“That is certainly wonderful!” said the family.
And now every day were set on the table great dishes filled with beautiful
apples and pears from their own garden; bushels and barrels of these fruits
were sent to friends in the city and country, nay, were even sent abroad. It
was exceedifigly pleasant; but when they talked with the gardener they said
that the last two seasons had been remarkably favorable for fruits, and that
fruits had done well all over the country.
Some time passed. The family were at dinner at court. The next day the
gardener was sent for. They had eaten melons at the royal table which they
found very juicy and well-flavored; they came from his Majesty’s green-
house. “You must go and see the court-gardener, and let him give you some
seeds of those melons.”
“But the gardener at the court got his melon-seeds from us,” said the
gardener, highly delighted.
“But then that man understands how to bring the fruit to a higher
perfection,” was the answer. “Each particular melon was delicious.”
“Well; then, I really may feel proud,” said the gardener. “I must tell your
lordship that the gardener at the court did not succeed very well with his
melons this year, and so, seeing how beautiful ours looked, he tasted them
and ordered from me three of them for the castle.”
“Larsen, do not pretend to say that those were melons from our garden.”
“Really, I dare say as much,” said the gardener, who went to the court-
gardener and got from him a written certificate to the effect that the melons
on the royal. table were from the manor. That was certainly a great surprise
to the family, and they did not keep the story to themselves. Melon-seeds
were sent far and wide, in the same way as had been done with the slips,
which they were now hearing had begun to take, and to bear fruit of an
excellent kind. The fruit was named after the manor, and the name was
written in English, German, and French.
This was something they never had dreamed of.
