Captain Lorentz's ship is forty paces long and eight paces wide. It is old and leaky. Below deck it's dank and smells of urine. She is badly overloaded with pig iron and sundries. The captain and his crew of fifteen look down on these simple, frightened, land-loving people who have never seen this much water in their lives.

In the hold, enormous sheets of canvas separate the space into three compartments: married couples and children, unmarried men, and unmarried women. There is no room for Karl Oscar in the family pen; he must sleep in a two-man bunk with Robert in the unmarried men's compartment.

For the first time in their married lives, Kristina and Karl Oscar are separated…

BÖNDER PÅ HAVET: (Farmers at sea:)

I vår hemort, såg vi skogar, berg och dalar

(In our homelands, saw we forests, mountains, valleys…)

Här på havet ser vi bara samma vatten alla dagar

(Here on the sea we only see, same old water all the daylong)

Här på havet ser vi bara samma vatten alla dagar

(Here on the sea we only see, same old water all the daylong)

KRISTINA:

Det är tomt och kallt, när man delat allt och blir skilda åt

(It's empty and cold, when we've shared it all, and are divided)

KARL OSCAR:

Det är tomt och kallt, när man delat allt och blir skilda åt

(It's empty and cold, when we've shared it all, and are divided)