Page:The collected works of Henrik Ibsen (Volume 8).djvu/320

 chickens together; but she has been taken right away from all her friends. And then there is so much that is strange about the wild duck. Nobody knows her, and nobody knows where she came from either.

Gregers.

And she has been down in the depths of the sea.

Hedvig.

[With a quick glance at him, represses a smile and asks:] Why do you say "the depths of the sea"?

Gregers. What else should I say?

Hedvig. You could say "the bottom of the sea."[1]

Gregers.

Oh, mayn't I just as well say the depths of the sea?

Hedvig.

Yes; but it sounds so strange to me when other people speak of the depths of the sea.

Gregers. Why so? Tell me why?

Hedvig. No, I won't; it's so stupid.

1 Gregers here uses the old-fashioned expression "havsens bund," while Hedvig would have him use the more commonplace "havets bund" or "havbunden."