Ⅱ
The merchant's son had a private tutor who taught him his lessons and who took walks with him， too. Peerwas also to have an education， so he went to publicschool with a great number of other boys. They played to- gether， and that was much more fun than going along with a tutor. Peer would not have changed places with him.
He was a lucky Peer， but Godfather was also a lucky peer，although his name was not Peer. He won a pnize in the lottery， of two hundred dollars，on a ticket he shared with eleven others. He immediately bought some better clothes， and he looked very well in them.
Luck never comes alone; it always has company， and soit did this time.Godfather gave up the garbage wagon and joined the theater.
"What's that!" said Grandmother."Is he going into the theater? As what?"
As a machinist. That was an advancement. He be-came quite another person; and he enjoyed the plays very much， although he always saw them from the top or from the side. Most wonderful was the ballet， but that gavehim the hardest work， and there was always danger of fire. They danced both in heaven and on earth. That was something for little Peer to see; and one evening when there was to be a dress rehearsal of a new ballet， inwhich everyone was dressed and made up as on the open- ing night when people pay to see all the magnificence， he had permission to bring Peer with him and put him in a place where he could see the whole show.
It was a Biblical ballet—Samson. The Philistinesdanced about him， and he tumbled the whole house downover them and himself; but there were both fire engines and firemen on hand in case of any accident.
Peer had never seen a stage play， not to mention a ballet.He put on his Sunday clothes and went with God- father to the theater.It was just like a great deying loft，with many curtains and screens， big openings in the floor， lamps，and lights. There were so many tricky nooks and corners everywhere， from which people appeared， just as in a great church with its gallery pews. Peer was seat-ed down where the floor slanted steeply and was told to stay there until it was all finished and he was sent for.Hehad three sandwiches in his pocket， so that he need notstarve.
Soon it grew lighter and lighter; then up in front， just as if straight out of the earth， there came a number ofmusicians with both flutes and violins. In the seats next toPeer sat people dressed in street clothes;but there also appeared knights with gold helmets， beautiful maidens ingauze and flowers， even angels all in white， with wings on their backs.They seated themselves upstairs and downstairs， on the floor and in the balcony seats， towatch what was going on.They were all members of the ballet， but Peer did not know that. He thought they be-longed in the fairy tales his grandmother had told him about. There then appeared a woman， and she was themost beautiful of all， with a gold helmet and spear; she seemed to be above all the others， and sat between an an-gel and a troll. Ah， how much there was to see! And yet the ballet bad not even begun.
Suddenly everything became quiet.A man dressed in black moved a little fairy wand over all the musicians， and then they began to play; the music made a whistling sound through the theater， and the whole wall in front be- gan to rise.One looked into a flower garden， where the sun shone and all the people danced and leaped. Such a wonderful sight Peer had never imagined. There weresoldiers marching， and there was war， and there was a banquet， and there were the mighty Samson and his lover.
But she was as wicked as she was beautiful; she betrayed him. The Philistines plucked his eyes out; he was forced togrind in the mill and to be mocked and insulted in the great house; it fell， and there burst forth wonderful flames of redand green fire.