The hay is put into the top storey, and can be dropped down through a
trapdoor into the stable, which is on the second floor. Then the
stable is cleaned out through trapdoors, which let all the dirt fall
into the lower storey, from which it can be carted away to manure the
fields.
A curious thing about most of the Norwegian farms is that there are no
muddy cart tracks to be seen, the grass is green right up to the
doors. Then there are no chickens about the place, as a rule; nor are
there beehives, nor any garden. The carts are very small and low,
sometimes on wheels, sometimes on runners, as sledges. The harness is
very light, and yet strong; the driver walks behind the cart and
drives the horse with a long pair of rope reins.
[Illustration: THE CARTS ARE SMALL AND LOW.]
Our house in the saeter was, like all the others, a single-storied log
house, with a roof of planks covered with birchbark, over which is
spread a thick layer of earth, which soon becomes grass-grown, so that
it looks as if the roof were made of turf.
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