sweden, rich in iron 
ore, which figure large in the history and legends of that country. 
The story is told somewhat in the manner of a fairy tale.
Notice these expressions in the text.
Infer their meaning from the context.
??  keep body and soul together ??  hunger gleamed in his eyes
??  plods along the road ??  unwonted joy
??  impenetrable prison ??  nodded a haughty consent
??  eased his way ??  fallen into a line of thought 
??  things have gone downhill
Once upon a time there was a man who went around selling small 
rattraps of wire. He made them himself at odd moments, from the 
material he got by begging in the stores or at the big farms. But 
even so, the business was not especially profitable, so he had to 
resort to both begging and petty thievery to keep body and soul 
together. Even so, his clothes were in rags, his cheeks were sunken, 
and hunger gleamed in his eyes.
No one can imagine how sad and monotonous life can appear 
to such a vagabond, who plods along the road, left to his own 
meditations. But one day this man had fallen into a line of thought, 
which really seemed to him entertaining. He had naturally been 
thinking of his rattraps when suddenly he was struck by the idea 
that the whole world about him — the whole world with its lands and 
seas, its cities and villages — was nothing but a big rattrap. It had 
never existed for any other purpose than to set baits for people. It 
4
Chap 4.indd   32 12/11/2024   11:19:34 AM
Reprint 2025-26
The Rattrap/33
offered riches and joys, shelter and food, heat and clothing, exactly 
as the rattrap offered cheese and pork, and as soon as anyone let 
himself be tempted to touch the bait, it closed in on him, and then 
everything came to an end. 
The world had, of course, never been very kind to him, so it 
gave him unwonted joy to think ill of it in this way. It became a 
cherished pastime of his, during many dreary ploddings, to think of 
people he knew who had let themselves be caught in the dangerous 
snare, and of others who were still circling around the bait.
One dark evening as he was trudging along the road he caught 
sight of a little gray cottage by the roadside, and he knocked on 
the door to ask shelter for the night. Nor was he refused. Instead 
of the sour faces which ordinarily met him, the owner, who was an 
old man without wife or child, was happy to get someone to talk to 
in his loneliness. Immediately he put the porridge pot on the fire 
and gave him supper; then he carved off such a big slice from his 
tobacco roll that it was enough both for the stranger’s pipe and his 
own. Finally he got out an old pack of cards and played ‘mjolis’ with 
his guest until bedtime.
The old man was just as generous with his confidences as with 
his porridge and tobacco. The guest was informed at once that in his 
days of prosperity his host had been a crofter at Ramsjo Ironworks 
and had worked on the land. Now that he was no longer able to do 
day labour, it was his cow which supported him. Yes, that bossy 
was extraordinary. She could give milk for the creamery every day, 
and last month he had received all of thirty kronor in payment.
The stranger must have seemed incredulous, for the old man got 
up and went to the window, took down a leather pouch which hung 
on a nail in the very window frame, and picked out three wrinkled 
ten-kronor bills. These he held up before the eyes of his guest, 
nodding knowingly, and then stuffed them back into the pouch.
The next day both men got up in good season. The crofter was 
in a hurry to milk his cow, and the other man probably thought he 
should not stay in bed when the head of the house had gotten up. 
They left the cottage at the same time. The crofter locked the door 
and put the key in his pocket. The man with the rattraps said good 
bye and thank you, and thereupon each went his own way.
..
Chap 4.indd   33 12/11/2024   11:19:34 AM
Reprint 2025-26
Page 3


The Rattrap
About the author
Selma Lagerlöf (1858-1940) was a Swedish writer whose stories 
have been translated into many languages. A universal theme 
runs through all of them — a belief that the essential goodness 
in a human being can be awakened through understanding and 
love. This story is set amidst the mines of Sweden, rich in iron 
ore, which figure large in the history and legends of that country. 
The story is told somewhat in the manner of a fairy tale.
Notice these expressions in the text.
