{"collection":"myth-cosmogony","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_37193/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_37193","id":"gutenberg_37193","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/37193","summary":null,"tags":["Category: Mythology, Legends & Folklore","Category: Short Stories","Fairy tales -- Sweden"],"text":"</pre>\n\n\n\nProduced by David Edwards, Matthew Wheaton and the Online\nDistributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This\nfile was produced from images generously made available\nby The Internet Archive)\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nTHE SWEDISH FAIRY BOOK\n\n\n    [Illustration: \"NO SOONER HAD HE SPOKEN THE WORDS THAN HE WAS\n    LYING IN THE MOST MAGNIFICENT ROOM HE HAD EVER SEEN.\"]\n\n\n\n\n    THE SWEDISH FAIRY BOOK\n\n    EDITED BY\n    CLARA STROEBE\n\n    TRANSLATED BY\n    FREDERICK H. MARTENS\n\n    WITH EIGHT ILLUSTRATIONS IN COLOR BY\n    GEORGE W. HOOD\n\n    NEW YORK\n    FREDERICK A. STOKES COMPANY\n    PUBLISHERS\n\n\n    _Copyright, 1921, by_\n\n    FREDERICK A. STOKES COMPANY\n\n    _All Rights Reserved_\n\n    _Printed in the United States of America_\n\n\n\n\nPREFACE\n\n\nThe following volume of Swedish fairy-tales represents a careful\nchoice, after the best original sources, of those examples of their\nkind which not only appeared most colorful and entertaining, but also\nmost racially Swedish in their flavor. For the fairy-tales of each of\nthe three Scandinavian countries, Sweden, Denmark and Norway, have a\ndistinct local color of their own. The wealth of material available\nhas made it possible to give due representation to most types of\nfairy-tales, from the stories of older origin, the tales of giant,\ntroll, and werewolf, to such delightful tales as \"Lasse, My Thrall\",\nand \"The Princess and the Glass Mountain,\" colored with the rich and\nornate stylistic garb of medieval chivalric poesy. There has been no\nattempt to \"rewrite\" these charming folk-and fairy-tales in the\ntranslation. They have been faithfully narrated in the simple, naive\nmanner which their traditional rendering demands. And this is one\nreason, perhaps, why they should appeal to young American readers--for\nyoung America by instinct takes kindly to that which is straightforward\nand sincere, in the realm of fairy-tale as in life itself.\n\n                                                 FREDERICK H. MARTENS\n\n\n\n\nCONTENTS\n\n\n           CHAPTER\n\n         I KNOeS\n        II LASSE, MY THRALL!\n       III FINN, THE GIANT, AND THE MINSTER OF LUND\n        IV THE SKALUNDA GIANT\n         V YULETIDE SPECTERS\n        VI SILVERWHITE AND LILLWACKER\n       VII STOMPE PILT\n      VIII THE GIRL AND THE SNAKE\n        IX FAITHFUL AND UNFAITHFUL\n         X STARKAD AND BALE\n        XI THE WEREWOLF\n       XII FIRST BORN, FIRST WED\n      XIII THE LAME DOG\n       XIV THE MOUNT OF THE GOLDEN QUEEN\n        XV OLD HOPGIANT\n       XVI THE PRINCESS AND THE GLASS MOUNTAIN\n      XVII QUEEN CRANE\n     XVIII TALES OF THE TROLLS\n       XIX CHARCOAL NILS AND THE TROLL-WOMAN\n        XX THE THREE DOGS\n       XXI THE POOR DEVIL\n      XXII HOW SMALAND AND SCHONEN CAME TO BE\n     XXIII THE EVIL ONE AND KITTA GRAU\n      XXIV THE LADY OF PINTORP\n       XXV THE SPECTER IN FJELKINGE\n      XXVI THE ROOSTER, THE HAND-MILL AND THE SWARM OF HORNETS\n     XXVII TORRE JEPPE\n    XXVIII THE MAN WHO DIED ON HOLY INNOCENTS' DAY\n\n\n\n\nLIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS\n\n\n    \"No sooner had he spoken the words than he was lying in the most\n    magnificent room he had ever seen\"\n\n    \"Then Silverwhite drew his sword with a great sweep, and rushed\n    upon the sea-troll\"\n\n    \"The pike rose to the surface with the golden keys in his mouth\"\n\n    \"So heartfelt was her happiness that she forgot everything else\n    in the world\"\n\n    \"A shrine adorned with gold and precious stones appeared\"\n\n    \"The lion turned into a handsome young prince\"\n\n    \"The rich man had to go along hanging to him like a hawser\"\n\n    \"He saw a girl sitting in the mountain hall, weaving a web of\n    gold\"\n\n\n\n\nTHE SWEDISH FAIRY BOOK\n\n\n\n\nSwedish Fairy Book\n\n\n\n\nI\n\nKNOeS\n\n\nOnce upon a time there was a poor widow, who found an egg under a pile\nof brush as she was gathering kindlings in the forest. She took it and\nplaced it under a goose, and when the goose had hatched it, a little\nboy slipped out of the shell. The widow had him baptized Knoes, and\nsuch a lad was a rarity; for when no more than five years old he was\ngrown, and taller than the tallest man. And he ate in proportion, for\nhe would swallow a whole batch of bread at a single sitting, and at\nlast the poor widow had to go to the commissioners for the relief of\nthe poor in order to get food for him. But the town authorities said\nshe must apprentice the boy at a trade, for he was big enough and\nstrong enough to earn his own keep.\n\nSo Knoes was apprenticed to a smith for three years. For his pay he\nasked a suit of clothes and a sword each year: a sword of five\nhundredweights the first year, one of ten hundredweights the second\nyear, and one of fifteen hundredweights the third year. But after he\nhad been in the smithy only a few days, the smith was glad to give him\nall three suits and all three swords at once; for he smashed all his\niron and steel to bits.\n\nKnoes received his suits and swords, went to a knight's estate, and\nhired himself out as a serving-man. Once he was told to go to the\nforest to gather firewood with the rest of the men, but sat at the\ntable eating long after the others had driven off and when he had at\nlast satisfied his hunger and was ready to start, he saw the two young\noxen he was to drive waiting for him. But he let them stand and went\ninto the forest, seized the two largest trees growing there, tore them\nout by the roots, took one tree under each arm, and carried them back\nto the estate. And he got there long before the rest, for they had to\nchop down the trees, saw them up and load them on the carts.\n\nOn the following day Knoes had to thresh. First he hunted up the\nlargest stone he could find, and rolled it around on the grain, so\nthat all the corn was loosened from the ears. Then he had to separate\nthe grain from the chaff. So he made a hole in each side of the roof\nof the barn, and stood outside the barn and blew, and the chaff and\nstraw flew out into the yard, and the corn remained lying in a heap on\nthe floor. His master happened to come along, laid a ladder against\nthe barn, climbed up and looked down into one of the holes. But Knoes\nwas still blowing, and the wind caught his master, and he fell down\nand was nearly killed on the stone pavement of the court.\n\n\"He's a dangerous fellow,\" thought his master. It would be a good\nthing to be rid of him, otherwise he might do away with all of them;\nand besides, he ate so that it was all one could do to keep him fed.\nSo he called Knoes in, and paid him his wages for the full year, on\ncondition that he leave. Knoes agreed, but said he must first be\ndecently provisioned for his journey.\n\nSo he was allowed to go into the store-house himself, and there he\nhoisted a flitch of bacon on each shoulder, slid a batch of bread\nunder each arm, and took leave. But his master loosed the vicious bull\non him. Knoes, however, grasped him by the horns, and flung him over\nhis shoulder, and thus he went off. Then he came to a thicket where he\nslaughtered the bull, roasted him and ate him together with a batch of\nbread. And when he had done this he had about taken the edge off his\nhunger.\n\nThen he came to the king's court, where great sorrow reigned because,\nonce upon a time, when the king was sailing out at sea, a sea troll\nhad called up a terrible tempest, so that the ship was about to sink.\nIn order to escape with his life, the king had to promise the sea\ntroll to give him whatever first came his way when he reached shore.\nThe king thought his hunting dog would be the first to come running\nto meet him, as usual; but instead his three young daughters came\nrowing out to meet him in a boat. This filled the king with grief, and\nhe vowed that whoever delivered his daughters should have one of them\nfor a bride, whichever one he might choose. But the only man who\nseemed to want to earn the reward was a tailor, named Red Peter.\n\nKnoes was given a place at the king's court, and his duty was to help\nthe cook. But he asked to be let off on the day the troll was to come\nand carry away the oldest princess, and they were glad to let him go;\nfor when he had to rinse the dishes he broke the king's vessels of\ngold and silver; and when he was told to bring firewood, he brought in\na whole wagon-load at once, so that the doors flew from their hinges.\n\nThe princess stood on the sea-shore and wept and wrung her hands; for\nshe could see what she had to expect. Nor did she have much confidence\nin Red Peter, who sat on a willow-stump, with a rusty old sabre in his\nhand. Then Knoes came and tried to comfort the princess as well as he\nknew how, and asked her whether she would comb his hair. Yes, he might\nlay his head in her lap, and she combed his hair. Suddenly there was a\ndreadful roaring out at sea. It was the troll who was coming along,\nand he had five heads. Red Peter was so frightened that he rolled off\nhis willow-stump. \"Knoes, is that you?\" cried the troll. \"Yes,\" said\nKnoes. \"Haul me up on the shore!\" said the troll. \"Pay out the cable!\"\nsaid Knoes. Then he hauled the troll ashore; but he had his sword of\nfive hundredweights at his side, and with it he chopped off all five\nof the troll's heads, and the princess was free. But when Knoes had\ngone off, Red Peter put his sabre to the breast of the princess, and\ntold her he would kill her unless she said he was her deliverer.\n\nThen came the turn of the second princess. Once more Red Peter sat on\nthe willow-stump with his rusty sabre, and Knoes asking to be let off\nfor the day, went to the sea-shore and begged the princess to comb his\nhair, which she did. Then along came the troll, and this time he had\nten heads. \"Knoes, is that you?\" asked the troll. \"Yes,\" said Knoes.\n\"Haul me ashore!\" said the troll. \"Pay out the cable!\" said Knoes. And\nthis time Knoes had his sword of ten hundredweights at his side, and he\ncut off all ten of the troll's heads. And so the second princess was\nfreed. But Red Peter held his sabre at the princess' breast, and\nforced her to say that he had delivered her.\n\nNow it was the turn of the youngest princess. When it was time for the\ntroll to come, Red Peter was sitting on his willow-stump, and Knoes\ncame and begged the princess to comb his hair, and she did so. This\ntime the troll had fifteen heads.\n\n\"Knoes, is that you?\" asked the troll. \"Yes,\" said Knoes. \"Haul me\nashore!\" said the troll. \"Pay out the cable,\" said Knoes. Knoes had his\nsword of fifteen hundredweights at his side, and with it he cut off\nall the troll's heads. But the fifteen hundredweights were\nhalf-an-ounce short, and the heads grew on again, and the troll took\nthe princess, and carried her off with him.\n\nOne day as Knoes was going along, he met a man carrying a church on his\nback. \"You are a strong man, you are!\" said Knoes. \"No, I am not\nstrong,\" said he, \"but Knoes at the king's court, he is strong; for he\ncan take steel and iron, and weld them together with his hands as\nthough they were clay.\" \"Well, I'm the man of whom you are speaking,\"\nsaid Knoes, \"come, let us travel together.\" And so they wandered on.\n\nThen they met a man who carried a mountain of stone on his back. \"You\nare strong, you are!\" said Knoes. \"No, I'm not strong,\" said the man\nwith the mountain of stone, \"but Knoes at the king's court, he is\nstrong; for he can weld together steel and iron with his hands as\nthough they were clay.\"\n\n\"Well, I am that Knoes, come let us travel together,\" said Knoes. So all\nthree of them traveled along together. Knoes took them for a sea-trip;\nbut I think they had to leave the church and the hill of stone ashore.\nWhile they were sailing they grew thirsty, and lay alongside an\nisland, and there on the island stood a castle, to which they decided\nto go and ask for a drink. Now this was the very castle in which the\ntroll lived.\n\nFirst the man with the church went, and when he entered the castle,\nthere sat the troll with the princess on his lap, and she was very\nsad. He asked for something to drink. \"Help yourself, the goblet is on\nthe table!\" said the troll. But he got nothing to drink, for though he\ncould move the goblet from its place, he could not raise it.\n\nThen the man with the hill of stone went into the castle and asked for\na drink. \"Help yourself, the goblet is on the table!\" said the troll.\nAnd he got nothing to drink either, for though he could move the\ngoblet from its place, he could not raise it.\n\nThen Knoes himself went into the castle, and the princess was full of\njoy and leaped down from the troll's lap when she saw it was he. Knoes\nasked for a drink. \"Help yourself,\" said the troll, \"the goblet is on\nthe table!\" And Knoes took the goblet and emptied it at a single\ndraught. Then he hit the troll across the head with the goblet, so\nthat he rolled from the chair and died.\n\nKnoes took the princess back to the royal palace, and O, how happy\nevery one was! The other princesses recognized Knoes again, for they\nhad woven silk ribbons into his hair when they had combed it; but he\ncould only marry one of the princesses, whichever one he preferred, so\nhe chose the youngest. And when the king died, Knoes inherited the\nkingdom.\n\nAs for Red Peter, he had to go into the nail-barrel.\n\nAnd now you know all that I know.\n\n\nNOTE\n\n     The leading personage of our first story, Knoes (_Tecknigar og\n     Toner ur skanska allmogenslif_, Lund, 1889, p. 14. From\n     Gudmundstorp, Froste Harad) is one of those heroes of gigantic\n     build, beloved of the North, who even when he eats,\n     accomplishes deeds such as the old Norsemen told of their god\n     Thor: the motive of the goblet with which the hero slays the\n     giant, has been used in the _Hymiskvida_. (Comp. with v. d.\n     Leyen, _Maerchen in den Goettsagen der Edda_, p. 40.)\n\n\n\n\nII\n\nLASSE, MY THRALL!\n\n\nOnce upon a time there was a prince or a duke or whatever you choose\nto call him, but at any rate a noble tremendously high-born, who did\nnot want to stay at home. And so he traveled about the world, and\nwherever he went he was well received, and hobnobbed with the very\nfinest people; for he had an unheard of amount of money. He at once\nfound friends and acquaintances, no matter where he came; for whoever\nhas a full trough can always find pigs to thrust their snouts into it.\nBut since he handled his money as he did, it grew less and less, and\nat last he was left high and dry, without a red cent. And there was an\nend to all his many friends; for they did just as the pigs do. When he\nhad been well fleeced, they began to snivel and grunt, and soon\nscattered, each about his own business. And there he stood, after\nhaving been led about by the nose, abandoned by all. All had been glad\nto help him get rid of his money; but none were willing to help him\nregain it, so there was nothing left for him to do but to wander back\nhome again like a journeyman apprentice, and beg his way as he went.\n\nLate one evening he found himself in a big forest, without any idea as\nto where he might spend the night. And as he was looking around, his\nglance happened to fall on an old hut, peeping out from among the\nbushes. Of course an old hut was no lodging for such a fine gentleman;\nbut when we cannot have what we want, we must take what we can get,\nand since there was no help for it, he went into the hut. There was\nnot even a cat in it, not even a stool to sit on. But against one wall\nthere was a great chest. What might there be in the chest? Suppose\nthere were a few moldy crusts of bread in it? They would taste good to\nhim, for he had not been given a single thing all day long, and he was\nso hungry that his inwards stuck to his ribs. He opened the chest. But\nwithin the chest was another chest, and in that chest still another\nchest, and so it went, one always smaller than the other, until they\nwere nothing but little boxes. And the more there were of them the\nmore trouble he took to open them; for whatever was hidden away so\ncarefully must be something exceptionally beautiful, thought he.\n\nAt last he came to a tiny box, and in the tiny box was a slip of\npaper--and that was all he had for his pains! At first he was much\ndepressed. But all at once, he saw that something was written on the\npiece of paper, and on closer examination he was even able to spell\nout the words, though they had a strange appearance. And he read:\n\n\"Lasse, my thrall!\"\n\nNo sooner had he spoken these words than something answered, close to\nhis ear:\n\n\"What does my master command?\"\n\nHe looked around, but saw no one. That's strange, thought he, and once\nmore read aloud:\n\n\"Lasse, my thrall!\"\n\nAnd just as before came the answer:\n\n\"What does my master command?\"\n\n\"If there be some one about who hears what I say, he might be kind\nenough to get me a little something to eat,\" said he; and at that very\nmoment a table, covered with all the good things to eat that one could\nimagine, was standing in the hut. He at once began to eat and drink\nand did well by himself. I have never had a better meal in my life,\nthought he. And when his hunger was completely satisfied, he grew\nsleepy and took up his scrap of paper again.\n\n\"Lasse, my thrall!\"\n\n\"What does my master command?\"\n\n\"Now that you have brought me food and drink, you must also bring me a\nbed in which to sleep. But it must be a very fine bed,\" said he; for\nas you may well imagine, his ideas were more top-lofty now that he had\neaten well. His command was at once obeyed; and a bed so fine and\nhandsome stood in the hut, that a king might have been glad to have\nfound such sleeping accommodations. Now this was all very well and\ngood; but the good can always be bettered, and when he had lain down,\nhe decided that, after all, the hut was far too wretched for such a\nfine bed. He took up the scrap of paper:\n\n\"Lasse, my thrall!\"\n\n\"What does my master command?\"\n\n\"If you can produce such a meal, and such a bed here in the wild wood,\nyou must surely be able to give me a better room; for you know I am\none of those who are used to sleeping in a castle, with golden mirrors\nand rugs of gold brocade and luxuries and conveniences of every kind,\"\nsaid he. And no sooner had he spoken the words, than he was lying in\nthe most magnificent room he had ever seen.\n\nNow matters were arranged to suit him, and he was quite content as he\nturned his face to the wall and closed his eyes.\n\nBut the room he had slept in was not the end of his magnificence. When\nhe woke the following morning and looked around, he saw that he had\nbeen sleeping in a great castle. There was one room after another, and\nwherever he went walls and ceilings were covered with ornaments and\ndecorations of every kind, all glittering so splendidly when the rays\nof the sun fell on them that he had to put his hand to his eyes; for\nwherever he looked everything sparkled with gold and silver. Then he\nglanced out of the window and first began to realize how really\nbeautiful everything was. Gone were the fir-trees and juniper bushes,\nand in their place showed the loveliest garden one might wish to see,\nfilled with beautiful trees and roses of every variety, in bush and\ntree form. But there was not a human being in sight, not even a cat.\nYet he found it quite natural that everything should be so fine, and\nthat he should once more have become a great lord.\n\nHe took up the scrap of paper:\n\n\"Lasse, my thrall!\"\n\n\"What does my master command?\"\n\n\"Now that you have provided me with food and a castle in which to\ndwell, I am going to stay here, because it suits me,\" said he, \"but I\ncannot live here all alone in this fashion. I must have serving-men\nand serving-maids, at my command.\" And so it was. Servants and lackeys\nand maids and serving-women of every description arrived, and some of\nthem bowed and others courtseyed, and now the duke really began to\nfeel content.\n\nNow it happened that another great castle lay on the opposite side of\nthe forest, in which dwelt a king who owned the forest, and many broad\nacres of field and meadow round about. And when the king came and\nhappened to look out of his window, he saw the new castle, on whose\nroof the golden weathercocks were swinging to and fro, from time to\ntime, shining in his eyes.\n\n\"This is very strange,\" thought he, and sent for his courtiers. They\ncame without delay, bowing and scraping.\n\n\"Do you see the castle yonder?\" said the king.\n\nTheir eyes grew as large as saucers and they looked.\n\nYes, indeed, they saw the castle.\n\n\"Who has dared to build such a castle on my ground?\"\n\nThe courtiers bowed and scraped, but did not know. So the king sent\nfor his soldiers. They came tramping in and presented arms.\n\n\"Send out all my soldiers and horsemen,\" said the king, \"tear down the\ncastle instantly, hang whoever built it, and see to this at once.\"\n\nThe soldiers assembled in the greatest haste and set forth. The\ndrummers beat their drums and the trumpeters blew their trumpets, and\nthe other musicians practiced their art, each in his own way; so that\nthe duke heard them long before they came in sight. But this was not\nthe first time he had heard music of this sort, and he knew what it\nmeant, so once more he took up the scrap of paper:\n\n\"Lasse, my thrall!\"\n\n\"What does my master command?\"\n\n\"There are soldiers coming,\" said he, \"and now you must provide me\nwith soldiers and horsemen until I have twice as many as the folk on\nthe other side of the forest. And sabers and pistols and muskets and\ncannon, and all that goes with them--but you must be quick about it!\"\n\nQuick it was, and when the duke looked out there was a countless host\nof soldiers drawn up around the castle.\n\nWhen the king's people arrived, they stopped and did not dare advance.\nBut the duke was by no means shy. He went at once to the king's\ncaptain and asked him what he wanted.\n\nThe captain repeated his instructions.\n\n\"They will not gain you anything,\" said the duke. \"You can see how\nmany soldiers I have, and if the king chooses to listen to me, we can\nagree to become friends, I will aid him against all his enemies, and\nwhat we undertake will succeed.\" The captain was pleased with this\nproposal, so the duke invited him to the castle, together with all his\nofficers, and his soldiers were given a swallow or two of something\nwet and plenty to eat along with it. But while the duke and the\nofficers were eating and drinking, there was more or less talk, and\nthe duke learned that the king had a daughter, as yet unmarried and so\nlovely that her like had never been seen. And the more they brought\nthe king's officers to eat, the stronger they inclined to the opinion\nthat the king's daughter would make a good wife for the duke. And as\nthey talked about it, the duke himself began to think it over. The\nworst of it was, said the officers, that she was very haughty, and\nnever even deigned to look at a man. But the duke only laughed. \"If it\nbe no worse than that,\" he said, \"it is a trouble that may be cured.\"\n\nWhen at last the soldiers had stowed away as much as they could hold,\nthey shouted hurrah until they woke the echoes in the hills, and\nmarched away. One may imagine what a fine parade march it was, for\nsome of them had grown a little loose-jointed in the knees. The duke\ncharged them to carry his greetings to the king, and say that he would\nsoon pay him a visit.\n\nWhen the duke was alone once more, he began to think of the princess\nagain, and whether she were really as beautiful as the soldiers had\nsaid. He decided he would like to find out for himself. Since so many\nstrange things had happened that day, it was quite possible, thought\nhe.\n\n\"Lasse, my thrall!\"\n\n\"What does my master command?\"\n\n\"Only that you bring the king's daughter here, as soon as she has\nfallen asleep,\" said he. \"But mind that she does not wake up, either\non her way here, or on her way back.\" And before long there lay the\nprincess on the bed. She was sleeping soundly, and looked charming as\nshe lay there asleep. One had to admit that she was as sweet as sugar.\nThe duke walked all around her; but she appeared just as beautiful\nfrom one side as from the other, and the more the duke looked at her,\nthe better she pleased him.\n\n\"Lasse, my thrall!\"\n\n\"What does my master command?\"\n\n\"Now you must take the princess home again,\" said he, \"because now I\nknow what she looks like and to-morrow I shall sue for her hand.\"\n\nThe following morning the king stepped to the window. \"Now I shall not\nhave to see that castle across the way,\" he thought to himself. But\nthe evil one must have had a hand in the matter--there stood the\ncastle just as before, and the sun was shining brightly on its roof,\nand the weather-vanes were sending beams into his eyes.\n\nThe king once more fell into a rage, and shouted for all his people,\nwho hurried to him with more than usual rapidity. The courtiers bowed\nand scraped and the soldiers marched in parade step and presented\narms.\n\n\"Do you see that castle there?\" roared the king.\n\nThey stretched their necks, their eyes grew large as saucers and they\nlooked.\n\nYes, indeed, they saw it.\n\n\"Did I not order you to tear down that castle and hang its builder?\"\nhe said.\n\nThis they could not deny; but now the captain himself stepped forward\nand told what had occurred, and what an alarming number of soldiers\nthe duke had, and how magnificent his castle was.\n\nThen he also repeated what the duke had said, and that he had sent his\ngreetings to the king.\n\nAll this made the king somewhat dizzy, and he had to set his crown on\nthe table and scratch his head. It was beyond his comprehension--for\nall that he was a king; since he could have sworn that it had all come\nto pass in the course of a single night, and if the duke were not the\ndevil himself, he was at least a magician.\n\nAnd as he sat there and thought, the princess came in.\n\n\"God greet you, father,\" she said, \"I had a most strange and lovely\ndream last night.\"\n\n\"And what did you dream, my girl?\" said the king.\n\n\"O, I dreamt that I was in the new castle over yonder, and there was a\nduke, handsome and so splendid beyond anything I could have imagined,\nand now I want a husband.\"\n\n\"What, you want a husband, and you have never even deigned to look at\na man; that is very strange!\" said the king.\n\n\"Be that as it may,\" said the princess, \"but that is how I feel now;\nand I want a husband, and the duke is the husband I want,\" she\nconcluded.\n\nThe king simply could not get over the astonishment the duke had\ncaused him.\n\nSuddenly he heard an extraordinary beating of drums, and sounding of\ntrumpets and other instruments of every kind. And a message came that\nthe duke had arrived with a great retinue, all so magnificently\nattired that every seam of their dresses was sparkling with gold and\nsilver. The king, in his crown and finest robe of state, stood looking\ndown the stairway, and the princess was all the more in favor of\ncarrying out her idea as quickly as possible.\n\nThe duke greeted the king pleasantly, and the king returned his\ngreeting in the same way, and discussing their affairs together they\nbecame good friends. There was a great banquet, and the duke sat\nbeside the princess at the table. What they said to each other I do\nnot know, but the duke knew so well how to talk that, no matter what\nhe said, the princess could not say no, and so he went to the king and\nbegged for her hand. The king could not exactly refuse it, for the\nduke was the kind of a man whom it was better to have for a friend\nthan for an enemy; but he could not give his answer out of hand,\neither. First he wished to see the duke's castle, and know how matters\nstood with regard to this, that and the other--which was natural.\n\nSo it was agreed that they should pay the duke a visit and bring the\nprincess with them, in order that she might examine his possessions,\nand with that they parted.\n\nWhen the duke reached home, Lasse had a lively time of it, for he was\ngiven any number of commissions. But he rushed about, carrying them\nout, and everything was arranged so satisfactorily that when the king\narrived with his daughter, a thousand pens could not have described\nit. They went through all the rooms and looked around, and everything\nwas as it should be, and even better thought the king, who was very\nhappy. Then the wedding was celebrated and when it was over, and the\nduke returned home with his young wife, he, too, gave a splendid\nbanquet, and that is how it went.\n\nAfter some time had passed, the duke one evening heard the words:\n\n\"Is my master content now?\" It was Lasse, though the duke could not\nsee him.\n\n\"I am well content,\" answered the duke, \"for you have brought me all\nthat I have.\"\n\n\"But what did I get for it?\" said Lasse.\n\n\"Nothing,\" replied the duke, \"but, heaven above, what was I to give\nyou, who are not flesh and blood, and whom I cannot even see,\" said\nhe. \"Yet if there be anything I can do for you, why let me know what\nit is, and I will do it.\"\n\n\"I would very much like to have the little scrap of paper that you\nkeep in the box,\" said Lasse.\n\n\"If that is all you want, and if such a trifle is of any service to\nyou, your wish shall be granted, for I believe I know the words by\nheart now,\" said the duke.\n\nLasse thanked him, and said all the duke need do, would be to lay the\npaper on the chair beside his bed, when he went to sleep, and that he\nwould fetch it during the night.\n\nThis the duke did, and then he went to bed and fell asleep.\n\nBut toward morning the duke woke up, freezing so that his teeth\nchattered, and when he had fully opened his eyes, he saw that he had\nbeen stripped of everything, and had scarcely a shirt to his name. And\ninstead of lying in the handsome bed in the handsome bed-room in the\nmagnificent castle, he lay on the big chest in the old hut. He at once\ncalled out:\n\n\"Lasse, my thrall!\" But there was no answer.\n\nThen he cried again:\n\n\"Lasse, my thrall!\" Again there was no answer. So he called out as\nloudly as he could:\n\n\"Lasse, my thrall!\" But this third call was also in vain.\n\nNow he began to realize what had happened, and that Lasse, when he\nobtained the scrap of paper, no longer had to serve him, and that he\nhimself had made this possible. But now things were as they were, and\nthere stood the duke in the old hut, with scarcely a shirt to his\nname. The princess herself was not much better off, though she had\nkept her clothes; for they had been given her by her father, and Lasse\nhad no power over them.\n\nNow the duke had to explain everything to the princess, and beg her to\nleave him, since it would be best if he tried to get along as well as\nhe could himself, said he. But this the princess would not do. She had\na better memory for what the pastor had said when he married them, she\ntold him, and that she was never, never to leave him.\n\nAt length the king awoke in his castle, and when he looked out of the\nwindow, he saw not a single stone of the other castle in which his\nson-in-law and his daughter lived. He grew uneasy and sent for his\ncourtiers.\n\nThey came in, bowing and scraping.\n\n\"Do you see the castle there, on the other side of the forest?\" he\nasked. They stretched their necks and opened their eyes. But they\ncould see nothing.\n\n\"What has become of it?\" said the king. But this question they were\nunable to answer.\n\nIn a short time the king and his entire court set out, passed through\nthe forest, and when they came to the place where the castle, with its\ngreat gardens, should have been standing, they saw nothing but\njuniper-bushes and scrub-pines. And then they happened to see the\nlittle hut amid the brush. He went in and--O the poor king!--what did\nhe see?\n\nThere stood his son-in-law, with scarcely a shirt to his name, and his\ndaughter, and she had none too much to wear, and was crying and\nsniveling at a fearful rate. \"For heaven's sake, what is the trouble\nhere?\" said the king. But he received no answer; for the duke would\nrather have died than have told him the whole story.\n\nThe king urged and pressed him, first amiably, then in anger; but the\nduke remained obstinate and would have nothing to say. Then the king\nfell into a rage, which is not very surprising, for now he realized\nthat this fine duke was not what he purported to be, and he therefore\nordered him to be hung, and hung on the spot. It is true that the\nprincess pleaded earnestly for him, but tears and prayers were useless\nnow, for he was a rascal and should die a rascal's death--thus spake\nthe king.\n\nAnd so it was. The king's people set up a gallows and put a rope\naround the duke's neck. But as they were leading him to the gallows,\nthe princess got hold of the hangman and gave him a gratuity, for\nwhich they were to arrange matters in such wise that the duke need not\ndie. And toward evening they were to cut him down, and he and the\nprincess would disappear. So the bargain was made. In the meantime\nthey strung him up and then the king, together with his court and all\nthe people, went away.