{"collection":"myth-cosmogony","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_67085/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_67085","id":"gutenberg_67085","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/67085","summary":null,"tags":["Category: Children & Young Adult Reading","Category: Mythology, Legends & Folklore","Category: Short Stories","Children -- Conduct of life -- Juvenile fiction","Children's stories","Conduct of life -- Juvenile fiction","Fairy tales -- Iceland","Folklore -- Iceland","Iceland -- Juvenile fiction"],"text":"Icelandic\n Fairy Tales\n\n\n Translated and Edited by\n Mrs. A. W. Hall\n\n With Original Illustrations by\n E. A. Mason\n\n\n London\n Frederick Warne & Co.\n And New York\n 1897\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nPREFACE\n\n\nFairy Tales seem scarcely to require any preface, but in publishing\nthese quaint Norse legends, a few explanatory remarks may not be out of\nplace.\n\nIn their original form, many of the stories are somewhat crude and\nrough for juvenile reading. This it has been the Editor\u2019s endeavour to\nameliorate by eliminating all objectionable matter, while at the same\ntime preserving the originality and local colouring which most of them\npossess.\n\nIt will be found that though some bear a similarity to the well-known\nstandard fairy tales, which have been the delight of countless children\nfor many generations, yet they all possess an originality peculiarly\ntheir own.\n\nIt is remarkable too that, whereas in most southern legends it is\nalways the prince who delivers the princess and performs the heroic and\nvalorous deeds, in these tales it is for the most part the young\nprincess or peasant maiden who undergoes all the hardships and trials,\nand after countless dangers rescues the prince who has fallen under the\nban of some wicked witch or giantess.\n\nThe story of the five brothers, one of the quaintest, is an exceedingly\neffective illustration of the old proverb of the bundle of sticks.\n\nA strong moral tone runs more or less through all the tales, exhibiting\nthe higher and better qualities of human nature.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCONTENTS\n\n\n CHAPTER PAGE\n\n THE LEGEND OF THE KING\u2019S THREE SONS 11\n\n HELGA 35\n\n THORSTEIN\n\n I. How Thorstein lost his Kingdom 46\n II. His Arrival at the Giant\u2019s Castle 50\n III. The Mystery of the Locked Room 59\n IV. How Thorstein\u2019s Kind Actions received their Reward 68\n\n SIGURD\n\n I. Sigurd Finds a Friend in his Stepmother 73\n II. He wrestles with the Giant Sisters 79\n III. His Meeting with Helga 84\n IV. His Escape on the Wonderful Horse Gullfaxi 90\n\n LINEIK AND LAUFEY 95\n\n THE FIVE BROTHERS 116\n\n HERMOD AND HADV\u00d6R 127\n\n INGEBJ\u00d6RG 147\n\n HANS\n\n I. Hans Starts on his Travels 157\n II. His Wonderful Adventures, and how he returned Good\n for Evil 166\n\n THE GIANTESS AND THE GRANITE BOAT 176\n\n GREYBEARD\n\n I. The Strange Adventures of Geir 189\n II. How Greybeard outwitted the King and won Princess\n Sigrid 196\n\n LITILL, TRITILL, THE BIRDS, AND THE PEASANT LAD 210\n\n LAUGHING INGIBJ\u00d6RG\n\n I. Thorwald and Ingibj\u00f6rg are cruelly treated by their\n stepmother, who tries to get rid of them 224\n II. How Thorwald and Ingibj\u00f6rg found themselves at the\n Witch\u2019s Island, and what they did 232\n III. Their Further Adventures and Escape 236\n IV. The King\u2019s Return, and Queen Guda\u2019s Release from the\n Witch\u2019s Thrall 242\n\n THE THREE PEASANT MAIDENS\n\n I. How Queen Hertha fell from her High Estate 248\n II. What had befallen the Two Little Princes and their\n Sister 253\n III. Olga\u2019s Courage rescues Her Brothers, Queen Hertha\n is restored to her Husband, and the Parents recover\n their Children 258\n\n THE FAIR AND THE DARK ISOLDE\n\n I. Death of the Queen. The King remarries, and proceeds\n on a Tour through his Kingdom 267\n II. What Befalls \u201cFair Isolde\u201d after her Father has gone 273\n III. \u201cFair Isolde\u201d escapes, and disguises herself 278\n IV. Fertram falls under a Spell, and is betrothed to\n \u201cDark Isolde\u201d 281\n V. The Spell is broken, and the Wicked Queen\u2019s Designs\n are frustrated 285\n\n PRINCE HLINI 291\n\n FERTRAM AND HILDUR 303\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nLIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS\n\n\n PAGE\n\u201cThe Shield rose up in the Air\u201d Frontispiece\n\u201cWhen Randur appeared before the \u2018Thing\u2019\u201d 33\n\u201cShe saw a Big Three-Headed Giant\u201d 39\n\u201cHe saw a Young Girl fastened to a Nail in the Wall by her\nLong Plaits of Hair\u201d 61\n\u201cHe then hid himself behind a Projecting Rock\u201d 65\n\u201cA Gigantic Woman appeared\u201d 80\n\u201cHelga gave a Cry of Terror\u201d 91\n\u201cShe appeared more like Some Terrible Giantess\u201d 104\n\u201cCreeping forth from her Tree, greatly to Laufey\u2019s Surprise\u201d\n To face 109\n\u201cA Monstrous Hand opened the Lattice\u201d 123\n\u201cWith One Spring Hadv\u00f6r was outside the Grave\u201d 137\n\u201cThere the Rat and Mouse were fighting and biting One Another\u201d 145\n\u201c\u2018Ay, you shall have your Wish, he muttered\u2019\u201d 149\n\u201cHans at once saw that it was a Dragon\u201d 162\n\u201cKurt hoped the Giantess might be asleep\u201d To face 169\n\u201cForth stepped the Beautiful White-Robed Figure\u201d 185\n\u201cThe Grey Man, hanging apparently Lifeless from the Branch\u201d 200\n\u201cThey saw a Figure all blazing with Light\u201d 206\n\u201cHarald pitied the Old Man\u201d 215\n\u201cQueen Guda rolled the Stone into the Sea\u201d 231\n\u201cJust let me catch you\u201d To face 240\n\u201cOlga went bravely up the Rock\u201d 261\n\u201c\u2018Don\u2019t leave me here,\u2019 cried Fair Isolde\u201d 275\n\u201cThe Old Cook was sitting on a Stool shelling Peas\u201d 283\n\u201cSigny entered very softly\u201d 294\n\u201cShe was dressed as a Simple Peasant\u201d 314\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nICELANDIC FAIRY TALES\n\nTHE LEGEND OF THE KING\u2019S THREE SONS\n\n\nIn olden days there once lived a king and a queen; they were wise and\ngood, and their kingdom was known far and near as the happiest and\nbest-governed country in the world. They had three sons\u2014Osric, Edric,\nand Frithiof,\u2014all handsome and brave and greatly beloved by their\nparents; but, having no daughter, the king had adopted his little\norphan niece Isolde. She grew up with his sons, and was their\nbest-loved playfellow, both the king and queen making no distinction\nbetween her and their own children.\n\nAs the princess grew older, she also grew fairer, till when she was\nsixteen years old there was no maiden in the land so beautiful and\nsweet as Isolde. All three brothers fell in love with her and wanted to\nmarry her, each in turn asking his father for her hand in marriage.\n\nNow the king was greatly puzzled what to do, for he loved his sons all\nequally well, so at length he decided that the princess should choose\nfor herself, and select the one she liked best. He therefore sent for\nher, and told her that she was herself to choose as a husband whichever\nof his sons she liked best.\n\n\u201cIt is my duty as well as my pleasure to obey you, dear father,\u201d said\nIsolde; \u201cbut when you tell me to choose one of the princes as my\nhusband, you give me a very difficult task, for they are all equally\ndear to me.\u201d\n\nWhen the king heard these words, he saw that his troubles were by no\nmeans at an end, so he thought for a long time how he could best find a\nway that would satisfy all parties, and at last decided to send all\nthree sons away for a year. At the end of that time they were to\nreturn, and whoever had succeeded in bringing back the most precious\nand valuable thing from his travels should receive the hand of Isolde\nas his reward.\n\nThe three princes were quite willing to accept these terms, and\narranged among themselves that at the end of the year they would all\nmeet at their hunting-lodge and thence go together to the king\u2019s palace\nwith their gifts; so, bidding farewell to their parents and Isolde,\nthey started off on their different journeys.