Vinnie was taken to the home of the boy, Dag.
His house had stone walls and a roof made of straw.
His mother and sister, Birgitta, were inside.
Dag explained what happened.
Dag and Gunnar laid Vinnie down on a bench.
It was covered with bear skins.
Dag's mother hurried over to Vinnie.
"Birgitta, bring me the whale bone," she said.
"Whale bone?" asked Mandy. "What is that for?
Is Vinnie going to be okay?"
"Don't worry," said Dag's mother.
"There are magic symbols carved into the whale bone.
It will help your brother heal quickly."
Birgitta gave the whale bone to her mother.
Her mother placed it under the bear skins beneath Vinnie.
Vikings believed that symbols had magical power.
Soon after, Vinnie opened his eyes.
"Oh, my head," he groaned.
There was a big bump on his forehead.
He tried to sit up.
"Where am I?
Where's my sister?"
Mandy knelt down beside Vinnie.
"Are you okay?" she asked.
"Except for a headache, yes," he replied.
Mandy turned to Birgitta and Dag's mother.
"Thank you so much," she said.
Now that Vinnie seemed better, Mandy looked at the inside of the house more closely.
It was just one long room with no windows.
In the middle of the room was a fireplace.
She was surprised to see animals—a cow, two sheep, and four pigs—in a pen at the far end of the house.
"Why do the animals live in your house?" she asked Birgitta.
"It's too cold to keep them outdoors," she explained.
"And having them inside keeps us warm too."
"Birgitta," called her mother, "take this soup to our old neighbor Hilda.
She's been sick for three days."
Birgitta took the pot of soup.
"Come with me," she said to Mandy.
While the girls were gone, Vinnie watched Gunnar practice sword fighting with Dag.
They used wooden swords.
"Gunnar, do you really want to be a warrior?" asked Vinnie.
"Yes, I do," Gunnar said.
"I practice my fighting skills whenever I can.
There is nothing better than being a Viking warrior.
I want to be the next Leif Erikson!"
"Who's that?" asked Vinnie.
"You don't know about him?" said Gunnar, surprised.
"He's one of our most famous explorers.
Leif Erikson discovered a new land far across the sea.
He and his men saw many forests.
The wood was perfect for building longships.
They said the fish were bigger than me!"
Vinnie and Gunnar laughed.
Then they heard a loud noise at the door.
"I finally found you little ship rats!" yelled Skull-Crusher.
"My Captain!" Gunnar bowed his head.
The red-faced captain stood in the doorway.
He was very angry.
"Where is my good-luck charm?" Skull-Crusher demanded.