\n\nNow the duke was at the end of his rope. Yet he had time enough to\nreflect about his mistake in not contenting himself with an inch\ninstead of reaching out at once for an ell; and that he had so\nfoolishly given back the scrap of paper to Lasse annoyed him most of\nall. If I only had it again, I would show every one that adversity has\nmade me wise, he thought to himself. But when the horse is stolen we\nclose the stable door. And that is the way of the world.\n\nAnd then he dangled his legs, since for the time being there was\nnothing else for him to do.\n\nIt had been a long, hard day for him, and he was not sorry when he saw\nthe sun sinking behind the forest. But just as the sun was setting he\nsuddenly heard a most tremendous Yo ho! and when he looked down there\nwere seven carts of worn-out shoes coming along the road, and a-top\nthe last cart was a little old man in gray, with a night-cap on his\nhead. He had the face of some horrible specter, and was not much\nbetter to look at in other respects.\n\nHe drove straight up to the gallows, and stopped when he was directly\nbeneath them, looked up at the duke and laughed--the horrible old\ncreature!\n\n\"And is this the measure of your stupidity?\" he said, \"but then what\nis a fellow of your sort to do with his stupidity, if he does not put\nit to some use?\"--and then he laughed again. \"Yes, there you hang, and\nhere I am carting off all the shoes I wore out going about on your\nsilly errands. I wonder, sometimes, whether you can actually read what\nis written on that scrap of paper, and whether you recognize it,\" said\nhe, laughing again, indulging in all sorts of horse-play, and waving\nthe scrap of paper under the duke's nose.\n\nBut all who are hanging on the gallows are not dead, and this time\nLasse was the greater fool of the two.\n\nThe duke snatched--and tore the scrap of paper from his hand!\n\n\"Lasse, my thrall!\"\n\n\"What does my master command?\"\n\n\"Cut me down from the gallows at once, and restore the castle and\neverything else just as it was before, then when it is dark, bring the\nprincess back to it.\"\n\nEverything was attended to with alarming rapidity, and soon all was\nexactly as it had been before Lasse had decamped.\n\nWhen the king awoke the following morning, he looked out of the window\nas usual, and there the castle was standing as before, with its\nweathercocks gleaming handsomely in the sunlight. He sent for his\ncourtiers, and they came in bowing and scraping.\n\n\"Do you see the castle over yonder?\" asked the king.\n\nThey stretched their necks, and gazed and stared. Yes, indeed, they\ncould see the castle.\n\nThen the king sent for the princess; but she was not there. Thereupon\nthe king set off to see whether his son-in-law was hanging in the\nappointed spot; but no, there was not a sign of either son-in-law or\ngallows.\n\nThen he had to take off his crown and scratch his head. Yet that did\nnot change matters, and he could not for the life of him understand\nwhy things should be as they were. Finally he set out with his entire\ncourt, and when they reached the spot where the castle should have\nbeen standing, there it stood.\n\nThe gardens and the roses were just as they had been, and the duke's\nservitors were to be seen in swarms beneath the trees. His son-in-law\nin person, together with his daughter, dressed in the finest clothes,\ncame down the stairs to meet him.\n\nThe devil has a hand in it, thought the king; and so strange did all\nseem to him that he did not trust the evidence of his own eyes.\n\n\"God greet you and welcome, father!\" said the duke. The king could\nonly stare at him. \"Are you, are you my son-in-law?\" he asked.\n\n\"Why, of course,\" said the duke, \"who else am I supposed to be?\"\n\n\"Did I not have you strung up yesterday as a thief and a vagabond?\"\ninquired the king.\n\n\"I really believe father has gone out of his mind on the way over to\nus,\" said the duke and laughed.\n\n\"Does father think that I would allow myself to be hanged so easily?\nOr is there any one present who dare suppose such a thing?\" he said,\nand looked them straight in the eye, so that they knew he was looking\nat them. They bent their backs and bowed and scraped.\n\n\"And who can imagine any such thing? How could it be possible? Or\nshould there be any one present who dare say that the king wishes me\nill, let him speak out,\" said the duke, and gazed at them with even\ngreater keenness than before. All bent their backs and bowed and\nscraped.\n\nHow should any of them come to any such conclusion? No, none of them\nwere foolish to such a degree, they said.\n\nNow the king was really at a loss to know what to think. When he\nlooked at the duke he felt sure that he could never have wished to\nharm him, and yet--he was not quite sure.\n\n\"Was I not here yesterday, and was not the whole castle gone, and had\nnot an old hut taken its place, and did I not enter the hut and see\nyou standing there with scarcely a shirt to your name?\" he asked.\n\n\"How father talks,\" said the duke. \"I am afraid, very much afraid,\nthat trolls have blinded you, and led you astray in the forest. What\ndo you think?\" he said and turned to the courtiers.\n\nThey at once bowed and cringed fifty times in succession, and took the\nduke's side, as stands to reason.\n\nThe king rubbed his eyes and looked around.\n\n\"It must be as you say,\" he told the duke, \"and I believe that I have\nrecovered my reason, and have found my eyes again. And it would have\nbeen a sin and shame had I had you hung,\" said he. Then he grew joyful\nand no one gave the matter further thought.\n\nBut adversity teaches one to be wise, so people say, and the duke now\nbegan to attend to most things himself, and to see to it that Lasse\ndid not have to wear out so many pairs of shoes. The king at once\nbestowed half the kingdom upon him, which gave him plenty to do, and\npeople said that one would have to look far in order to find a better\nruler.\n\nThen Lasse came to the duke one day, and though he did not look much\nbetter than before, he was more civil and did not venture to grin and\ncarry on.\n\n\"You no longer need my help,\" said he, \"for though formerly I used to\nwear out all my shoes, I now cannot even wear out a single pair, and I\nalmost believe my legs are moss-grown. Will you not discharge me?\"\n\nThe duke thought he could. \"I have taken great pains to spare you, and\nI really believe that I can get along without you,\" he replied. \"But\nthe castle here and all the other things I could not well dispense\nwith, since I never again could find an architect like yourself, and\nyou may take for granted that I have no wish to ornament the\ngallows-tree a second time. Therefore I will not, of my own free will,\ngive you back the scrap of paper,\" said he.\n\n\"While it is in your possession I have nothing to fear,\" answered\nLasse.\n\n\"But should the paper fall into other hands, then I should have to\nbegin to run and work all over again and that, just that, is what I\nwould like to prevent. When a fellow has been working a thousand\nyears, as I have, he is bound to grow weary at last.\"\n\nSo they came to the conclusion that the duke should put the scrap of\npaper in its little box and bury it seven ells underground, beneath a\nstone that had grown there and would remain there as well. Then they\nthanked each other for pleasant comradeship and separated. The duke\ndid as he had agreed to do, and no one saw him hide the box. He lived\nhappily with his princess, and was blessed with sons and daughters.\nWhen the king died, he inherited the whole kingdom and, as you may\nimagine, he was none the worse off thereby, and no doubt he is still\nliving and ruling there, unless he has died.\n\nAs to the little box containing the scrap of paper, many are still\ndigging and searching for it.\n\n\nNOTE\n\n     Extremely popular in Sweden, and delightfully told is \"Lasse,\n     my thrall.\" (Djurklau, _Sagor och Aefventyr pa Svenska\n     Landsmal_. Stockholm, 1883. Set down in the dialect of Nerike).\n     It is the old story of Aladdin and the wonderful lamp, but\n     recounted in quite an original form.\n\n\n\n\nIII\n\nFINN, THE GIANT, AND THE MINSTER OF LUND\n\n\nThere stands in the university town of Schonen, the town of Lund, the\nseat of the first archbishopric in all Scandinavia, a stately Romanic\nminster, with a large, handsome crypt beneath the choir. The opinion\nis universal that the minster will never be altogether finished, but\nthat something will always be lacking about the structure. The reason\nis said to be as follows:\n\nWhen St. Lawrence came to Lund to preach the Gospel, he wanted to\nbuild a church; but did not know how he was to obtain the means to do\nso.\n\nWhile he was cudgelling his brains about it, a giant came to him and\noffered to build the church on condition that St. Lawrence tell him\nhis name before the church was completed. But should St. Lawrence be\nunable to do so, the giant was to receive either the sun, the moon or\nSt. Lawrence's eyes. The saint agreed to his proposal.\n\nThe building of the church made rapid progress, and ere long it was\nnearly finished. St. Lawrence thought ruefully about his prospects,\nfor he did not know the giant's name; yet at the same time he did not\nrelish losing his eyes. And it happened that while he was walking\nwithout the town, much concerned about the outcome of the affair, he\ngrew weary, and sat down on a hill to rest. As he sat there he heard a\nchild crying within the hill, and a woman's voice began to sing:\n\n    \"Sleep, sleep, my baby dear,\n    To-morrow your father, Finn, will be here;\n    Then sun and moon you shall have from the skies\n    To play with, or else St. Lawrence's eyes.\"\n\nWhen St. Lawrence heard that he was happy; for now he knew the giant's\nname. He ran back quickly to town, and went to the church. There sat\nthe giant on the roof, just about to set the last stone in place, when\nat that very moment the saint called out:\n\n    \"Finn, Finn,\n    Take care how you put the stone in!\"\n\nThen the giant flung the stone from him, full of rage, said that the\nchurch should never be finished, and with that he disappeared. Since\nthen something has always been missing from the church.\n\nOthers say that the giant and his wife rushed down into the crypt in\ntheir rage, and each seizing a column were about to tear down the\nchurch, when they were turned into stone, and may be seen to this day\nstanding beside the columns they had grasped.\n\n\nNOTE\n\n     \"Finn, the Giant, and the Minster of Lund\" (retold by Dr. v.\n     Sydow-Lund, after variants in his collection), is the\n     world-famous tale of the giant master-builder, which appears\n     here as a legend, and is connected with various celebrated\n     churches, as for instance the Minster of Drontheim. Its close\n     is an inversion of the motive of guessing a name, which we have\n     already encountered in the Danish fairy-tale \"Trillevip.\"\n\n\n\n\nIV\n\nTHE SKALUNDA GIANT\n\n\nIn the Skalunda mountain, near the church, there once lived a giant in\nthe early days, who no longer felt comfortable after the church had\nbeen built there. At length he decided that he could no longer stand\nthe ringing of the church bells; so he emigrated and settled down on\nan island far out in the North Sea. Once upon a time a ship was\nwrecked on this island, and among those saved were several people from\nSkalunda.\n\n\"Whence do you hail?\" asked the giant, who by now had grown old and\nblind, and sat warming himself before a log fire.\n\n\"We are from Skalunda, if you wish to know,\" said one of the men\nsaved.\n\n\"Give me your hand, so that I may feel whether there is still warm\nblood to be found in the Swedish land,\" said the giant.\n\nThe man, who feared to shake hands with the giant, drew a red-hot bar\nof iron from the fire and handed it to him. He seized it firmly, and\npressed it so hard that the molten iron ran down between his fingers.\n\n\"Yes, there is still warm blood to be found in Sweden,\" said he. \"And\ntell me,\" he continued, \"is Skalunda mountain still standing?\"\n\n\"No, the hens have scratched it away,\" the man answered.\n\n\"How could it last?\" said the giant. \"My wife and daughter piled it up\nin the course of a single Sunday morning. But surely the Hallenberg\nand the Hunneberg are still standing, for those I built myself.\"\n\nWhen the man had confirmed this, the giant wanted to know whether\nKarin was still living in Stommen. And when they told him that she\nwas, he gave them a girdle, and with it the message that Karin was to\nwear it in remembrance of him.\n\nThe men took the girdle and gave it to Karin upon their return home;\nbut before Karin put it on, she clasped it around the oak-tree that\ngrew in the court. No sooner had she done so than the oak tore itself\nout of the ground, and flew to the North, borne away by the\nstorm-wind. In the place where it had stood was a deep pit, and the\nroots of the tree were so enormous that one of the best springs in\nStommen flows from one of the root-holes to this very day.\n\n\nNOTE\n\n     \"The Skalunda Giant\" (Hofberg, _Svenska Folksagner_, Stockholm,\n     1882, p. 98) has a near relative in the Norwegian mountain\n     giant of Mesingeberg, of whom Asbjoernsen tells.\n\n\n\n\nV\n\nYULETIDE SPECTERS\n\n\nOnce upon a time there lived two peasants on a homestead called\nVaderas, just as there are two peasants living on it now. In those\ndays the roads were good, and the women were in the habit of riding\nwhen they wanted to go to church.\n\nOne Christmas the two women agreed that they would ride to Christmas\nnight mass, and whichever one of them woke up at the right time was to\ncall the other, for in those days there was no such thing as a watch.\nIt was about midnight when one of the women thought she heard a voice\nfrom the window, calling: \"I am going to set out now.\" She got up\nhurriedly and dressed herself, so that she might be able to ride with\nthe other woman; but since there was no time to eat, she took a piece\nof bread from the table along with her. In those times it was\ncustomary to bake the bread in the shape of a cross. It was a piece of\nthis kind that the woman took and put in her pocket, in order to eat\nit underway. She rode as fast as she could, to catch up with her\nfriend, but could not overtake her. The way led over a little stream\nwhich flows into Vidostern Lake, and across the stream was a bridge,\nknown as the Earth Bridge, and on the bridge stood two witch trolls,\nbusy washing. As the woman came riding across the bridge, one of the\nwitch trolls called out to the other, \"Hurry, and tear her head from\nher shoulders!\"\n\n\"That I cannot do\" returned the other, \"because she has a bit of bread\nin the form of a cross in her pocket.\"\n\nThe woman, who had been unable to catch up with her neighbor, reached\nthe church at Hanger alone.\n\nThe church was full of lights, as was always the case when the\nChristmas mass was said. As quickly as ever she could the woman tied\nup her horse, and hurriedly entered the church. It seemed to her that\nthe church was crowded with people; but all of them were headless, and\nat the altar stood the priest, in full canonicals but without a head.\nIn her haste she did not at once see how things were; but sat down in\nher accustomed place. As she sat down it seemed to her that some one\nsaid: \"If I had not stood godfather to you when you were christened, I\nwould do away with you as you sit there, and now hurry and make\nyourself scarce, or it will be the worse for you!\" Then she realized\nthat things were not as they should be, and ran out hastily.\n\nWhen she came into the church-yard, it seemed to her as though she\nwere surrounded by a great crowd of people. In those days people wore\nbroad mantles of unbleached wool, woven at home, and white in color.\nShe was wearing one of these mantles and the specters seized it. But\nshe flung it away from her and managed to escape from the church-yard,\nand run to the poor-house and wake the people there. It is said it was\nthen one o'clock at night.\n\nSo she sat and waited for the early mass at four o'clock in the\nmorning. And when day finally dawned, they found a little piece of her\nmantle on every grave in the church-yard.\n\nA similar experience befell a man and his wife who lived in a hut\nknown as Ingas, below Mosled.\n\nThey were no more than an hour ahead of time; but when they reached\nthe church at Hanger, they thought the service had already begun, and\nwanted to enter at once; but the church was barred and bolted, and the\nphantom service of the dead was nearing its end. And when the actual\nmass began, there was found lying at every place some of the earth\nfrom the graves of those who shortly before had been worshiping. The\nman and his wife thereupon fell grievously ill, because they had\ndisturbed the dead.\n\n\nNOTE\n\n     \"Yuletide Spectres.\" The tale of the weird service of the dead\n     on Christmas night is common throughout Scandinavia. (From an\n     mss. communicated by Dr. v. Sydow-Lund).\n\n\n\n\nVI\n\nSILVERWHITE AND LILLWACKER\n\n\nOnce upon a time there was a king, who had a queen whom he loved with\na great love. But after a time the queen died, and all he had left was\nan only daughter. And now that the king was a widower, his whole heart\nwent out to the little princess, whom he cherished as the apple of his\neye. And the king's young daughter grew up into the most lovely maiden\never known.\n\nWhen the princess had seen the snows of fifteen winters, it happened\nthat a great war broke out, and that her father had to march against\nthe foe.\n\nBut there was no one to whom the king could entrust his daughter while\nhe was away at war; so he had a great tower built out in the forest,\nprovided it with a plenteous store of supplies, and in it shut up his\ndaughter and a maid. And he had it proclaimed that every man, no\nmatter who he might be, was forbidden to approach the tower in which\nhe had placed his daughter and the maid, under pain of death.\n\nNow the king thought he had taken every precaution to protect his\ndaughter, and went off to war. In the meantime the princess and her\nmaid sat in the tower. But in the city there were a number of brave\nyoung sons of kings, as well as other young men, who would have liked\nto have talked to the beautiful maiden. And when they found that this\nwas forbidden them, they conceived a great hatred for the king. At\nlength they took counsel with an old woman who was wiser than most\nfolk, and told her to arrange matters in such wise that the king's\ndaughter and her maid might come into disrepute, without their having\nanything to do with it. The old hag promised to help them, enchanted\nsome apples, laid them in a basket, and went to the lonely tower in\nwhich the maidens lived.\n\nWhen the king's daughter and her maid saw the old woman, who was\nsitting beneath the window, they felt a great longing to try the\nbeautiful apples.\n\nSo they called out and asked how much she wanted for her precious\napples; but the old woman said they were not for sale. Yet as the\ngirls kept on pleading with her, the old woman said she would make\neach of them a present of an apple; they only need let down a little\nbasket from the tower. The princess and her maid, in all innocence,\ndid as the troll-woman told them, and each received an apple. But the\nenchanted fruit had a strange effect, for in due course of time heaven\nsent them each a child. The king's daughter called her son\nSilverwhite, and the son of her maid received the name of Lillwacker.\n\nThe two boys grew up larger and stronger than other children, and were\nvery handsome as well. They looked as much alike as one cherry-pit\ndoes to another, and one could easily see that they were related.\n\nSeven years had passed, and the king was expected home from the war.\nThen both girls were terrified, and they took counsel together as to\nhow they might hide their children. When at length they could find no\nother way out of the difficulty, they very sorrowfully bade their\nchildren farewell, and let them down from the tower at night, to seek\ntheir fortune in the wide, wide world. At parting the king's daughter\ngave Silverwhite a costly knife; but the maid had nothing to give her\nson.\n\nThe two foster-brethren now wandered out into the world. After they\nhad gone a while, they came to a dark forest. And in this forest they\nmet a man, strange-looking and very tall. He wore two swords at his\nside, and was accompanied by six great dogs. He gave them a friendly\ngreeting:\n\n\"Good-day, little fellows, whence do you come and whither do you go?\"\nThe boys told him they came from a high tower, and were going out into\nthe world to seek their fortune. The man replied:\n\n\"If such be the case, I know more about your origin than any one else.\nAnd that you may have something by which to remember your father, I\nwill give each of you a sword and three dogs. But you must promise me\none thing, that you will never part from your dogs; but take them with\nyou wherever you go.\" The boys thanked the man for his kind gifts, and\npromised to do as he had told them. Then they bade him farewell and\nwent their way.\n\nWhen they had traveled for some time they reached a cross-road. Then\nSilverwhite said:\n\n\"It seems to me that it would be the best for us to try our luck\nsingly, so let us part.\" Lillwacker answered: \"Your advice is good;\nbut how am I to know whether or not you are doing well out in the\nworld?\"\n\n\"I will give you a token by which you may tell,\" said Silverwhite, \"so\nlong as the water runs clear in this spring you will know that I am\nalive; but if it turns red and roiled, it will mean that I am dead.\"\nSilverwhite then drew runes in the water of the spring, said farewell\nto his brother, and each of them went on alone. Lillwacker soon came\nto a king's court, and took service there; but every morning he would\ngo to the spring to see how his brother fared.\n\nSilverwhite continued to wander over hill and dale, until he reached a\ngreat city. But the whole city was in mourning, the houses were hung\nin black, and all the inhabitants went about full of grief and care,\nas though some great misfortune had occurred.\n\nSilverwhite went though the city and inquired as to the cause of all\nthe unhappiness he saw. They answered: \"You must have come from far\naway, since you do not know that the king and queen were in danger of\nbeing drowned at sea, and he had to promise to give up their three\ndaughters in order to escape. To-morrow morning the sea-troll is\ncoming to carry off the oldest princess.\" This news pleased\nSilverwhite; for he saw a fine opportunity to wealth and fame, should\nfortune favor him.\n\nThe next morning Silverwhite hung his sword at his side, called his\ndogs to him, and wandered down to the sea-shore alone. And as he sat\non the strand he saw the king's daughter led out of the city, and with\nher went a courtier, who had promised to rescue her. But the princess\nwas very sad and cried bitterly. Then Silverwhite stepped up to her\nwith a polite greeting. When the king's daughter and her escort saw\nthe fearless youth, they were much frightened, because they thought he\nwas the sea-troll. The courtier was so alarmed that he ran away and\ntook refuge in a tree. When Silverwhite saw how frightened the\nprincess was, he said: \"Lovely maiden, do not fear me, for I will do\nyou no harm.\" The king's daughter answered:\n\n\"Are you the troll who is coming to carry me away?\" \"No,\" said\nSilverwhite, \"I have come to rescue you.\" Then the princess was glad\nto think that such a brave hero was going to defend her, and they\nhad a long, friendly talk. At the same time Silverwhite begged the\nking's daughter to comb his hair. She complied with his request, and\nSilverwhite laid his head in her lap; but when he did so the princess\ndrew a golden ring from her finger and, unbeknown to him, wound it\ninto his locks.\n\n[Illustration: \"THEN SILVERWHITE DREW HIS SWORD WITH A GREAT SWEEP\nAND RUSHED UPON THE SEA-TROLL.\"]\n\nSuddenly the sea-troll rose from the deeps, setting the waves whirling\nand foaming far and near. When the troll saw Silverwhite, he grew\nangry and said: \"Why do you sit there beside my princess?\" The youth\nreplied: \"It seems to me that she is my princess, not yours.\" The\nsea-troll answered: \"Time enough to see which of us is right; but\nfirst our dogs shall fight.\" Silverwhite was nothing loath, and set\nhis dogs at the dogs of the troll, and there was a fierce struggle.\nBut at last the youth's dogs got the upper hand and bit the dogs of\nthe sea-troll to death. Then Silverwhite drew his sword with a great\nsweep, rushed upon the sea-troll, and gave him such a tremendous blow\nthat the monster's head rolled on the sand. The troll gave a fearsome\ncry, and flung himself back into the sea, so that the water spurted to\nthe very skies. Thereupon the youth drew out his silver-mounted knife,\ncut out the troll's eyes and put them in his pocket. Then he saluted\nthe lovely princess and went away.\n\nNow when the battle was over and the youth had disappeared, the\ncourtier crawled down from his tree, and threatened to kill the\nprincess if she did not say before all the people that he, and none\nother, had rescued her. The king's daughter did not dare refuse, since\nshe feared for her life. So she returned to her father's castle with\nthe courtier, where they were received with great distinction.\n\nAnd joy reigned throughout the land when the news spread that the\noldest princess had been rescued from the troll.\n\nOn the following day everything repeated itself. Silverwhite went down\nto the strand and met the second princess, just as she was to be\ndelivered to the troll.\n\nAnd when the king's daughter and her escort saw him, they were very\nmuch frightened, thinking he was the sea-troll. And the courtier\nclimbed a tree, just as he had before; but the princess granted the\nyouth's petition, combed his hair as her sister had done, and also\nwound her gold ring into his long curls.\n\nAfter a time there was a great tumult out at sea, and a sea-troll rose\nfrom the waves. He had three heads and three dogs. But Silverwhite's\ndogs overcame those of the troll, and the youth killed the troll\nhimself with his sword. Thereupon he took out his silver-mounted\nknife, cut out the troll's eyes, and went his way. But the courtier\nlost no time. He climbed down from his tree and forced the princess\nto promise to say that he, and none other, had rescued her. Then they\nreturned to the castle, where the courtier was acclaimed as the\ngreatest of heroes.\n\nOn the third day Silverwhite hung his sword at his side, called his\nthree dogs to him, and again wandered down to the sea-shore. As he was\nsitting by the strand, he saw the youngest princess led out of the\ncity, and with her the daring courtier who claimed to have rescued her\nsisters. But the princess was very sad and cried bitterly. Then\nSilverwhite stepped up and greeted the lovely maiden politely. Now\nwhen the king's daughter and her escort saw the handsome youth, they\nwere very much frightened, for they believed him to be the sea-troll,\nand the courtier ran away and hid in a high tree that grew near the\nstrand. When Silverwhite noticed the maiden's terror, he said:\n\n\"Lovely maiden, do not fear me, for I will do you no harm.\" The king's\ndaughter answered: \"Are you the troll who is coming to carry me away?\"\n\"No,\" said Silverwhite, \"I have come to rescue you.\" Then the princess\nwas very glad to have such a brave hero fight for her, and they had a\nlong, friendly talk with each other. At the same time Silverwhite\nbegged the lovely maiden to do him a favor and comb his hair. This the\nking's daughter was most willing to do, and Silverwhite laid his head\nin her lap. But when the princess saw the gold rings her sisters had\nwound in his locks, she was much surprised, and added her own to the\nothers.\n\nSuddenly the sea-troll came shooting up out of the deep with a\nterrific noise, so that waves and foam spurted to the very skies. This\ntime the monster had six heads and nine dogs. When the troll saw\nSilverwhite sitting with the king's daughter, he fell into a rage and\ncried: \"What are you doing with my princess?\" The youth answered: \"It\nseems to me that she is my princess rather than yours.\" Thereupon the\ntroll said: \"Time enough to see which of us is right; but first our\ndogs shall fight each other.\" Silverwhite did not delay, but set his\ndogs at the sea-dogs, and they had a battle royal. But in the end the\nyouth's dogs got the upper hand and bit all nine of the sea-dogs to\ndeath. Finally Silverwhite drew out his bare sword, flung himself upon\nthe sea-troll, and stretched all six of his heads on the sand with a\nsingle blow. The monster uttered a terrible cry, and rushed back into\nthe sea so that the water spurted to the heavens. Then the youth drew\nhis silver-mounted knife, cut out all twelve of the troll's eyes,\nsaluted the king's young daughter, and hastily went away.\n\nNow that the battle was over, and the youth had disappeared, the\ncourtier climbed down from his tree, drew his sword and threatened to\nkill the princess unless she promised to say that he had rescued her\nfrom the troll, as he had her sisters.\n\nThe king's daughter did not dare refuse, since she feared for her\nlife. So they went back to the castle together, and when the king saw\nthat they had returned in safety, without so much as a scratch, he and\nthe whole court were full of joy, and they were accorded great honors.\nAnd at court the courtier was quite another fellow from the one who\nhad hid away in the tree. The king had a splendid banquet prepared,\nwith amusements and games, and the sound of string music and dancing,\nand bestowed the hand of his youngest daughter on the courtier in\nreward for his bravey.\n\nIn the midst of the wedding festivities, when the king and his whole\ncourt were seated at table, the door opened, and in came Silverwhite\nwith his dogs.\n\nThe youth stepped boldly into the hall of state and greeted the king.\nAnd when the three princesses saw who it was, they were full of joy,\nleaped up from their places, and ran over to him, much to the king's\nsurprise, who asked what it all meant. Then the youngest princess told\nhim all that had happened, from beginning to end, and that Silverwhite\nhad rescued them, while the courtier sat in a tree. To prove it beyond\nany chance of doubt, each of the king's daughters showed her father\nthe ring she had wound in Silverwhite's locks. But the king still did\nnot know quite what to think of it all, until Silverwhite said: \"My\nlord king! In order that you need not doubt what your daughters have\ntold you, I will show you the eyes of the sea-trolls whom I slew.\"\nThen the king and all the rest saw that the princesses had told the\ntruth. The traitorous courtier received his just punishment; but\nSilverwhite was paid every honor, and was given the youngest daughter\nand half of the kingdom with her.\n\nAfter the wedding Silverwhite established himself with his young bride\nin a large castle belonging to the king, and there they lived quietly\nand happily.\n\nOne night, when all were sleeping, it chanced that he heard a knocking\nat the window, and a voice which said: \"Come, Silverwhite, I have to\ntalk to you!\" The king, who did not want to wake his young wife, rose\nhastily, girded on his sword, called his dogs and went out. When he\nreached the open air, there stood a huge and savage-looking troll. The\ntroll said: \"Silverwhite, you have slain my three brothers, and I have\ncome to bid you go down to the sea-shore with me, that we may fight\nwith one another.\" This proposal suited the youth, and he followed the\ntroll without protest. When they reached the sea-shore, there lay\nthree great dogs belonging to the troll. Silverwhite at once set his\ndogs at the troll-dogs, and after a hard struggle the latter had to\ngive in. The young king drew his sword, bravely attacked the troll and\ndealt him many a mighty blow. It was a tremendous battle. But when\nthe troll noticed he was getting the worst of it, he grew frightened,\nquickly ran to a high tree, and clambered into it. Silverwhite and the\ndogs ran after him, the dogs barking as loudly as they could. Then the\ntroll begged for his life and said: \"Dear Silverwhite, I will take\nwergild for my brothers, only bid your dogs be still, so that we may\ntalk.\" The king bade his dogs be still, but in vain, they only barked\nthe more loudly. Then the troll tore three hairs from his head, handed\nthem to Silverwhite and said: \"Lay a hair on each of the dogs, and\nthen they will be as quiet as can be.\" The king did so and at once the\ndogs fell silent, and lay motionless as though they had grown fast to\nthe ground. Now Silverwhite realized that he had been deceived; but it\nwas too late. The troll was already descending from the tree, and he\ndrew his sword and again began to fight. But they had exchanged no\nmore than a few blows, before Silverwhite received a mortal wound, and\nlay on the earth in a pool of blood.\n\nBut now we must tell about Lillwacker. The next morning he went to the\nspring by the cross-road and found it red with blood. Then he knew\nthat Silverwhite was dead. He called his dogs, hung his sword at his\nside, and went on until he came to a great city. And the city was in\nfestal array, the streets were crowded with people, and the houses\nwere hung with scarlet cloths and splendid rugs. Lillwacker asked why\neverybody was so happy, and they said: \"You must hail from distant\nparts, since you do not know that a famous hero has come here by the\nname of Silverwhite, who has rescued our three princesses, and is now\nthe king's son-in-law.\" Lillwacker then inquired how it had all come\nabout, and then went his way, reaching the royal castle in which\nSilverwhite dwelt with his beautiful queen in the evening.