\n\nOsric, the eldest son, travelled from city to city, and explored\nvarious foreign countries, without finding anything precious enough to\ntake home. At last, when he had almost given up all hope, he heard\nthat, not very far from where he then was, there lived a princess who\npossessed a wonderful telescope, which was so powerful that one could\nsee all over the world with it. No country was too distant, and not\nonly could one see every town, but also every house and tree, and even\npeople and animals inside the houses.\n\n\u201cSurely,\u201d thought Osric, \u201cno one could find a more precious or valuable\nthing than this glass, for nothing is hidden from it.\u201d So, having\narrived at the castle where the princess dwelt, he told her the object\nof his journey, and asked whether she would sell him her telescope.\n\nAt first the princess said she would not part with it, but when Osric\ntold her how much depended on his taking back so valuable a gift, she\nconsented to let him have it for a very large sum of money.\n\nThe prince did not mind this; he only thought the gold well spent, and\nhastened homewards, full of hope that he would secure the hand of\nIsolde.\n\nPrince Edric fared much the same as his elder brother. He also\ntravelled about in distant countries, seeking in vain for something\nrare and precious to bring home. At last, when the year was nearly at\nan end, he reached a large and populous town, and in the inn where he\nlodged he met a man who told him that in a cave outside the town there\nlived a curious little dwarf called V\u00f6lund, [1] who was famed for his\nrare skill in all kinds of metal-work.\n\n\u201cPerhaps,\u201d thought the prince, \u201che might be able to make me some rare\nand costly article worthy to take back.\u201d So he went to the dwarf, but\nwhen he told him what he wanted, the dwarf said he was very sorry, but\nhe had quite given up working in metals.\n\n\u201cThe last thing I made was a shield,\u201d he continued, \u201cbut that is many\nyears ago now. I made it for myself, and am unwilling to part with it,\nfor not only is it almost the finest bit of work I ever did, but it has\nalso some very special properties.\u201d\n\n\u201cAnd what are these special properties?\u201d asked the prince.\n\n\u201cWell,\u201d replied the dwarf, \u201cit is not only a perfect safeguard in\nbattle, as no ordinary sword or arrow can pierce it, but if you sit on\nit, it will carry you all over the world, through the air as well as\nacross the water. But there are some old runes, or ancient letters,\ncarved on the shield, which he who guides it must be able to read. But\nI will show it you.\u201d\n\nSo saying, he went to the back of the cave and brought forth a\nbeautiful shield, worked in gold, silver, and copper, the runic letters\nbeing all formed of precious stones.\n\nWhen Edric saw the shield and heard of its wonderful properties, he\nthought it would not be possible to find anything more rare or\nvaluable. He therefore told the dwarf how much depended on his bringing\nback so precious a gift, and entreated him to let him purchase it; and\nhe was so importunate and urged him so strongly that, although loth to\npart with it, when the dwarf heard how much depended on his securing so\nrare a gift, he agreed to sell it him for a large sum of money. He also\ntaught him how to read the runes, and Edric, thanking him for\nconsenting to part with his shield, started on his homeward journey,\nfilled with hope and confidence that he must win the princess\u2019s hand.\n\nFrithiof, the youngest son, was the last to start. He determined to\ntravel through his own country first, so he wandered about from place\nto place, stopping in this town and that village, and wherever he met a\nmerchant, or hoped to find anything rare or beautiful, he made most\nsearching inquiries. All his efforts, however, proved fruitless. The\ngreater part of the year had already passed, and he was still as far as\never from his goal, and he almost began to fear that no success would\ncrown his efforts.\n\nAt length he arrived at a large and populous town, where a big market\nwas being held, and numbers of people from all parts of the world came\nthronging in, some to buy and some to sell. So he followed the crowd,\nand then went on from stall to stall, and from one merchant to another,\ninspecting their wares and chatting and asking for news. But though\nthere were many beautiful and many curious things, nothing specially\nstruck his fancy.\n\nAt length, tired and thirsty, he sat down beside a large fruit stall.\nThe merchant, seeing, as he thought, a likely customer, came forward\nasking if he would not buy something\u2014offering him grapes, peaches,\npineapples, and melons in turn.\n\nBut Frithiof shook his head; none of these tempted him, for on the very\ntop shelf he saw a magnificent crimson apple, streaked with green and\ngold, lying on a bed of soft moss.\n\n\u201cI should like that apple,\u201d said the prince, \u201cand do not mind what I\npay for it. It is the only thing that I fancy, though all your fruit is\nsplendid.\u201d\n\nThe merchant smiled, but shook his head.\n\n\u201cYou have a quick eye,\u201d he said to the prince, \u201cfor that apple is\nindeed the rarest and most valuable thing I have. But it is not for\nsale. It was given to one of my ancestors, who was a great doctor, by a\ngeni, and has the peculiar power, that if it is placed in the right\nhand of any one who is sick, no matter how dangerous the illness, they\nrecover at once\u2014ay, even if they are at the point of death\u2014and many a\nlife it has saved.\u201d\n\nWhen the prince heard this, he wished more than ever to possess the\napple. He felt he could not possibly find anything that the princess,\nwho was so kind-hearted, would value more than the possession of this\napple, which would enable her to do good to others. He therefore\nentreated the merchant to let him buy the apple, and when the man had\nheard his tale, and all that depended upon his bringing back such a\nrare and precious gift, he sold the apple to the prince, who, filled\nwith hope, now wended his way homewards.\n\nAnd so it happened that, as they had arranged, the three brothers\narrived at the hunting-lodge, outside the capital, and after they had\nrelated their adventures, Osric, the eldest, said, \u201cNow let us hasten\nto the palace, but before starting I should like to see what the\nprincess is doing.\u201d\n\nHe thereupon drew forth his telescope and looked in the direction of\nthe palace, but no sooner had he done so, than an exclamation of terror\nescaped his lips, for there on her couch lay the princess, white and\nstill as the driven snow, while beside her stood the king and queen and\nthe chief of the courtiers in a sorrowful group, sadly awaiting the\nlast breath of the fair Isolde.\n\nWhen Osric beheld this grievous sight he was overwhelmed with grief,\nand when his brothers heard what he had seen, they too were overcome\nwith sorrow. Gladly would each have given all they possessed to be back\nin time, at least to bid her farewell.\n\nThen Prince Edric remembered his magic shield, which would at once\ncarry them to the king\u2019s palace, and, bringing it forth, the three\nbrothers seated themselves on it, and the shield rose up in the air and\nin a few seconds they had reached the palace, and hastened up to the\nprincess\u2019s chamber, where they found all the court assembled, sadly\nawaiting the end.\n\nThen Frithiof remembered his apple. Now was the time to test its power.\nStepping softly up to the couch, he bent over the still white form of\nthe princess and gently placed the apple in her right hand. Immediately\na change was visible, it seemed as if a fresh stream of life passed\nthrough her body. The colour returned to her lips and cheeks, she\nopened her eyes, and after a few minutes she was able to sit up and\nspeak.\n\nThe general rejoicing at the princess\u2019s wonderful and unexpected\nrecovery, and at the happy and opportune return of the three princes,\ncan be better imagined than described.