Infer their meaning from the context.
??  keep body and soul together ??  hunger gleamed in his eyes
??  plods along the road ??  unwonted joy
??  impenetrable prison ??  nodded a haughty consent
??  eased his way ??  fallen into a line of thought 
??  things have gone downhill
Once upon a time there was a man who went around selling small 
rattraps of wire. He made them himself at odd moments, from the 
material he got by begging in the stores or at the big farms. But 
even so, the business was not especially profitable, so he had to 
resort to both begging and petty thievery to keep body and soul 
together. Even so, his clothes were in rags, his cheeks were sunken, 
and hunger gleamed in his eyes.
No one can imagine how sad and monotonous life can appear 
to such a vagabond, who plods along the road, left to his own 
meditations. But one day this man had fallen into a line of thought, 
which really seemed to him entertaining. He had naturally been 
thinking of his rattraps when suddenly he was struck by the idea 
that the whole world about him — the whole world with its lands and 
seas, its cities and villages — was nothing but a big rattrap. It had 
never existed for any other purpose than to set baits for people. It 
4
Chap 4.indd   32 12/11/2024   11:19:34 AM
Reprint 2025-26
The Rattrap/33
offered riches and joys, shelter and food, heat and clothing, exactly 
as the rattrap offered cheese and pork, and as soon as anyone let 
himself be tempted to touch the bait, it closed in on him, and then 
everything came to an end. 
The world had, of course, never been very kind to him, so it 
gave him unwonted joy to think ill of it in this way. It became a 
cherished pastime of his, during many dreary ploddings, to think of 
people he knew who had let themselves be caught in the dangerous 
snare, and of others who were still circling around the bait.
One dark evening as he was trudging along the road he caught 
sight of a little gray cottage by the roadside, and he knocked on 
the door to ask shelter for the night. Nor was he refused. Instead 
of the sour faces which ordinarily met him, the owner, who was an 
old man without wife or child, was happy to get someone to talk to 
in his loneliness. Immediately he put the porridge pot on the fire 
and gave him supper; then he carved off such a big slice from his 
tobacco roll that it was enough both for the stranger’s pipe and his 
own. Finally he got out an old pack of cards and played ‘mjolis’ with 
his guest until bedtime.
The old man was just as generous with his confidences as with 
his porridge and tobacco. The guest was informed at once that in his 
days of prosperity his host had been a crofter at Ramsjo Ironworks 
and had worked on the land. Now that he was no longer able to do 
day labour, it was his cow which supported him. Yes, that bossy 
was extraordinary. She could give milk for the creamery every day, 
and last month he had received all of thirty kronor in payment.
The stranger must have seemed incredulous, for the old man got 
up and went to the window, took down a leather pouch which hung 
on a nail in the very window frame, and picked out three wrinkled 
ten-kronor bills. These he held up before the eyes of his guest, 
nodding knowingly, and then stuffed them back into the pouch.
The next day both men got up in good season. The crofter was 
in a hurry to milk his cow, and the other man probably thought he 
should not stay in bed when the head of the house had gotten up. 
They left the cottage at the same time. The crofter locked the door 
and put the key in his pocket. The man with the rattraps said good 
bye and thank you, and thereupon each went his own way.
..
Chap 4.indd   33 12/11/2024   11:19:34 AM
Reprint 2025-26
34/Flamingo
But half an hour later the rattrap 
peddler stood again before the door. He 
did not try to get in, however. He only 
went up to the window, smashed a pane, 
stuck in his hand, and got hold of the 
pouch with the thirty kronor. He took the 
money and thrust it into his own pocket. 
Then he hung the leather pouch very 
carefully back in its place and went away.
As he walked along with the money in 
his pocket he felt quite pleased with his 
smartness. He realised, of course, that at 
first he dared not continue on the public 
highway, but must turn off the road, into 
the woods. During the first hours this 
caused him no difficulty. Later in the 
day it became worse, for it was a big and 
confusing forest which he had gotten into. 
