midday
The fjord lay like a giant at rest , sunning itself . The wonderfully clear air allowed the eye to see over the mountain ranges , almost into eternity , while an aërial reflection -- an inverted mountain , with a house under it and a couple of spouting whales -- built up a fairytale for us over the blue stretch of sea . Now and then we met a sea-fowl , floating on the smooth water ; and in our wake gambolled a porpoise or two . A little before midday we got in among the Vætte Rocks , and set about fishing ; for first , without considering the provision basket , we had to procure our own dinner . On the outer side of the rocks the surf broke noisily in the still day , and sent up great white jets , or retreated with a long sucking sound , as if the ocean drew deep , regular , breaths . Restless as Susanna was , she bent over the gunwale , until her hair almost dipped in her own image in the water , to look through the transparent sea at the fish , which , at a depth of fifteen or twenty fathoms , glided in and out among the seaweed over the greenish-white bottom , and crowded round the lines with which the grown-up people with their double tackle often drew up two fish at once . In her eagerness she called me stone-blind , whenever I could not see just the fish she meant .