Advent Calendar – 4

Once again she (Ronia) hid her face against Lovis’s knee and made her rough yellow gown wet with silent tears. Night and darkness had fallen; even the worst days come to an end. … … 

But Lovis sang, and the world became as it should be. Ronia sank into the deep peace of childhood, and with her head against Lovis’s knee she fell asleep under the stars and did not wake until the morning was bright.

Ronia, The Robber’s Daughter by Astrid Lindgren.
English Translation by Patricia Crampton