He tried, to be sure, to walk in a definite direction, but the paths 
twisted back and forth so strangely! He walked and walked without 
coming to the end of the wood, and finally he realised that he had 
only been walking around in the same part of the forest. All at once 
he recalled his thoughts about the world and the rattrap. Now his 
own turn had come. He had let himself be fooled by a bait and had 
been caught. The whole forest, with its trunks and branches, its 
thickets and fallen logs, closed in upon him like an impenetrable 
prison from which he could never escape.
It was late in December. Darkness was already descending 
over the forest. This increased the danger, and increased also his 
gloom and despair. Finally he saw no way out, and he sank down 
on the ground, tired to death, thinking that his last moment had 
come. But just as he laid his head on the ground, he heard a 
sound—a hard regular thumping. There was no doubt as to what 
that was. He raised himself. ‘‘Those are the hammer strokes from 
an iron mill’’, he thought. ‘‘There must be people near by’’. He 
summoned all his strength, got up, and staggered in the direction of  
the sound.
1. From where did the peddler 
get the idea of the world being 
a rattrap?
2.  Why was he amused by this 
idea?
3.  Did the peddler expect the 
kind of hospitality that he 
received from the crofter?
4.  Why was the crofter so 
talkative and friendly with the 
peddler?
5. Why did he show the thirty 
kroner to the peddler?
6. Did the peddler respect the 
confidence reposed in him by 
the crofter?
Chap 4.indd   34 12/11/2024   11:19:34 AM
Reprint 2025-26
Page 4


The Rattrap
About the author
Selma Lagerlöf (1858-1940) was a Swedish writer whose stories 
have been translated into many languages. A universal theme 
runs through all of them — a belief that the essential goodness 
in a human being can be awakened through understanding and 
love. This story is set amidst the mines of Sweden, rich in iron 
ore, which figure large in the history and legends of that country. 
The story is told somewhat in the manner of a fairy tale.
Notice these expressions in the text.
Infer their meaning from the context.
??  keep body and soul together ??  hunger gleamed in his eyes
??  plods along the road ??  unwonted joy
??  impenetrable prison ??  nodded a haughty consent
??  eased his way ??  fallen into a line of thought 
??  things have gone downhill
Once upon a time there was a man who went around selling small 
rattraps of wire. He made them himself at odd moments, from the 
material he got by begging in the stores or at the big farms. But 
even so, the business was not especially profitable, so he had to 
resort to both begging and petty thievery to keep body and soul 
together. Even so, his clothes were in rags, his cheeks were sunken, 
and hunger gleamed in his eyes.
No one can imagine how sad and monotonous life can appear 
to such a vagabond, who plods along the road, left to his own 
meditations. But one day this man had fallen into a line of thought, 
which really seemed to him entertaining. He had naturally been 
thinking of his rattraps when suddenly he was struck by the idea 
that the whole world about him — the whole world with its lands and 
seas, its cities and villages — was nothing but a big rattrap. It had 
never existed for any other purpose than to set baits for people. It 
4
Chap 4.indd   32 12/11/2024   11:19:34 AM
Reprint 2025-26
The Rattrap/33
offered riches and joys, shelter and food, heat and clothing, exactly 
as the rattrap offered cheese and pork, and as soon as anyone let 
himself be tempted to touch the bait, it closed in on him, and then 
everything came to an end. 
The world had, of course, never been very kind to him, so it 
gave him unwonted joy to think ill of it in this way. It became a 
cherished pastime of his, during many dreary ploddings, to think of 
people he knew who had let themselves be caught in the dangerous 
snare, and of others who were still circling around the bait.