\n\nBut as soon as she was quite well, the king, mindful of his promise,\ncalled together a great \u201cThing,\u201d or national assembly, at which the\nbrothers were to exhibit the treasures they had brought back, when\njudgment would be pronounced.\n\nFirst came the eldest brother Osric, with his telescope. This was\nhanded round for the people to see, while he explained its strange and\nmarvellous properties, stating how by means of this glass he had saved\nthe princess, for he had been able to see how ill she was. He therefore\nconsidered that he had earned the right to claim the princess\u2019s hand.\n\nThen Edric, the second brother, stepped forth and showed the beautiful\nshield he had got from the dwarf, and explained its peculiar power. \u201cOf\nwhat use would have been my brother\u2019s glass,\u201d he asked, \u201cwithout this\nshield, which carried us hither in time to save her life? I claim,\ntherefore, that it was really due to the power of my shield that the\nprincess is not dead, and that I ought therefore to possess her hand in\nmarriage.\u201d\n\nAnd now it was Frithiof\u2019s turn to come forward with the apple. He said,\n\u201cI fear that neither the telescope which first showed us that the\nprincess was ill, nor the shield which so quickly brought us hither,\nwould have sufficed to restore the Princess Isolde to life and health,\nhad it not been for the magic power of my apple. For what good could\nour mere presence have done her? Our seeing her thus and unable to help\nher, would only have added to our grief and pain. It is due to my apple\nthat the princess has been restored to us, and I therefore think my\nclaim to her hand is the greatest.\u201d\n\nThen there arose much questioning and reasoning in the \u201cThing\u201d as to\nwhich of the three articles were of the greatest value, but as they\ncould come to no satisfactory agreement, the judges declared that all\nthree articles were of equal value, for they had all equally\ncontributed to restore the princess to life and health, for if one had\nbeen missing, the other two would have been valueless. So judgment was\npronounced that, all three gifts being equally valuable, neither of the\nbrothers could claim the princess\u2019s hand.\n\nThen the king happily hit upon the idea of allowing his sons to shoot\nfor the prize, and whoever was adjudged the best shot should wed the\nprincess.\n\nSo a target was set up, and Osric, armed with bow and arrow, stepped\nforth first.\n\nTaking careful aim, he drew his bow, and the arrow sped forth, but it\nfell some distance short of the mark.\n\nThen Edric stepped forth. He too took careful aim, and his arrow fell\nnearer the mark.\n\nAnd now it was Frithiof\u2019s turn. He too took a very careful aim, and all\nthe people said his arrow went beyond the mark, and that he was the\nbest shot, but when they came to look for it, behold, it could nowhere\nbe found. In vain search was made in all directions, no sign of the\narrow could be found. The king therefore decided that Edric had won the\nprincess\u2019s hand. The wedding forthwith took place amid great splendour\nand rejoicing, and the princess and her husband then went to her own\ncountry, where they reigned long and happily. The eldest brother,\nOsric, greatly vexed that he had not been successful, started off on a\nlong journey, and nothing more was heard of him. So only the youngest\nbrother was left at home. But he was not at all satisfied with the way\nmatters had turned out, for he had always been considered by far the\nbest shot. He therefore searched every day in the field where the trial\nhad taken place, looking for his arrow. At length, after many days, he\nfound it lodged in an oak tree, far beyond the mark. He brought\nwitnesses to attest the truth of this, and though there could be no\nquestion that his arrow had gone the furthest, the king said it was now\ntoo late to go into the matter, for the princess was married and gone\naway.\n\nThen Frithiof grew very restless. He thought he had been unfairly\ntreated, and at length decided to go away, so he packed up his\nbelongings, and, bidding his parents farewell, started off in search of\nadventures.\n\nAfter passing along the wide plains that surrounded the capital, he\nclimbed a high range of mountains, and from thence descended into a\ngreat forest. Here he wandered about for several days, but whichever\nway he turned, he could see nothing but trees all around him. The small\nstore of food he had taken with him when he started was exhausted, and\ntired, hungry, and footsore, he sat down to rest on a large flat grey\nstone, unable to proceed any further. He thought the end of his days\nhad surely come, when suddenly he heard the noise of horses\u2019 feet, and\nlooking up he saw ten men mounted on horseback coming rapidly towards\nhim. They were all richly dressed and well armed, the last one leading\na finely caparisoned palfrey.\n\nWhen they came to the prince, the leader dismounted, and, bowing low\nbefore him, begged him to honour them by mounting the steed they had\nbrought with them.\n\nFrithiof gratefully accepted this offer, and, mounting the horse, the\nparty turned back the way they had come, riding rapidly on till they\narrived at a large town. Before entering the gates they dismounted, the\nprince alone remaining on horseback, and then led the prince in state\nto the palace.\n\nNow, it happened that a most beautiful young queen reigned over this\nprovince. She had been left an orphan at an early age, her father\nentrusting his chief ministers with the care and responsibility of\nlooking after her and finding her a worthy husband. Queen Hildegard\nreceived the prince with much friendliness. She told him that her fairy\ngodmother had bestowed on her the gift of seeing, whenever she wished,\nwhat happened in other countries.\n\n\u201cA wandering minstrel came here and told us of the wonderful journeys\nyou and your brothers had made, and also of your sorrow at your failure\nin the shooting competition for the Princess Isolde\u2019s hand, though you\nwere the best shot of the three. Then a great wish seized me to try and\nmake you happy, so I followed your wanderings after you left your\nfather\u2019s palace, and when I saw you, sad and tired, resting on the\ngreat stone in my forest, I sent forth some of my knights to meet you\nand bring you back, and now, with the consent of my ministers, I invite\nyou to remain here as my husband. You shall rule over my kingdom, and I\nwill try, as far as lies in my power, to make you forget all the\ntrouble and anxiety you have gone through.\u201d\n\nFrithiof was charmed with the beauty and kindness of the maiden, and\ngladly consented to share her throne, and very happy days followed for\nboth of them. The wedding was on the most magnificent scale, and after\nthey were married, Frithiof, according to the custom of the country,\ntook the reins of government in his hands, amid the general rejoicing\nof the people.\n\nAnd now we must return to the old king. Soon after his youngest son had\ngone away the queen died, and the king, well advanced in years, felt\nvery lonely and dull. One day, while seated beside the great open\nhearth, in the big audience hall, a pedlar woman entered and displayed\nher wares before him. She told him her name was Brunhilde\u2014she had\nevidently travelled much\u2014and amused the king with tales of where she\nhad been and what she had seen.\n\nWhen she was going away, the king told her she might come again, which\nshe did, day after day, till the king got so interested in her talk,\nthat he never was happy unless Brunhilde was with him, and at length he\nasked her to marry him and be his queen.\n\nIn vain the chief ministers and courtiers dissuaded him from taking\nthis step. The king was determined, and the wedding took place.\n\nNo sooner had Brunhilde gained her object, than she showed that she\nmeant to be a real queen, not merely one in name. She always sat beside\nthe king in council, and interfered in all State matters. He would do\nnothing without consulting her, and no matter how wrong or unfair it\nmight be, he always did whatever she wished.\n\nOne day she said to him, \u201cIt seems very strange to me, that you have\nnever made any attempt to recall your son, who went away. Why, only the\nother day we heard that he had become king of a neighbouring country.