\n\nWhen Lillwacker entered the castle gate, all greeted him as though he\nhad been the king. For he resembled his foster-brother so closely that\nnone could tell one from the other. When the youth came to the queen's\nroom, she also took him for Silverwhite. She went up to him and said:\n\"My lord king, where have you been so long? I have been awaiting you\nwith great anxiety.\" Lillwacker said little, and was very taciturn.\nThen he lay down on a couch in a corner of the queen's room.\n\nThe young woman did not know what to think of his actions; for her\nhusband did not act queerly at other times. But she thought: \"One\nshould not try to discover the secrets of others,\" and said nothing.\n\nIn the night, when all were sleeping, there was a knocking at the\nwindow, and a voice cried: \"Come, Lillwacker, I have to talk to you!\"\nThe youth rose hastily, took his good sword, called his dogs and\nwent. When he reached the open air, there stood the same troll who had\nslain Silverwhite. He said: \"Come with me, Lillwacker, and then you\nshall see your foster-brother!\" To this Lillwacker at once agreed, and\nthe troll led the way. When they came to the sea-shore, there lay the\nthree great dogs whom the troll had brought with him. Somewhat further\naway, where they had fought, lay Silverwhite in a pool of blood, and\nbeside him his dogs were stretched out on the ground as though they\nhad taken root in it. Then Lillwacker saw how everything had happened,\nand thought that he would gladly venture his life, if he might in some\nway call his brother back from the dead. He at once set his dogs at\nthe troll-dogs, and they had a hard struggle, in which Lillwacker's\ndogs won the victory. Then the youth drew his sword, and attacked the\ntroll with mighty blows. But when the troll saw that he was getting\nthe worst of it, he took refuge in a lofty tree. Lillwacker and his\ndogs ran after him and the dogs barked loudly.\n\nThen the troll humbly begged for his life, and said: \"Dear Lillwacker,\nI will give you wergild for your brother, only bid your dogs be still,\nso that we may talk.\" At the same time the troll handed him three\nhairs from his head and added: \"Lay one of these hairs on each of your\ndogs, and then they will soon be quiet.\" But Lillwacker saw through\nhis cunning scheme, took the three hairs and laid them on the\ntroll-dogs, which at once fell on the ground and lay like dead.\n\nWhen the troll saw that his attempt had failed, he was much alarmed\nand said: \"Dearest Lillwacker, I will give you wergild for your\nbrother, if you will only leave me alone.\" But the youth answered:\n\n\"What is there you can give me that will compensate for my brother's\nlife?\" The troll replied: \"Here are two flasks. In one is a liquid\nwhich, if you anoint a dead man with it, it will restore him to life;\nbut as to the liquid in the other flask, if you moisten anything with\nit, and some one touches the place you have moistened, he will be\nunable to move from the spot. I think it would be hard to find\nanything more precious than the liquid in these flasks.\" Lillwacker\nsaid: \"Your proposal suits me, and I will accept it. But there is\nsomething else you must promise to do: that you will release my\nbrother's dogs.\" The troll agreed, climbed down from the tree,\nbreathed on the dogs and thus freed them. Then Lillwacker took the two\nflasks and went away from the sea-shore with the troll. After they had\ngone a while they came to a great flat stone, lying near the highway.\nLillwacker hastened on in advance and moistened it with liquid from\nthe second flask. Then, as he was going by, Lillwacker suddenly set\nall six of his dogs at the troll, who stepped back and touched the\nstone. There he stuck, and could move neither forward nor backward.\nAfter a time the sun rose and shone on the stone. And when the troll\nsaw the sun he burst--and was as dead as a doornail!\n\nLillwacker now ran back to his brother and sprinkled him with the\nliquid in the other flask, so that he came to life again, and they\nwere both very happy, as may well be imagined. The two foster-brothers\nthen returned to the castle, recounting the story of their experiences\nand adventures on the way. Lillwacker told how he had been taken for\nhis brother. He even mentioned that he had lain down on a couch in a\ncorner of the queen's room, and that she had never suspected that he\nwas not her rightful husband. But when Silverwhite heard that, he\nthought that Lillwacker had offended against the queen's dignity, and\nhe grew angry and fell into such a rage that he drew his sword, and\nthrust it into his brother's breast. Lillwacker fell to earth dead,\nand Silverwhite went home to the castle alone. But Lillwacker's dogs\nwould not leave their master, and lay around him, whining and licking\nhis wound.\n\nIn the evening, when the young king and his wife retired, the queen\nasked him why he had been so taciturn and serious the evening before.\nThen the queen said: \"I am very curious to know what has befallen you\nduring the last few days, but what I would like to know most of all,\nis why you lay down on a couch in a corner of my room the other\nnight?\" Now it was clear to Silverwhite that the brother he had slain\nwas innocent of all offense, and he felt bitter regret at having\nrepaid his faithfulness so badly. So King Silverwhite at once rose and\nwent to the place where his brother was lying. He poured the water of\nlife from his flask and anointed his brother's wound, and in a moment\nLillwacker was alive again, and the two brother's went joyfully back\nto the castle.\n\nWhen they got there, Silverwhite told his queen how Lillwacker had\nrescued him from death, and all the rest of their adventures, and all\nwere happy at the royal court, and they paid the youth the greatest\nhonors and compliments. After he had stayed there a time he sued for\nthe hand of the second princess and obtained it. Thereupon the wedding\nwas celebrated with great pomp, and Silverwhite divided his half of\nthe kingdom with his foster-brother. The two brothers continued to\nlive together in peace and unity, and if they have not died, they are\nliving still.\n\n\nNOTE\n\n     From a venerable Indo-Germanic source comes the widely\n     circulated story of \"Silverwhite and Lillwacker,\" the faithful\n     brothers (Hylten-Cavallius and Stephens, _Svenska Folkasagor\n     och Aefventyr_, Stockholm, 1848, p. 58. From Vermland).\n\n\n\n\nVII\n\nSTOMPE PILT\n\n\nNot far from Baalsberg, near Filkestad in the Willandsharad, there is\na hill in which a giant named Stompe Pilt once used to live.\n\nIt happened one day that a goat-herd was driving his flock up the hill\nin which Stompe Pilt dwelt.\n\n\"Who is there?\" cried the giant, and rushed out of his hill with a\nhunk of flint-rock in his fist.\n\n\"I am, if that's what you want to know!\" shouted the shepherd-lad and\ncontinued driving his goats up the hill.\n\n\"If you come here, I will squash you as I squash this stone!\" cried\nthe giant and he crushed it into fine sand between his fingers.\n\n\"And I will squash you till the water runs out, just as I squash this\nstone!\" answered the shepherd-lad, drawing a fresh cheese from his\npocket, and pressing it hard, so that the water ran from his fingers.\n\n\"Are you not frightened?\" asked the giant.\n\n\"Of you? Certainly not!\" was the youth's reply.\n\n\"Then we will fight with one another!\" proposed the giant.\n\n\"As you choose,\" replied the shepherd, \"but first we must abuse each\nother so that we can get into a proper rage, because as we abuse each\nother we will grow angry, and when we are angry we will fight!\"\n\n\"But I shall begin by abusing you,\" said the giant.\n\n\"As you choose,\" said the youth, \"but then it will be my turn.\"\n\n\"May a troll with a crooked nose take you!\" yelled the giant.\n\n\"May a flying devil carry you off!\" answered the shepherd and he shot\na sharp arrow against the giant's body with his bow.\n\n\"What was that?\" asked the giant, and tried to pull the arrow out of\nhis body.\n\n\"That was a word of abuse,\" said the shepherd.\n\n\"How does it come to have feathers?\" asked the giant.\n\n\"The better to fly with,\" answered the shepherd.\n\n\"Why does it stick so tight?\" the giant continued.\n\n\"Because it has taken root in your body,\" was the shepherd's answer.\n\n\"Have you any other abusive words of the same sort?\" asked the giant.\n\"Here is another one,\" replied the youth, and shot another arrow into\nthe giant.\n\n\"Ouch, ouch!\" cried Stompe Pilt, \"are you still not angry enough for\nus to come to blows?\"\n\n\"No, I have not abused you enough as yet,\" said the shepherd and aimed\nanother arrow.\n\n\"Lead your goats wherever you choose! If I cannot stand your abusive\nwords, I surely will not be able to bear up against your blows,\" cried\nStompe Pilt, and jumped back into his hill.\n\nAnd that is how the shepherd gained the victory, because he was brave\nand did not let the stupid giant frighten him.\n\n\nNOTE\n\n     An entertaining parody of the serious tale of David and Goliath\n     is the story of the little shepherd boy's fight with the giant\n     Stompe Pilt. (Hofberg, p. 10).\n\n\n\n\nVIII\n\nTHE GIRL AND THE SNAKE\n\n\nOnce upon a time there was a girl who was to go to the wood and drive\nthe cattle home; but she did not find the herd, and losing her way\ninstead, came to a great hill. It had gates and doors and she went in.\nThere stood a table covered with all sorts of good things to eat. And\nthere stood a bed as well, and in the bed lay a great snake. The snake\nsaid to the girl: \"Sit down, if you choose! Eat, if you choose! Come\nand lie down in the bed, if you choose! But if you do not choose, then\ndo not do so.\" So the girl did nothing at all. At last the snake said:\n\"Some people are coming now who want you to dance with them. But do\nnot go along with them.\" Straightway people arrived who wanted to\ndance with the girl; but she would hear nothing of it. Then they began\nto eat and drink; but the girl left the hill and went home. The\nfollowing day she again went to the wood to look for the cattle, did\nnot find them, lost her way again, and came to the same hill. This\ntime she also entered, and found everything as it had been the first\ntime, the well-spread table and the bed with the snake in it. And the\nsnake said to her, as before: \"Sit down, if you choose! Eat, if you\nchoose! Come, and lie down in the bed if you choose! But if you do not\nchoose, then do not do so! Now a great many more people are coming who\nwill want to dance with you, but do not go with them.\" The snake had\nscarcely concluded before a great many people arrived, who began to\ndance, eat and drink; but the girl did not keep them company, instead\nshe left the hill and went home.\n\nOn the third day when she once more went to the wood, everything\nhappened exactly as on the first and second day. The snake invited her\nto eat and drink, and this time she did so, with a hearty appetite.\nThen the snake told her to lie down beside him and the girl obeyed.\nThen the snake said: \"Put your arm about me!\" She did so. \"And now\nkiss me,\" said the snake, \"but if you are afraid, put your apron\nbetween us.\" The girl did so, and in a moment the snake was turned\ninto a marvellously handsome youth, who was really a prince, bewitched\nin the form of a snake by magic spells, and now delivered by the\ngirl's courage. Then both of them went away and there was nothing\nfurther heard of them.\n\n\nNOTE\n\n     \"The Girl and the Snake\" (From Soedermanland. From the mss.\n     collection of the metallurgist Gustav Erikson, communicated to\n     Dr. v. Sydow-Lund) shows distinctive Scandinavian features;\n     though it falls short of the richness and depth of the\n     celebrated Danish fairy-tale \"King Dragon,\" whose germ idea is\n     the same.\n\n\n\n\nIX\n\nFAITHFUL AND UNFAITHFUL\n\n\nOnce upon a time there was a couple of humble cottagers who had no\nchildren until, at last, the man's wife was blessed with a boy, which\nmade both of them very happy. They named him Faithful and when he was\nchristened a _huldra_ came to the hut, seated herself beside the\nchild's cradle, and foretold that he would meet with good fortune.\n\"What is more,\" she said, \"when he is fifteen years of age, I will\nmake him a present of a horse with many rare qualities, a horse that\nhas the gift of speech!\" And with that the _huldra_ turned and went\naway.\n\nThe boy grew up and became strong and powerful. And when he had passed\nhis fifteenth year, a strange old man came up to their hut one day,\nknocked, and said that the horse he was leading had been sent by his\nqueen, and that henceforward it was to belong to Faithful, as she had\npromised. Then the ancient man departed; but the beautiful horse was\nadmired by all, and Faithful learned to love it more with every\npassing day.\n\nAt length he grew weary of home. \"I must away and try my fortune in\nthe world,\" said he, and his parents did not like to object; for there\nwas not much to wish for at home. So he led his dear horse from the\nstable, swung himself into the saddle, and rode hurriedly into the\nwood. He rode on and on, and had already covered a good bit of ground,\nwhen he saw two lions engaged in a struggle with a tiger, and they\nwere well-nigh overcome. \"Make haste to take your bow,\" said the\nhorse, \"shoot the tiger and deliver the two lions!\" \"Yes, that's what\nI will do,\" said the youth, fitted an arrow to the bow-string, and in\na moment the tiger lay prone on the ground. The two lions drew nearer,\nnuzzled their preserver in a friendly and grateful manner, and then\nhastened back to their cave.\n\nFaithful now rode along for a long time among the great trees until he\nsuddenly spied two terrified white doves fleeing from a hawk who was\non the point of catching them. \"Make haste to take your bow,\" said the\nhorse, \"shoot the hawk and save the two doves!\" \"Yes, that's what I'll\ndo,\" said the youth. He fitted an arrow to the bow-string, and in a\nmoment the hawk lay prone on the ground. But the two doves flew\nnearer, fluttered about their deliverer in a tame and grateful manner,\nand then hurried back to their nest.\n\nThe youth pressed on through the wood and by now was far, far from\nhome. But his horse did not tire easily, and ran on with him until\nthey came to a great lake. There he saw a gull rise up from the water,\nholding a pike in its claws. \"Make haste to take your bow,\" said the\nhorse, \"shoot the gull and save the pike!\" \"Yes, that's what I'll do,\"\nanswered the youth, fitted an arrow to his bow-string, and in a moment\nthe gull was threshing the ground with its wings, mortally wounded.\nBut the pike who had been saved swam nearer, gave his deliverer a\nfriendly, grateful glance, and then dove down to join his fellows\nbeneath the waves.\n\nFaithful rode on again, and before evening came to a great castle. He\nat once had himself announced to the king, and begged that the latter\nwould take him into his service. \"What kind of a place do you want?\"\nasked the king, who was inclined to look with favor on the bold\nhorseman.\n\n\"I should like to be a groom,\" was Faithful's answer, \"but first of\nall I must have stable-room and fodder for my horse.\" \"That you shall\nhave,\" said the king, and the youth was taken on as a groom, and\nserved so long and so well, that every one in the castle liked him,\nand the king in particular praised him highly.\n\nBut among the other servitors was one named Unfaithful who was jealous\nof Faithful, and did what he could to harm him; for he thought to\nhimself:\n\n\"Then I would be rid of him, and need not see him continue to rise in\nmy lord's favor.\" Now it happened that the king was very sad, for he\nhad lost his queen, whom a troll had stolen from the castle. It is\ntrue that the queen had not taken pleasure in the king's society, and\nthat she did not love him. Still the king longed for her greatly, and\noften spoke of it to Unfaithful his servant. So one day Unfaithful\nsaid: \"My lord need distress himself no longer, for Faithful has been\nboasting to me that he could rescue your beautiful queen from the\nhands of the troll.\" \"If he has done so,\" replied the king, \"then he\nmust keep his word.\"\n\nHe straightway ordered Faithful to be brought before him, and\nthreatened him with death if he did not at once hurry into the hill\nand bring back the wife of whom he had been robbed. If he were\nsuccessful great honor should be his reward. In vain Faithful denied\nwhat Unfaithful had said of him, the king stuck to his demand, and the\nyouth withdrew, convinced that he had not long to live. Then he went\nto the stable to bid farewell to his beautiful horse, and stood beside\nhim and wept. \"What grieves you so?\" asked the horse. Then the youth\ntold him of all that had happened, and said that this was probably the\nlast time he would be able to visit him. \"If it be no more than that,\"\nsaid the horse, \"there is a way to help you. Up in the garret of the\ncastle there is an old fiddle, take it with you and play it when you\ncome to the place where the queen is kept. And fashion for yourself\narmor of steel wire, and set knives into it everywhere, and then, when\nyou see the troll open his jaws, descend into his maw, and thus slay\nhim. But you must have no fear, and must trust me to show you the\nway.\" These words filled the youth with fresh courage, he went to the\nking and received permission to leave, secretly fashioned his steel\narmor, took the old fiddle from the garret of the castle, led his dear\nhorse out of the stable, and without delay set forth for the troll's\nhill.\n\nBefore long he saw it, and rode directly to the troll's abode. When he\ncame near, he saw the troll, who had crept out of his castle, lying\nstretched out at the entrance to his cave, fast asleep, and snoring so\npowerfully that the whole hill shook. But his mouth was wide open, and\nhis maw was so tremendous that it was easy for the youth to crawl into\nit. He did so, for he was not afraid, and made his way into the\ntroll's inwards where he was so active that the troll was soon killed.\nThen Faithful crept out again, laid aside his armor, and entered the\ntroll's castle. Within the great golden hall sat the captive queen,\nfettered with seven strong chains of gold. Faithful could not break\nthe strong chains; but he took up his fiddle and played such tender\nmusic on it, that the golden chains were moved, and one after\nanother, fell from the queen, until she was able to rise and was free\nonce more. She looked at the courageous youth with joy and gratitude,\nand felt very kindly toward him, because he was so handsome and\ncourteous. And the queen was perfectly willing to return with him to\nthe king's castle.\n\nThe return of the queen gave rise to great joy, and Faithful received\nthe promised reward from the king. But now the queen treated her\nhusband with even less consideration than before. She would not\nexchange a word with him, she did not laugh, and locked herself up in\nher room with her gloomy thoughts. This greatly vexed the king, and\none day he asked the queen why she was so sad: \"Well,\" said she, \"I\ncannot be happy unless I have the beautiful golden hall which I had in\nthe hill at the troll's; for a hall like that is to be found nowhere\nelse.\"\n\n\"It will be no easy matter to obtain it for you,\" said the king, \"and\nI cannot promise you that anyone will be able to do it.\" But when he\ncomplained of his difficulty to his servant Unfaithful, the latter\nanswered: \"The chances of success are not so bad, for Faithful said he\ncould easily bring the troll's golden hall to the castle.\" Faithful\nwas at once sent for, and the king commanded him, as he loved his\nlife, to make good his word and bring the golden hall from the troll's\nhill. It was in vain that Faithful denied Unfaithful's assertions: go\nhe must, and bring back the golden hall.\n\nInconsolable, he went to his beautiful horse, wept and wanted to say\nfarewell to him forever. \"What troubles you?\" asked the horse. And the\nyouth replied: \"Unfaithful has again been telling lies about me, and\nif I do not bring the troll's golden hall to the queen, my life will\nbe forfeited.\" \"Is it nothing more serious than that?\" said the horse.\n\"See that you obtain a great ship, take your fiddle with you and play\nthe golden hall out of the hill, then hitch the troll's horses before\nit, and you will be able to bring the glistening hall here without\ntrouble.\"\n\nThen Faithful felt somewhat better, did as the horse had told him, and\nwas successful in reaching the great hill. And as he stood there\nplaying the fiddle, the golden hall heard him, and was drawn to the\nsounding music, and it moved slowly, slowly, until it stood outside\nthe hill. It was built of virgin gold, like a house by itself, and\nunder it were many wheels. Then the youth took the troll's horses, put\nthem to the golden hall, and thus brought it aboard his ship. Soon he\nhad crossed the lake, and brought it along safely so that it reached\nthe castle without damage, to the great joy of the queen. Yet despite\nthe fact, she was as weary of everything as she had been before, never\nspoke to her husband, the king, and no one ever saw her laugh.\n\nNow the king grew even more vexed than he had been, and again asked\nher why she seemed so sad. \"Ah, how can I be happy unless I have the\ntwo colts that used to belong to me, when I stayed at the troll's!\nSuch handsome steeds are to be seen nowhere else!\" \"It will be\nanything but easy to obtain for you what you want,\" declared the king,\n\"for they were untamed, and long ago must have run far away into the\nwild-wood.\" Then he left her, sadly, and did not know what to do. But\nUnfaithful said: \"Let my lord give himself no concern, for Faithful\nhas declared he could easily secure both of the troll's colts.\"\nFaithful was at once sent for, and the king threatened him with death,\nif he did not show his powers in the matter of the colts. But should\nhe succeed in catching them, then he would be rewarded.\n\nNow Faithful knew quite well that he could not hope to catch the\ntroll's wild colts, and he once more turned to the stable in order to\nbid farewell to the _huldra's_ gift. \"Why do you weep over such a\ntrifle?\" said the horse. \"Hurry to the wood, play your fiddle, and all\nwill be well!\" Faithful did as he was told, and after a while the two\nlions whom he had rescued came leaping toward him, listened to his\nplaying and asked him whether he was in distress. \"Yes, indeed,\" said\nFaithful, and told them what he had to do. They at once ran back into\nthe wood, one to one side and the other to the other, and returned\nquickly, driving the two colts before them. Then Faithful played his\nfiddle and the colts followed him, so that he soon reached the king's\ncastle in safety, and could deliver the steeds to the queen.\n\nThe king now expected that his wife would be gay and happy. But she\ndid not change, never addressed a word to him, and only seemed a\nlittle less sad when she happened to speak to the daring youth.\n\nThen the king asked her to tell him what she lacked, and why she was\nso discontented. She answered: \"I have secured the colts of the troll,\nand I often sit in the glittering hall of gold; but I can open none of\nthe handsome chests that are filled to the brim with my valuables,\nbecause I have no keys. And if I do not get the keys again, how can I\nbe happy?\" \"And where may the keys be?\" asked the king. \"In the lake\nby the troll's hill,\" said the queen, \"for that is where I threw them\nwhen Faithful brought me here.\" \"This is a ticklish affair, this\nbusiness of those keys you want!\" said the king. \"And I can scarcely\npromise that you will ever see them again.\" In spite of this, however,\nhe was willing to make an attempt, and talked it over with his\nservant Unfaithful. \"Why, that is easily done,\" said the latter, \"for\nFaithful boasted to me that he could get the queen's keys without any\ndifficulty if he wished.\" \"Then I shall compel him to keep his word,\"\nsaid the king. And he at once ordered Faithful, on pain of death, to\nget the queen's keys out of the lake by the troll's hill without\ndelay.\n\n[Illustration: \"THE PIKE ROSE TO THE SURFACE WITH THE GOLDEN KEYS IN\nHIS MOUTH.\"]\n\nThis time the youth was not so depressed, for he thought to himself:\n\"My wise horse will be able to help me.\" And so he was, for he advised\nhim to go along playing his fiddle, and to wait for what might happen.\nAfter the youth had played for a while, the pike he had saved thrust\nhis head out of the water, recognized him, and asked whether he could\nbe of any service to him. \"Yes, indeed!\" said the youth, and told him\nwhat it was he wanted. The pike at once dived, quickly rose to the\nsurface of the water with the golden keys in his mouth, and gave them\nto his deliverer. The latter hastened back with them, and now the\nqueen could open the great chests in the golden hall to her heart's\ncontent.\n\nNotwithstanding, the king's wife was as sorrowful as ever, and when\nthe king complained about it to Unfaithful, the latter said: \"No doubt\nit is because she loves Faithful. I would therefore advise that my\nlord have him beheaded. Then there will be a change.\" This advice\nsuited the king well, and he determined to carry it out shortly. But\none day Faithful's horse said to him: \"The king is going to have your\nhead chopped off. So hurry to the wood, play your fiddle, and beg the\ntwo doves to bring you a bottle of the water of life. Then go to the\nqueen and ask her to set your head on your body and to sprinkle you\nwith the water when you have been beheaded.\" Faithful did so. He went\nto the wood that very day with his fiddle, and before long the two\ndoves were fluttering around him, and shortly after brought back the\nbottle filled with the water of life. He took it back home with him\nand gave it to the queen, so that she might sprinkle him with it after\nhe had been beheaded. She did so, and at once Faithful rose again, as\nfull of life as ever; but far better looking. The king was astonished\nat what he had seen, and told the queen to cut off his own head and\nthen sprinkle him with the water. She at once seized the sword, and in\na moment the king's head rolled to the ground. But she sprinkled none\nof the water of life upon it, and the king's body was quickly carried\nout and buried. Then the queen and Faithful celebrated their wedding\nwith great pomp; but Unfaithful was banished from the land and went\naway in disgrace. The wise horse dwelt contentedly in a wonderful\nchamber, and the king and queen kept the magic fiddle, the golden\nhall, and the troll's other valuables, and lived in peace and\nhappiness day after day.\n\n\nNOTE\n\n     \"Faithful and Unfaithful\" (From the Hylten-Cavallius mss.\n     collection), is a distant offshoot, and one complicated with\n     other motives, of a cycle in which even the Tristan legend is\n     represented, the fairy-tale of the golden-haired maiden and the\n     water of life and death. (Reinhold Koehler, _Kleinere\n     Schriften_, II, p. 328).\n\n\n\n\nX\n\nSTARKAD AND BALE\n\n\nStarkad, the hero of the legends, the bravest warrior in the army of\nthe North, had fallen into disgrace with the king because of a certain\nprincess, so he wandered up into Norland, and settled down at Rude in\nTuna, where he was known as the Thrall of the Alders or the Red\nFellow.\n\nIn Balbo, nine miles from Rude, dwelt another hero, Bale, a good\nfriend and companion-at-arms of Starkad.\n\nOne morning Starkad climbed the Klefberg in Tuna, and called over to\nBale: \"Bale in Balbo, are you awake?\"\n\n\"Red Fellow!\" answered Bale, nine miles away, \"the sun and I wake\ntogether! But how goes it with you?\"\n\n\"None too well. I eat salmon morning, noon and night. Come over with a\nbit of meat!\"\n\n\"I'll come!\" Bale called back, and in a few hours time he was down in\nTuna with an elk under each arm.\n\nThe following morning Bale in Balbo stood on a hill in Borgsjo and\ncalled: \"Red Fellow! Are you awake?\"\n\n\"The sun and I wake together!\" answered Starkad. \"And how goes it with\nyou?\"\n\n\"Alas, I have nothing to eat but meat! Elk in the morning, elk at noon\nand elk at night. Come over and bring a fish-tail along with you!\"\n\n\"I'm coming!\" called out Starkad, and in a short time he had joined\nhis friend with a barrel of salmon under each arm.\n\nIn this fashion the two friends provided themselves with all the game\nto be found in the woods and in the water, and spread terror and\ndestruction throughout the countryside. But one evening, when they\nwere just returning to the sea from an excursion, a black cloud came\nup, and a tempest broke. They hurried along as fast as they could; but\ngot no further than Vattjom, where a flash of lightning struck Starkad\nand flung him to the ground. His friend and companion-at-arms buried\nhim beneath a stone cairn, about which he set five rocks: two at his\nfeet, two at his shoulders, and one at his head; and that grave,\nmeasuring twenty ells in length, may still be seen near the river.\n\n\nNOTE\n\n     In \"Starkad and Bale\" (Hofberg, p. 181. From Medelpad, after\n     ancient traditional sources) humorous feats of gigantic\n     strength are ascribed to the most famous hero of Northern\n     legend, Starkad, who was brought up by Odin himself.\n\n\n\n\nXI\n\nTHE WEREWOLF\n\n\nOnce upon a time there was a king, who reigned over a great kingdom.\nHe had a queen, but only a single daughter, a girl. In consequence the\nlittle girl was the apple of her parents' eyes; they loved her above\neverything else in the world, and their dearest thought was the\npleasure they would take in her when she was older. But the unexpected\noften happens; for before the king's daughter began to grow up, the\nqueen her mother fell ill and died. It is not hard to imagine the\ngrief that reigned, not alone in the royal castle, but throughout the\nland; for the queen had been beloved of all. The king grieved so that\nhe would not marry again, and his one joy was the little princess.\n\nA long time passed, and with each succeeding day the king's daughter\ngrew taller and more beautiful, and her father granted her every wish.\nNow there were a number of women who had nothing to do but wait on the\nprincess and carry out her commands. Among them was a woman who had\nformerly married and had two daughters. She had an engaging\nappearance, a smooth tongue and a winning way of talking, and she was\nas soft and pliable as silk; but at heart she was full of machinations\nand falseness. Now when the queen died, she at once began to plan how\nshe might marry the king, so that her daughters might be kept like\nroyal princesses. With this end in view, she drew the young princess\nto her, paid her the most fulsome compliments on everything she said\nand did, and was forever bringing the conversation around to how happy\nshe would be were the king to take another wife. There was much said\non this head, early and late, and before very long the princess came\nto believe that the woman knew all there was to know about everything.\nSo she asked her what sort of a woman the king ought to choose for a\nwife. The woman answered as sweet as honey: \"It is not my affair to\ngive advice in this matter; yet he should choose for queen some one\nwho is kind to the little princess. For one thing I know, and that is,\nwere I fortunate enough to be chosen, my one thought would be to do\nall I could for the little princess, and if she wished to wash her\nhands, one of my daughters would have to hold the wash-bowl and the\nother hand her the towel.\" This and much more she told the king's\ndaughter, and the princess believed it, as children will.\n\nFrom that day forward the princess gave her father no peace, and\nbegged him again and again to marry the good court lady. Yet he did\nnot want to marry her. But the king's daughter gave him no rest; but\nurged him again and again, as the false court lady had persuaded her\nto do. Finally, one day, when she again brought up the matter, the\nking cried: \"I can see you will end by having your own way about this,\neven though it be entirely against my will. But I will do so only on\none condition.\" \"What is the condition?\" asked the princess. \"If I\nmarry again,\" said the king, \"it is only because of your ceaseless\npleading. Therefore you must promise that, if in the future you are\nnot satisfied with your step-mother or your step-sisters, not a single\nlament or complaint on your part reaches my ears.\" This she promised\nthe king, and it was agreed that he should marry the court lady and\nmake her queen of the whole country.\n\nAs time passed on, the king's daughter had grown to be the most\nbeautiful maiden to be found far and wide; the queen's daughters, on\nthe other hand, were homely, evil of disposition, and no one knew any\ngood of them. Hence it was not surprising that many youths came from\nEast and West to sue for the princess's hand; but that none of them\ntook any interest in the queen's daughters. This made the step-mother\nvery angry; but she concealed her rage, and was as sweet and friendly\nas ever. Among the wooers was a king's son from another country. He\nwas young and brave, and since he loved the princess dearly, she\naccepted his proposal and they plighted their troth. The queen\nobserved this with an angry eye, for it would have pleased her had the\nprince chosen one of her own daughters. She therefor made up her mind\nthat the young pair should never be happy together, and from that time\non thought only of how she might part them from each other.