One dark evening as he was trudging along the road he caught 
sight of a little gray cottage by the roadside, and he knocked on 
the door to ask shelter for the night. Nor was he refused. Instead 
of the sour faces which ordinarily met him, the owner, who was an 
old man without wife or child, was happy to get someone to talk to 
in his loneliness. Immediately he put the porridge pot on the fire 
and gave him supper; then he carved off such a big slice from his 
tobacco roll that it was enough both for the stranger’s pipe and his 
own. Finally he got out an old pack of cards and played ‘mjolis’ with 
his guest until bedtime.
The old man was just as generous with his confidences as with 
his porridge and tobacco. The guest was informed at once that in his 
days of prosperity his host had been a crofter at Ramsjo Ironworks 
and had worked on the land. Now that he was no longer able to do 
day labour, it was his cow which supported him. Yes, that bossy 
was extraordinary. She could give milk for the creamery every day, 
and last month he had received all of thirty kronor in payment.
The stranger must have seemed incredulous, for the old man got 
up and went to the window, took down a leather pouch which hung 
on a nail in the very window frame, and picked out three wrinkled 
ten-kronor bills. These he held up before the eyes of his guest, 
nodding knowingly, and then stuffed them back into the pouch.
The next day both men got up in good season. The crofter was 
in a hurry to milk his cow, and the other man probably thought he 
should not stay in bed when the head of the house had gotten up. 
They left the cottage at the same time. The crofter locked the door 
and put the key in his pocket. The man with the rattraps said good 
bye and thank you, and thereupon each went his own way.
..
Chap 4.indd   33 12/11/2024   11:19:34 AM
Reprint 2025-26
34/Flamingo
But half an hour later the rattrap 
peddler stood again before the door. He 
did not try to get in, however. He only 
went up to the window, smashed a pane, 
stuck in his hand, and got hold of the 
pouch with the thirty kronor. He took the 
money and thrust it into his own pocket. 
Then he hung the leather pouch very 
carefully back in its place and went away.
As he walked along with the money in 
his pocket he felt quite pleased with his 
smartness. He realised, of course, that at 
first he dared not continue on the public 
highway, but must turn off the road, into 
the woods. During the first hours this 
caused him no difficulty. Later in the 
day it became worse, for it was a big and 
confusing forest which he had gotten into. 
He tried, to be sure, to walk in a definite direction, but the paths 
twisted back and forth so strangely! He walked and walked without 
coming to the end of the wood, and finally he realised that he had 
only been walking around in the same part of the forest. All at once 
he recalled his thoughts about the world and the rattrap. Now his 
own turn had come. He had let himself be fooled by a bait and had 
been caught. The whole forest, with its trunks and branches, its 
thickets and fallen logs, closed in upon him like an impenetrable 
prison from which he could never escape.
It was late in December. Darkness was already descending 
over the forest. This increased the danger, and increased also his 
gloom and despair. Finally he saw no way out, and he sank down 
on the ground, tired to death, thinking that his last moment had 
come. But just as he laid his head on the ground, he heard a 
sound—a hard regular thumping. There was no doubt as to what 
that was. He raised himself. ‘‘Those are the hammer strokes from 
an iron mill’’, he thought. ‘‘There must be people near by’’. He 
summoned all his strength, got up, and staggered in the direction of  
the sound.
1. From where did the peddler 
get the idea of the world being 
a rattrap?
2.  Why was he amused by this 
idea?
3.  Did the peddler expect the 
kind of hospitality that he 
received from the crofter?
4.  Why was the crofter so 
talkative and friendly with the 
peddler?
5. Why did he show the thirty 
kroner to the peddler?
6. Did the peddler respect the 
confidence reposed in him by 
the crofter?
Chap 4.indd   34 12/11/2024   11:19:34 AM
Reprint 2025-26
The Rattrap/35
The Ramsjö Ironworks, which are now closed down, were, not 
so long ago, a large plant, with smelter, rolling mill, and forge. In 
the summertime long lines of heavily loaded barges and scows 
slid down the canal, which led to a large inland lake, and in the 
wintertime the roads near the mill were black from all the coal dust 
which sifted down from the big charcoal crates.
