It is that time of year again. Birds are singing in the morning, anemones and daffodils are shooting out of the ground, and the trees are covered in vivid green buds, just longing to burst. Spring is here!

In Denmark, the winter is long, dark and cold. And while it does have its highlights (candles, woollen sweaters, the occasional snow day), you always seem to get to a point, where you do not truly believe that it will ever end. Yet it does, and here we are.

To celebrate this wonderful event, we bring you this charming little toy, collected in Madagascar in 1972. To get the full effect, you would have to see the little birds in motion, picking away at the grains of rice, as you pull the delicate strings. In this toy, we find the immediate joy and surprise of spring. Their vivid colours reflect the myriad of colours, this season provides us, as the grey of winter is exchanged for budding flowers and bright green leaves. So join us for a spell, as we appreciate the fact that we made it through another winter, and take pleasure in the little things: a ray of sunshine, a fragile violet breaking out of the forest floor, a charming and ingenious home-made toy.

//Sophie Seebach