\n\nAn opportunity soon offered itself. News came that the enemy had\nentered the land, and the king was compelled to go to war. Now the\nprincess began to find out the kind of step-mother she had. For no\nsooner had the king departed than the queen showed her true nature,\nand was just as harsh and unkind as she formerly had pretended to be\nfriendly and obliging. Not a day went by without her scolding and\nthreatening the princess; and the queen's daughters were every bit as\nmalicious as their mother. But the king's son, the lover of the\nprincess, found himself in even worse position. He had gone hunting\none day, had lost his way, and could not find his people. Then the\nqueen used her black arts and turned him into a werewolf, to wander\nthrough the forest for the remainder of his life in that shape. When\nevening came and there was no sign of the prince, his people returned\nhome, and one can imagine what sorrow they caused when the princess\nlearned how the hunt had ended. She grieved, wept day and night, and\nwas not to be consoled. But the queen laughed at her grief, and her\nheart was filled with joy to think that all had turned out exactly as\nshe wished.\n\nNow it chanced one day, as the king's daughter was sitting alone in\nher room, that she thought she would go herself into the forest where\nthe prince had disappeared. She went to her step-mother and begged\npermission to go out into the forest, in order to forget her\nsurpassing grief. The queen did not want to grant her request, for she\nalways preferred saying no to yes. But the princess begged her so\nwinningly that at last she was unable to say no, and she ordered one\nof her daughters to go along with her and watch her. That caused a\ngreat deal of discussion, for neither of the step-daughters wanted to\ngo with her; each made all sorts of excuses, and asked what pleasures\nwere there in going with the king's daughter, who did nothing but cry.\nBut the queen had the last word in the end, and ordered that one of\nher daughters must accompany the princess, even though it be against\nher will. So the girls wandered out of the castle into the forest. The\nking's daughter walked among the trees, and listened to the song of\nthe birds, and thought of her lover, for whom she longed, and who was\nnow no longer there. And the queen's daughter followed her, vexed, in\nher malice, with the king's daughter and her sorrow.\n\nAfter they had walked a while, they came to a little hut, lying deep\nin the dark forest. By then the king's daughter was very thirsty, and\nwanted to go into the little hut with her step-sister, in order to get\na drink of water. But the queen's daughter was much annoyed and said:\n\"Is it not enough for me to be running around here in the wilderness\nwith you? Now you even want me, who am a princess, to enter that\nwretched little hut. No, I will not step a foot over the threshold! If\nyou want to go in, why go in alone!\" The king's daughter lost no time;\nbut did as her step-sister advised, and stepped into the little hut.\nWhen she entered she saw an old woman sitting there on a bench, so\nenfeebled by age that her head shook. The princess spoke to her in her\nusual friendly way: \"Good evening, motherkin. May I ask you for a\ndrink of water?\" \"You are heartily welcome to it,\" said the old woman.\n\"Who may you be, that step beneath my lowly roof and greet me in so\nwinning a way?\" The king's daughter told her who she was, and that she\nhad gone out to relieve her heart, in order to forget her great grief.\n\"And what may your great grief be?\" asked the old woman. \"No doubt it\nis my fate to grieve,\" said the princess, \"and I can never be happy\nagain. I have lost my only love, and God alone knows whether I shall\never see him again.\" And she also told her why it was, and the tears\nran down her cheeks in streams, so that any one would have felt sorry\nfor her. When she had ended the old woman said: \"You did well in\nconfiding your sorrow to me. I have lived long and may be able to give\nyou a bit of good advice. When you leave here you will see a lily\ngrowing from the ground. This lily is not like other lilies, however,\nbut has many strange virtues. Run quickly over to it, and pick it. If\nyou can do that then you need not worry, for then one will appear who\nwill tell you what to do.\" Then they parted and the king's daughter\nthanked her and went her way; while the old woman sat on the bench and\nwagged her head. But the queen's daughter had been standing without\nthe hut the entire time, vexing herself, and grumbling because the\nking's daughter had taken so long.\n\nSo when the latter stepped out, she had to listen to all sorts of\nabuse from her step-sister, as was to be expected. Yet she paid no\nattention to her, and thought only of how she might find the flower of\nwhich the old woman had spoken. They went through the forest, and\nsuddenly she saw a beautiful white lily growing in their very path.\nShe was much pleased and ran up at once to pick it; but that very\nmoment it disappeared and reappeared somewhat further away.\n\nThe king's daughter was now filled with eagerness, no longer listened\nto her step-sister's calls, and kept right on running; yet each time\nwhen she stooped to pick the lily, it suddenly disappeared and\nreappeared somewhat further away. Thus it went for some time, and the\nprincess was drawn further and further into the deep forest. But the\nlily continued to stand, and disappear and move further away, and each\ntime the flower seemed larger and more beautiful than before. At\nlength the princess came to a high hill, and as she looked toward its\nsummit, there stood the lily high on the naked rock, glittering as\nwhite and radiant as the brightest star. The king's daughter now began\nto climb the hill, and in her eagerness she paid no attention to\nstones nor steepness. And when at last she reached the summit of the\nhill, lo and behold! the lily no longer evaded her grasp; but remained\nwhere it was, and the princess stooped and picked it and hid it in her\nbosom, and so heartfelt was her happiness that she forgot her\nstep-sisters and everything else in the world.\n\nFor a long time she did not tire of looking at the beautiful flower.\nThen she suddenly began to wonder what her step-mother would say when\nshe came home after having remained out so long. And she looked\naround, in order to find the way back to the castle. But as she looked\naround, behold, the sun had set and no more than a little strip of\ndaylight rested on the summit of the hill. Below her lay the forest,\nso dark and shadowed that she had no faith in her ability to find the\nhomeward path. And now she grew very sad, for she could think of\nnothing better to do than to spend the night on the hill-top. She\nseated herself on the rock, put her hand to her cheek, cried, and\nthought of her unkind step-mother and step-sisters, and of all the\nharsh words she would have to endure when she returned. And she\nthought of her father, the king, who was away at war, and of the love\nof her heart, whom she would never see again; and she grieved so\nbitterly that she did not even know she wept. Night came and darkness,\nand the stars rose, and still the princess sat in the same spot and\nwept. And while she sat there, lost in her thoughts, she heard a voice\nsay: \"Good evening, lovely maiden! Why do you sit here so sad and\nlonely?\" She stood up hastily, and felt much embarrassed, which was\nnot surprising. When she looked around there was nothing to be seen\nbut a tiny old man, who nodded to her and seemed to be very humble.\nShe answered: \"Yes, it is no doubt my fate to grieve, and never be\nhappy again. I have lost my dearest love, and now I have lost my way\nin the forest, and am afraid of being devoured by wild beasts.\" \"As to\nthat,\" said the old man, \"you need have no fear. If you will do\nexactly as I say, I will help you.\" This made the princess happy;\nfor she felt that all the rest of the world had abandoned her. Then\nthe old man drew out flint and steel and said: \"Lovely maiden, you\nmust first build a fire.\" She did as he told her, gathered moss, brush\nand dry sticks, struck sparks and lit such a fire on the hill-top that\nthe flame blazed up to the skies. That done the old man said: \"Go on a\nbit and you will find a kettle of tar, and bring the kettle to me.\"\nThis the king's daughter did. The old man continued: \"Now put the\nkettle on the fire.\" And the princess did that as well. When the tar\nbegan to boil, the old man said: \"Now throw your white lily into the\nkettle.\" The princess thought this a harsh command, and earnestly\nbegged to be allowed to keep the lily. But the old man said: \"Did you\nnot promise to obey my every command? Do as I tell you or you will\nregret it.\" The king's daughter turned away her eyes, and threw the\nlily into the boiling tar; but it was altogether against her will, so\nfond had she grown of the beautiful flower.\n\n[Illustration: \"SO HEARTFELT WAS HER HAPPINESS THAT SHE FORGOT\nEVERYTHING ELSE IN THE WORLD.\"]\n\nThe moment she did so a hollow roar, like that of some wild beast,\nsounded from the forest. It came nearer, and turned into such a\nterrible howling that all the surrounding hills reechoed it. Finally\nthere was a cracking and breaking among the trees, the bushes were\nthrust aside, and the princess saw a great grey wolf come running out\nof the forest and straight up the hill. She was much frightened and\nwould gladly have run away, had she been able. But the old man said:\n\"Make haste, run to the edge of the hill and the moment the wolf comes\nalong, upset the kettle on him!\" The princess was terrified, and\nhardly knew what she was about; yet she did as the old man said, took\nthe kettle, ran to the edge of the hill, and poured its contents over\nthe wolf just as he was about to run up. And then a strange thing\nhappened: no sooner had she done so, than the wolf was transformed,\ncast off his thick grey pelt, and in place of the horrible wild beast,\nthere stood a handsome young man, looking up to the hill. And when the\nking's daughter collected herself and looked at him, she saw that it\nwas really and truly her lover, who had been turned into a werewolf.\n\nIt is easy to imagine how the princess felt. She opened her arms, and\ncould neither ask questions nor reply to them, so moved and delighted\nwas she. But the prince ran hastily up the hill, embraced her\ntenderly, and thanked her for delivering him. Nor did he forget the\nlittle old man, but thanked him with many civil expressions for his\npowerful aid. Then they sat down together on the hill-top, and had a\npleasant talk. The prince told how he had been turned into a wolf, and\nof all he had suffered while running about in the forest; and the\nprincess told of her grief, and the many tears she had shed while he\nhad been gone. So they sat the whole night through, and never noticed\nit until the stars grew pale and it was light enough to see. When the\nsun rose, they saw that a broad path led from the hill-top straight to\nthe royal castle; for they had a view of the whole surrounding country\nfrom the hill-top. Then the old man said: \"Lovely maiden, turn around!\nDo you see anything out yonder?\" \"Yes,\" said the princess, \"I see a\nhorseman on a foaming horse, riding as fast as he can.\" Then the old\nman said: \"He is a messenger sent on ahead by the king your father.\nAnd your father with all his army is following him.\" That pleased the\nprincess above all things, and she wanted to descend the hill at once\nto meet her father. But the old man detained her and said: \"Wait a\nwhile, it is too early yet. Let us wait and see how everything turns\nout.\"\n\nTime passed and the sun was shining brightly, and its rays fell\nstraight on the royal castle down below. Then the old man said:\n\"Lovely maiden, turn around! Do you see anything down below?\" \"Yes,\"\nreplied the princess, \"I see a number of people coming out of my\nfather's castle, and some are going along the road, and others into\nthe forest.\" The old man said: \"Those are your step-mother's servants.\nShe has sent some to meet the king and welcome him; but she has sent\nothers to the forest to look for you.\" At these words the princess\ngrew uneasy, and wished to go down to the queen's servants. But the\nold man withheld her and said: \"Wait a while, and let us first see how\neverything turns out.\"\n\nMore time passed, and the king's daughter was still looking down the\nroad from which the king would appear, when the old man said: \"Lovely\nmaiden, turn around! Do you see anything down below?\" \"Yes,\" answered\nthe princess, \"there is a great commotion in my father's castle, and\nthey are hanging it with black.\" The old man said: \"That is your\nstep-mother and her people. They will assure your father that you are\ndead.\" Then the king's daughter felt bitter anguish, and she implored\nfrom the depths of her heart: \"Let me go, let me go, so that I may\nspare my father this anguish!\" But the old man detained her and said:\n\"No, wait, it is still too early. Let us first see how everything\nturns out.\"\n\nAgain time passed, the sun lay high above the fields, and the warm air\nblew over meadow and forest. The royal maid and youth still sat on the\nhill-top with the old man, where we had left them. Then they saw a\nlittle cloud rise against the horizon, far away in the distance, and\nthe little cloud grew larger and larger, and came nearer and nearer\nalong the road, and as it moved one could see it was agleam with\nweapons, and nodding helmets, and waving flags, one could hear the\nrattle of swords, and the neighing of horses, and finally recognize\nthe banner of the king. It is not hard to imagine how pleased the\nking's daughter was, and how she insisted on going down and greeting\nher father. But the old man held her back and said: \"Lovely maiden,\nturn around! Do you see anything happening at the castle?\" \"Yes,\"\nanswered the princess, \"I can see my step-mother and step-sisters\ncoming out, dressed in mourning, holding white kerchiefs to their\nfaces, and weeping bitterly.\" The old man answered: \"Now they are\npretending to weep because of your death. Wait just a little while\nlonger. We have not yet seen how everything will turn out.\"\n\nAfter a time the old man said again: \"Lovely maiden, turn around! Do\nyou see anything down below?\" \"Yes,\" said the princess, \"I see people\nbringing a black coffin--now my father is having it opened. Look, the\nqueen and her daughters are down on their knees, and my father is\nthreatening them with his sword!\" Then the old man said: \"Your father\nwished to see your body, and so your evil step-mother had to confess\nthe truth.\" When the princess heard that she said earnestly: \"Let me\ngo, let me go, so that I may comfort my father in his great sorrow!\"\nBut the old man held her back and said: \"Take my advice and stay here\na little while longer. We have not yet seen how everything will turn\nout.\"\n\nAgain time went by, and the king's daughter and the prince and the old\nman were still sitting on the hill-top. Then the old man said: \"Lovely\nmaiden, turn around! Do you see anything down below?\" \"Yes,\" answered\nthe princess, \"I see my father and my step-sisters and my step-mother\nwith all their following moving this way.\" The old man said: \"Now they\nhave started out to look for you. Go down and bring up the wolf's pelt\nin the gorge.\" The king's daughter did as he told her. The old man\ncontinued: \"Now stand at the edge of the hill.\" And the princess did\nthat, too. Now one could see the queen and her daughters coming along\nthe way, and stopping just below the hill. Then the old man said: \"Now\nthrow down the wolf's pelt!\" The princess obeyed him, and threw down\nthe wolf's pelt according to his command. It fell directly on the evil\nqueen and her daughters. And then a most wonderful thing happened: no\nsooner had the pelt touched the three evil women than they immediately\nchanged shape, and turning into three horrible werewolves, they ran\naway as fast as they could into the forest, howling dreadfully.\n\nNo more had this happened than the king himself arrived at the foot\nof the hill with his whole retinue. When he looked up and recognized\nthe princess, he could not at first believe his eyes; but stood\nmotionless, thinking her a vision. Then the old man cried: \"Lovely\nmaiden, now hasten, run down and make your father happy!\" There was no\nneed to tell the princess twice. She took her lover by the hand and\nthey ran down the hill. When they came to the king, the princess ran\non ahead, fell on her father's neck, and wept with joy. And the young\nprince wept as well, and the king himself wept; and their meeting was\na pleasant sight for every one. There was great joy and many embraces,\nand the princess told of her evil step-mother and step-sisters and of\nher lover, and all that she had suffered, and of the old man who had\nhelped them in such a wonderful way. But when the king turned around\nto thank the old man he had completely vanished, and from that day on\nno one could say who he had been or what had become of him.\n\nThe king and his whole retinue now returned to the castle, where the\nking had a splendid banquet prepared, to which he invited all the able\nand distinguished people throughout the kingdom, and bestowed his\ndaughter on the young prince. And the wedding was celebrated with\ngladness and music and amusements of every kind for many days. I was\nthere, too, and when I rode through the forest I met a wolf with two\nyoung wolves, and they showed me their teeth and seemed very angry.\nAnd I was told they were none other than the evil step-mother and her\ntwo daughters.\n\n\nNOTE\n\n     In \"The Werewolf,\" the basic idea is the deliverance from\n     animal form through a maiden's self-sacrificing love\n     (Hylten-Cavallius and Stephens, p. 312. From Upland), and the\n     Teutonic belief in human beings who could change themselves\n     into wolves is clearly marked.\n\n\n\n\nXII\n\nFIRST BORN, FIRST WED\n\n\nOnce upon a time there was a king who had a three-year old son, and\nwas obliged to go to war against another king. Then, when his ships\nsailed home again after he had gained a splendid victory, a storm\nbroke out and his whole fleet was near sinking. But the king vowed he\nwould sacrifice to the sea-queen the first male creature that came to\nmeet him when he reached land and entered his capital. Thereby the\nwhole fleet reached the harbor in safety. But the five-year old\nprince, who had not seen his father for the past two years, and who\nwas delighted with the thunder of the cannon as the ships came in,\nsecretly slipped away from his attendants, and ran to the landing; and\nwhen the king came ashore he was the first to cast himself into his\narms, weeping with joy. The king was frightened when he thought of the\nsea-queen; but he thought that, after all, the prince was only a\nchild, and at any rate he could sacrifice the next person to step up\nto him after the prince. But from that time on no one could make a\nsuccessful sea-trip, and the people began to murmur because the king\nhad not kept the promise he had made the sea-queen. But the king and\nqueen never allowed the prince out without a great escort, and he was\nnever permitted to enter a ship, for all his desire to do so. After a\nfew years they gradually forgot the sea-queen, and when the prince was\nten years old, a little brother came to join him. Not long after the\nolder of the princes was out walking with his tutor and several other\ngentlemen. And when they reached the end of the royal gardens by the\nsea-shore--it was a summer's day, unusually clear--they were suddenly\nenveloped by a thick cloud, which disappeared as swiftly as it had\ncome. And when it vanished, the prince was no longer there; nor did he\nreturn, to the great sorrow of the king, the queen and the whole\ncountry. In the meantime the young prince who was now the sole heir to\nthe crown and kingdom grew up; and when he was sixteen, they began to\nthink of finding a wife for him. For the old king and queen wished to\nsee him marry the daughter of some powerful monarch to whom they were\nallied, before they died. With this in view, letters were written and\nembassies sent out to the most distant countries.\n\nWhile these negotiations were being conducted, it began to be said\nthat the sea-shore was haunted; various people had heard cries, and\nseveral who had walked by the sea-shore late in the evening had fallen\nill. At length no one ventured to go there after eleven at night,\nbecause a voice kept crying from out at sea: \"First born, first wed!\"\nAnd when some one did venture nearer he did so at the risk of his\nlife. At last these complaints came to the king's ear; he called\ntogether his council, and it was decided to question a wise woman, who\nhad already foretold many mysterious happenings, which had all taken\nplace exactly as she had said they would. When the wise woman was\nbrought before the king she said it was the prince who had been taken\ninto the sea who was calling, and that they would have to find him a\nbride, young, beautiful, and belonging to one of the noblest families\nof the land, and she must be no less than fifteen and no more than\nseventeen years old. That seemed a serious difficulty; for no one\nwished to give their daughter to a sea-king.\n\nYet, when there was no end to the cries and the commotion, the wise\nwoman said, that first it might be well to build a little house by the\nsea, perhaps then the turmoil might die away. At any rate, she said,\nno phantoms would haunt the place while the building was in progress.\nHence no more than four workmen need be employed, and they might first\nprepare a site, then lay the stone foundation, and finally erect the\nsmall house, comprising no more than two pleasant, handsome rooms, one\nbehind the other, and a good floor. The house was carefully erected,\nand the royal architect himself had to superintend the work, so that\neverything might be done as well as possible. And while the building\nwas going on, there were no mysterious noises, and every one could\ntravel peacefully along the sea-shore. For that reason the four\nworkmen did not hurry with their work; yet not one of them could stay\naway for a day, because when they did the tumult along the shore would\nbegin again, and one could hear the cries: \"First born, first wed!\"\nWhen the little house was finally completed, the best carpenters came\nand worked in it, then painters and other craftsmen, and at last it\nwas furnished, because when the work stopped for no more than a single\nday the cries were heard again by night. The rooms were fitted out as\nsumptuously as possible, and a great mirror was hung in the\ndrawing-room. According to the instructions of the wise woman, it was\nhung in such wise that from the bed in the bed-room, even though one's\nface were turned to the wall, one could still see who stepped over the\nthreshold into the drawing-room; for the door between each room was\nalways to stand open.\n\nWhen all was finished, and the little house had been arranged with\nregal splendor, the cries of \"First born, first wed!\" again began to\nsound from the shore. And it was found necessary, though all were\nunwilling, to follow the wise woman's counsel, and choose three of\nthe loveliest maidens between the ages of fifteen and seventeen,\nbelonging to the first families of the land. They were to be taken to\nthe castle, said the wise woman, and to be treated like ladies of the\nblood royal, and one after another they were to be sent to the little\nhouse by the sea-shore; for should one of them find favor in the eyes\nof the sea-prince, then the commotion and turmoil would surely cease.\nIn the meantime the negotiations for the marriage of the younger\nprince were continued, and the bride selected for him was soon\nexpected to arrive. So the girls were also chosen for the sea-prince.\nThe three chosen, as well as their parents, were quite inconsolable\nover their fate; even the fact that they were to be treated like\nprincesses did not console them; yet had they not yielded it would\nhave been all the worse for them and for the whole land. The first\ngirl destined to sleep in the sea-palace was the oldest, and when she\nsought out the wise woman, and asked her advice, the latter said she\nshould lie down in the handsome bed; but should turn her face to the\nwall, and under no circumstances turn around curiously, and try and\nsee what was going on. She had only the right to behold what she saw\nreflected in the mirror in the drawing-room as she lay with her face\nto the wall. At ten o'clock that night the royal sea-bride was led\nwith great pomp to the little house.\n\nHer relatives and the court said farewell to her with many tears, left\nher before eleven, locked the door on the outside, and took the keys\nwith them to the castle. The wise woman was also there, consoled the\npeople, and assured them that if the maiden only forbore to speak, and\ndid not turn around, she would come out in the morning fresh and\nblooming. The poor girl prayed and wept until she grew sleepy; but\ntoward twelve o'clock the outer door suddenly opened, and then the\ndoor of the drawing-room. She was startled and filled with fear when,\nher face turned toward the wall, she saw in the great mirror, how a\ntall, well-built youth entered, from whose garments the water ran in\nstreams to the floor. He shook himself as though freezing, and said\n\"Uh hu!\" Then he went to the window, and there laid down an unusually\nlarge and handsome apple, and hung a bottle in the casement. Next he\nstepped to the bed, bent over the sleeping girl and looked at her,\nstrode up and down a few times, shaking the water from his clothes and\nsaying \"Uh hu!\" Then he went back to the bed, undressed hurriedly, lay\ndown and fell asleep. The poor girl, had not been sleeping; but had\nonly closed her eyes when the prince bent over her. Now she was glad\nto think he was fast asleep, and forgot the wise woman's warning not\nto turn around. Her curiosity got the better of her, and she wanted\nto find out if this were a real human being. She turned around\nsoftly, lest she wake him; but just as she sat up quietly in bed, in\norder to take a good look at her neighbor, he swiftly seized her right\nhand, hewed it off, and flung it under the bed. Then he at once lay\ndown and fell asleep again. As soon as it was day, he rose, dressed\nwithout casting even a glance at the bed, took the bottle and the\napple from the window, went hastily out and locked the door after him.\nOne can imagine how the poor girl suffered in the meantime, and when\nher friends and relatives came to fetch her they found her weeping and\nrobbed of her hand. She was brought to the castle and the wise woman\nsent for, and overwhelmed with bitter reproaches. But she said that if\nthe maiden had not turned around, and had overcome her curiosity, she\nwould not have lost her hand. They were to treat her as though she\nwere really and truly a princess; but that it would be as much as her\nlife were worth to allow her to return to the neighborhood of the\nlittle house.\n\nThe two girls were all the more discouraged by this mishap, and\nthought themselves condemned to death, though the wise woman consoled\nthem as well as she knew how. The second promised her faithfully not\nto turn around; yet it happened with her as it had with the first. The\nprince came in at twelve o'clock dripping, shook himself so that the\nwater flew about, said \"Uh hu!\" went to the window, laid down the\nbeautiful apple, hung up the bottle, came into the bed-room, bent over\nthe bed, strode up and down a few times, said \"Uh hu!\" hastily\nundressed, and at once fell asleep. Her curiosity gained the upper\nhand, and when she made sure that he was sleeping soundly, she\ncarefully turned around in order to look at him. But he seized her\nright hand, hewed it off and cast it under the bed, and then laid down\nagain and slept on. At dawn he rose, dressed without casting a glance\nat the bed, took the apple and the bottle, went out and locked the\ndoor after him. When her friends and relatives came to fetch the girl\nin the morning, they found her weeping and without a right hand. She\nwas taken to the castle, where she found herself just as little\nwelcome as her predecessor, and the wise woman insisted that the girl\nmust have turned around, though at first she denied it absolutely.\n\nThen the youngest, sweetest and loveliest of the three maidens had to\ngo to the sea-castle amid the mourning of the entire court. The wise\nwoman accompanied her, and implored her not to turn around; since\nthere was no other means of protection against the spell.\n\nThe maiden promised to heed her warning, and said that she would pray\nGod to help her if she were plagued with curiosity. All happened as\nbefore: the prince came on the stroke of twelve, dripping wet, said\n\"Uh hu!\" shook himself, laid the apple on the window, hung up the\nbottle, went into the bed-room, bent over the bed, strode up and down\nfor a few times, said \"Uh hu!\" undressed, and at once fell asleep. The\npoor girl was half-dead with fear and terror, and prayed and struggled\nagainst her curiosity till at length she fell asleep, and did not\nawake until the prince rose and dressed. He stepped up to the bed,\nbent over it for a moment, went out, turned at the door and took the\nbottle and the apple, and then locked the door after him. In the\nmorning the entire court, the girl's parents and the wise woman came\nto fetch her. She came to meet them weeping with joy, and was\nconducted to the castle in triumph and with joy indescribable. The\nking and queen embraced her, and she was paid the same honors destined\nfor the princess who was to arrive in the course of the next few days\nto marry the heir to the throne. Now the maiden had to sleep every\nnight in the little house by the strand, and every evening the prince\ncame in with his apple and his bottle, and every morning went away at\ndawn. But it seemed to her that each succeeding evening and morning he\nlooked at her a little longer; though she, always silent, timid, and\nturned toward the wall, did not dare see more than her mirror showed\nher of his coming and going. But the two other girls, who had lost\ntheir hands, and who now no longer lived in the castle, were jealous\nof the honor shown the youngest, and threatened to have her done away\nwith if she did not restore their hands. The maiden went weeping to\nthe wise woman; and the latter said that when the prince had lain down\nas usual she should say--keeping her face turned toward the wall:\n\n    \"The maidens twain will see me slain,\n    Or else have back their hands again!\"\n\nBut she was to offer no further information nor say another word. With\na beating heart the poor girl waited until the prince came, and when\nhe had bent over the bed longer than usual, sighed, then hastily\nundressed and lain down, the maiden said, quivering and trembling:\n\n    \"The maidens twain will see me slain,\n    Or else have back their hands again!\"\n\nThe prince at once replied: \"Take the hands--they are lying under the\nbed--and the bottle hanging in the window, and pour some of the\ncontents of the bottle on their arms and hands, join them together,\nbind them up, take away the bandages in three days' time and the hands\nwill have been healed!\" The maiden made no reply and fell asleep. In\nthe morning the prince rose as usual, stepped over to the bed several\ntimes and looked at her from its foot; but she did not dare look up,\nand closed her eyes. He sighed, took his apple; but left the bottle,\nand went. When the maiden rose she did as he had told her, and in\nthree days' time removed the bandages, and the girls' hands were well\nand whole.\n\nNow the foreign princess arrived and the wedding was to be celebrated\nas soon as possible. Yet she was not fitted out with any more\nmagnificence than the bride of the sea-prince, and both were equally\nhonored by the king and court. This annoyed the two other girls, and\nthey again threatened to have the youngest done away with if she did\nnot let them taste the apple which the prince always brought with him.\nAgain the maiden sought the advice of the wise woman, in whom she had\nconfidence. And that night, when the prince had lain down, she said:\n\n    \"The maidens twain will see me slain,\n    Or else your apple they would gain!\"\n\nThen the prince said: \"Take the apple lying in the window, and when\nyou go out, lay it on the ground and follow wherever it may roll. And\nwhen it stops, pick as many apples as you wish, and return the same\nway you came.\" The maiden made no reply, and fell asleep. On the\nfollowing morning it seemed harder than ever for the prince to resolve\nto go away. He appeared excited and restless, sighed often, bent over\nthe maiden several times, went into the living room, then turned\naround and looked at her once more. Finally, when the sun rose, he\nhurried out and locked the door after him. When the maiden rose, she\ncould not help weeping, for she had really begun to love the prince.