Chores and Herding

"Most of the work for us children was chores. And my first work besides that was to help on the threshing floor in the winter after school hours. Then came springs work, and after that the herding seasons (gjete), as we said. But here I was more lucky than most of the others because I had a helper. Sissel and I were twins, and consequently the same age. They did say Sissel was a couple hours older than I, but that made no difference when it came to herding except that I herded spring and fall and she during the summer. Therefore, I began to stay home during the summers earlier than most others."

-- excerpt from Tosten's autobiography, written in 1917