FAIRY. I know that, and I know its fate. Farewell then! May life so
teach you to live that when your journey is over you shall be--
whether great or obscure; successful or unsuccessful; learned or
ignorant--a man, and above all, a manly man. Farewell! [Fairy
disappears in column.]

PEHR. [Alone.] Well, Pehr, you are going out into life! Others
before you have probably done likewise. But is it, then, so
difficult out there? To be sure I have stood on the church roof and
watched the throngs of people down in the street crawl around each
other, going and coming. To me they appear so quiet and orderly,
and I don't see that they trample on one another, although they are
as thick as gnats. That dogs and apprentices fight sometimes, that
I have seen, but grown folk--never! The old man and I never fight,
although we pass each other on the stairs ten times a day. True, he
has beaten me, but I have never beaten him; and other people may
not be so bad either, if the truth were told. Wasn't there a fire
the other day in the house of a rich merchant and didn't a lot of
poor wretches come running from all directions, and didn't they go
up to the rich man's place and save his goods? Oh, yes, I saw how
they took silver pieces from his table and carried them far out of
the city, where they hid them behind haystacks so the silver
wouldn't be burned up. Wasn't that kind of them? We shall see, we
shall see! Meanwhile, my dear Pehr, you shall go out and have a
look at the world and make use of your gifts. [Examines ring.]
Let's see! What shall I wish for first?

[Old man enters as if through wall.]

PEHR. Oh! so the old man is here. I did not hear your footsteps on