Edla pleaded her father not to send the vagabond away as she became sympathetic seeing the plight of the poor peddler. She requested her father to allow him to spend one day with them in peace as a respite from the struggle he had to endure round the year.

'The Rattrap' is a story of a peddler who used to earn his living by selling small rattraps of wire. Since his business was not profitable, he resorted to petty thievery. Nobody treated him with kindness or respect. The first act of compassion was shown by the crofter who takes the poor peddler in. Bu the peddler stole his money and ran away. Later, he was given a place to stay by the noble ironmaster and his daughter. Though she was suspicious of him, they promised him Christmas cheer. When his truth was discovered, Edla fought with her father for the peddler. She not only requested her father to let the peddler stay for Christmas, but also treated him like a real captain. The peddler was highly touched by this act of concern -143- and compassion and before leaving the house, left the money he had stolen. This shows that goodness is latent in the human heart which can be brought out by love, care and understanding.

The crofter allowed the peddler to stay for the night in his cottage. He welcomed the peddler with a smiling face. E was an old man without wife or child. Therefore, he became happy to get someone to talk to in his loneliness. He served him supper and gave him tobacco. He played ‘‘majolis’’ the game of cards to entertain him also. He got friendlier with the peddler by showing him the money kept in the pouch.

The ironmaster misunderstood the peddler for an old acquaintance, whereas his daughter could make out that the man was afraid, which was suggestive of him having stolen something. Though the father and the daughter express compassion for the vagabond both do so for different reasons.The ironmaster was sure to help the vagabond get over his tramp manners because he had mistaken the latter for his old comrade. The daughter, however, wishes to feed him and welcome him in spite of knowing that he was not Captain Von Stahle. The father acts impulsively and casually and invites him without confirming the stranger’s identity. On realising his mistake he recklessly wants to hand him over to the sheriff. Only when he is threatened to be ensnared by the rattrap of this world, he thinks otherwise. Edla, on the other hand, shows a strong sense of observation. She rightly judges him to be a tramp without any education. She persuades her father to let him stay because they had promised him Christmas cheer. When the blacksmith’s daughter infects the protagonist with her true altruism the peddler’s inner soul experiences a rapid transformation form an ugly duckling to a dazzling swan.

The life of the peddler is bound with loneliness. This idea of being completely alone made the peddler a pessimist. After stealing the money, the peddler tried to escape through the forest but got lost. Left in despair, he recollected his own thoughts on the world being a giant rattrap. A sudden realization came to him that he had finally got himself caught in the rattrap because he allowed himself to be tempted by the bait, the thirty kronor bills. Even the kindness of the ironmaster and especially his daughter failed to make the peddler optimistic about the world. Unlike the other characters in the story, peddler is the only one who got succumbed to loneliness and is far away from the human bonds of love and sympathy that made him the cynic and consider the world as a rattrap.