\nYou may depend upon it that, as soon as he has got a sufficiently large\narmy, he will come back and attack you here, in order to revenge\nhimself for the fancied wrong he imagines was done him, in the trial of\nskill for the princess\u2019s hand. Now, take my advice, call out your army,\nattack him first, and so ward off the danger that threatens your\ncountry.\u201d\n\nAt first the king would not listen to what the queen said; and declared\nshe was only frightening herself for nothing. But Brunhilde brought\nforward fresh arguments each day, till at length the king thought she\nmust be right, and asked her what he had better do, so that the prince\nshould not suspect anything.\n\n\u201cYou must first send messengers to him with presents,\u201d said the queen,\n\u201cand invite him to come and see you, so that you may arrange with him\nabout his succession to the throne after your death, and also to\nstrengthen the friendship and neighbourly relations between your two\ncountries. After that we will consult further.\u201d\n\nThe king thought her advice very good, and at once sent messengers\nladen with presents to his son.\n\nWhen they arrived at Prince Frithiof\u2019s court, they told the young king\nhow anxious his father was to see him, and hoped he would make no long\ntarrying in coming to visit him.\n\nFrithiof, greatly pleased with the handsome gifts his father had sent\nhim, at once agreed to go, and hastened to make all preparations for\nhis journey. But when Queen Hildegard heard of it she became very\nanxious, and entreated her husband not to leave her.\n\n\u201cI feel that some danger threatens you, and that you may even lose your\nlife,\u201d she said.\n\nBut Frithiof laughed at her fears. \u201cSurely you do not think my father\nwould entreat me to come to him if he meant to deal wrongly with me?\nNo, no, dear wife; set your heart at rest, and have no fears. I will\nmake but a short stay;\u201d and so saying he bade her a fond farewell and\nstarted off with the messengers, arriving after a short journey at his\nfather\u2019s court.\n\nBut instead of the warm greeting promised him, to his surprise the king\nreceived him but coldly, and began to reproach him for being so\nundutiful as to go away.\n\n\u201cIt was most unfilial behaviour,\u201d broke in the queen, \u201cand caused such\ngrief to your father that he was nearly at death\u2019s door; and had\nanything happened to him, your life would have been forfeited,\naccording to the laws of the land. As, however, you have given yourself\nup willingly, and have come here when he sent for you, he will not\ncondemn you to death, but he gives you three tasks to perform, which\nyou must accomplish within the year.\u201d\n\nIt was in vain that Frithiof declared he never meant to vex his father.\nThe queen would not let the old king speak, and said the only way\nFrithiof could save his life was to carry out the tasks his father had\nset him, which were as follows:\u2014\n\n\u201cFirst, you must bring back a tent large enough to seat a hundred\nknights, and yet so fine and thin that you can cover it with one hand;\nsecondly, you must bring me some of the famous water which cures all\nsicknesses; and, thirdly, you must show me a man who is utterly unlike\nany other man in the whole world.\u201d\n\n\u201cAnd in what direction must I go to find these rarities?\u201d asked\nFrithiof.\n\n\u201cNay, that is your affair,\u201d said the king; when Brunhilde, taking his\narm, led him away into his own chamber; and Frithiof, without other\nfarewell, sorrowfully returned to his own kingdom.\n\nOn his arrival, Queen Hildegard hastened down to meet him, and seeing\nhim looking sad and silent, asked him anxiously how he had fared at his\nfather\u2019s court.\n\nAt first Frithiof, not liking to frighten her, tried to put her off,\nand made light of the scant courtesy shown him; but Hildegard, kneeling\ndown beside him, and taking his hand in hers, entreated him to conceal\nnothing from her.\n\n\u201cI know you have had some difficult tasks given you, which will not be\neasy to perform. But do not lose heart, dear husband. Tell me all, and\nthen we will see if some way cannot be found to carry them out. A thing\nbravely faced is half accomplished, and it is not at all impossible\nthat with my kind godmother\u2019s help I may be able to aid you. Tell me,\ntherefore, what makes you so anxious.\u201d\n\nThen Frithiof, taking heart, told Hildegard of the difficult tasks that\nthe queen had given him to do. \u201cAnd if I fail to accomplish them within\nthe year I must forfeit my life,\u201d he concluded.\n\n\u201cThis is surely your stepmother\u2019s doing,\u201d said Hildegard. \u201cShe is a\njealous and, I fear also, a wicked woman. Let us hope she is not\nplanning any further mischief against you. She evidently thought these\ntasks she gave you would be more than you could accomplish; but,\nfortunately, I can help you in some of them. The tent your father wants\nI happen to have; it was given me by my godmother, so that difficulty\nis disposed of. Then the magic water which you are to bring is not far\nfrom here. Nevertheless, it is not easy to get, for it is in a deep\nwell, inside a dark cave, which is guarded by seven lions and three\nhuge snakes. Several persons have tried to get in and fetch some of the\nwater, but no one has ever yet come back alive. I might give you some\npoison to kill these monsters, but, unfortunately, the water loses all\nits healing power if it is taken after the animals are dead. But I\nthink I may nevertheless be able to help you to get it.\u201d\n\nQueen Hildegard then sent for her cowherd, and he and his two\nassistants drove seven oxen and three great boars to the mouth of the\ncave. Here the animals were killed, and the carcases thrown down before\nthe lions and snakes. Then, while the monsters were gorging themselves\nwith the carcases of the dead animals, the queen told Frithiof to lower\nher quickly down the well. She had provided herself with a large\ncrystal jar; this she immediately filled with the water, and when\nFrithiof drew her up again, so exactly had she timed it, that they both\nreached the mouth of the cave just as the lions and snakes were\nfinishing the last morsels of their meal. Thus the second task was\nsafely accomplished, and Frithiof and Hildegard hastened back to the\npalace.\n\n\u201cThe two first tasks are happily ended,\u201d said Hildegard; \u201cbut the third\nand most difficult one still remains to be done, and this you must\ncarry out by yourself. All I can do is to tell you how best to set to\nwork about it. You must know that I have a half-brother, called Randur.\nHe lives on an island not very far from here. He is nine feet high, has\none big eye in the middle of his forehead, and a black beard thirty\nyards long, and as hard and stiff as pigs\u2019 bristles. He also has a\ndog\u2019s snout instead of a mouth and nose, and a pair of green cat\u2019s\neyes. In truth, it would be impossible to find another creature like\nhim. When he wants to go from one place to another, he swings himself\nalong by means of a great pole fifty yards long, and in this way he\nalmost seems to fly through the air like a bird. The island on which he\nlives forms about one-third of my father\u2019s kingdom, and my brother\nthought he ought to have had a larger share. Then, also, my father had\na wonderful ring which my brother wished to keep, but this also fell to\nmy share, and since then my brother has shut himself up in his island.\nNow, however, I will write to him, enclosing the ring he always\ncoveted. Perhaps that may dispose him to be more friendly to us, and we\nmay get him to go to the king\u2019s court; for I know no one else who could\nso well fulfil the third task given you. Now, therefore, you must go to\nhim, accompanied by a large following of knights and squires, for that\nwill please him. When you come near his castle, take off your crown,\nand approach his throne bareheaded. He will then stretch forth his\nhand, and you must bend your knee and kiss it, and then hand him my\nletter and the ring. If after reading it he tells you to rise and seat\nyourself beside him, we may hope that he will aid us. And now, good\nluck attend you!