During one of the long dark evenings just before Christmas, the 
master smith and his helper sat in the dark forge near the furnace 
waiting for the pig iron, which had been put in the fire, to be ready 
to put on the anvil. Every now and then one of them got up to stir 
the glowing mass with a long iron bar, returning in a few moments, 
dripping with perspiration, though, as was the custom, he wore 
nothing but a long shirt and a pair of wooden shoes. 
All the time there were many sounds to be heard in the forge. 
The big bellows groaned and the burning coal cracked. The fire boy 
shovelled charcoal into the maw of the furnace with a great deal 
of clatter. Outside roared the waterfall, and a sharp north wind 
whipped the rain against the brick-tiled roof.
It was probably on account of all this noise that the blacksmith 
did not notice that a man had opened the gate and entered the 
forge, until he stood close up to the furnace. 
Surely it was nothing unusual for poor vagabonds without any 
better shelter for the night to be attracted to the forge by the glow 
of light which escaped through the sooty panes, and to come in to 
warm themselves in front of the fire. The blacksmiths glanced only 
casually and indifferently at the intruder. He looked the way people 
of his type usually did, with a long beard, dirty, ragged, and with 
a bunch of rattraps dangling on his chest.
He asked permission to stay, and the master blacksmith nodded 
a haughty consent without honouring him with a single word.
The tramp did not say anything, either. He had not come there 
to talk but only to warm himself and sleep.
In those days the Ramsjö iron mill was owned by a very 
prominent ironmaster, whose greatest ambition was to ship out 
good iron to the market. He watched both night and day to see that 
the work was done as well as possible, and at this very moment 
he came into the forge on one of his nightly rounds of inspection.
Chap 4.indd   35 12/11/2024   11:19:34 AM
Reprint 2025-26
Page 5


The Rattrap
About the author
Selma Lagerlöf (1858-1940) was a Swedish writer whose stories 
have been translated into many languages. A universal theme 
runs through all of them — a belief that the essential goodness 
in a human being can be awakened through understanding and 
love. This story is set amidst the mines of Sweden, rich in iron 
ore, which figure large in the history and legends of that country. 
The story is told somewhat in the manner of a fairy tale.
Notice these expressions in the text.
Infer their meaning from the context.
??  keep body and soul together ??  hunger gleamed in his eyes
??  plods along the road ??  unwonted joy
??  impenetrable prison ??  nodded a haughty consent
??  eased his way ??  fallen into a line of thought 
??  things have gone downhill
Once upon a time there was a man who went around selling small 
rattraps of wire. He made them himself at odd moments, from the 
material he got by begging in the stores or at the big farms. But 
even so, the business was not especially profitable, so he had to 
resort to both begging and petty thievery to keep body and soul 
together. Even so, his clothes were in rags, his cheeks were sunken, 
and hunger gleamed in his eyes.
No one can imagine how sad and monotonous life can appear 
to such a vagabond, who plods along the road, left to his own 
meditations. But one day this man had fallen into a line of thought, 
which really seemed to him entertaining. He had naturally been 
thinking of his rattraps when suddenly he was struck by the idea 
that the whole world about him — the whole world with its lands and 
seas, its cities and villages — was nothing but a big rattrap. It had 
never existed for any other purpose than to set baits for people. It 
4
Chap 4.indd   32 12/11/2024   11:19:34 AM
Reprint 2025-26
The Rattrap/33
offered riches and joys, shelter and food, heat and clothing, exactly 
as the rattrap offered cheese and pork, and as soon as anyone let 
himself be tempted to touch the bait, it closed in on him, and then 
everything came to an end. 
The world had, of course, never been very kind to him, so it 
gave him unwonted joy to think ill of it in this way. It became a 
cherished pastime of his, during many dreary ploddings, to think of 
people he knew who had let themselves be caught in the dangerous 
snare, and of others who were still circling around the bait.
