Carl Ewald (1856–1908)

Indeholder "Første Bog", " 1. Doria", " 2. Fru Laura", " 3. Livio", " 4. Messen i Genua", " 5. Zutra", "Anden Bog", " 6. I Herberget", " 7. Livios Søster", " 8. Løngangen", " 9. I Lejren", " 10. Livio i Lære", " 11. Gasparo", " 12. Dulcino og Livio", " 13. Biskoppens Nederlag", " 14. Belejringen", " 15. Livio og Credenza", " 16. Bliderner", " 17. Den sidste Tilflugt", " 18. Slaget", " 19. Vercelli", " 20. Livio for den hellige Ret", " 21. I det gamle Palads", " 22. Zutras Hus", " 23. Margrete og Credenza", " 24. Margretes Død", " 25. Den sidste Nat", " 26. Flugten", " 27. Makra".

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"You ought to be ashamed to jest in such times as these," said she. "I think all times are alike," he said. "Those we live in always seem the worst." Then morning came and the sun shone and he sang to his little brown wife until she recovered her spirits.

Taking a break from my nonfiction reading, I decided to fit in a fictional short story. The Pond was written by Carl Ewald, who I must admit I had never heard of until recently.

Although the animals, insects and creatures are anthropomorphized, this isn't a cutesy story. Told from the point of view of a nervous mama Reed Warbler, the pond's inhabitants face daily hardships trying to survive, while not becoming a meal themselves. Humans also play a role in this story, although they aren't portrayed in a very positive light.

Given the fact the author was Danish, I was expecting the story to be dark. After doing some reading about Mr. Ewald, it turns out he worked as a forester prior to becoming a published author so the nature theme found in some of his stories makes sense.

This story is available in the public domain and can easily be tackled in one sitting. As an animal or nature themed book, this isn't a favorite of mine, although I still plan to read The Queen Bee and Other Nature Stories.… (plus d'informations)