\n\nThen she took the apple, and when she was outside the door, laid it on\nthe ground, and it rolled and rolled, and she followed it, a long,\nlong way, to a region unknown to her. There she came to a high garden\nwall, over which hung the branches of trees, loaded with beautiful\nfruit. Finally she reached a great portal, adorned with gold and\nsplendid ornaments, which opened of its own accord as the apple rolled\nup to it. And the apple rolled through the portal and the maiden\nfollowed it into the garden, which was the most beautiful she ever had\nseen. The apple rolled over to a low-growing tree weighed with the\nmost magnificent apples, and there it stopped. The maiden picked all\nthat her silken apron would hold, and turned to see from which\ndirection she had come, and where the portal stood through which she\nwould have to pass on her way back. But the garden was so lovely that\nshe felt like enjoying its charms a while longer, and without\nthinking of the prince's words, she touched the apple with her foot,\nand it began to roll again. Suddenly the portal closed with a great\ncrash. Then the maiden was much frightened, and regretted having done\nwhat had been forbidden her; yet now she could not get out, and was\ncompelled to follow the apple once more. It rolled far into the\nbeautiful garden and stopped at a little fire-place, where stood two\nkettles of water, one small, the other large. There was a great fire\nburning under the large kettle; but only a weak fire beneath the\nsmaller one. Now when the apple stopped there the maiden did not know\nwhat to do. Then it occurred to her to scrape away the fire beneath\nthe large kettle and thrust it under the little one; and soon the\nkettle over the small fire began to boil and the kettle over the large\none simmered down. But she could not stay there. And since she had\nalready disobeyed the order given her, she expected to die, nothing\nless, and was quite resigned to do so, because she had lost all hope\nof winning the prince.\n\nSo she gave the apple another push, and it rolled into a meadow in the\nmiddle of the garden, and there lay two little children, asleep, with\nthe hot sun beating straight down upon them. The maiden felt sorry for\nthe children, and she took her apron and laid it over them to protect\nthem from the sun, and only kept the apples she could put in her\nlittle basket. But she could not stay here either, so again she\ntouched the apple, and it rolled on and before she knew it the girl\nfound herself by the sea-shore. There, under a shady tree lay the\nprince asleep; while beside him sat the sea-queen. Both rose when the\nmaiden drew near, and the prince looked at her with alarm and\ntenderness in his flashing eyes. Then he leaped into the sea, and the\nwhite foam closed over him. But the sea-queen was enraged and seized\nthe girl, who thought that her last moment had struck, and begged for\na merciful death. The sea-queen looked at her, and asked her who had\ngiven her permission to pass beyond the apple-tree. The maiden\nconfessed her disobedience, and said that she had done so without\nmeaning any harm, whereupon the sea-queen said she would see how she\nhad conducted herself and punish her accordingly. Thereupon the\nsea-queen gave the apple a push, and it rolled back through the portal\nto the apple-tree. The sea-queen saw that the apple-tree was\nuninjured, again pushed the apple and it rolled on to the little\nfire-place. But when the sea-queen saw the small kettle boiling\nfuriously, while the large one was growing cold, she became very\nangry, seized the girl's arm savagely and rising to her full height,\nasked: \"What have you dared do here? How dared you take the fire from\nunder my kettle and put it under your own?\" The maiden did not know\nthat she had done anything wrong, and said that she did not know why.\nThen the sea-queen replied: \"The large kettle signified the love\nbetween the prince and myself; the small one the love between the\nprince and you. Since you have taken the fire from under my kettle and\nlaid it under your own, the prince is now violently in love with you,\nwhile his love for me is well-nigh extinguished. Look,\" she cried,\nangrily, \"now my kettle has stopped boiling altogether, and yours is\nboiling over! But I will see what other harm you have done and punish\nyou accordingly.\" And the sea-queen again pushed the apple with her\nfoot, and it rolled to the sleeping children, who had been covered\nwith the apron. Then the sea-queen said: \"Did you do that?\" \"Yes,\"\nreplied the maiden, weeping, \"but I meant no harm. I covered the\nlittle ones with my apron so that the sun might not burn down on them\nso fiercely, and I left with them the apples I could not put in my\nbasket.\" The sea-queen said: \"This deed and your truthfulness are your\nsalvation. I see that you have a kind heart. These children belong to\nme and to the prince; but since he now loves you more than he does me,\nI will resign him to you. Go back to the castle and there say what I\ntell you: that your wedding with my prince is to be celebrated at the\nsame time as that of his younger brother. And all your jewels, your\nornaments, your wedding-dress and your bridal chair, are to be exactly\nlike those of the other princess. From the moment on that the priest\nblesses the prince and yourself I have no further power over him. But\nsince I have seen to it that he has all the qualities which adorn a\nruler, I demand that he be made the heir to his father's kingdom; for\nhe is the oldest son. The younger prince may rule over the kingdom\nwhich his bride brings him. All this you must tell them, for only\nunder these conditions will I release the prince. And when you are\narrayed in your bridal finery, come to me here, without anyone's\nknowledge, so that I may see how they have adorned you. Here is the\napple which will show you the way without any one being able to tell\nwhere you go.\" With that the sea-queen parted from her, and gave the\napple a push. It rolled out of the garden and to the castle, where the\nmaiden, with mingled joy and terror, delivered the sea-queen's message\nto the king, and told him what she demanded for the prince. The king\ngladly promised all that was desired, and great preparations were at\nonce made for the double wedding. Two bridal chairs were set up side\nby side, two wedding gowns, and two sets of jewels exactly similar\nwere made ready. When the maiden had been dressed in her bridal\nfinery she pretended to have forgotten something, which she had to\nfetch from a lower floor, went downstairs with her apple, and laid it\non the ground. It at once rolled to the spot by the sea-shore where\nshe had found the sea-queen and the prince, and where the sea-queen\nwas now awaiting her. \"It is well that you have come,\" said the\nsea-queen, \"for the slightest disobedience would have meant misfortune\nfor you! But how do you look? Are you dressed just as the princess is?\nAnd has the princess no better clothes or jewels?\" The maiden answered\ntimidly, that they were dressed exactly alike. Then the sea-queen tore\nher gown from her body, unclasped the jewels from her hair and\nflinging them on the ground cried: \"Is that the way the bride of my\nprince should look! Since I have given him to you I will give you my\nbridal outfit as well.\" And with that she raised up a sod beneath the\ngreat tree, and a shrine adorned with gold and precious stones\nappeared, from which she drew out her bridal outfit, which fitted the\nmaiden as though made for her. And it was so costly and so covered\nwith gems that the maiden was almost blinded by its radiance. The\ncrown, too, glowed with light, and was set with the most wonderful\nemeralds, and all was magnificent beyond what any princess had ever\nworn. \"Now,\" said the sea-queen, when she had finished adorning the\nmaiden, \"now go back to the castle, and show them how I was dressed\nwhen I wedded the prince. All this I give as a free gift to you and\nyour descendants; but you must always conduct yourself so that the\nprince will be content with you, and you must make his happiness your\nfirst thought all your life long.\"\n\n[Illustration: \"A SHRINE ADORNED WITH GOLD AND PRECIOUS STONES\nAPPEARED.\"]\n\nThis the maiden promised, with honest tears, and the sea-queen bade\nher go. When she was again in the castle, all were astonished at the\nbeauty and costliness of her dress and jewels, in comparison to which\nthose of the other princess were as nothing. The treasures of the\nwhole kingdom would not have sufficed to pay for such a bridal outfit.\nAnd none any longer dared envy the lovely maiden, for never had a\nprincess brought a richer bridal dower into the country. Now all went\nin solemn procession to the church, and the priests stood before the\nbridal chairs with their books open, and waited for the prince who,\naccording to the sea-queen's word, would not come until the blessing\nwas to be spoken. They waited impatiently, and the king finally told\none of the greatest nobles to seat himself in the bridal chair in the\nprince's place, which he did. But the very moment the priest began to\npray, the two wings of the church portal quickly flew open, and a\ntall, strong, handsome man with flashing eyes, royally clad, came in,\nstepped up to the bridal chair, thrust his proxy out so hastily that\nhe nearly fell, and cried: \"This is my place! Now, priest, speak the\nblessing!\" While the blessing was spoken the prince became quiet\nagain, and then greeted his parents and the whole court with joy, and\nbefore all embraced his wife, who now for the first time ventured to\ntake a good look at him. Thenceforward the prince was like any other\nhuman being, and in the end he inherited his father's kingdom, and\nbecame a great and world-renowned ruler, beloved by his subjects, and\nadored by his wife. They lived long and happily, and their descendants\nare still the rulers of the land over which he reigned.\n\n\nNOTE\n\n     \"First Born, First Wed\" is a purely Swedish, and decidedly\n     characteristic treatment of a similar motive of redemption.\n     (From the mss. collection of Hylten-Cavallius and Stephens,\n     communicated by Dr. v. Sydow-Lund).\n\n\n\n\nXIII\n\nTHE LAME DOG\n\n\nOnce upon a time there lived a king, like many others. He had three\ndaughters, who were young and beautiful to such a degree that it would\nhave been difficult to have found handsomer maidens. Yet there was a\ngreat difference among them; for the two older sisters were haughty in\ntheir thoughts and manners; while the youngest was sweet and friendly,\nand everyone liked her. Besides, she was fair as the day and delicate\nas the snow, and far more beautiful than either of her sisters.\n\nOne day the king's daughters were sitting together in their room, and\ntheir talk happened to turn on their husbands-to-be. The oldest said:\n\"If I ever marry, my husband must have golden hair and a golden\nbeard!\" And the second exclaimed: \"And mine must have silver hair and\na silver beard!\" But the youngest princess held her tongue and said\nnothing. Then her sisters asked her whether she did not want to wish\nfor a husband. \"No,\" she answered, \"but if fate should give me a\nhusband, I will be content to take him as he is, and were he no more\nthan a lame dog.\" Then the two other princesses laughed and joked\nabout it, and told her the day might easily come when she would change\nher mind.\n\nBut many speak truth and do not know it! Thus it chanced with the\nking's daughters; since before the year had come to an end, each had\nthe suitor for whom she had wished. A man with golden hair and golden\nbeard sued for the oldest princess and won her consent to his suit.\nAnd a man with silver hair and a silver beard sued for the second and\nshe became his bride; but the youngest princess had no other suitor\nthan a lame dog. Then she recalled her talk with her sisters in their\nroom, and thought to herself: \"May God aid me in the marriage into\nwhich I must enter!\" Yet she would not break the word she had once\npassed; but followed her sisters' example and accepted the dog. The\nwedding lasted a number of days and was celebrated with great pomp and\nsplendor. But while the guests danced and amused themselves, the\nyoungest princess sat apart and wept, and when the others were\nlaughing, her tears flowed till it made one sad to see them.\n\nAfter the wedding the newly married pairs were each to drive off to\ntheir castle. And the two older princesses each drove off in a\nsplendidly decorated coach, with a large retinue, and all sorts of\nhonors. But the youngest had to go afoot, since her husband, the dog,\nhad neither coach nor driver. When they had wandered long and far,\nthey came to a great forest, so great that it seemed endless; but the\ndog limped along in advance, and the king's daughter followed after,\nweeping. And as they went along she suddenly saw a magnificent castle\nlying before them, and round about it were beautiful meadows and green\nwoods, all of them most enjoyable to see. The princess stopped and\nasked to whom the great mansion might belong. \"That,\" said the dog,\n\"is our home. We will live here, and you shall rule it as you see\nfit.\" Then the maiden laughed amid her tears, and could not overcome\nher surprise at all she saw. The dog added: \"I have but a single\nrequest to make to you, and that you must not refuse to grant.\" \"What\nis your request?\" asked the princess. \"You must promise me,\" said the\ndog, \"that you will never look at me while I am asleep: otherwise you\nare free to do whatever you wish.\" The princess gladly promised to\ngrant his request, and so they went to the great castle. And if the\ncastle was magnificent from without, it was still more magnificent\nwithin. It was so full of gold and silver that the precious metals\ngleamed from every corner; and there was such abundance of supplies of\nevery kind, and of so many other things, that everything in the world\none might have wished to have was already there. The princess spent\nthe live-long day running from one room to another, and each was\nhandsomer than the one she had just entered. But when evening came and\nshe went to bed, the dog crept into his own, and then she noticed that\nhe was not a dog; but a human being. Yet she said not a word, because\nshe remembered her promise, and did not wish to cross her husband's\nwill.\n\nThus some time passed. The princess dwelt in the beautiful castle, and\nhad everything her heart might desire. But every day the dog ran off,\nand did not reappear until it was evening and the sun had set. Then he\nreturned home, and was always so kind and friendly that it would have\nbeen a fine thing had other men done half as well. The princess now\nbegan to feel a great affection for him, and quite forgot he was only\na lame dog; for the proverb says: \"Love is blind.\" Yet time passed\nslowly because she was so much alone, and she often thought of\nvisiting her sisters and seeing how they were. She spoke of it to her\nhusband, and begged his permission to make the journey. No sooner had\nthe dog heard her wish than he at once granted it, and even\naccompanied her some distance, in order to show her the way out of the\nwood.\n\nWhen the king's daughters were once reunited, they were naturally very\nhappy, and there were a great many questions asked about matters old\nand new. And marriage was also discussed. The oldest princess said:\n\"It was silly of me to wish for a husband with golden hair and golden\nbeard; for mine is worse than the veriest troll, and I have not known\na happy day since we married.\" And the second went on: \"Yes, and I am\nno better off; for although I have a husband with silver hair and a\nsilver beard, he dislikes me so heartily that he begrudges me a single\nhour of happiness.\" Then her sisters turned to the youngest princess\nand asked how she fared. \"Well,\" was her answer, \"I really cannot\ncomplain; for though I only got a lame dog, he is such a dear good\nfellow and so kind to me that it would be hard to find a better\nhusband.\" The other princesses were much surprised to hear this, and\ndid not stop prying and questioning, and their sister answered all\ntheir questions faithfully. When they heard how splendidly she lived\nin the great castle, they grew jealous because she was so much better\noff than they were. And they insisted on knowing whether there was not\nsome one little thing of which she could complain. \"No,\" said the\nking's daughter, \"I can only praise my husband for his kindness and\namiability, and there is but one thing lacking to make me perfectly\nhappy.\" \"What is it?\" \"What is it?\" cried both sisters with a single\nvoice. \"Every night, when he comes home,\" said the princess, \"he turns\ninto a human being, and I am sorry that I can never see what he really\nlooks like.\" Then both sisters again with one voice, began to scold\nthe dog loudly; because he had a secret which he kept from his wife.\nAnd since her sisters now continually spoke about it, her own\ncuriosity awoke once more, she forgot her husband's command, and asked\nhow she might manage to see him without his knowing it. \"O,\" said the\noldest princess, \"nothing easier! Here is a little lamp, which you\nmust hide carefully. Then you need only get up at night when he is\nasleep, and light the lamp in order to see him in his true shape.\"\nThis advice seemed good to the king's daughter; she took the lamp, hid\nit in her breast, and promised to do all that her sisters had\ncounseled.\n\nWhen the time came for them to part, the youngest princess went back\nto her beautiful castle. The day passed like every other day. When\nevening came at last and the dog had gone to bed, the princess was so\ndriven by curiosity that she could hardly wait until he had fallen\nasleep. Then she rose, softly, lit her lamp, and drew near the bed to\nlook at him while he slept. But no one can describe her astonishment\nwhen throwing the light on the bed, she saw no lame dog lying there;\nbut the handsomest youth her eyes had ever beheld. She could not stop\nlooking at him; but sat up all night bending over his pillow, and the\nmore she looked at him the handsomer he seemed to grow, until she\nforgot everything else in the world. At last the morning came. And as\nthe first star began to pale in the dawn, the youth began to grow\nrestless and awaken. The princess much frightened, blew out her lamp\nand lay down in her bed. The youth thought she was sleeping and did\nnot wish to wake her, so he rose quietly, assumed his other shape,\nwent away and did not appear again all day long.\n\nAnd when evening came and it grew late, everything happened as before.\nThe dog came home from the forest and was very tired. But no sooner\nhad he fallen asleep than the princess rose carefully, lit her lamp\nand came over to look at him. And when she cast the light on his bed\nit seemed to her as though the youth had grown even handsomer than the\nday before, and the longer she looked the more handsome he became;\nuntil she had to laugh and weep from sheer love and longing. She could\nnot take her eyes from him, and sat all night long bent over his\npillow, forgetful of her promise and all else, only to be able to look\nat him. With the first ray of dawn the youth began to stir and awake.\nThen the princess was again frightened, quickly blew out her lamp and\nlay down in her bed. The youth thought she was sleeping, and not\nwishing to waken her, rose softly, assumed his other shape, went away\nand was gone for the entire day.\n\nAt length it grew late again, evening came and the dog returned home\nfrom the forest as usual. But again the princess could not control her\ncuriosity; no sooner was her husband sleeping than she rose quietly,\nlit her lamp, and drew near carefully in order to look at him while he\nslept. And when the light fell on the youth, he appeared to be\nhandsomer than ever before, and the longer she looked the more\nhandsome he grew, until her heart burned in her breast, and she forgot\nall else in the world looking at him. She could not take her eyes from\nhim, and sat up all night bending over his pillow. And when morning\ncame and the sun rose, the youth began to move and awaken. Then the\nprincess was much frightened, because she had paid no heed to the\npassing of time, and she tried to put out her lamp quickly. But her\nhand trembled, and a warm drop of oil fell on the youth and he awoke.\nWhen he saw what she had done, he leaped up, terrified, instantly\nturned into a lame dog, and limped out into the forest. But the\nprincess felt so remorseful that she nearly lost her senses, and she\nran after him, wringing her hands and weeping bitterly, and begging\nhim to return. But he did not come back.\n\nThe king's daughter now wandered over hill and dale, along many a road\nnew to her, in order to find her husband, and her tears flowed the\nwhile till it would have moved a stone. But the dog was gone and\nstayed gone, though she looked for him North and South. When she saw\nthat she could not find him, she thought she would return to her\nhandsome castle. But there she was just as unfortunate. The castle\nwas nowhere to be seen, and wherever she went she was surrounded by a\nforest black as coal. Then she came to the conclusion that the whole\nworld had abandoned her, sat down on a stone, wept bitterly, and\nthought how much rather she would die than live without her husband.\nAt that a little toad hopped out from under the stone, and said:\n\"Lovely maiden, why do you sit here and weep?\" And the princess\nanswered: \"It is my hard fate to weep and never be happy again. First\nof all I have lost the love of my heart, and now I can no longer find\nmy way back to the castle. So I must perish of hunger here, or else be\ndevoured by wild beasts.\" \"O,\" said the toad, \"if that is all that\ntroubles you, I can help you! If you will promise to be my dearest\nfriend, I will show you the way.\" But that the princess did not want\nto do. She replied: \"Ask of me what you will, save that alone. I have\nnever loved any one more than my lame dog, and so long as I live will\nnever love any one else better.\" With that she rose, wept bitterly,\nand continued her way. But the toad looked after her in a friendly\nmanner, laughed to himself, and once more crept under his stone.\n\nAfter the king's daughter had wandered on for a long, long way, and\nstill saw nothing but forest and wilderness, she grew very tired. She\nonce more sat down on a stone, rested her chin on her hand, and\nprayed for death, since it was no longer possible for her to live with\nher husband. Suddenly there was a rustling in the bushes, and she saw\na big gray wolf coming directly toward her. She was much frightened,\nsince her one thought was that the wolf intended to devour her. But\nthe wolf stopped, wagged his tail, and said: \"Proud maiden, why do you\nsit here and weep so bitterly?\" The princess answered: \"It is my hard\nfate to weep and never be happy again. First of all I have lost my\nheart's dearest, and now I cannot find my way back to the castle and\nmust perish of hunger, or be devoured by wild beasts.\" \"O,\" said the\nwolf, \"if that is all that troubles you, I can help you! Let me be\nyour best friend and I will show you the way.\" But that did not suit\nthe princess, and she replied: \"Ask of me what you will, save that\nalone. I have never loved any one more than my lame dog, and so long\nas I live I will never love any one else better.\" With that she rose,\nweeping bitterly, and continued on her way. But the wolf looked after\nher in a friendly manner, laughed to himself and ran off hastily.\n\nAfter the princess had once more wandered for a long time in the\nwilderness, she was again so wearied and exhausted that she could not\ngo on. She sat down on a stone, wrung her hands, and wished for death,\nsince she could no longer live with her husband. At that moment she\nheard a hollow roaring that made the earth tremble, and a monstrous\nbig lion appeared and came directly toward her. Now she was much\nfrightened; for what else could she think but that the lion would tear\nher to pieces? But the beast was so weighed down with heavy iron\nchains that he could scarcely drag himself along, and the chains\nclashed at either side when he moved. When the lion finally reached\nthe princess he stopped, wagged his tail, and asked: \"Beautiful\nmaiden, why do you sit here and weep so bitterly?\" The princess\nanswered: \"It is my hard fate to weep and never be happy again. First\nof all I have lost my heart's dearest, and now I cannot find my way to\nthe castle, and must perish of hunger, or be devoured by wild beasts.\"\n\"O,\" said the lion, \"if that is all that troubles you, I can help you!\nIf you will loose my chains and make me your best friend, I will show\nyou the way.\" But the princess was so terrified that she could not\nanswer the lion, far less venture to draw near him. Then she heard a\nclear voice sounding from the forest: it was a little nightingale, who\nsat among the branches and sang:\n\n    \"Maiden, maiden, loose his chains!\"\n\nThen she felt sorry for the lion, grew braver, went up to him,\nunloosed his chains and said: \"Your chains I can loose for you; but I\ncan never be your best friend. For I have never loved any one more\nthan my lame dog and will never love any one else better.\" And then a\nwondrous thing took place: at the very moment the last chain fell from\nhim, the lion turned into a handsome young prince, and when the\nprincess looked at him more closely, it was none other than her\nheart's dearest, who before had been a dog. She sank to the ground,\nclasped his knees, and begged him not to leave her again. But the\nprince raised her with deep affection, took her in his arms and said:\n\"No, now we shall never more be parted, for I am released from my\nenchantment, and have proved your faith toward me in every way.\"\n\n[Illustration: \"THE LION TURNED INTO A HANDSOME YOUNG PRINCE.\"]\n\nThen there was joy indescribable. And the prince took his young wife\nhome to the beautiful castle, and there he became king and she was his\nqueen. And if they have not died they are living there to this very\nday.\n\n\nNOTE\n\n     The story of \"The Lame Dog,\" the bride of the dog, has long\n     been popular in Scandinavia (Hylten-Cavallius and Stephens, p.\n     381. From South Smaland). Saxo, to whom it was familiar, calls\n     its heroes Otherus and Syritha, and even in the _Edda_ there is\n     an echo of it in the tale of Freya and Odr. In Denmark the same\n     story is told under the title of \"The Dearest Friend.\"\n\n\n\n\nXIV\n\nTHE MOUNT OF THE GOLDEN QUEEN\n\n\nOnce upon a time a lad who tended the cattle in the wood was eating\nhis noon-tide meal in a clearing in the forest. As he was sitting\nthere he saw a rat run into a juniper-bush. His curiosity led him to\nlook for it; but as he bent over, down he went, head over heels, and\nfell asleep. And he dreamed that he was going to find the princess on\nthe Mount of the Golden Queen; but that he did not know the way.\n\nThe following day he once more pastured his cattle in the wood, when\nhe came to the same clearing, and again ate his dinner there. And\nagain he saw the rat and went to look for it, and again when he bent\ndown he went head over heels, and fell fast asleep. And again he\ndreamed of the princess on the Mount of the Golden Queen, and that in\norder to get her he would need seventy pounds of iron and a pair of\niron shoes. He awoke and it was all a dream; but by now he had made up\nhis mind to find the Mount of the Golden Queen, and he went home with\nhis herd. On the third day, when he led out his cattle, he could not\nreach the clearing of his happy dream too soon. Again the rat showed\nitself and when he went to look for it, he fell asleep as he had done\neach preceding day. And again he dreamed of the princess on the Mount\nof the Golden Queen, and that she came to him, and laid a letter and a\nband of gold in his pocket. Then he awoke and to his indescribable\nsurprise, he found in his pocket both of the things of which he had\ndreamed, the letter and the band. Now he had no time to attend to the\ncattle any longer, but drove them straight home. Then he went into the\nstable, led out a horse, sold it, and bought seventy pounds of iron\nand a pair of iron shoes with the money. He made the thole-pins out of\nthe iron, put on his iron shoes, and set forth. For a time he traveled\nby land; but at last he came to the lake which he had to cross. He saw\nnaught but water before and behind him, and rowing so long and\nsteadily that he wore out one thole-pin after another, he at length\nreached land, and a green meadow, where no trees grew. He walked all\naround the meadow, and at last found a mound of earth from which smoke\nwas rising. When he looked more closely, out came a woman who was nine\nyards long. He asked her to tell him the way to the Mount of the\nGolden Queen. But she replied: \"That I do not know. Go ask my sister,\nwho is nine yards taller than I am, and who lives in an earth-mound\nwhich you can find without any trouble.\" So he left her and came to a\nmound of earth that looked just like the first, and from which smoke\nwas also rising. A woman at once came out who was tremendously tall,\nand of her he asked the way to the Mount of the Golden Queen. \"That I\ndo not know,\" said she. \"Go ask my brother, who is nine yards taller\nthan I am, and who lives in a hill a little further away.\" So he came\nto the hill, from which smoke was also rising, and knocked. A man at\nonce came out who was a veritable giant, for he was twenty-seven yards\nin length, and of him he asked the way to the Mount of the Golden\nQueen. Then the giant took a whistle and whistled in every direction,\nto call together all the animals to be found on the earth. And all the\nanimals came from the woods, foremost among them a bear. The giant\nasked him about the Mount of the Golden Queen, but he knew nothing of\nit. Again the giant blew his whistle in every direction to call\ntogether all the fishes to be found in the waters. They came at once,\nand he asked them about the Mount of the Golden Queen; but they knew\nnothing of it. Once more the giant blew his whistle in every\ndirection, and called together all the birds of the air. They came,\nand he asked the eagle about the Mount of the Golden Queen, and\nwhether he knew where it might be. The eagle said: \"Yes!\" \"Well then,\ntake this lad there,\" said the giant \"but do not treat him unkindly!\"\nThis the eagle promised, allowed the youth to seat himself on his\nback, and then off they were through the air, over fields and forests,\nhill and dale, and before long they were above the ocean, and could\nsee nothing but sky and water. Then the eagle dipped the youth in the\nocean up to his ankles and asked: \"Are you afraid?\" \"No,\" said the\nyouth. Then the eagle flew on a while, and again dipped the youth into\nthe water, up to his knees and said: \"Are you afraid?\" \"Yes,\" answered\nthe youth, \"but the giant said you were not to treat me unkindly.\"\n\"Are you really afraid?\" asked the eagle once more. \"Yes,\" answered\nthe youth. Then the eagle said: \"The fear you now feel is the very\nsame fear I felt when the princess thrust the letter and the golden\nband into your pocket.\" And with that they had reached a large, high\nmountain in one side of which was a great iron door. They knocked, and\na serving-maid appeared to open the door and admit them. The youth\nremained and was well received; but the eagle said farewell and flew\nback to his native land. The youth asked for a drink, and he was at\nonce handed a beaker containing a refreshing draught. When he had\nemptied it and returned the beaker, he let the golden band drop into\nit. And when the maid brought back the beaker to her mistress--who\nwas the princess of the Mount of the Golden Queen--the latter looked\ninto the beaker, and behold, there lay a golden band which she\nrecognized as her own. So she asked: \"Is there some one here?\" and\nwhen the maid answered in the affirmative, the princess said: \"Bid him\ncome in!\" And as soon as the youth entered she asked him if he chanced\nto have a letter. The youth drew out the letter he had received in so\nstrange a manner, and gave it to the princess. And when she had read\nit she cried, full of joy: \"Now I am delivered!\" And at that very\nmoment the mountain turned into a most handsome castle, with all sorts\nof precious things, servants, and every sort of convenience, each for\nits own purpose. (Whether the princess and the youth married the story\ndoes not say; yet we must take for granted that a wedding is the\nproper end for the fairy-tale).\n\n\nNOTE\n\n     A distinctly visionary story is the fairy-tale of \"The Mount of\n     the Golden Queen.\" (From Soedermanland, from the collection of\n     the metallurgic Gustav Erikson, communicated by Dr. v.\n     Sydow-Lund) whose hero sets out on a laborious, world-wide\n     quest that finally brings him to the destined goal.\n\n\n\n\nXV\n\nOLD HOPGIANT\n\n\nOnce upon a time there were two neighbors: one of them rich and the\nother poor. They owned a great meadow in common, which they were\nsupposed to mow together and then divide the hay.\n\nBut the rich neighbor wanted the meadow for himself alone, and told\nthe poor one that he would drive him out of house and home if he did\nnot come to an agreement with him that whichever one of them mowed the\nlargest stretch of the meadowland in a single day, should receive the\nentire meadow.\n\nNow the rich neighbor got together as many mowers as ever he could;\nbut the poor one could not hire a single man. At last he despaired\naltogether and wept, because he did not know how he could manage to\nget so much as a bit of hay for the cow.\n\nThen it was that a large man stepped up to him and said: \"Do not\ngrieve so. I can tell you what you ought to do. When the mowing\nbegins, just call out 'Old Hopgiant!' three times in succession, and\nyou'll not be at a loss, as you shall see for yourself.\" And with that\nhe disappeared.\n\nThen the poor man's heart grew less heavy, and he gave over worrying.\nSo one fine day his rich neighbor came along with no fewer than twenty\nfarmhands, and they mowed down one swath after another. But the poor\nneighbor did not even take the trouble to begin when he saw how the\nothers took hold, and that he himself would not be able to do anything\nalone.\n\nThen the big man occurred to him, and he called out: \"Old Hopgiant!\"\nBut no one came, and the mowers all laughed at him and mocked him,\nthinking he had gone out of his mind. Then he called again: \"Old\nHopgiant!\" And, just as before, there was no hopgiant to be seen. And\nthe mowers could scarcely swing their scythes; for they were laughing\nfit to split.