\u201d\n\nFrithiof followed the queen\u2019s instructions exactly. When he arrived at\nthe three-eyed king\u2019s palace, both he and his attendants were greatly\nstartled at the frightful ugliness of the three-eyed monarch; but\nquickly recovering himself, Frithiof handed him Hildegard\u2019s letter and\nthe ring. When the giant saw the ring he seemed greatly pleased, and\nsaid\u2014\n\n\u201cI suppose my sister wants my help in some important matter, that she\nsends me so valuable a present?\u201d\n\nHe then bade Frithiof sit down beside him, and, having read his\nsister\u2019s letter, he said he was quite ready to help and carry out her\nwishes.\n\nHe then stretched out his hand, grasped the long pole that always\nrested near him, and in an instant he had swung himself out of sight.\n\nThe king feared at first that Randur had gone away altogether and left\nthem, but a loud shout told them he had only gone in advance. And thus\nthey went on, the giant waiting for them every now and then, and when\nthey reached him scolding them well for being so slow and dilatory; in\nthis way they at last arrived at the queen\u2019s palace, and Randur at once\nasked Hildegard what it was she wanted him to do.\n\nThe queen then told him what Frithiof\u2019s father had required of her\nhusband, and begged her brother to accompany Frithiof back to his\nfather\u2019s court. Randur, greatly pleased at having at last got the ring\nhe so much coveted, declared himself quite ready to do as she desired.\nSo they started off at once for the old king\u2019s palace, which they\nreached without any further adventures.\n\nFrithiof announced his arrival to his father; but though he informed\nhim that he had obtained the three things required of him a year ago,\nhe carefully kept Randur in safe hiding till his presence should be\nrequired, and asked that a \u201cThing\u201d might be called together, in order\nthat he might show the people how he had succeeded in carrying out the\ntasks assigned him.\n\nSo the old king issued a proclamation all through the land, and on the\nappointed day so great was the interest and curiosity of every one,\nfrom the king and his courtiers down to the very poorest labourer and\nherdboy, that there was hardly standing-room in all the great \u201cThing\u201d\nvalley.\n\nQueen Brunhilde was furious at the thought that Frithiof should have\nbeen successful, but she still hoped that, when the things were brought\nto light, it would be found that he had failed in something.\n\nThe tent was produced first. When it was fairly set up, it was so large\nand roomy that a hundred knights and squires easily found room inside,\nyet it was so finely wrought, that when closed any one could cover it\nwith their hand. So all the people declared Prince Frithiof had fully\nacquitted himself of his first task.\n\nThen the prince brought forth the crystal jar with the healing water,\nand handed it to his father. Queen Brunhilde, who was getting quite\nyellow with anger, insisted upon tasting it to see whether it was the\nright water and taken at the right time, so as not to lose its healing\nqualities. But as she was quite well, no sooner had she tasted the\nhealing water, than she felt very ill, and had to take a second taste\nere she was well again. So the second task was pronounced to have also\nbeen successfully accomplished.\n\n\u201cNow,\u201d said the king, \u201cthere only remains the third and last task, and\nthat was the most difficult one. See that you have not failed in that\u201d\n\nThen Frithiof sent for the three-eyed giant, whom he had kept in safe\nhiding till now.\n\nWhen Randur appeared before the \u201cThing,\u201d springing into their midst by\nmeans of his long pole, everyone, but especially the old king, started\nback in fear; they could not imagine how he had got there, and thought\nhe must have flown down from the skies. Never before had they seen so\nhideous a creature. But, not taking any notice of the crowd, Randur\nwalked up to the queen, and placing the point of his long pole against\nher chest, he raised her up in the air, and then hurled her to the\nground, when she fell down dead, and was immediately transformed into\nthe hideous old giantess she really was. Having accomplished this,\nRandur made his way out of the \u201cThing,\u201d and returned to his island.\n\nFrithiof devoted all his efforts to restore and nurse the old king,\nwho, through anxiety and fright, had nearly been at death\u2019s door. But a\nfew drops of the healing water sprinkled over him quickly restored him,\nand being freed by the queen\u2019s death from all her wicked enchantments,\nhe speedily recovered his former good sense, and found that all the\nfaults he had thought his son guilty of, were only the inventions of\nwicked Queen Brunhilde.\n\nHe therefore called Frithiof to his bedside, and begged him to forgive\nhim all the injury he had tried to do him.\n\n\u201cI am only anxious now to make up to you, my dear son, for all you have\nsuffered, and beg you never to leave me again. I will gladly hand over\nthe kingdom to you, and live beside you in peace and quiet for the rest\nof my days.\u201d\n\nSo Frithiof was reconciled to his father, and at once sent messengers\nto Hildegard, telling her what had happened, and begging her to hasten\nto him. Queen Hildegard, when she received her husband\u2019s message,\ndecided to give up her small kingdom to her brother, as a reward for\nall he had done for them; and then, accompanied by some of her\nhusband\u2019s ablest courtiers and friends, she rejoined Frithiof, and the\nold king, happy at having his son again, lived to a good old age,\nsurrounded by his grandchildren and great-grandchildren.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nHELGA\n\n\nAn old man and his wife once lived in a cottage beside the sea, far\naway from any other habitations. They had three daughters; the eldest\nwas called Fredegond, the second Olga, and the youngest Helga.\n\nNow, although the parents were not rich, owning only a few acres of\nland, which they tilled themselves, Fredegond and Olga were treated as\nif they were princesses. They never did any work, but sat all day\namusing themselves and decking themselves in any finery their father\nbrought them home from the neighbouring town, whilst Helga, who was far\nmore beautiful and clever than either of her sisters, was always kept\nin the background. She never shared in any pleasures that her elder\nsisters often enjoyed; no presents were ever brought home for her; but\nall day long, from early morning till late at night, poor Helga had to\nwork and toil for the whole family, receiving nothing but sour looks,\noften accompanied by blows, from the elder sisters.\n\nNow, it happened one day that the fire on their hearth had been allowed\nto go out. Helga was busy working in the fields, and as they had to\nsend a long way to fetch fresh fire, the old man told Fredegond she\nmust go for it\n\nAt first Fredegond grumbled, for she was trying to dress her hair in a\nnew way; but then she thought a walk through the woods might be\npleasant, so she started.\n\nAfter she had gone some little distance, she came to a hillock, and\nheard a deep voice saying, \u201cWould you rather have me with you or\nagainst you?\u201d\n\nFredegond, thinking it was some labourer or woodcutter, said she did\nnot care in the least, and that it was very impertinent of him to\naddress her, and went on to the cave whence they fetched their fire.\n\nWhen she got there, to her great surprise she saw a big cauldron,\nfilled with meat, boiling on the fire, and beside it stood a pan,\nfilled with dough, waiting to be made into cakes, but not a creature in\nsight.\n\nFredegond, being very hungry after her long walk, stirred up the fire\nbeneath the cauldron, to make the meat boil quickly, and then began\nbaking some cakes. But although she made one specially nice for\nherself, she let all the others burn, so that they were quite\nuneatable. Then as soon as the meat was cooked she took a bowl from a\nshelf, filled it with all the best bits, and sat down and made a good\nmeal, finishing up with the cake.