One dark evening as he was trudging along the road he caught 
sight of a little gray cottage by the roadside, and he knocked on 
the door to ask shelter for the night. Nor was he refused. Instead 
of the sour faces which ordinarily met him, the owner, who was an 
old man without wife or child, was happy to get someone to talk to 
in his loneliness. Immediately he put the porridge pot on the fire 
and gave him supper; then he carved off such a big slice from his 
tobacco roll that it was enough both for the stranger’s pipe and his 
own. Finally he got out an old pack of cards and played ‘mjolis’ with 
his guest until bedtime.
The old man was just as generous with his confidences as with 
his porridge and tobacco. The guest was informed at once that in his 
days of prosperity his host had been a crofter at Ramsjo Ironworks 
and had worked on the land. Now that he was no longer able to do 
day labour, it was his cow which supported him. Yes, that bossy 
was extraordinary. She could give milk for the creamery every day, 
and last month he had received all of thirty kronor in payment.
The stranger must have seemed incredulous, for the old man got 
up and went to the window, took down a leather pouch which hung 
on a nail in the very window frame, and picked out three wrinkled 
ten-kronor bills. These he held up before the eyes of his guest, 
nodding knowingly, and then stuffed them back into the pouch.
The next day both men got up in good season. The crofter was 
in a hurry to milk his cow, and the other man probably thought he 
should not stay in bed when the head of the house had gotten up. 
They left the cottage at the same time. The crofter locked the door 
and put the key in his pocket. The man with the rattraps said good 
bye and thank you, and thereupon each went his own way.
..
Chap 4.indd   33 12/11/2024   11:19:34 AM
Reprint 2025-26
34/Flamingo
But half an hour later the rattrap 
peddler stood again before the door. He 
did not try to get in, however. He only 
went up to the window, smashed a pane, 
stuck in his hand, and got hold of the 
pouch with the thirty kronor. He took the 
money and thrust it into his own pocket. 
Then he hung the leather pouch very 
carefully back in its place and went away.
As he walked along with the money in 
his pocket he felt quite pleased with his 
smartness. He realised, of course, that at 
first he dared not continue on the public 
highway, but must turn off the road, into 
the woods. During the first hours this 
caused him no difficulty. Later in the 
day it became worse, for it was a big and 
confusing forest which he had gotten into. 
He tried, to be sure, to walk in a definite direction, but the paths 
twisted back and forth so strangely! He walked and walked without 
coming to the end of the wood, and finally he realised that he had 
only been walking around in the same part of the forest. All at once 
he recalled his thoughts about the world and the rattrap. Now his 
own turn had come. He had let himself be fooled by a bait and had 
been caught. The whole forest, with its trunks and branches, its 
thickets and fallen logs, closed in upon him like an impenetrable 
prison from which he could never escape.
It was late in December. Darkness was already descending 
over the forest. This increased the danger, and increased also his 
gloom and despair. Finally he saw no way out, and he sank down 
on the ground, tired to death, thinking that his last moment had 
come. But just as he laid his head on the ground, he heard a 
sound—a hard regular thumping. There was no doubt as to what 
that was. He raised himself. ‘‘Those are the hammer strokes from 
an iron mill’’, he thought. ‘‘There must be people near by’’. He 
summoned all his strength, got up, and staggered in the direction of  
the sound.
1. From where did the peddler 
get the idea of the world being 
a rattrap?
2.  Why was he amused by this 
idea?
3.  Did the peddler expect the 
kind of hospitality that he 
received from the crofter?
4.  Why was the crofter so 
talkative and friendly with the 
peddler?
5. Why did he show the thirty 
kroner to the peddler?
6. Did the peddler respect the 
confidence reposed in him by 
the crofter?
Chap 4.indd   34 12/11/2024   11:19:34 AM
Reprint 2025-26
The Rattrap/35
The Ramsjö Ironworks, which are now closed down, were, not 
so long ago, a large plant, with smelter, rolling mill, and forge. In 
the summertime long lines of heavily loaded barges and scows 
slid down the canal, which led to a large inland lake, and in the 
wintertime the roads near the mill were black from all the coal dust 
which sifted down from the big charcoal crates.