\n\nAnd then he cried for the third time: \"Old Hopgiant!\" And there\nappeared a fellow of truly horrible size, with a scythe as large as a\nship's mast.\n\nAnd now the merriment of the rich peasant's mowers came to an end. For\nwhen the giant began to mow and fling about his scythe, they were\nfrightened at the strength he put into his work. And before they knew\nit he had mown half the meadow.\n\nThen the rich neighbor fell into a rage, rushed up and gave the giant\na good kick. But that did not help him, for his foot stuck to the\ngiant, while the latter no more felt the kick than if it had been a\nflea-bite, and kept right on working.\n\n[Illustration: \"THE RICH MAN HAD TO GO ALONG HANGING TO HIM LIKE A\nHAWSER.\"]\n\nThen the rich neighbor thought of a scheme to get free, and gave the\ngiant a kick with his other foot; but this foot also stuck fast, and\nthere he hung like a tick. Old Hopgiant mowed the whole meadow, and\nthen flew up into the air, and the rich man had to go along hanging to\nhim like a hawser. And thus the poor neighbor was left sole master of\nthe place.\n\n\nNOTE\n\n     A genuine folk-tale figure is \"Old Hopgiant.\" (Bondeson,\n     _Svenska Folksagor_, Stockholm, 1882, p. 41. From Dalsland) in\n     which a wonderful giant being comes to a poor peasant's\n     assistance, and rescues him from his oppressor.\n\n\n\n\nXVI\n\nTHE PRINCESS AND THE GLASS MOUNTAIN\n\n\nOnce upon a time there was a king who took such a joy in the chase,\nthat he knew no greater pleasure than hunting wild beasts. Early and\nlate he camped in the forest with hawk and hound, and good fortune\nalways followed his hunting. But it chanced one day that he could\nrouse no game, although he had tried in every direction since morning.\nAnd then, when evening was coming on, and he was about to ride home,\nhe saw a dwarf or wild man running through the forest before him. The\nking at once spurred on his horse, rode after the dwarf, seized him\nand he was surprised at his strange appearance; for he was small and\nugly, like a troll, and his hair was as stiff as bean-straw. But no\nmatter what the king said to him, he would return no answer, nor say a\nsingle word one way or another. This angered the king, who was already\nout of sorts because of his ill-success at the hunt, and he ordered\nhis people to seize the wild man and guard him carefully lest he\nescape. Then the king rode home.\n\nNow his people said to him: \"You should keep the wild man a captive\nhere at your court, in order that the whole country may talk of what a\nmighty huntsman you are. Only you should guard him so that he does not\nescape; because he is of a sly and treacherous disposition.\" When the\nking had listened to them he said nothing for a long time. Then he\nreplied: \"I will do as you say, and if the wild man escape, it shall\nbe no fault of mine. But I vow that whoever lets him go shall die\nwithout mercy, and though he were my own son!\"\n\nThe following morning, as soon as the king awoke, he remembered his\nvow.\n\nHe at once sent for wood and beams, and had a small house or cage\nbuilt quite close to the castle. The small house was built of great\ntimbers, and protected by strong locks and bolts, so that none could\nbreak in; and a peephole was left in the middle of the wall through\nwhich food might be thrust.\n\nWhen everything was completed the king had the wild man led up, placed\nin the small house, and he himself took and kept the key. There the\ndwarf had to sit a prisoner, day and night, and the people came afoot\nand a-horseback to gaze at him. Yet no one ever heard him complain, or\nso much as utter a single word.\n\nThus matters went for some time. Then a war broke out in the land, and\nthe king had to take the field. At parting he said to the queen: \"You\nmust rule the kingdom now in my stead, and I leave land and people in\nyour care. But there is one thing you must promise me you will do:\nthat you will guard the wild man securely so that he does not escape\nwhile I am away.\" The queen promised to do her best in all respects,\nand the king gave her the key to the cage. Thereupon he had his long\ngalleys, his \"sea-wolves,\" push out from the shore, hoisted sail, and\ntook his course far, far away to the other country.\n\nThe king and queen had only one child, a prince who was still small;\nyet great in promise. Now when the king had gone, it chanced one day\nthat the little fellow was wandering about the royal courtyard, and\ncame to the wild man's cage. And he began to play with an apple of\ngold he had. And while he was playing with it, it happened that\nsuddenly the apple fell through the window in the wall of the cage.\nThe wild man at once appeared and threw back the apple. This seemed a\nmerry game to the little fellow: he threw the apple in again, and the\nwild man threw it out again, and thus they played for a long time. Yet\nfor all the game had been so pleasant, it turned to sorrow in the end:\nfor the wild man kept the apple of gold, and would not give it back\nagain. And when all was of no avail, neither threats nor prayers, the\nlittle fellow at last began to weep. Then the wild man said: \"Your\nfather did ill to capture me, and you will never get your apple of\ngold again, unless you let me out.\" The little fellow answered: \"And\nhow can I let you out? Just you give me back my apple again, my apple\nof gold!\" Then the wild man said: \"You must do what I now tell you. Go\nup to your mother, the queen, and beg her to comb your hair. Then see\nto it that you take the key from her girdle, and come down and unlock\nthe door. After that you can return the key in the same way, without\nany one knowing anything about it.\"\n\nAfter the wild man had talked to the boy in this way, he finally did\nas he said, went up to his mother, begged her to comb his hair, and\ntook the key from her girdle. Then he ran down to the cage and opened\nthe door. And when they parted, the dwarf said: \"Here is your apple of\ngold, that I promised to give back to you, and I thank you for setting\nme free. And another time when you have need of me, I will help you in\nturn.\" And with that he ran off on his own way. But the prince went\nback to his mother, and returned the key in the same way he had taken\nit.\n\nWhen they learned at the king's court that the wild man had broken\nout, there was great commotion, and the queen sent people over hill\nand dale to look for him. But he was gone and he stayed gone. Thus\nmatters went for a while and the queen grew more and more unhappy; for\nshe expected her husband to return every day. And when he did reach\nshore his first question was whether the wild man had been well\nguarded. Then the queen had to confess how matters stood, and told him\nhow everything had happened. But the king was enraged beyond measure,\nand said he would punish the malefactor, no matter who he might be.\nAnd he ordered a great investigation at his court, and every human\nbeing in it had to testify. But no one knew anything. At last the\nlittle prince also had to come forward. And as he stood before the\nking he said: \"I know that I have deserved my father's anger; yet I\ncannot hide the truth; for I let out the wild man.\" Then the queen\nturned white, and the others as well, for there was not one who was\nnot fond of the prince. At last the king spoke: \"Never shall it be\nsaid of me that I was false to my vow, even for the sake of my own\nflesh and blood! No, you must die the death you have deserved.\" And\nwith that he gave the order to take the prince to the forest and kill\nhim. And they were to bring back the boy's heart as a sign that his\ncommand had been obeyed.\n\nNow sorrow unheard of reigned among the people, and all pleaded for\nthe little prince. But the king's word could not be recalled. His\nserving-men did not dare disobey, took the boy in their midst, and set\nforth. And when they had gone a long way into the forest, they saw a\nswine-herd tending his pigs. Then one said to another: \"It does not\nseem right to me to lay hand on the king's son; let us buy a pig\ninstead and take its heart, then all will believe it is the heart of\nthe prince.\" The other serving-men thought that he spoke wisely, so\nthey bought a pig from the swine-herd, led it into the wood, butchered\nit and took its heart. Then they told the prince to go his way and\nnever return. They themselves went back to the king's castle, and it\nis easy to imagine what grief they caused when they told of the\nprince's death.\n\nThe king's son did what the serving-men had told him. He kept on\nwandering as far as he could, and never had any other food than the\nnuts and wild berries that grow in the forest. And when he had\nwandered far and long, he came to a mountain upon whose very top stood\na fir-tree. Said he to himself: \"After all, I might as well climb the\nfir-tree and see whether I can find a path anywhere.\" No sooner said\nthan done: he climbed the tree. And as he sat in the very top of its\ncrown, and looked about on every side, he saw a large and splendid\nroyal castle rising in the distance, and gleaming in the sun. Then he\ngrew very happy and at once set forth in that direction. On the way he\nmet a farm-hand who was ploughing, and begged him to change clothes\nwith him, which he did. Thus fitted out he at last reached the king's\ncastle, went in, asked for a place, and was taken on as a herdsman, to\ntend the king's cattle. Now he went to the forest early and late, and\nin the course of time forgot his grief, grew up, and became so tall\nand brave that his equal could not be found.\n\nAnd now our story turns to the king who was reigning at the splendid\ncastle. He had been married, and he had an only daughter. She was\nlovelier by far than other maidens, and had so kind and cheerful a\ndisposition that whoever could some day take her to his home might\nwell consider himself fortunate. Now when the princess had completed\nher fifteenth year, a quite unheard of swarm of suitors made their\nappearance, as may well be imagined; and for all that she said no to\nall of them, they only increased in number. At last the princess said:\n\"None other shall win me save he who can ride up the high Glass\nMountain in full armor!\" The king thought this a good suggestion. He\napproved of his daughter's wish, and had proclaimed throughout the\nkingdom that none other should have the princess save he who could\nride up the Glass Mountain.\n\nAnd when the day set by the king had arrived, the princess was led up\nthe Glass Mountain. There she sat on its highest peak, with a golden\ncrown on her head, and a golden apple in her hand, and she looked so\nimmeasurably lovely that there was no one who would not have liked to\nrisk his life for her. Just below the foot of the hill all the suitors\nassembled with splendid horses and glittering armor, that shone like\nfire in the sun, and from round about the people flocked together in\ngreat crowds to watch their tilting. And when everything was ready,\nthe signal was given by horns and trumpets, and then the suitors, one\nafter another, raced up the mountain with all their might. But the\nmountain was high, as slippery as ice, and besides it was steep beyond\nall measure. Not one of the suitors rode up more than a little way,\nbefore he tumbled down again, head over heels, and it might well\nhappen that arms and legs were broken in the process. This made so\ngreat a noise, together with the neighing of the horses, the shouting\nof the people, and the clash of arms, that the tumult and the shouting\ncould be heard far away.\n\nAnd while all this was going on, the king's son was rambling about\nwith his oxen, deep in the wood. But when he heard the tumult and the\nclashing of arms, he sat down on a stone, leaned his cheek on his\nhand, and became lost in thought. For it had occurred to him how\ngladly he would have fared forth with the rest. Suddenly he heard\nfootsteps and when he looked up, the wild man was standing before him.\n\"Thank you for the last time!\" said he, \"and why do you sit here so\nlonely and full of sorrow?\" \"Well,\" said the prince, \"I have no choice\nbut to be sad and joyless. Because of you I am a fugitive from the\nland of my father, and now I have not even a horse and armor to ride\nup the Glass Mountain and fight for the princess.\" \"Ah,\" said the wild\nman, \"if that be all you want, then I can help you! You helped me once\nbefore and now I will help you in turn.\" Then he took the prince by\nthe hand, led him deep down into the earth into his cave, and behold,\nthere hung a suit of armor forged out of the hardest steel, and so\nbright that a blue gleam played all around it. Right beside it stood a\nsplendid steed, saddled and bridled, pawing the earth with his steel\nhoofs, and champing his bit till the white foam dropped to the ground.\nThe wild man said: \"Now get quickly into your armor, ride out and try\nyour luck! In the meantime I will tend your oxen.\" The prince did not\nwait to be told a second time; but put on helmet and armor, buckled on\nhis spurs, hung his sword at his side, and felt as light in his steel\narmor as a bird in the air. Then he leaped into the saddle so that\nevery clasp and buckle rang, laid his reins on the neck of his steed,\nand rode hastily toward the mountain.\n\nThe princess's suitors were about to give up the contest, for none of\nthem had won the prize, though each had done his best. And while they\nstood there thinking it over, and saying that perhaps fortune would\nfavor them another time, they suddenly saw a youth ride out of the\nwood straight toward the mountain. He was clad in steel from head to\nfoot, with helmet on head, sword in belt and shield on arm, and he\nsat his horse with such knightly grace that it was a pleasure to look\nat him. At once all eyes were turned to the strange knight, and all\nasked who he might be; for none had ever seen him before. Yet they had\nhad but little time to talk and question, for no sooner had he cleared\nthe wood, than he rose in his stirrups, gave his horse the spurs, and\nshot forward like an arrow straight up the Glass Mountain. Yet he did\nnot ride up all the way; but when he had reached the middle of the\nsteep ascent, he suddenly flung around his steed and rode down again,\nso that the sparks flew from his horse's hoofs. Then he disappeared in\nthe wood like a bird in flight. One may imagine the excitement which\nnow seized upon all the people, and there was not one who did not\nadmire the strange knight. All agreed they had never seen a braver\nknight.\n\nTime passed, and the princess's suitors decided to try their luck a\nsecond time. The king's daughter was once more led up the Glass\nMountain, with great pomp and richly gowned, and was seated on its\ntopmost peak, with the golden crown on her head, and a golden apple in\nher hand. At the foot of the hill gathered all the suitors with\nhandsome horses and splendid armor, and round about stood all the\npeople to watch the contest. When all was ready the signal was given\nby horns and trumpets, and at the same moment the suitors, one after\nanother, darted up the mountain with all their might. But all took\nplace as at the first time. The mountain was high, and as slippery as\nice, and besides, it was steep beyond all measure; not one rode up\nmore than a little way before tumbling down again head over heels.\nMeanwhile there was much noise, and the horses neighed, and the people\nshouted, and the armor clashed, so that the tumult and the shouting\nsounded far into the deep wood.\n\nAnd while all this was going on, the young prince was tending his\noxen, which was his duty. But when he heard the tumult and the\nclashing of arms, he sat down on a stone, leaned his cheek on his\nhand, and wept; for he thought of the king's beautiful daughter, and\nit occurred to him how much he would like to take part and ride with\nthe rest. That very moment he heard footsteps and when he looked up,\nthe wild man was standing before him. \"Good-day!\" said the wild man,\n\"and why do you sit here so lonely and full of sorrow?\" Thereupon the\nprince replied: \"I have no choice but to be sad and joyless. Because\nof you I am a fugitive from the land of my father, and now I have not\neven a horse and armor to ride up the mountain and fight for the\nprincess!\" \"Ah,\" said the wild man, \"if that be all you want, then I\ncan help you! You helped me once before, and now I will help you in\nturn.\" Then he took the prince by the hand, led him deep down in the\nearth into his cave, and there on the wall hung a suit of armor\naltogether forged of the clearest silver, and so bright that it shone\nafar. Right beside it stood a snow-white steed, saddled and bridled,\npawing the earth with his silver hoofs, and champing his bit till the\nfoam dropped to the ground. The wild man said: \"Now get quickly into\nyour armor, ride out and try your luck! In the meantime I will tend\nyour oxen.\" The prince did not wait to be told a second time; but put\non his helmet and armor in all haste, securely buckled on his spurs,\nhung his sword at his side, and felt as light in his silver armor as a\nbird in the air. Then he leaped into the saddle so that every clasp\nand buckle rang, laid his reins on the neck of his steed, and rode\nhastily toward the Glass Mountain.\n\nThe princess's suitors were about to give over the contest, for none\nof them had won the prize, though each had played a man's part. And\nwhile they stood there thinking it over, and saying that perhaps\nfortune would favor them the next time, they suddenly saw a youth ride\nout of the wood, straight toward the mountain. He was clad in silver\nfrom head to foot, with helmet on head, shield on arm, and sword at\nside, and he sat his horse with such knightly grace that a\nbraver-looking youth had probably never been seen. At once all eyes\nwere turned toward him, and the people noticed that he was the same\nknight who had appeared before. But the prince did not leave them much\ntime for wonderment; for no sooner had he reached the plain, than he\nrose in his stirrups, spurred on his horse, and rode like fire\nstraight up the steep mountain. Yet he did not ride quite up to the\ntop; but when he had come to its crest, he greeted the princess with\ngreat courtesy, flung about his steed, and rode down the mountain\nagain till the sparks flew about his horse's hoofs. Then he\ndisappeared into the wood as the storm flies. As one may imagine, the\npeople's excitement was even greater than the first time, and there\nwas not one who did not admire the strange knight. And all were agreed\nthat a more splendid steed or a handsomer youth were nowhere to be\nfound.\n\nTime passed, and the king set a day when his daughter's suitors were\nto make a third trial. The princess was now once more led to the Glass\nMountain, and seated herself on its highest peak, with the golden\ncrown and the golden apple, as she had before. At the foot of the\nmountain gathered the whole swarm of suitors, with splendid horses and\npolished armor, handsome beyond anything seen thus far, and round\nabout the people flocked together to watch the contest. When all was\nready the suitors, one after another, darted up the mountain with all\ntheir might. The mountain was as smooth as ice, and besides, it was\nsteep beyond all measure; so that not one rode up more than a little\nway, before tumbling down again, head over heels. This made a great\nnoise, the horses neighed, the people shouted, and the armor clashed,\ntill the tumult and the shouting echoed far into the wood.\n\nWhile this was all taking place the king's son was busy tending his\noxen as usual. And when he once more heard the noise and the clash of\narms, he sat down on a stone, leaned his cheek on his hand, and wept\nbitterly. Then he thought of the lovely princess, and would gladly\nhave ventured his life to win her. That very moment the wild man was\nstanding before him: \"Good-day!\" said the wild man, \"And why do you\nsit here so lonely and full of sorrow?\" \"I have no choice but to be\nsad and joyless,\" said the prince. \"Because of you I am a fugitive\nfrom the land of my father, and now I have not even a sword and armor\nto ride up the mountain and fight for the princess!\" \"Ah,\" said the\nwild man, \"if that be all that troubles you I can help you! You helped\nme once before, and now I will help you in turn.\" With that he took\nthe prince by the hand, led him into his cave deep down under the\nearth, and showed him a suit of armor all forged of the purest gold,\nand gleaming so brightly that its golden glow shone far and wide.\nBeside it stood a magnificent steed, saddled and bridled, pawing the\nearth with its golden hoofs, and champing its bit until the foam fell\nto the ground. The wild man said: \"Now get quickly into your armor,\nride out and try your luck! In the meantime I will tend your oxen.\"\nAnd to tell the truth, the prince was not lazy; but put on his helmet\nand armor, buckled on his golden spurs, hung his sword at his side,\nand felt as light in his golden armor as a bird in the air. Then he\nleaped into the saddle, so that every clasp and buckle rang, laid his\nreins on the neck of his steed, and rode hastily toward the mountain.\n\nThe princess's suitors were about to give up the contest; for none of\nthem had won the prize, though each had done his best. And while they\nstood there thinking over what was to be done, they suddenly saw a\nyouth come riding out of the wood, straight toward the mountain. He\nwas clad in gold from head to foot, with the golden helmet on his\nhead, the golden shield on his arm, and the golden sword at his side,\nand so knightly was his bearing that a bolder warrior could not have\nbeen met with in all the wide world. At once all eyes were turned\ntoward him, and one could see that he was the same youth who had\nalready appeared at different times. But the prince gave them but\nlittle time to question and wonder; for no sooner had he reached the\nplain than he gave his horse the spurs, and shot up the steep\nmountain like a flash of lightning. When he had reached its highest\npeak, he greeted the beautiful princess with great courtesy, kneeled\nbefore her, and received the golden apple from her hand. Then he flung\nabout his steed, and rode down the Glass Mountain again, so that the\nsparks flew about the golden hoofs of his horse, and a long ribbon of\ngolden light gleamed behind him. At last he disappeared in the wood\nlike a star. What a commotion now reigned about the mountain! The\npeople broke forth into cheers that could be heard far away, horns\nsounded, trumpets called, horses neighed, arms clashed, and the king\nhad proclaimed far and near that the unknown golden knight had won the\nprize.\n\nNow all that was wanting was some information about the golden knight;\nfor no one knew him; and all the people expected that he would at once\nmake his appearance at the castle. But he did not come. This caused\ngreat surprise, and the princess grew pale and ill. But the king was\nput out, and the suitors murmured and found fault day by day. And at\nlength, when they were all at their wits' end, the king had a great\nmeeting announced at his castle, which every man, high and low, was to\nattend; so that the princess might choose among them herself. There\nwas no one who was not glad to go for the princess's sake, and also\nbecause it was a royal command, and a countless number of people\ngathered together. And when they had all assembled, the princess came\nout of the castle with great pomp, and followed by her maids, passed\nthrough the entire multitude. But no matter how much she looked about\nher on every side, she did not find the one for whom she was looking.\nWhen she reached the last row she saw a man who stood quite hidden by\nthe crowd. He had a flat cap and a wide gray mantle such as shepherds\nwear; but its hood was drawn up so that his face could not be seen. At\nonce the princess ran up to him, drew down his hood, fell upon his\nneck and cried: \"Here he is! Here he is!\" Then all the people laughed;\nfor they saw that it was the king's herdsman, and the king himself\ncalled out: \"May God console me for the son-in-law who is to be my\nportion!\" The man, however, was not at all abashed, but replied: \"O,\nyou need not worry about that at all! I am just as much a king's son\nas you are a king!\"\n\nWith that he flung aside his wide mantle. And there were none left to\nlaugh; for instead of the grey herdsman, there stood a handsome\nprince, clad in gold from head to foot, and holding the princess's\ngolden apple in his hand. And all could see that it was the same\nyouth who had ridden up the Glass Mountain.\n\nThen they prepared a feast whose like had never before been seen, and\nthe prince received the king's daughter, and with her half of the\nkingdom. Thenceforward they lived happily in their kingdom, and if\nthey have not died they are living there still. But nothing more was\never heard of the wild man. And that is the end.\n\n\nNOTE\n\n     Very popular throughout the North is \"The Princess on the Glass\n     Mountain.\" (Hylten-Cavallius and Stephens, p. 390, somewhat\n     abridged) who may be looked upon as a relative of the Brunhilde\n     of heroic legend, who may be brought down from her inaccessible\n     height only by the bravest of the brave. The \"wild man\" who\n     appears in the part of a magician to aid the hero, is a\n     familiar figure in Northern legend. King Harald Harfagr,\n     according to the \"Book of Flateyar,\" released a \"wild man\" of\n     this kind from captivity at his father's court, when a boy of\n     five.\n\n\n\n\nXVII\n\nQUEEN CRANE\n\n\nOnce upon a time there was a poor, poor boy. He went to the king and\nbegged to be taken into service as a shepherd, and all called him\n\"Sheep-Peter.\" While he was herding his sheep, he used to amuse\nhimself with his crossbow. One day he saw a crane sitting in an\noak-tree, and wanted to shoot her. The crane, however, hopped down\nfurther and further, and at last settled in the lowest branches. Then\nshe said: \"If you promise not to shoot me, I will help you whenever\nyou are in trouble. You need only to call out: 'God aid me, and Queen\nCrane stay by me, and I will succeed!'\" With that the bird flew away.\n\nAt length war broke out and the king had to take the field. Then\nSheep-Peter came to the king and asked whether he might not be allowed\nto go along to war. They gave him an old nag to ride, and he rode into\na swamp along the highway, and there the horse died. So he sat down\nand clicked with his tongue; but the horse would not move. And the\npeople who rode by had their sport with him; while the youth pretended\nto feel sad.\n\nWhen the people had all passed by, the youth went to the oak in which\nthe Queen Crane dwelt. Here he was given a black steed, a suit of\nbrazen armor, and a silver sword. Thus he rode to battle and got there\nas quickly as he could wish. Then he said: \"God aid me, and Queen\nCrane stay by me, and I will succeed!\" With that he killed all the\nenemy and rode away again. But the king thought that an angel had come\nto help him, and wanted to hold him back. The youth, however, rode\nquickly back to the oak, took off his armor, went down to the swamp,\nand once more began to click to his horse. When the people rode by\nthey laughed and said: \"You were not along to-day, so you missed\nseeing how an angel came and killed all the enemy.\" And the youth\npretended to feel sad, so sad.\n\nThe following day the king once more had to take the field. And\nSheep-Peter came to him and said he wanted to go along. So they gave\nhim an old nag to ride, and he rode into a swamp beside the highway.\nThen he sat down and clicked with his tongue; but the horse would not\nmove. When the people rode by they had their sport with him; but the\nyouth pretended to feel sad, so sad. When the people had gone by, he\nwent to the oak in which the Queen Crane dwelt, and was given a white\nsteed, a suit of silver armor, and a golden sword. Thus equipped he\nrode to battle. When he arrived he said: \"God aid me, and Queen Crane\n... and I will succeed!\" But he had forgotten to say \"stay by me,\" and\nso he was shot in the leg. But the king took out his handkerchief, and\ntied up his leg. Then the youth said once more: \"God aid me, and Queen\nCrane stay by me, and I will succeed!\" And he slew all of the enemy.\nThen the king thought he was an angel from heaven, and wanted to hold\nhim. But the youth rode quickly to the oak, took off his armor, and\nthen went down to his nag in the swamp and tried to get it to move,\nwhile the soldiers were passing. They laughed and said: \"You were not\nalong to-day, and did not see how an angel came from heaven and killed\nall of the enemy.\" The youth pretended to be very sad.\n\nOn the third day all happened as before. The king took the field. The\nyouth was given a wretched nag and rode it into a swamp beside the\nhighway. Then he began to click with his tongue but the nag would not\ngo on, and the people who rode past laughed at him. He pretended to\nfeel very sad; but when the people had passed, he went to the oak in\nwhich Queen Crane dwelt, and she gave him a red steed, a golden sword,\nand a golden suit of armor. Thus equipped he rode to war, and all\nhappened as before. He said: \"God aid me, and Queen Crane stay by me,\nand I will succeed!\" and slew all the enemy. The king thought he was\nan angel from heaven and wanted to hold him back by all means; but the\nyouth rode quickly to the oak, took off his armor, and rode down to\nthe swamp where he had his three nags. He hid the king's handkerchief,\nand when the people passed by he was clicking with his tongue as\nusual.\n\nNow the king had three princesses, and they were to be carried off by\nthree meer-women. So the king had it proclaimed that whoever could\nrescue them should receive one of them for a wife. When the day came\non which the oldest princess was to be carried away, Sheep-Peter\nreceived a steed, a suit of armor and a sword from Queen Crane. With\nthem he rode to the castle, fetched the princess, took her before him\non his steed, and then lay down on the sea-shore to sleep. He had a\ndog with him as well. And while he slept the princess wove her\nhair-ribbon into his hair. Suddenly the meer-woman appeared, and she\nawakened him and bade him mount his steed. Many people had been\nstanding there; but when the meer-woman appeared they all took fright,\nand climbed into tall trees. But the youth said: \"God aid me, and\nQueen Crane stay by me, and I will succeed!\" And then he slew the\nmeer-woman. Thereupon he rode quickly back to Queen Crane, took off\nhis armor, and herded his sheep again. But among the on-lookers had\nbeen a nobleman, who threatened the princess, and forced her to say\nthat he had rescued her. And from Sheep-Peter no one heard a word.\n\nOn the following day the second princess was to be carried off. So\nSheep-Peter went to Queen Crane, who gave him a steed, a suit of armor\nand a sword, and with them he rode to the castle, and fetched the\nsecond princess. When they reached the sea-shore the meer-woman had\nnot yet appeared. So the youth lay down to sleep and said to the\nprincess: \"Wake me when the meer-woman comes, and if you cannot wake\nme, then tell my horse.\" With that he fell asleep, and meanwhile the\nprincess wove a string of pearls into his hair. When the meer-woman\ncame, the princess tried to wake him; but he would not wake up at all,\nand so she told the horse to waken him. And the horse did wake him.\nThe great lords, however, who were standing about, climbed into the\ntrees out of pure fright when the meer-woman appeared. The youth took\nthe princess on his steed, cried: \"God aid me, and Queen Crane stay by\nme, and I will succeed!\" and with that he slew the meer-woman. Then he\nrode quickly back to Queen Crane, took off his armor, and led his\nflock out to pasture. But among the on-lookers had been a count, who\nthreatened the princess, and said he would thrust her through with his\nsword if she did not swear he had rescued her. The princess did so out\nof fear; but from Sheep-Peter no one heard a word.\n\nOn the third day the same thing happened. Sheep-Peter was given a suit\nof armor, a sword and a steed by Queen Crane, and fetched the youngest\nprincess. When he lay down on the sea-shore to sleep, he said to her:\n\"When the meer-woman comes, wake me, and if you cannot wake me, then\ntell the horse to wake me, and if the horse cannot wake me, then ask\nthe dog to wake me.\" When the meer-woman came, neither the princess\nnor the horse was able to wake him, and they had to call the dog to\nhelp them. At last he woke up, took the princess on his horse, cried:\n\"God aid me, and Queen Crane stay by me, and I will succeed!\" and slew\nthe meer-woman. Then he rode back again to Queen Crane, took off his\narmor and let his flock out to pasture.\n\nNot long after, the deliverers of the princesses were to come to the\ncastle and be married. But first the king asked his daughters which of\nthe three each wanted to have. So the oldest said: \"The gentleman from\ncourt,\" and the second said: \"the count,\" but the third said\n\"Sheep-Peter.\" Then the king was very angry with his youngest\ndaughter; for he did not believe for a moment that Sheep-Peter had\ndelivered her. But she insisted and said she would take no one else.\nThe king then presented an apple of pure gold to the count and the\ncourt gentleman; but Sheep-Peter got nothing.\n\nNow all three of them were to hold a three-days' shooting-match, in\norder to see which was the best shot; for the king hoped that\nSheep-Peter would make a proper laughing-stock of himself, and drop\nfar behind the others without any effort on their part. But\nSheep-Peter was so good a marksman that he hit everything at which he\naimed. And the very first day he shot a great deal, while the others\nshot but little. Then they bought the game he had shot from him, and\ngave him a golden apple for it. The same thing happened the second\nday, and thus he got the other gold apple. But when Peter came home on\nthe evening of the first and second day, he had only a crow dangling\nfrom his blunderbuss. And when he met the king, he threw the crow to\nthe ground and cried: \"There is my whole bag!