there was once a fisherman who was called salmon , and his christian name was matte . he lived by the shore of the big sea ; where else could he live ? he had a wife called maie ; could you find a better name for her ? in winter they dwelt in a little cottage by the shore , but in spring they flitted to a red rock out in the sea and stayed there the whole summer until it was autumn . the cottage on the rock was even smaller than the other ; it had a wooden bolt instead of an iron lock to the door , a stone hearth , a flagstaff , and a weather - cock on the roof . the rock was called ahtola , and was not larger than the market - place of a town . between the crevices there grew a little rowan tree and four alder bushes . heaven only knows how they ever came there ; perhaps they were brought by the winter storms . besides that , there flourished some tufts of velvety grass , some scattered reeds , two plants of the yellow herb called tansy , four of a red flower , and a pretty white one ; but the treasures of the rock consisted of three roots of garlic , which maie had put in a cleft . rock walls sheltered them on the north side , and the sun shone on them on the south . this does not seem much , but it sufficed maie for a herb plot .
where did matte and maie live during the spring ?
a red rock out in the sea .
a red rock out in the sea .