During one of the long dark evenings just before Christmas, the 
master smith and his helper sat in the dark forge near the furnace 
waiting for the pig iron, which had been put in the fire, to be ready 
to put on the anvil. Every now and then one of them got up to stir 
the glowing mass with a long iron bar, returning in a few moments, 
dripping with perspiration, though, as was the custom, he wore 
nothing but a long shirt and a pair of wooden shoes. 
All the time there were many sounds to be heard in the forge. 
The big bellows groaned and the burning coal cracked. The fire boy 
shovelled charcoal into the maw of the furnace with a great deal 
of clatter. Outside roared the waterfall, and a sharp north wind 
whipped the rain against the brick-tiled roof.
It was probably on account of all this noise that the blacksmith 
did not notice that a man had opened the gate and entered the 
forge, until he stood close up to the furnace. 
Surely it was nothing unusual for poor vagabonds without any 
better shelter for the night to be attracted to the forge by the glow 
of light which escaped through the sooty panes, and to come in to 
warm themselves in front of the fire. The blacksmiths glanced only 
casually and indifferently at the intruder. He looked the way people 
of his type usually did, with a long beard, dirty, ragged, and with 
a bunch of rattraps dangling on his chest.
He asked permission to stay, and the master blacksmith nodded 
a haughty consent without honouring him with a single word.
The tramp did not say anything, either. He had not come there 
to talk but only to warm himself and sleep.
In those days the Ramsjö iron mill was owned by a very 
prominent ironmaster, whose greatest ambition was to ship out 
good iron to the market. He watched both night and day to see that 
the work was done as well as possible, and at this very moment 
he came into the forge on one of his nightly rounds of inspection.
Chap 4.indd   35 12/11/2024   11:19:34 AM
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36/Flamingo
Naturally the first thing he saw was the tall ragamuffin who had 
eased his way so close to the furnace that steam rose from his wet 
rags. The ironmaster did not follow the example of the blacksmiths, 
who had hardly deigned to look at the stranger. He walked close 
up to him, looked him over very carefully, then tore off his slouch 
hat to get a better view of his face.
‘‘But of course it is you, Nils Olof!’’ he said. “How you do look!”
The man with the rattraps had never before seen the ironmaster 
at Ramsjö and did not even know what his name was. But it 
occurred to him that if the fine gentleman thought he was an old 
acquaintance, he might perhaps throw him a couple of kronor. 
Therefore he did not want to undeceive him all at once.
‘‘Yes, God knows things have gone downhill with me’’, he said.
‘‘You should not have resigned from the regiment’’, said the 
ironmaster. ‘‘That was the mistake. If only I had still been in the 
service at the time, it never would have happened. Well, now of 
course you will come home with me.’’
To go along up to the manor house and be received by the 
owner like an old regimental comrade — that, however, did not 
please the tramp.
‘‘No, I couldn’t think of it!’’ he said, looking quite alarmed.
He thought of the thirty kronor. To go up to the manor house 
would be like throwing himself voluntarily into the lion’s den. He 
only wanted a chance to sleep here in the forge and then sneak 
away as inconspicuously as possible.
The ironmaster assumed that he felt embarrassed because of 
his miserable clothing.
‘‘Please don’t think that I have such a fine home that you 
cannot show yourself there’’, He said... ‘‘Elizabeth is dead, as you 
may already have heard. My boys are abroad, and there is no one 
at home except my oldest daughter and myself. We were just saying 
that it was too bad we didn’t have any company for Christmas. 
Now come along with me and help us make the Christmas food 
disappear a little faster.”
But the stranger said no, and no, and again no, and the ironmaster 
saw that he must give in.
Chap 4.indd   36 12/11/2024   11:19:34 AM
Reprint 2025-26