\"\n\nOn the third day all went as before. Sheep-Peter hit everything at\nwhich he aimed; but the others scored no hits. Then Sheep-Peter\npromised them all he had bagged, if they would let him write what he\nchose on their necks. They agreed to the bargain, and he wrote on the\nneck of each: \"A thief and a rascal.\" Then all three went home, and\nagain Peter had no more than a crow to show.\n\nAt night all three of them slept together in one room. When they woke\nin the morning, the king came in to them, said good-morning, and asked\nhow they were. But he was much surprised to see that Sheep-Peter was\nkeeping them company. Then the youth said: \"I was in the war, and slew\nall of the enemy!\" \"Ah!\" said the king, \"you did not do that, it was\nan angel from heaven; for you were sitting in the swamp.\" Then\nSheep-Peter drew out the king's handkerchief, and then the king\nrecognized him. Then the herdsman said: \"I also delivered the\nprincesses!\" But the king would not believe that, and laughed at him.\nAnd then the youngest princess came along and told how it all had\nhappened.\n\nAnd the youth took out the ribands of the other princesses, and the\nking had to believe that this, too, was true. Then, Peter continued:\n\"I also shot all the game!\" And again the king would not believe him\nand said: \"Nonsense, why you never brought home anything of an evening\nbut a wretched crow!\" Then Peter produced the golden apples: \"I was\ngiven this one for the first day, and the other for the second.\" \"And\nwhat did you get for the third?\" asked the king. Then the shepherd\nshowed him what he had written on the necks of the other suitors. And\nwhen the king saw that, he had to believe him. And so he really got\nthe youngest princess, and with her half of the kingdom, and after\nthe king's death, all of it. But the two sham heroes got nothing at\nall, and had only their trouble for their pains.\n\n\nNOTE\n\n     \"Queen Crane\" is also a very popular Northern fairy-tale. (From\n     the collection of Hylten-Cavallius and Stephens, communicated\n     by Dr. v. Sydow-Lund). It is another of those tales with a\n     presumably witless hero, but with a motive generally unknown: a\n     bird bestows weapons and armor on the poor boy; while\n     ordinarily this is done by a troll, a horse, or the spirit of\n     one departed.\n\n\n\n\nXVIII\n\nTALES OF THE TROLLS\n\n\nI\n\nA peasant from Jursagard in the parish of Hanger had gone to the\nforest the day before Christmas, and started out for home late in the\nevening. He had just about reached the Klintaberg when he heard some\none call out: \"Tell the malt-swine to come home, for her child has\nfallen into the fire!\" When the peasant reached home, there stood his\nwife, who had been brewing the Yuletide ale, and she was complaining\nthat though she brewed and brewed, it did not have the right flavor.\nThen he told her what had been shouted at him from the hill, and that\nvery moment a troll-witch, whom they had not noticed before, darted\ndown from the stove and made off in a great hurry. And when they\nlooked closer, they found that she had left behind a great kettle full\nof the best malt, which she had gathered during the brewing. And that\nwas the reason the poor woman had not been able to give her brew the\nright flavor. The kettle was large, made of ornamented metal, and was\nlong preserved in Hanger. It was at length sold at auction in 1838,\nand melted down.\n\n\nII\n\nIn former days, when a child came into the world, his mother was known\nas a \"heathen,\" until she could take him to church to be christened.\nAnd it was not safe for her to leave the house unless she carried\nsteel about her in some shape or form. Now once there was one of these\n\"heathen\" women in Norra Ryd, in the parish of Hanger, who prepared\nlunch for the mowers, and went out and called them in to eat. Then one\nof the mowers said to her: \"I cannot come, for my sheaf is not yet\nbound.\" \"I will bind it for you,\" said the woman. The mowers went in\nand ate, but saw no more of her. They went back into the field, and\nwere about to take up their work again, but still neither saw nor\nheard her. They began to search, and hunted for a number of days; but\nall in vain. Time passed, till it was late in the fall. One day the\nweather was clear and sunny. To this very day there is a cotter's hut,\ncalled Kusabo, that stands on a hill named Kusas, and the cotter who\nlived there went to look for a horse. And there on the hillside he saw\nthe woman sitting who had disappeared, and she was sewing. It was not\nfar from Kusabo to Norra Ryd, so he recognized her at once. He said\n\"O, you poor thing, and here you sit!\" \"Yes,\" said she, \"but you must\nnever mention it to Lars\"--that was her husband--\"for I shall never\nreturn from this place. Even now I am only allowed to sit outside for\na little while.\"\n\n\nIII\n\nOnce upon a time a girl was hunting for berries on Kusabo mountain,\nand was taken into the hill. But she wept, night and day, which\ndisgruntled the trolls, and they let her out again. But just as they\nwere letting her out, one of the trolls hit her such a blow on the\nback that she was hump-backed for the rest of her life. She herself\nused to tell how she had been kept in the hill.\n\n\nNOTE\n\n     Primitive faith and superstition are reflected in these three\n     \"Tales of the Trolls\" (communicated from mss. belonging to Dr.\n     v. Sydow-Lund). The first is also current in Norway; the others\n     tell of women who have been _bergtagen_, \"taken into the\n     mountain.\" It is not so long since that every humped back,\n     every weak mind, in short, every ill that had no visible\n     explanation, was ascribed to the troll folk.\n\n\n\n\nXIX\n\nCHARCOAL NILS AND THE TROLL-WOMAN\n\n\nIn the old days there lived on a headland that juts out into the\nnorthwestern corner of Lake Rasval, in the neighborhood of the Linde\nmining-district, a charcoal-burner named Nils, generally known as\nCharcoal Nils. He let a farm-hand attend to his little plot of land,\nand he himself made his home in the forest, where he chopped wood in\nthe summer and burned it to charcoal in the winter. Yet no matter how\nhard he struggled, his work was unblessed with reward, and no one ever\nspoke of him save as poor Charcoal Nils.\n\nOne day, when he was on the opposite shore of the lake, near the\ngloomy Harsberg, a strange woman came up to him, and asked whether he\nneeded some one to help him with his charcoal burning.\n\n\"Yes, indeed,\" said he, \"help would be welcome.\" So she began to\ngather blocks of wood and tree-trunks, more than Charcoal Nils could\nhave dragged together with his horse, and by noon there was enough\nwood for a new kiln. When evening came, she asked the charcoal-burner\nwhether he were satisfied with the day's work she had done, and if\nshe were to come back the next day.\n\nThat suited the charcoal-burner perfectly, and she came back the next\nday and all the following ones. And when the kiln had been burned out\nshe helped Nils clear it, and never before had he had such a quantity\nof charcoal, nor charcoal of so fine a quality.\n\nSo she became his wife and lived with him in the wood for three years.\nThey had three children, yet this worried Nils but little, seeing that\nshe looked after them, and they gave him no trouble.\n\nBut when the fourth year came, she grew more exacting, and insisted on\ngoing back to his home with him, and living with him there. Nils\nwished to hear nothing about this; yet since she was so useful to him\nin his charcoal-burning, he did not betray his feelings, and said he\nwould think it over.\n\nIt happened one Sunday that he went to church--where he had not been\nfor many years, and what he heard there brought up thoughts he had not\nknown since the innocent days of his childhood. He began to wonder\nwhether there were not some hocus-pocus about the charcoal-burning,\nand whether it were not due to the forest woman, who aided him so\nwillingly.\n\nPreoccupied with this and other thoughts, he forgot while returning to\nhis kiln, that he had promised the strange woman at the very\nbeginning, when she had first helped him, that, whenever he had been\nhome and was returning to the kiln, he would rap three times with his\nax against an old pine-tree not far from it. On this occasion, as we\nhave said, he forgot the sign, and as a result he saw something that\nnearly robbed him of his wits.\n\nAs he drew near the kiln, he saw it all aflame, and around it stood\nthe three children and their mother, and they were clearing out the\nkiln. They were pulling down and putting out so that flames, smoke and\nashes whirled sky-high, but instead of the spruce-branches that were\ngenerally used to put out the fire, _they had bushy tails which they\ndipped in the snow_!\n\nWhen Charcoal Nils had looked on for a while, he slunk back to the old\npine-tree, and made its trunk echo to the sound of his three\nax-strokes till one could hear them on the Harsberg. Then he went to\nthe kiln, as though he had seen nothing, and all went on as before.\nThe kiln was glowing with a handsome, even glow, and the tall woman\nwas about and working as usual.\n\nAs soon as she saw Charcoal Nils, she came back with her pressing\ndemand that he take her home to his little house, and that they live\nthere.\n\n\"Yes, that shall come about,\" said Nils to console her, and turned\nback home to fetch a horse. But instead he went out on the headline\nof Kallernaes, on the eastern shore of Lake Rasval, where a wise man\nlived, and asked the latter what he should do.\n\nThe old man advised him to go home and hitch his horse to his\ncharcoal-wagon, but to hitch the horse in such wise that there would\nbe not a single loop either in the harness or traces. Then he was to\nmount the horse and ride back to the kiln without stopping, have the\ntroll-woman and her children get into the wagon, and at once drive out\non the ice with them.\n\nThe charcoal-burner did as the old man told him, saddled his horse,\npaying strict attention that there were no loops in saddle or bridle,\nrode across the ice through the wood to his kiln, and told the\ntroll-woman and her children to get in. Then he quickly turned back\nthrough the wood, out on the ice, and there let his horse run as fast\nas he could. When he reached the middle of the lake, he saw a pack of\nwolves running along in the direction of Aboda-land, at the northern\nend of the lake, and heading for the ice. Then he tore the\nsaddle-harness from the traces, so that the wagon with the troll-folk\nwas left standing on the bare ice, and rode as fast as his horse could\ncarry him for the opposite shore. When the trolls saw the wolves they\nbegan to scream.\n\n\"Turn back, turn back!\" cried the mother. \"And if you will not for my\nsake, then at least do so for the sake of Vipa (Peewee), your youngest\ndaughter!\" But Charcoal Nils rode for the shore without looking back.\nThen he heard the troll-woman calling on others for aid.\n\n    \"Brother in the Harsberg,\n    Sister in Stripa,\n    Cousin in Ringfels;\n    Take the loop and pull!\"\n\n\"There is no loop to pull!\" came the answer from deep within the\nHarsberg. \"Then catch him at Harkallarn.\" \"He is not riding in that\ndirection.\" The reply came from Ringfels.\n\nAnd indeed Charcoal Nils did not ride in that direction; but over\nstick and stone straight to his own home. Yet when he reached his own\ncourtyard, the horse fell, and a shot from the trolls tore away a\ncorner of the stable. Nils shortly after fell sick, and had to lie\na-bed for a number of weeks. When he was well again he sold his forest\nland, and worked the little farm by the cottage until his death. So\nthat was one occasion when the troll-folk came off second best.\n\n\nNOTE\n\n     In \"Charcoal Nils and the Troll-Woman\" (Hofberg, p. 148. From\n     Vestmanland) we have the story of a strange union. Malicious as\n     the troll-folk are, when a marriage takes place between a\n     troll-woman and a human being, the woman is beyond reproach,\n     good and kind, the only reproach that can be made her is that\n     she is not a Christian.\n\n\n\n\nXX\n\nTHE THREE DOGS\n\n\nOnce upon a time there was a king who went forth into the world and\nfetched back a beautiful queen. And after they had been married a\nwhile God gave them a little daughter. Then there was great rejoicing\nin the city and throughout the country, for the people wished their\nking all that was good, since he was kind and just. While the child\nlay in its cradle, a strange-looking old woman entered the room, and\nno one knew who she was nor whence she came. The old woman spoke a\nverse over the child, and said that she must not be allowed out under\nthe open sky until she were full fifteen years of age, since otherwise\nthe mountain troll would fetch her. When the king heard this he took\nher words to heart, and posted guards to watch over the little\nprincess so that she would not get out under the open sky.\n\nSome time afterward God gave the royal pair another little daughter,\nand again the whole kingdom rejoiced. But the wise old woman once more\nput in an appearance, and warned the king not to let the princess out\nunder the open sky until she were full fifteen years of age. And\nthen, after a time, God gave the royal pair a third daughter. This\ntime, too, the old woman appeared, and repeated what she had already\ntwice said. Then the king was much grieved; for he loved his children\nabove everything in the world. Therefore he gave strict orders that\nthe three princesses were always to be kept beneath the roof of the\ncastle, and that none were to dare transgress against this command.\n\nNow a long time passed, and the king's daughters grew up and became\nthe most beautiful maidens of whom one has ever heard tell. Then war\nbroke out and the king, their father, had to leave them. One day,\nwhile he was away at war, the three princesses were sitting in the\nwindow and looking out, watching the sun shine on the little flowers\nin the garden. And they felt a great desire to play with the lovely\nflowers, and begged their guards to let them go into the garden for a\nlittle while. But this their guards would not allow, for they feared\nthe king's anger. Yet the king's daughters pleaded so very sweetly\nthat they could not deny their pleas and they let them have their way.\nBut the princesses did not have long to walk about, for no sooner were\nthey beneath the open sky, than a cloud came suddenly down, and bore\nthem off, and all attempts to regain possession of them were\nfruitless; though search was made in every direction.\n\nThen the whole kingdom mourned and grieved, and one may imagine that\nthe king was anything but happy when he returned home and learned all\nthat had happened. Yet what is done cannot be undone, and in the end\nthey had to resign themselves to it. And since the king knew of no\nother way to help himself, he had proclaimed throughout the kingdom\nthat whoever would deliver his three daughters out of the power of the\nmountain troll should have one of them for his bride, and with her\nhalf of the kingdom. When this became known in foreign lands, many\nyouths set forth with horses and followers to seek the princesses. At\nthe king's court were two princes who also went forth to see whether\nfortune would be kind to them. They armed themselves in the best\npossible way with coats of mail and costly weapons, and bragged and\nboasted that they would not return without having done what they set\nout to do.\n\nAnd now we will let the king's sons ride out over the world on their\nquest, while we turn to other people. Far, far out in the wild wood\nthere lived a poor widow, who had an only son who drove his mother's\npigs to pasture every day. And as he crossed the fields, he whittled\nhimself a flute, and amused himself playing it. And he played so\nsweetly that he warmed the cockles of the hearts of all those who\nheard him.\n\nNow it chanced that the young swine-herd once sat in the wood blowing\nhis flute, while his three pigs were digging under the pine-roots. And\nan old, old man came along, with a beard so long and so broad that it\nhung far below his girdle. The old man had a large, powerful dog with\nhim. When the youth saw the great dog, he thought to himself: \"If a\nfellow had a dog like that to keep him company here in the wilderness,\nhe might consider himself lucky.\" And when the old man noticed this,\nhe began: \"That is why I have come, for I want to exchange my dog for\none of your pigs.\" The youth was at once willing, and closed the\nbargain. He received the great dog, and gave up the gray pig in place\nof it. Then the old man went his way. But as he left he said: \"You\nhave reason to be satisfied with our exchange, for that dog is not\nlike other dogs. His name is 'Take Hold!' and whatever you tell him to\ntake hold of he will seize, even though it were the grimmest of\ntrolls.\" Thereupon they parted, and the youth thought that fortune had\nindeed favored him.\n\nIn the evening he called his dog and drove his pigs home. But when his\nold mother heard that he had given away the gray pig for a dog, she\nwas angry beyond measure, and gave her son a good drubbing. The youth\ntold her to calm herself; but all in vain, the longer it lasted the\nmore furious she became. Then, since he did not know what else to do,\nhe called out to his dog: \"Take hold!\" At once the dog ran up, seized\nthe old mother and held her so tightly that she could not move. But\notherwise he did her no harm. And now she had to promise her son to\nmake the best of the matter, and then they were friends once more.\n\nThe following day the youth went to the wood again, with his dog and\nthe two pigs. After a time he sat down and played his flute as usual,\nand the dog danced to his playing with such skill, that it was nothing\nshort of a miracle. And as he was sitting there, the old man with the\ngray beard came out of the wood again, and with him another dog, no\nsmaller than the first. When the youth saw the handsome beast he\nthought to himself: \"If a fellow had that dog to keep him company here\nwhere it is so lonely, he need have no fear.\" When the old man noticed\nthis, he began: \"That is why I have come, for I want to exchange my\ndog for one of your pigs.\" The youth did not lose any time, but agreed\nto close the bargain. He received the great dog, and gave up one of\nhis pigs in place of it. Then the old man went his way. Yet before he\nleft he added: \"You have reason to be well satisfied with your\npurchase, for this dog is not like the other dogs. His name is 'Tear!'\nand if you give him something to tear, he will tear it to pieces,\neven though it were the grimmest of trolls.\" Then they parted. But\nthe youth was happy in the idea that he had made a capital exchange;\nalthough he knew that his old mother would not be content with it. And\nwhen evening came, and the youth went home, his old mother was no less\nangry than she had been before. But this time she did not venture to\nbeat her son, because she was afraid of the great dogs. Yet, as is\nusual, when women have scolded long enough, they stop of their own\naccord--and that is what happened in this case. The youth and his\nmother made peace with each other; though the mother thought to\nherself that the damage done could not well be repaired.\n\nOn the third day the youth went into the wood again with his pig and\ntwo dogs. He felt very happy, seated himself on a tree-stump and\nplayed his flute as usual. And the dogs danced to his playing with\nsuch skill that it was a pleasure to watch them. As the youth was\nsitting there in peace and quiet, the old gray-beard once more came\nout of the wood. This time he had a third dog with him, who was as\nlarge as both the others together. When the youth saw the handsome\nanimal he could not help but think: \"If a fellow had this dog to keep\nhim company in the wilderness, he would have no cause for complaint.\"\nThe old man at once began: \"That is why I have come, in order to sell\nmy dog, for I can see you would like to have him.\" The youth was at\nonce willing and agreed to close the bargain. So he received the great\ndog and gave up his last pig in place of it. Then the old man went his\nway. Yet before he went he said: \"You will be satisfied with your\nexchange, for this dog is not like other dogs. His name is 'Hark!' and\nhis hearing is so keen that he hears everything that happens, though\nit be happening many miles away. He even hears the grass and the trees\ngrow.\" Then they parted in the friendliest spirit. But the youth was\nhappy in the thought that now he need fear nothing in the world. And\nthen, when evening came on, and the swine-herd went home, his mother\nwas very sad to think that her son had sold all they possessed. But\nthe youth told her to be of good courage, since he would see to it\nthat they did not suffer want. And when he spoke to her in such a\ncheerful manner, she grew content again, and decided that he had\nspoken in wise and manly fashion. Then when day dawned the youth went\nhunting with his dogs, and came back at evening with as much game as\nhe could possibly carry. And he continued to go hunting in this way\nfor a time until his old mother's store-room was well provided with\nmeat and all sorts of good things. Then he bade his mother a fond\nfarewell, called his dogs, and said he was going to wander out into\nthe world and try his fortune.\n\nAnd he fared forth over mountains and tangled ways, and came into the\nheart of a sombre forest. There he met the gray-beard of whom I have\nalready told you. And when he met him the youth was much pleased, and\nsaid: \"Good-day, grandfather, and thanks for the last time!\" And the\nold man replied: \"Good-day to you, and whither away?\" The youth\nanswered: \"I am wandering out into the world to see what fortune has\nin store for me.\" Then the old man said: \"Keep right on going till you\ncome to the royal castle, and there your fortune will take a turn.\"\nAnd with that they parted. The youth followed the old man's advice and\nfor a time wandered on straight ahead. When he came to a tavern he\nplayed his flute and let his dogs dance, and was never at a lack for\nbed and board, and whatever else he might want.\n\nAfter he had wandered long and far, he at length came to a great city,\nwhose streets were filled with people. The youth wondered what it all\nmeant, and at last reached the spot where, to the sound of bell, the\nking's proclamation was being cried--that whoever should deliver the\nthree princesses out of the power of the troll, would receive one of\nthem, and half the kingdom as well. Now he understood what the old man\nhad meant. He called his dogs, and went to the king's castle. But\nthere all had been grief and mourning since the day the king's\ndaughters had disappeared. And of them all the king and queen were the\nmost sorrowful. Then the youth went to the keeper of the door, and\nasked him whether he might play and show his dogs before the king. The\ncourtiers were willing, for they hoped it might make him feel more\ncheerful. So he was admitted and allowed to show his tricks. And when\nthe king had heard him play, and had seen the skillful dancing of his\ndogs, he grew quite merry, and none had seen him as happy during all\nthe seven long years that had passed since he had lost his daughters.\n\nWhen the dance was over, the king asked the youth what he asked as a\nreward for having given him such a pleasure. The youth answered: \"My\nlord king, I did not come to you to win gold and gear. But I have\nanother request to make: that you allow me to set out and search for\nyour three daughters, carried away by a mountain troll.\" When the king\nheard this his thoughts once more grew gloomy, and he replied: \"You\nneed not even think of delivering my daughters. It is no child's play,\nand your betters have already attempted it in vain. Yet should it\nreally come to pass that you deliver one of the princesses, you may be\nsure that I will not break my word.\" So he took leave of the king and\nset forth. And he decided to take no rest until he had found what he\nsought.\n\nNow he passed through many broad kingdoms without meeting with any\nspecial adventures. And wherever he went his dogs followed him.\n\"Hark!\" ran along and listened for anything worth hearing to be heard\naround them; \"Take Hold!\" carried his master's knapsack and \"Tear!\"\nwho was the strongest, carried his master when the latter was weary.\nOne day \"Hark!\" came running up hastily, and told his master that he\nhad gone to a high mountain, and had heard the king's daughter, who\nsat within it and span, and that the troll was not at home. This\ngreatly pleased the youth, and he hurried toward the mountain together\nwith his three dogs. When they got there \"Hark!\" said: \"There is no\ntime to lose. The troll is only ten miles away, and I can already hear\nthe golden horse-shoes of his steed ringing on the stones.\" The youth\nnow ordered his dogs to break down the door into the mountain, and\nthey did. And as he stepped into the mountain he saw a lovely maiden,\nsitting in the mountain-hall, winding a golden thread on a golden\nspindle. The youth went up and greeted the lovely girl. Then the\nking's daughter was much surprised and said: \"Who are you that dare to\nventure into the giant's hall? During all the seven long years I have\nbeen sitting here in the mountain I have never yet seen a human\nbeing.\" And she added: \"For heaven's sake hasten away before the\ntroll returns home, or else your life will be forfeit!\" But the youth\nwas unafraid, and said that he would await the giant's return without\nfear.\n\nWhile they were talking together, the giant came riding along on his\ncolt shod with gold. When he saw the gate standing open he grew\nfuriously angry and shouted till the whole mountain shook: \"Who has\nbroken my mountain door?\" The youth boldly answered: \"I did, and now I\nshall break you as well! 'Take Hold!' seize him! 'Tear!' and 'Hark!'\ntear him into a thousand pieces.\" No sooner had he spoken than the\ndogs rushed up, fell upon the giant and tore him into countless\npieces. Then the princess was happy beyond measure and said: \"God be\npraised, now I am freed!\" And she fell upon the youth's neck and gave\nhim a kiss. But he did not wish to stay there any longer, saddled the\ngiant's colt, loaded it with all the gold and gear he found in the\nmountain, and hastily went away with the king's beautiful daughter.\n\nThey passed on together a long distance. Then, one day, \"Hark!\" who\nalways ran ahead scouting, came quickly back to his master, and told\nhim he had been near a high mountain, and had heard the king's second\ndaughter sitting within it winding golden yarn, and that the troll\nhimself was not at home. This was very welcome news for the youth, and\nhe hurried toward the mountain with his faithful dogs. Now when they\ndrew near \"Hark!\" said: \"There is no time to lose. The giant is only\neight miles away, and I can already hear the golden horse-shoes of his\nsteed ringing on the stones.\" The youth at once ordered his dogs to\nbreak down the door into the mountain, no matter which way. And when\nhe stepped into the interior of the mountain he saw a lovely maiden\nsitting in the mountain hall, winding golden yarn on a golden windle.\nThe youth went up and greeted the lovely girl. The king's daughter was\nmuch surprised and said: \"Who are you that dare to venture into the\ngiant's hall? During all the seven years I have been sitting here in\nthe mountain I have never yet seen a human being.\" And she added: \"For\nheaven's sake, hasten away, for if the troll comes your life will be\nforfeit!\" But the youth told her why he had come, and said that he\nwould await the troll's return quite undisturbed.\n\nWhile they were still talking together, the giant came riding on his\nsteed shod with gold, and drew up outside the mountain. When he\nnoticed that the great door was open, he grew furiously angry, and\nshouted till the mountain trembled to its very roots. He said: \"Who\nhas broken my mountain door?\" The youth boldly answered: \"I have, and\nnow I shall break you as well! 'Take Hold,' seize him! 'Tear!' and\n'Hark!' tear him into a thousand pieces!\" The dogs at once rushed\nup, threw themselves upon the giant, and tore him into as many pieces\nas leaves fall in the autumn. Then the king's daughter was happy\nbeyond measure and cried: \"God be praised, now I am freed!\" and she\nfell upon the youth's neck and gave him a kiss. But he led the\nprincess to her sister, and one can imagine-how glad they were to see\neach other again. Then the youth packed up all the treasures he found\nin the mountain hall, loaded them on the giant's steed, and went his\nway with the king's two daughters. And they wandered along for a long\ntime. Then, one day, \"Hark!\" who always ran ahead scouting, came\nhastily to his master and told him that he had been near a high\nmountain, and had heard the king's third daughter sitting within and\nweaving a web of gold, and that the troll was not at home. This\nwas very welcome news for the youth, and he hastened toward the\nmountain, followed by his three dogs. When he drew near \"Hark!\" said:\n\"There is no time to lose, for the giant is only five miles away. I\ncan already hear the golden horse-shoes of his steed ringing on the\nstones.\" Then the youth at once ordered his dogs to break down the\ndoor into the mountain, by hook or by crook. And when he stepped into\nthe mountain, he saw a girl sitting in the mountain hall, weaving a\nweb of gold. But this maiden was lovely beyond all measure, with a\nloveliness exceeding all the youth had ever thought to find on earth.\nHe now went up and greeted the lovely maiden. Then the king's daughter\nwas much surprised and said: \"Who are you that dare to venture into\nthe giant's hall? During all the seven long years I have been sitting\nhere in the mountain I have never yet seen a human being.\" And she\nadded: \"For heaven's sake, hasten away before the troll comes, or else\nyour life will be forfeit!\" But the youth was full of confidence, and\nsaid he would gladly venture his life for the king's lovely daughter.\n\n[Illustration: \"HE SAW A GIRL SITTING IN THE MOUNTAIN HALL, WEAVING A\nWEB OF GOLD.\"]\n\nWhile they were still talking the giant came riding along on his colt\nshod with gold, and drew up at the foot of the mountain. When he went\nin he saw that uninvited guests had arrived, and was much frightened;\nfor well he knew of the fate that had befallen his brothers. He\ntherefore thought it advisable to fall back upon cunning and\ntreachery, for he had not dared to venture on open battle. For that\nreason he made many fine speeches, and was very friendly and smooth\nwith the youth. Then he told the king's daughter to prepare a meal in\norder to show his guest all hospitality.\n\nAnd since the troll knew so well how to talk, the youth allowed\nhimself to be beguiled by his smooth words, and forgot to be on his\nguard. He sat down to the table with the giant; but the king's\ndaughter wept secretly, and the dogs were very restless; though no\none paid them any attention.\n\nWhen the giant and his guest had finished their meal, the youth said:\n\"Now that I have satisfied my hunger, give me something to quench my\nthirst!\" The giant replied: \"On the mountain-top is a spring in which\nbubbles the clearest wine; but I have no one to fetch it.\" The youth\nanswered: \"If that be all that is lacking, one of my dogs can go up.\"\nThen the giant laughed in his false heart, for nothing suited him\nbetter than to have the youth send away his dogs. The youth ordered\n\"Take Hold!\" to go to the spring, and the giant handed him a great\ntankard. The dog went; yet it was easy to see that he did not go\nwillingly; and the time passed and passed and he did not return.\n\nAfter a while the giant said: \"I wonder why your dog stays away so\nlong? Perhaps you would let another of your dogs go and help him; for\nthe way is long and the tankard is heavy.\" The youth did not suspect\nany trickery and agreed. He told \"Tear!\" to go and see why \"Take\nHold!\" had not yet come. The dog wagged his tail, and did not want to\nleave his master. But the youth did not notice it and drove him off\nhimself. Then the giant laughed heartily, and the king's daughter\nwept, yet the youth paid no attention; but was merry and at his ease,\nplayed with his sword, and dreamed of no danger.\n\nThus a long time passed; but nothing was heard of the wine nor of the\ndogs. Then the giant said: \"I can see that your dogs do not do as you\nbid them, otherwise we should not have to sit here and thirst. I think\nit would be well if you let 'Hark!' go up and see why they do not come\nback.\" The youth agreed, and told his third dog to hurry to the\nspring. But \"Hark!\" did not want to, and instead crept whining to his\nmaster's feet. Then the youth grew angry and drove him off by force.\nAnd when he reached the top of the mountain he shared the fate of the\nothers, a high wall rose round about him, and he was made a prisoner\nby the giant's magic power.\n\nNow that all three dogs were gone, the giant rose, and suddenly looked\naltogether different. He took down a long sword from the wall, and\nsaid: \"Now I will do what my brothers did not do, and you must die at\nonce, for you are in my power!\" Then the youth was frightened, and he\nregretted he had allowed his dogs to leave him. He said: \"I do not ask\nfor my life, since in any event the time will come when I must die.