Far away in the Frozen Land in the long ago time a master wizard forged the wondrous Sampo or mill of fortune, which ground out all sorts of treasures and gave wealth and power to its owner. This story, retold in prose from the Finnish Kalevala, tells of the making of this magic mill with its pictured lid of rainbow colors and of the adventures of the heroes who sought to gain possession of it.
According to his biography in the Junior Book of Authors (1951), Baldwin, a native of Indiana and largely self-educated, began teaching at the age of 24. After several years he became superintendent of the graded schools in Indiana, a post he held for 18 years. The last 37 years of his life he worked with publishers, first with Harper and Brothers and later with the American Book Company. In addition to editing school books, he started writing books of his own. After the publication in 1882 of The Story of Siegfried, he went on to write more than 50 others. His influence was widely felt because at one time it was estimated that of all the school books in use in the United States, over half had been written or edited by him. Unfortunately, his works are much less widely known today. So far as known, only some of his books are in print and published today.