\n\nJust as she had finished, a big black dog ran up to her, and began\nwagging his tail and begging for some food. But Fredegond angrily gave\nhim a slap, and chased him away. Then the dog grew angry, and, jumping\nupon her, bit one of her hands.\n\nScreaming with fright and pain, Fredegond jumped up, and, in her hurry\nto get away, forgot all about the fire she was to bring, and ran home\nto tell her parents what had happened.\n\nThey were very sorry, both for her sore hand, which they bathed and\nbandaged, and the lack of the fire. It was really very unfortunate, for\nthat cave was the nearest place where they could procure some fire, as\nit was generally used by charcoal-burners. So, though very unwilling to\nsend Olga, who was their pet and favourite, she had to go, for they all\nfeared that if Helga were sent, she might run away and never come back\nagain. And then there would be no one on whom to vent their bad\ntempers, or to do the work of the whole household\u2014for did she not wait\non father and mother and both her sisters? So it was decided that Olga\nshould go.\n\nBut, alas! Olga fared even worse than her sister. She was so spoilt,\nthat she thought she ought always to have the best of everything. So,\nwhen she reached the cave, she too helped herself to all the best bits\nof meat, and, making a nice cake for herself, threw the rest of the\ndough on the fire.\n\nThen when the dog came up to her and wagged his tail and sat up and\nbegged for some food, Olga took up some of the boiling broth and threw\nit on him. This made the dog so angry that he jumped up and bit off the\npoint of her nose; and Olga ran home crying and screaming, with only\nhalf a nose and no fire.\n\nThis time the parents were quite beside themselves with anger, and\ndecided that Helga must go and fetch the fire. If she succeeded, well\nand good; and if not, why, the dog might eat her, for all they cared.\nIt would be a good riddance.\n\nSo, taking up the big fire-shovel, Helga went on her way to the cave.\nAs she passed the hillock, she too heard a voice, saying, \u201cWould you\nrather I was with you than against you?\u201d\n\nTo this question she answered, \u201cA well-known proverb says, \u2018There is\nnothing so bad that it is not better to have it on your side than\nagainst you;\u2019 so, as I do not know who you are who ask me this\nquestion, I would rather that you were with me than against me.\u201d\n\nAnd hearing nothing further and seeing no one, Helga continued her way\ntill she reached the cave. Here she found everything the same as her\nsisters had done. The cauldron was on the fire, and the dough was ready\nfor baking, but, instead of thinking only of herself, Helga looked\nafter the meat, and saw that it was nicely cooked; then, with great\ncare, she made up the dough into cakes, and never thought of taking\nanything for herself, although she was very hungry, for she had had\nnothing for her breakfast but some hard, dry crusts, and a glass of\ncold water. Neither would she now help herself to any of the fire\nwithout asking leave from the owner of the cave.\n\nFeeling very tired after her long walk, Helga sat down on a bench to\nrest. But she had hardly done so, when she heard a loud rumbling noise;\nthe ground began to tremble; and Helga, fearful that the cave might\nfall in, rose hastily from her seat. But as she turned to run out, she\nsaw a big, three-headed giant standing at the entrance of the cave,\nfollowed by a large black dog.\n\nHelga was terribly frightened; but being fond of animals, she held out\nher hand and patted the dog, and she quite regained courage when the\ngiant, in a kind voice, said, \u201cYou have done the work well, which you\nfound waiting here. It is only right, therefore, that you should get\nyour share. Sit down, therefore, on that bench, and share my dinner;\nafterwards you can take home some of the fire you have come for.\u201d\n\nThe giant then got a bowl from the shelf and helped Helga to some broth\nout of the big cauldron, carefully giving her the tenderest bits of\nmeat. As he did so, the ground again began to shake and tremble, and\nfearful noises, like claps of thunder, frightened Helga greatly.\n\nBut the giant in a gentle voice bade her sit down beside him, and she\nfinished her broth.\n\nThen the giant got up and gave her one of the cakes she had baked; but\nno sooner had she finished it, than the ground again began to shake and\ntremble, the thunder pealed, and flash after flash of lightning lit up\nthe inside of the cave. Helga got so terrified that she ran up to the\ngiant for protection, and as she clung to his arm the noises ceased,\nand as the darkness passed away Helga saw that the giant had\ndisappeared, and that she was holding on to the arm of a handsome young\nprince.\n\n\u201cNay, do not be frightened,\u201d he said; \u201cI can never thank you enough,\ndear Helga, for you have rescued me from the horrible enchantment the\nwicked fairy Gondomar pronounced on me at my birth. I am Torquil, the\nson of King Osbert, who reigns in the neighbouring island; but because\nmy father refused to marry Gondomar, and chose my mother instead, the\nwicked fairy condemned me to go through life a three-headed monster,\nuntil some young girl should, despite my frightful appearance, place\nfull trust and confidence in me.\u201d\n\nAs Prince Torquil said these words, he seated himself beside Helga on a\nstone, thickly covered with soft green moss. Then Helga told him her\nhistory, and why she came to the cave, and also the fate of her sisters\nwho had gone to the cave on the same errand, adding that she must\nhasten back with the fire, else her father and mother would scold and\nbeat her.\n\n\u201cYou shall not be ill treated any more,\u201d replied Torquil; and he went\nto the back of the cave, and presently returned, carrying a casket and\na small bundle in his hands.\n\n\u201cSee, this casket contains gold, and pearls, and precious stones,\u201d he\nsaid. \u201cYou can give some of these to your sisters; but this,\u201d and he\nplaced the bundle on a stool, \u201cyou must wear under your own dress, when\nyou get home, and be very careful that no one sees it.\u201d\n\nSo saying, he undid the bundle, and unfolded a beautiful dress of cloth\nof gold, all worked with silver and precious stones.\n\nHelga could not repress a cry of admiration when she saw the lovely\ngown, and warmly thanked the prince for all his beautiful gifts.\n\nTorquil then filled her fire-shovel with burning coals, and carried it\nfor her some part of the way home; but ere they came in sight of the\ncottage he stopped, and, taking her hand, placed a heavy gold ring on\nher finger.\n\n\u201cKeep this ring, dear Helga,\u201d he said, \u201cand let no one take it from\nyou. It will not be long ere I come to claim my bride, but I must first\nreturn to my parents and tell them the joyful news that the wicked\ncharm is broken at last.\u201d With these words he took a loving farewell of\nHelga, and started her on her homeward journey.\n\nWhen she reached the cottage, and her parents saw that she had\nsucceeded in bringing back the fire, Helga, for once in her life,\nreceived a kind word of welcome; but when she showed them the casket\nand was about to give her sisters some of the jewels, they seized upon\nit, and dividing the contents among themselves, returned Helga the\nempty casket. They might also have taken away her beautiful dress, but,\nafter Torquil left her, she had taken the precaution to slip it on\nunder her old gown, so no one knew anything about it.\n\nAnd thus some days passed on. Matters relapsed into their former way.\nFredegond and Olga did nothing all day but deck themselves with the\njewels out of the casket, quarrelling and fighting over them and Helga,\nas before, had to do the work for the whole family, when one day the\nmother, who had been to the higher meadow for some herbs she wanted,\ncame back and said that she had seen a beautiful big ship lying at\nanchor on the shore below their cottage.\n\nThe old man hastened down to the strand to find out who the owner of\nthe fine vessel might be, and seeing a boat pulling off from it, he\nwaited till the stranger, who was a handsome young man, had landed, and\nthen entered into conversation with him. But though he plied him with\nmany questions, he could not find out his name.