\nBut I would like to repeat the Lord's prayer, and play a psalm on my\nflute, for such is the custom in my country.\" The giant granted his\nprayer, but said that he would not wait long. So the youth kneeled and\nbegan to blow his flute till it sounded over hill and dale. And that\nvery moment the magic wall was broken and the dogs were freed. They\ncame rushing on like the storm-wind, and fell upon the mountain troll.\nThe youth at once rose and said: \"'Take Hold!', seize him! 'Tear!' and\n'Hark!' tear him into a thousand pieces!\" Then the dogs flung\nthemselves on the giant and tore him into countless pieces. Then the\nyouth took all the treasures that lay in the mountain, hitched the\ngiant's horses to a gilded wagon, and drove off as fast as he could.\n\nNow when the king's daughters met again there was great joy, as may\nwell be imagined, and all thanked the youth for delivering them out of\nthe power of the mountain trolls. But the youth fell deeply in love\nwith the youngest princess, and they promised to be true to each\nother. So the king's daughters passed on their way with music and\nmerriment of every kind, and the youth served them with all the honor\nand courtesy due maidens of gentle birth. And while they were underway\nthe princesses toyed with the youth's hair, and each tied her golden\nring in his locks for remembrance.\n\nOne day while they were still underway, they met two wanderers, who\nwere traveling the same road. The clothes of the two strangers were\ntorn and their feet were sore, and their whole appearance showed that\nthey had a long journey behind them. The youth stopped his wagon, and\nasked them who they were and whence they came. The strangers answered\nthat they were two princes, and had gone forth to search for the three\nmaidens in the mountain. But fortune had not favored them; and now\nthey had to return home more like journeymen than kings' sons. When\nthe youth heard this he felt sorry for the two wanderers, and asked\nwhether they would like to ride with him in his handsome wagon. The\nprinces thanked him profusely for his offer. They drove on together,\nand came to the kingdom over which the father of the princesses\nreigned.\n\nNow when the princes learned that the youth had delivered the king's\nthree daughters, a great jealousy took possession of them, and they\nthought of how badly they had fared in their own venture. And they\ntook counsel together as to how they might get the better of the\nyouth, and win power and glory for themselves. But they hid their evil\nplot till a favorable opportunity offered for carrying it out. Then\nthey suddenly threw themselves on their comrade, seized him by the\nthroat and strangled him. And then they threatened to kill the\nprincesses if they did not swear to keep silence. And since the king's\ndaughters were in the power of the princes, they did not dare say no.\nBut they felt very sorry for the youth who had given up his life for\nthem, and the youngest princess mourned with all her heart, and all\nher happiness was at an end.\n\nAfter this great wrong the princes drove to the royal castle, and one\nmay well imagine how happy the king was to get back his three\ndaughters. In the meantime the poor youth lay like dead off in a gorge\nin the forest. Yet he was not quite dead, and his faithful dogs lay\nabout him, kept him warm, and licked his wounds. And they did not stop\nuntil their master came back to life again. When he was once more well\nand strong he set out, and after many difficulties came to the royal\ncastle in which the princesses dwelt.\n\nWhen he came in the whole court was full of joy and merriment, and\nfrom the king's hall came the sound of dancing and string music. That\nsurprised him greatly, and he asked what it all meant. The serving-man\nanswered: \"You must come from far away, since you do not know that the\nking has regained his daughters who were in the power of the mountain\ntroll. This is the oldest princess's wedding-day.\"\n\nThe youth then asked after the youngest princess, and when she was to\nmarry. But the serving-man said that she did not want a husband, and\nwept the live-long day, though no one knew why. Then the youth felt\nhappy once more; for now he knew that she loved him, and had kept\nfaith with him.\n\nThe youth now went to the keeper of the door, and bade him tell the\nking that a guest had arrived who would add to the merriment of the\nwedding festivities by showing his dogs. This was to the king's\nliking, and he ordered that the stranger receive the best possible\ntreatment. And when the youth stepped into the hall, the whole wedding\ncompany were astounded by his skill and his manly bearing, and all\nagreed that so handsome a youth was rarely seen. But no sooner had the\nking's three daughters recognized him, than they jumped up from the\ntable, and flung themselves on his neck. And then the princes thought\nit best to make themselves scarce. But the king's daughters told how\nthe youth had freed them, and the rest of their adventures; and to\nmake quite certain they looked for their rings among his locks.\n\nNow when the king heard of the trickery and treachery the two strange\nprinces had used, he grew very angry and had them driven ignominously\nforth from the castle. But he received the brave youth with great\nhonor, as he had deserved, and he was married to the king's youngest\ndaughter that selfsame day. After the king's death the youth was\nchosen king of all the land, and a gallant king he was. And there he\nlives with his beautiful queen, and is reigning there happily to this\nvery day. And that is all I have to do with it.\n\n\nNOTE\n\n     \"The Three Dogs\" (Hylten-Cavallius and Stephens, p. 195. From\n     West Gotland). Fairy tales have a high opinion of the power of\n     music, for the magic of the flute-playing breaks the evil spell\n     of the troll, just as in the story of \"Faithful and\n     Unfaithful,\" the sound of the fiddle makes the troll's golden\n     hall come out of the mountain.\n\n\n\n\nXXI\n\nTHE POOR DEVIL\n\n\nOnce upon a time there was a peasant, who led his cow to pasture in\nthe spring, and prayed God to have her in His care.\n\nThe evil one was sitting in a bush, heard him, and said to himself:\n\"When things turn out well, they thank God for it; but if anything\ngoes wrong, then I am always to blame!\"\n\nA few days later the cow strayed into a swamp. And when the peasant\ncame and saw her he said: \"Look at that! The devil has had his finger\nin the pie again!\"\n\n\"Just what I might have expected,\" thought the devil in his bush. Then\nthe peasant went off to fetch people to help drag the cow out. But in\nthe meantime the devil slipped from his bush and helped out the cow,\nfor he thought:\n\n\"Now he will have something to thank me for, too.\"\n\nBut when the peasant came back and saw the cow on dry land, he said:\n\"Thank God, she's out again!\"\n\n\nNOTE\n\n     The little story of \"The Poor Devil.\" (Bondeson, p. 212. From\n     Smaland) which shows him attempting to rival God, is at once\n     humorous and philosophical.\n\n\n\n\nXXII\n\nHOW SMALAND AND SCHONEN CAME TO BE\n\n\nThe Smalanders declare:\n\nAt the time when our Lord created the earth, he made a level and\nfruitful stretch of land, and that was Schonen. But the devil had been\nbusy in the meantime, and had created Smaland, a barren region\nconsisting mainly of hills and swamps. When our Lord saw it, it looked\nvery hopeless to him, and he strewed the bits of earth that remained\nin his apron out over it, and created the Smalanders. They turned out\nto be a fine race of men, handsome and strong and able to take care of\nthemselves in any situation. It is said to this very day, that if you\ntake a Smalander and set him down on a rock in the sea, he will still\nmanage to save himself. But in the meantime the devil had been down in\nSchonen, and had created the people who live there, and that is why\nthey are so slow, boastful and servile. But the people of Schonen say:\n\nOnce as our Lord and St. Peter were walking together, they heard a\nterrible commotion in a forest. \"Go see what is happening there,\"\nsaid our Lord. St. Peter went. And there was the devil and a\nSmalander, who were pummeling each other with might and main. St.\nPeter tried to separate them; but they paid no attention to him. So he\ntook his sword and chopped off both their heads. And he told our Lord\nwhat he had seen and done: \"No, that was not well done,\" the latter\nreplied, \"go and put back their heads where they were, and touch the\nwounds with your sword, and both will come to life again.\" St. Peter\ndid so, but he exchanged heads. Since that time the Smalanders all\nhave a bit of the devil about them, and those who know the devil, will\ntell you that he is more or less like the Smalanders.\n\n\nNOTE\n\n     The unfruitful district of Smaland and the lazy and servile\n     people of Schonen (as retold and communicated by Dr. v.\n     Sydow-Lund), are supposed to be creative efforts of the devil,\n     at least so the Danes and Swedes were wont to say, and Selma\n     Lagerloef has repeated it after them with variants. But the\n     people of Schonen lost no time in inventing a close\n     relationship between the Smalanders and the devil.\n\n\n\n\nXXIII\n\nTHE EVIL ONE AND KITTA GRAU\n\n\nOne day the devil met Kitta Grau:\n\n\"Where have you been, old man?\" asked Kitta Grau, for she recognized\nhim.\n\n\"Well,\" said the evil one, \"I have been out on the farmstead where the\nnewly wedded couple live. This is the third time I have tried to sow\ndissension between them; but they think so much of each other that it\nis a sheer impossibility.\"\n\n\"You talk like a real stupid. That is something I could bring about\nthe very first time I went there,\" said Kitta Grau.\n\n\"If you can do that, you shall have a splendid pair of shoes,\" was the\nevil one's reply.\n\n\"Mind you keep your word!\" said Kitta, and turned toward the\nfarmstead.\n\nThere the woman was home alone; for her husband had gone to the\nforest. Kitta said to the young wife:\n\n\"You really have a splendid husband.\"\n\n\"And that is the truth,\" the woman replied, \"for he grants my every\nwish before it is spoken.\"\n\n\"But take my word for it,\" said Kitta, \"there is still a bit of\ndeceit in him. He has a pair of long hairs under his chin--if you\ncould get at them with a razor, and cut them off while he is asleep,\nthen he would be altogether without malice.\"\n\n\"Well,\" said the woman, \"if that will help, I will be sure to keep an\neye open after dinner and attend to it, for then he always takes a\nlittle noon-day nap.\"\n\nThen Kitta Grau went out into the forest to the husband and bade him\ngood-day.\n\n\"You really have a very good wife,\" said Kitta.\n\n\"She could not be bettered,\" replied the husband.\n\n\"Well you might be mistaken for all that,\" said Kitta. \"When you come\nhome, be on your guard, for when you go to take your noon-day nap, she\nhas in mind to cut your throat. So be sure not to go to sleep.\"\n\nThe husband did not think much of the matter; but still he thanked\nKitta Grau for her trouble.\n\nThen he went home and ate his dinner, laid down and pretended to fall\nasleep at once.\n\nThereupon his wife went to his shaving-kit, took out his razor, went\nsoftly up to him and took hold of his chin with her hand.\n\nUp flew the man.\n\n\"Do you want to murder me?\" he cried, and gave his wife such a thump\nthat she measured her full length on the floor.\n\nAnd from that day forward there was no peace in the house. Now Kitta\nGrau was to receive her reward from the evil one. But he was so afraid\nof her that he did not venture to give her the shoes until he stood on\none side of a stream, while she stood on the other, and then he passed\nthem over to her on a long pole.\n\n\"You are ever so much worse than I am,\" he told Kitta Grau.\n\nThe black man had made a bargain with a merchant. He had promised him\nthat all goods which he might buy he should sell again within three\nweeks' time at a handsome profit. But, if he had prospered, after\nseven years had passed he was to be the devil's own. And he did\nprosper; for no matter what manner of old trash the merchant bought,\nand if it were no more than an old worn-out fur coat, he was always\nable to sell it again, and always at a profit.\n\nKitta Grau came into his shop and showed him the handsome shoes the\nevil one had given her.\n\nSo the merchant said:\n\n\"May heaven keep me from him! He will surely fetch me when the time\ncomes; for I have made a pact with him; and I have been unable to buy\nanything without selling it again in three weeks' time.\"\n\nThen Kitta Grau said: \"Buy me, for I am sure no one will buy me from\nyou!\" And that is what the merchant did. He bought Kitta, had her\ndisrobe and cover herself with tar, and roll in a pile of feathers.\nThen he put her in a glass cage as though she were a bird.\n\nNow the first week went by, and the second week went by, and the third\nweek went by, and no one appeared who wanted to buy the curious bird.\nAnd then, in due time, came the evil one, and wanted to fetch his\nmerchant.\n\n\"Have patience,\" said the merchant, \"I still have something I have\nbought, but have not been able to sell again in three weeks' time.\"\n\n\"That is something I'd like to see,\" said the black man. Then the\nmerchant showed him Kitta Grau, sitting in her glass cage. But no\nsooner had the evil one seen the handsome bird than he cried:\n\n\"Oh, I see! It is you Kitta Grau! No one who knows you would buy you!\"\n\nAnd with that he hurried on his way.\n\nThus Kitta Grau could help do evil, and help do good.\n\n\nNOTE\n\n     The story of \"The Evil One and Kitta Grau.\" (Bondeson, p. 206.\n     From Halland) shows that it is child's play for an evil woman\n     to accomplish what the devil himself cannot do. Yet some one\n     has made an addition which redounds to Kitta's credit, and\n     which makes her one of the heroines of fairy-tale who know how\n     to take advantage of the evil one.\n\n\n\n\nXXIV\n\nTHE LADY OF PINTORP\n\n\nWhere to-day a castellate building towers between spreading parks and\ngardens on the noble estate of Eriksberg, there lay in ancient times a\nholding known as Pintorp; with which legend has associated the\ngruesome tale of the lady of Pintorp.\n\nIn Pintorp--so the legend says--there dwelt a nobleman who, dying in\nhis youth, left all his goods and gear to his widow. Yet instead of\nbeing a kind mistress to her many dependents, she exploited them in\nevery way, and ill-treated them shamefully. Beneath her castle she had\ndeep subterranean dungeons, in which languished many innocent people.\nShe set vicious dogs at children and beggars, and if any one did not\ncome to work at the right time, he was sure to go home in the evening\nwith weals on his back.\n\nOnce, early in the morning, when the men came to work, the Lady of\nPintorp was standing on the castle steps, and saw a poor farm-hand\nbelonging to the estate come too late. Foaming with rage, she\noverwhelmed him with abuse and reproaches, and ordered him to chop\ndown the largest oak on the whole estate, and bring it, crown\nforemost, to the castle court before evening. And if he did not carry\nout her command to the very letter--so she said--she would drive him\nfrom his hut without mercy, and all that he had should fall to the\nestate.\n\nWith heavy thoughts of the severe judgment passed upon him, the\nfarm-hand went to the wood; and there he met an old man who asked him\nwhy he was so unhappy.\n\n\"Because it is all up with me, if our Lord in His mercy do not help\nme,\" sighed the unfortunate man, and told of the task his mistress had\nimposed on him.\n\n\"Do not worry,\" said the unknown, \"Chop down this oak, seat yourself\non the trunk, and Erik Gyllenstjerna and Svante Baner will take it to\nthe castle.\"\n\nThe farm hand did as the old man told him, began to hew to the line,\nand sure enough, at the third stroke the tree fell with a tremendous\ncrash. Then he seated himself on the trunk, facing the crown, and at\nonce the tree began to move, as though drawn by horses. Soon it rushed\nalong so swiftly that posts and garden-palings flew out of the way\nlike splinters, and soon they had reached the castle. At the moment\nthe tree-top struck the castle-gate, one of the invisible bearers\nstumbled, and a voice was heard saying: \"What, are you falling on your\nknees, Svante?\"\n\nThe Lady of Pintorp, who was standing on the steps, knew well who was\nhelping the man; yet instead of feeling regret, she began to curse and\nscold, and finally threatened to imprison the farm-hand.\n\nThen the earth quaked so that the walls of the castle shook, and a\nblack coach, drawn by two black horses, stopped before the castle. A\nfine gentleman, clad in black, descended from the coach, bowed to the\nlady and bade her make ready and follow him. Trembling--for she knew\nwell who the stranger must be--she begged for a three years' respite;\nbut the black gentleman would not grant her request. Then she asked\nfor three months, and that he refused as well. Finally she begged for\nthree weeks, and then for three days; but only three minutes were\nallowed her to put her house in order.\n\nWhen she saw there was no help for it, she begged that at least her\nchaplain, her chamber-maid, and her valet be allowed to accompany her.\nThis request was granted, and they entered the carriage. The horses at\nonce started off, and the carriage drove away so swiftly, that the\npeople at the castle saw no more than a black streak.\n\nWhen the woman and her companions had thus driven a while, they came\nto a splendid castle, and the gentleman in black led them up the\nsteps. Above, in the great hall, the woman laid off her costly\ngarments and put on a coarse coat and wooden shoes. Then he combed her\nhair three times, till she could no longer bear it, and danced with\nher three times until she was exhausted.\n\nAfter the first dance the Lady begged to be allowed to give her golden\nring to her valet, and it burned his finger like fire. After the\nsecond dance she gave her chamber-maid her bunch of keys, and that\nseared the girl's hand like red-hot iron. But after the third dance, a\ntrap-door opened in the floor, and the Lady disappeared in a cloud of\nsmoke and flame.\n\nThe chaplain, who was standing nearest her, looked down curiously into\nthe opening into which his mistress had sunk; and a spark shot up from\nthe depths, and flew into his eye, so that he was blind in one eye for\nthe rest of his life.\n\nWhen it was all over, the black gentleman allowed the servitors to\ndrive home again; but expressly forbade them to look around. They\nhastily entered the coach, the road was broad and even, and the horses\nran rapidly. But when they had gone a while, the chamber-maid could no\nlonger control her curiosity, and looked around. That very minute\nhorses, coach and the road itself were gone, the travellers found\nthemselves in a wild forest, and it cost them three years to get out\nagain, and make their way back to Pintorp.\n\n\nNOTE\n\n     In \"The Lady of Pintorp\" (Hofberg, p. 157) the devil appears in\n     all his grewsome Satanic majesty. It has been claimed that the\n     evil woman was a historical figure, the wife of the royal\n     counselor Erik Gyllenstjerna.\n\n\n\n\nXXV\n\nTHE SPECTRE IN FJELKINGE\n\n\nDuring the first half of the eighteenth century, several large estates\nin Schonen were the property of the family of Barnekow, or rather, of\nits most distinguished representative at that time, Margaret Barnekow,\ndaughter of the famous captain and governor-general Count Rutger of\nAschenberg, and the wife of Colonel Kjell Kristofer Barnekow. A widow\nat twenty-nine, she herself took over the management of her large\nproperties, and gave therein evidence of invincible courage, an\ninexhaustible capacity for work, and a tireless solicitude for all her\nmany dependents and servitors.\n\nWhile traveling about her estates, Madame Margaret one evening came to\nthe tavern in Fjelkinge, and was quartered for the night in a room\nthat had the name of being haunted. Some years before a traveler had\nlain in the same room and presumably had been murdered: at any rate\nthe man himself and all his belongings had disappeared without leaving\na trace, and the mystery had never been explained. Since that time the\nroom had been haunted, and those who knew about it preferred to\ntravel a post-station further in the dark, rather than pass the night\nin the room in question. But Margaret Barnekow did not do so. She had\nalready shown greater courage in greater contingencies, and chose this\nparticular room to sleep in without any fear.\n\nShe let the lamp burn and fell asleep, after she had said her evening\nprayer. On the stroke of twelve she awoke, just as some planks were\nraised in the floor; and up rose a bleeding phantom whose head, split\nwide open, hung down on his shoulder.\n\n\"Noble lady,\" whispered the specter, \"prepare a grave in consecrated\nearth for a murdered man, and deliver his murderer to the judgment\nwhich is his due!\"\n\nGod-fearing and unafraid, Madame Margaret beckoned the phantom nearer,\nand he told her he had already addressed the same prayer to various\nother people; but that none had had the courage to grant it. Then\nMadame Margaret drew a gold ring from her finger, laid it on the\ngaping wound, and tied up the head of the murdered man with her\nkerchief. With a glance of unspeakable gratitude he told her the\nmurderer's name, and disappeared beneath the floor without a sound.\n\nThe following morning Madame Margaret sent for the sheriff of the\ndistrict to come to the tavern with some of his people, informed him\nof what had happened to her during the night, and ordered those\npresent to tear up the floor. And there they found, buried in the\nearth, the remains of a body and, in a wound in its head, the\nCountess's ring, and tied about its head, her kerchief. One of the\nbystanders grew pale at the sight, and fell senseless to the ground.\nWhen he came to his senses, he confessed that he had murdered the\ntraveler and robbed him of his belongings. He was condemned to death\nfor his crime, and the body of the murdered man was buried in the\nvillage church-yard.\n\nThe ring, of peculiar shape, and its setting bearing a large gray\nstone, is still preserved in the Barnekow family, and magic virtues in\ncases of sickness, fire and other misfortunes are ascribed to it. And\nwhen one of the Barnekows dies, it is said that a red spot, like a\ndrop of blood, appears on the stone.\n\n\nNOTE\n\n     \"The Spectre in Fjelkinge\" (Hofberg, p. 21) is founded on the\n     ancient belief that innocent blood which has been shed calls\n     for atonement, and the one who has been unjustly murdered\n     cannot rest until the deed has been brought to light.\n\n\n\n\nXXVI\n\nTHE ROOSTER, THE HAND-MILL AND THE SWARM OF HORNETS\n\n\nOnce upon a time there was a peasant who wanted to go to sell a pig.\nAfter he had gone a while, he met a man who asked him where he was\ngoing with his pig. \"I want to sell it,\" answered the peasant, \"but I\ndo not know what to do to get rid of it.\" \"Go to the devil,\" said the\nman, \"he will be the first to rid you of it.\" So the peasant kept on\nalong the broad highway.\n\nWhen he came to the devil's place, there stood a man out by the\nwood-pile making wood. The peasant went to him and asked whether he\ncould tell him if they wanted to buy a pig in the devil's place. \"I'll\ngo in and ask,\" said the man, \"if you will make wood in my stead while\nI am gone.\" \"Yes, I will do that gladly,\" said the peasant, took the\nax, stood at the wood-pile and began to make wood. And he worked and\nworked until evening came; but the man did not return to tell him\nwhether they would or would not buy a pig in the devil's place.\n\nAt length another man came that way, and the peasant asked him whether\nhe would make wood in his stead, for it was impossible to lay down the\nax unless another took it up and went on working. So the man took the\nax and stood there making wood, and the peasant went into the devil's\nplace himself, and asked whether any one wanted to buy a pig.\n\nA crowd as large as that at a fair at once gathered, and all wanted to\nbuy the pig. Then the peasant thought: \"Whoever pays the most, gets\nit.\" And one would overbid another, offering far more than a whole\nherd of pigs were worth. But at last a gentleman came along who\nwhispered something to the peasant, and told him to come along with\nhim; and he could have all the money he wanted.\n\nSo when they had reached the gentleman's house, and the peasant had\ngiven him the pig, he received in payment a rooster who would lay\nsilver coins as often as he was told to do so. Then the peasant went\nhis way, well content with his bargain. But on the way home he stayed\novernight at a tavern kept by an old woman. And he was so exceedingly\nhappy about his splendid rooster, that he had to boast about him to\nthe old woman, and show her how he went about laying silver coins. And\nat night, when the peasant was fast asleep, the old woman came and\ntook away his rooster, and put another in its place. No sooner did\nthe peasant awake in the morning than he wanted to set his rooster to\nwork. \"Lay quickly, rooster of mine! Lay big silver coins, my\nrooster!\" But the rooster could lay no silver coins at all, and only\nanswered \"Kikeriki! Kikeriki! Kikeriki!\" Then the peasant fell into a\nrage, wandered back to the devil's place, complained about the\nrooster, and told how absolutely worthless he was. He was kindly\nreceived, and the same gentleman gave him a hand-mill. When he called\nout \"Mill grind!\" to it, it would grind as much meal as he wanted it\nto, and would not stop until he said: \"Mill, stop grinding!\" And the\nmill would grind out every kind of meal for which he asked.\n\nWhen the peasant set out for home, he reached the same tavern at which\nhe had already put up in the evening, so he turned in and decided to\nstay over night. He was so pleased with the mill that it was\nimpossible for him to hold his tongue; so he told the old woman what a\nvaluable mill he had, and showed her how it worked. But during the\nnight, while he was asleep, the old woman came and stole his mill and\nput another in its place.\n\nWhen the peasant awoke in the morning, he was in a great hurry to test\nhis mill; but he could not make it obey. \"Mill grind!\" he cried. But\nthe mill stood still. Then he said: \"Dear mill, grind wheat meal!\"\nbut it had no effect. \"Then grind rye meal!\" he shouted; but that did\nnot help, either. \"Well, then, grind peas!\" But the mill did not seem\nto hear; but stood as still as though it had never turned a single\ntime in all its life. Then the peasant took the road back to the\ndevil's place again, and at once hunted up the gentleman who had\npurchased his pig, and told him the mill would grind no more meal.\n\n\"Do not grieve about that,\" said the gentleman, and gave him a large,\nlarge hornets' nest, full of hornets, who flew out in swarms and stung\nany one whom they were told to sting, until one said \"stop!\" to them.\nNow when the peasant again came to the old woman, he told her he had a\nswarm of hornets who obeyed his commands. \"Heavens above!\" cried the\nwoman, \"that's something worth while seeing!\" \"You may see it without\nany trouble,\" replied the peasant, and at once called: \"Out, out, my\nhornets and sting the old woman!\" And at once the entire swarm fell\nupon the old woman, who began to scream pitifully. She begged the\npeasant to please call back his hornets, and said she was only too\nwilling to give back the rooster and the mill she had taken.\n\nThe peasant did not object to this; but ordered his hornets to leave\nthe old woman alone, and fly back into their house. Then he went home\nwith his rooster, his mill and his hornets, became a rich man and\nlived happily until he died. And he was in the habit of saying: \"They\nhave a big fair in the devil's place, and you find real decent people\nthere, and above all, a liberal gentleman, with whom it is a pleasure\nto do business.\"\n\n\nNOTE\n\n     In \"The Rooster, the Hand-Mill and the Swarm of Hornets\" (Mss.\n     record by Stephens, from Wermland, communicated by Dr. v.\n     Sydow-Lund) a poor peasant received three splendid gifts in the\n     devil's place. The rooster who lays gold coins is a widely\n     known magic bird, and the magic mill is also met with in the\n     North.\n\n\n\n\nXXVII\n\nTORRE JEPPE\n\n\nIn a church-nave a specter sat night by night, and the specter's name\nwas Torre Jeppe. He was a dried-up corpse that could not decay. One\nnight three tailors were working at a farmstead in the neighborhood.\nThey were laughing and joking, and among other things they asked the\ngirl in the house, who was known to be brave, what they would have to\ngive her to go to church and fetch back Torre Jeppe. She could trust\nherself to do it, was her answer; but they must give her a dress of\nhome-spun wool for her trouble. That she should surely have, said the\ntailors, for they did not believe the girl would dare such a venture.\nYet she took the tailors at their word and really went.\n\nWhen she reached the church, she took Torre Jeppe on her back, carried\nhim home and sat him down on the bench beside the tailors. They\ntimidly moved away; but Torre Jeppe moved after them, and looked at\nthem with his big eyes until they nearly lost their reason. In their\nterror they begged the girl in the name of God to deliver them from\nthe specter. They would gladly give her another dress if she would\nonly carry the dead man away again. They had no need to tell her\ntwice, for she took Torre Jeppe on her back, and dragged him away\nagain.\n\nBut when she tried to set him down in the place where she had found\nhim, he did not want to let her go; but clasped his arms firmly about\nher neck. In vain she said to him several times: \"Torre Jeppe, let me\ngo!\" At last he said: \"I will not let you go until you promise me that\nyou will go this very night to the brook and ask three times: 'Anna\nPerstochter, do you forgive Torre Jeppe?'\" The girl promised to do as\nhe said, and he at once released her. The brook was a good mile off;\nbut she went there and asked three times in a loud voice, as she had\npromised: \"Anna Perstochter, do you forgive Torre Jeppe?\" And when she\nhad called the third time a woman's voice replied from out of the\nwater: \"If God has forgiven him, then I, too, forgive him!\"\n\nWhen the girl came back to the church Torre Jeppe asked eagerly: \"What\ndid she say?\" \"Well, if God has forgiven you, then she, too, will\nforgive you!\" Then Torre Jeppe thanked her and said: \"Come back again\nbefore sunrise, and you shall receive your reward for the service you\nhave done me.\" The girl went back at sunrise, and in the place where\nthe phantom had been sitting she found a bushel of silver coin. In\naddition she received the two dresses promised her by the tailors. But\nTorre Jeppe was never seen again.\n\n\nNOTE\n\n     \"Torre Jeppe\" (retold and communicated by Dr. v. Sydow-Lund,\n     after mss. version of Hylten-Cavallius and Stephens) is a\n     ghost-story founded on the old belief that a wrong done\n     torments the doer even after death, that he tried to atone for\n     it, and that then only can he enter on his eternal rest.\n\n\n\n\nXXVIII\n\nTHE MAN WHO DIED ON HOLY INNOCENTS' DAY\n\n\nOnce upon a time there was a man named Kalle Kula. He was a wild\nfellow, and had committed many a grievous crime during his life. When\nhe came to die, and his wife took up the Bible to pray for him as he\nwas lying there, he said, \"No, this is Holy Innocents' Day, and it is\nnot worth while reading from the Bible for me. You had better go into\nthe kitchen instead, and bake waffles. I shall die this very day, and\nthen you must lay a bundle of waffles in my coffin.\" The woman went\ninto the kitchen and baked the waffles; but when she came back to him\nagain he was dead. So Kalle Kula was laid in the coffin with a bundle\nof waffles beside him.\n\nThen he came to the gates of Paradise with his little bundle of\nwaffles under his arm and knocked. But St. Peter said to him: \"You\nhave no business here, with all the crimes you have committed.\" \"Yes,\nthat may well be so, but I died on Holy Innocents' Day,\" said Kalle\nKula, \"so at least I may look in and see the innocent children?\" St.\nPeter could not refuse him, and opened the door a little way. Kalle\nKula took advantage of the moment and cried: \"Come, you little holy\ninnocents, you shall have waffles!\" And as they had not been given any\nwaffles in Paradise, they all came rushing up, so that the door flew\nwide open, and then Kalle Kula crept in.\n\nBut St. Peter went to our Lord, told him what had happened, and asked\nwhat was to be done. \"The best thing is to let your lawyer attend to\nit,\" said our Lord, \"because lawyers usually know all about evicting\npeople.\" St. Peter searched everywhere, but could not find a lawyer.\nThen he went back to our Lord and reported to him that it was\nimpossible to find a single lawyer in all Paradise, and Kalle Kula was\nallowed to remain where he was.\n\nIf you tie a thief and a miller and a lawyer together and roll the\nwhole bundle down a hill--no matter how you roll it--you can always be\nsure that whoever is on top is a thief.\n\n\nNOTE\n\n     This story, part fairy-tale, part legend, \"The Man Who Died on\n     Holy Innocents' Day\" (communicated by Dr. v. Sydow-Lund) has a\n     Danish variant. Its innocently malicious humor is worthy of\n     Gottfried Keller.\n\n\nTHE END\n\n\n\n\n\n<pre id=\"pg-footer\">","title":"The Swedish Fairy Book","tradition":"myth-cosmogony","translated_text":null,"word_count":50373}