After this event he took his daughter with him in all the journeys which he made throughout his kingdom.
Christina soon proved herself a bold and sturdy little girl.

When she was two years old, the king and herself, in the course of a journey, came to the strong fortress of Colmar.

On the battlements were soldiers clad in steel armor, which glittered in the sunshine.

There were likewise great cannons, pointing their black months at Gustavus and little Christina, and ready to belch out their smoke and thunder; for, whenever a king enters a fortress, it is customary to receive him with a royal salute of artillery.
But the captain of the fortress met Gustavus and his daughter as they were about to enter the gateway.
"May it please your Majesty," said he, taking off his steel cap and bowing profoundly, "I fear that, if we receive you with a salute of cannon, the little princess will be frightened almost to death." Gustavus looked earnestly at his daughter, and was indeed apprehensive that the thunder of so many cannon might perhaps throw her into convulsions.

He had almost a mind to tell the captain to let them enter the fortress quietly, as common people might have done, without all this head-splitting racket.