\n\nThen the young man in his turn began to question him, and asked him how\nmany children he had.\n\n\u201cOnly two daughters,\u201d replied the old man, \u201cand such good and beautiful\ngirls they are too,\u201d he added.\n\n\u201cI should much like to see them,\u201d said the stranger.\n\nThe old man, greatly delighted, led the way back to his cottage, where\nhis two eldest daughters had hurried on their best frocks and decked\nthemselves with all the jewels out of Helga\u2019s casket.\n\nThe stranger expressed himself as being very pleased with the girls.\n\n\u201cBut,\u201d he asked, \u201cwhy has one of your daughters got her hand tied up\nwith a cloth, and the other one a handkerchief fastened across her\nnose?\u201d\n\nAt first the father said they had met with an accident, and slipped\ndown the cliffs; but when the stranger pressed for further particulars,\nthe story of the dogs and the cave had to be told.\n\n\u201cBut surely you have another daughter?\u201d said the stranger; \u201cone who, I\nknow, is always kind to all animals.\u201d\n\nAt first the old man and his wife both declared they only had those two\ndaughters; but when the stranger kept on urging him, he at last\nadmitted that he had another girl. \u201cBut she is so ugly, lazy, and\nwicked,\u201d he added, \u201cthat she is more like some wild animal than a human\nbeing.\u201d\n\nBut the stranger said he did not mind that at all, and that he must see\nher. So the old man was obliged at last to call Helga.\n\nThe poor girl came out from the kitchen dressed just as she was, in her\nshabby old dress, when the young man went up to her; and as he took her\nhand the ragged old gown slipped from her shoulders, and there, to the\nastonishment and rage of her sisters, stood Helga, arrayed in the\nbeautiful garment the prince had given her.\n\nPrince Torquil rated the old man and the two wicked sisters soundly for\nall their unkindness to Helga. He also made the sisters give up all the\njewels they had taken from her. But Helga begged that they might be\nallowed to keep a few; and the prince consenting, she gave each of them\ntwo chains, two brooches, two bracelets, and two pairs of ear-rings.\nThen Torquil led Helga down to the shore and took her on board his\nbeautiful ship, where his sister gave her a kindly welcome; and when\nthey reached his own country, King Osbert and his queen prepared a\ngreat wedding-feast, and Torquil and Helga were married, and lived long\nand happily together.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nTHORSTEIN\n\n\nCHAPTER I.\n\nHOW THORSTEIN LOST HIS KINGDOM.\n\n\nThere once reigned a king and queen, a long, long time ago, who had an\nonly child, a son called Thorstein.\n\nThe lad was brave, strong, and handsome, and was greatly beloved by\nevery one on account of his kind-heartedness and open-handed\ngenerosity.\n\nBut as years passed and he attained to man\u2019s estate, his\nindiscriminating kindness was often taken advantage of. His father and\nmother tried to check him, pointing out that heedless generosity often\ndid more harm than good; but Thorstein could not be brought to believe\nthat kindness could ever be wrong or do harm, and continued to give to\nevery one who asked him, as long as he had anything he could part with.\n\nAt length the king and queen died. On their death-bed they again\nendeavoured to impress upon their son that a good and wise king must\nnot only reign with kindness, but also with justice; but though\nThorstein, who loved his parents dearly, and was terribly grieved at\nthe idea of losing them, promised he would do his best and bear their\nwise counsel in mind, no sooner were the burial ceremonies concluded\nand he was crowned king, than all his good resolves to be firm and\ndiscriminating were scattered to the winds.\n\nHe kept open house for all who choose to come, gave gifts to all who\nasked, so that all the riches and treasure his wise father had so\ncarefully collected began very speedily to disappear, without any one\nbeing really the better or happier for them.\n\nSo quickly indeed did all he had inherited vanish, that ere many months\nhad passed he had nothing left but the kingdom itself; and then\nrealizing the truth, that a penniless king has but small authority or\npower, he decided to part with his throne, and thus have some money\nwherewith to make a fresh start in life.\n\nThere was no difficulty in finding a purchaser, and Thorstein, in\nexchange for a horse and a sack filled with gold and silver, parted\nwith his inheritance.\n\nBut when he had once sold his kingdom, his so-called friends, who had\nbeen so numerous before, now speedily began to drop off, and as the\nsack got emptier, so did his companions grow fewer in number.\n\n\u201cThere will soon be nothing more to be got out of him,\u201d they said. \u201cA\nfool and his money is soon parted.\u201d So they gradually deserted him.\n\nThen, when it was too late, Thorstein began to realize the sad plight\nhe had brought himself to, and determined to quit the country, and\nleave his false friends behind him. He therefore put together the few\nthings he had left, placed them on the horse he had bought, and\nmounting his own fine chestnut, which he could never bring himself to\npart with, he started off on his travels.\n\nFor a long time Thorstein wandered on over desolate moors and through\ndark sombre forests, not knowing or caring where he went or what became\nof him. He had no friends, not a single creature to care for, or who\nloved him, so he allowed the horses to roam where they listed, letting\nthem graze whenever they came to any fresh grass, but beyond this never\nresting or pausing anywhere.\n\nOnce, when they had stopped to graze near a tiny stream on the banks of\nwhich the grass looked specially fresh, he got off his horse, and\nthrowing himself down on the ground almost made up his mind to go no\nfurther. Why not rest there till death overtook him? But even as this\nthought flashed through him, he raised his eyes towards the west, where\nthe sun was just setting in a bed of crimson and gold, flushing all the\ndistant peaks of the great snow-capped mountains with magic rainbow\nhues.\n\nWhilst still lost in wondering admiration at the gorgeous spectacle,\nthe rosy clouds suddenly parted, and a star of exquisite brilliancy\nshot down a ray of light that seemed to touch Thorstein\u2019s face, and he\nheard a voice saying: \u201cFear not, Thorstein, but go forth on thy travels\nwith a brave heart. Learn from the mistakes of thy youth, that\nindiscriminate open-handedness is neither just nor kind, but only does\nharm, and that a true sovereign must also be a father to his people.\u201d\n\nAnd even as the voice died away, the rosy light gradually faded from\nsky and mountain, and the pale golden moon rose and shed its soft\nsilvery radiance over earth and sky.\n\nThorstein started to his feet. He felt the warm blood coursing quickly\nthrough his veins; and whistling to his horses, who came obedient to\nhis call, he mounted his noble chestnut with a light heart, fully\ndetermined to seek his fortune.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER II.\n\nHIS ARRIVAL AT THE GIANT\u2019S CASTLE.\n\n\nFor some time he followed the rough track across the open plain, but\npresently he arrived at a small farm. Knocking at the door, he asked\nthe old man who opened it if he might rest the night there.\n\n\u201cOh yes,\u201d replied the man; \u201cif you don\u2019t mind taking things as you find\nthem, you are very welcome.\u201d\n\nThorstein thanked him kindly, and after stabling his horses in the shed\nat the back, threw himself down on the rushes that were lying in one\ncorner of the room, the farm servants occupying the opposite corner,\nand the old man sleeping in a third corner, the remaining one being\nfilled by the huge stove.\n\nThorstein, tired out with his long day\u2019s journey, slept soundly all\nnight, but when he woke next morning he was surprised to find the\nfarmer and his men had already gone out.