The children had been looking forward to the visit for days. The cathedral. The huge, magic stone building downtown. Older than any of them could imagine, "a thousand years, even older than my great grandpa........"
The rain only made the day more exciting. With water dripping from the raincoats they sat on the tram on their way from kindergarten, downtown to a day of tales and secrets.
Outside the cathedral they had to wait for the guide. Their teachers wanted the kids to look at the statues on the western wall, "can you see Jesus, and Mary, and the one over there is St. Olav, the one with a scallop is St. Jacob the Pilegrim......." One of the kids walked over to let her hand follow the old stone wall. She could feel the coldness of the stones, but also their life, their history.
Finally the wooden door opened and the guide came out.
"Welcome to the cathedra, welcome to the world of historyl", the guide was almost whispering. She bent towards the kids, had their full attention and in a voice, not much loader than a whisper, she started the magic: "Do you want to hear a story.........."
She had the kids, and the adults in her hands.
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I passed this group yesterday. I almost followed them into the land of tales, but had to continue to my office.........