\n\nFearing lest some treachery might be meditated, he sprang up from his\nbed and rushed out of the house.\n\nThere, to his surprise, he saw the farmer and all his men busily at\nwork with their pitchforks, digging and raking up the earth from a\nlarge tumulus, or grave, at some little distance from the farm.\n\nThorstein hurried up to the farmer, and asked him what he was doing,\nand why he was disturbing the grave.\n\n\u201cI have very good reason for doing so,\u201d replied the man; \u201cthe man who\nlies buried there owes me two hundred dollars!\u201d\n\n\u201cBut,\u201d said Thorstein, \u201cno amount of digging will give you back the\nmoney he owed you! On the contrary, you are losing your own time as\nwell as that of your men, and you will probably, in addition, get fined\nfor disturbing the grave.\u201d\n\nBut the farmer was obstinate. He said he did not care. Only he was\nquite determined that the dead man should not rest peacefully in his\ngrave, while he owed him all that money, and that he and his men would\ncontinue to dig and stir up the ground day after day.\n\nThen Thorstein asked him if he would be satisfied and let the man rest\nin his grave if some one else paid the dead man\u2019s debt.\n\n\u201cOh yes!\u201d answered the farmer; \u201cbut I don\u2019t see where that man is\nlikely to come from, as he had no sons.\u201d\n\nThen Thorstein drew forth his purse, which contained the last of his\nmoney, and gave it to the farmer in payment of the debt. The farmer\nthanked him warmly, and promised not to disturb the grave any more.\n\nSo Thorstein bade his host farewell; but ere he left he asked him which\nroad he should take, so as to reach a populous neighbourhood, where he\nmight chance to get some work to do.\n\n\u201cYou must continue along this same road,\u201d replied the farmer, \u201cuntil\nyou come to four cross-roads. Then don\u2019t take the road that goes east,\nbut take the one that goes west.\u201d\n\nThorstein thanked him, and rode away. After some time he arrived at the\ncross-roads, and took the rode to the west, as the farmer had advised\nhim. But he had not gone very far when he thought he would rather like\nto know why the man had said he should not go the other way.\n\n\u201cPerhaps there are giants or some other dangers one may meet,\u201d thought\nThorstein; so he promptly turned back till he arrived at the\ncross-roads, when he proceeded along the road leading east.\n\nFor some time he saw nothing new or strange. The road wound among many\nsmall fields and brushwood, with here and there some groups of tall,\ndark pine-trees; but after passing through a narrow defile, he suddenly\ncame to a large, deep valley, in the centre of which rose a fine big\nhouse, standing quite by itself on a steep, rocky mound. At first he\ncould see no way of getting up to it, but presently he noticed a narrow\npath, almost hidden by trees and thicket; so, fastening his horses to a\nstake, he made his way up to the house.\n\nAs he approached he saw the door was wide open and no one anywhere\nabout. Thorstein therefore went in and came into a big hall, in which\nstood two huge beds, one on each side, covered with rich silken\nhangings, while down the middle ran a table, ready laid with two\nplates, two knives and forks, two great goblets of rarely chased\nsilver, and two large golden flagons of wine. But no one was visible\nhere either.\n\nAfter waiting a short time, to see if the owners would appear,\nThorstein went down the hill again to look after his horses, for he\nthought he might as well stay the night in the house, even if there\nwere a little danger in so doing. So he lifted the saddles off the\nhorses, tethered them with sufficient length of rope that they could\nboth graze and lie down comfortably, and then took all he needed out of\nhis saddlebags, with his sword, which, after his favourite chestnut,\nwas his most precious possession. Then, giving a last look to the\nhorses to see they were all right, he returned to the house, and going\nto the kitchen, he brought thence some bread and the meat which was\nroasting before the fire.\n\nCutting this up carefully, he placed a good portion in each plate,\ntogether with a large slice of bread; he then went to the beds, shook\nup the pillows, and made them all ready for the night. After this,\nfeeling rather tired, he thought he would lie down and rest. He did\nnot, however, venture to occupy either of the beds, but threw himself\ndown on some mats that lay in a corner, carefully pulling one over him.\n\nAfter lying awake for some time, Thorstein was just dropping off to\nsleep when he heard loud underground rumblings. Presently the door was\nthrown open, and he heard heavy steps crossing the floor.\n\nThen a loud, gruff voice exclaimed: \u201cSome one has been here! but\nwhoever it is, we shall soon put an end to him.\u201d\n\n\u201cNo,\u201d answered another voice, \u201cthat you shall not do! I take him,\nwhoever it may be, under my protection; I have the right to do this,\nfor it is my turn, and can dispose of him as I like. He came here of\nhis own free will, and has shown himself both able and willing to be\nuseful. He has made our beds, prepared our food, and all has been well\ndone. Let him now show himself and no harm shall befall him.\u201d\n\nWhen Thorstein heard these words, he once again began to breathe\nfreely, and throwing back the rug he had drawn over him, stood up\nbefore them.\n\nThe young men were regular giants, both in size and strength,\nespecially the elder, who had taken his part, and who was quite a head\ntaller than his brother.\n\nThorstein then went to fetch another plate and cup, and shared in the\ngiants\u2019 meal, after which the two brothers retired to their beds,\nThorstein again taking possession of his rugs, where he soon fell\nsoundly asleep, never waking till long after the sun had risen.\n\nThen, while they were at breakfast, the elder giant, whose name was\nOsric, asked Thorstein whether he would stay on with them; that all he\nwould have to do would be to get their meals ready for them and make\ntheir beds. He might also keep his horses in their stables; and as to\nfood and wine, Thorstein would only have to tell them what was needed,\nand they would always keep the larder and cellar filled, so that\nThorstein need never leave the hill.\n\nThorstein said he would try it for a week. At the end of that time the\ngiants were so well pleased with him, that they urged him to remain\nwith them, for a year, at any rate; and though Thorstein found the life\nrather dull and stupid, he agreed to stop, Osric, the elder giant,\npromising him a rich reward at the end of his term. He then handed him\nthe keys of all the rooms in the house, except one key, and this the\ngiant always wore fastened to a string round his neck, only taking it\noff at night when he went to bed.\n\nWhen the two brothers had gone off on their daily expeditions,\nThorstein made a regular round of the house, looking into the\nstorerooms, cellars, and every room except the one of which Osric kept\nthe key. In vain he tried all the keys on his bunch, hoping one of them\nmight open the lock; but in vain. He then tried to force open the door\nby throwing himself against it with all his might; but in this also he\nfailed.\n\nLater on, Thorstein noticed that Osric always went into this room every\nnight and morning, while Bifrou, the younger giant, waited for him\noutside. So one day he asked Osric why, when handing him the keys of\nall the other rooms, he had kept back this one.\n\n\u201cSurely,\u201d he continued, \u201cif you have found me faithful in all you have\nentrusted me with, you might also trust me with what is in that room.\u201d\n\nBut Osric said there was really nothing particular in the room.\nThorstein might be quite sure of that, for, having found him so\nfaithful and honest respecting everything placed under his care, they\nwould certainly also have trusted him if there had been anything\nvaluable in that room.\n\nBut although Thorstein pretended that he was quite satisfied with the\ngiant\u2019s answer, he made up his mind to solve the mystery in some way.\n\nAt length the end of the year arrived, and the two giant brothers, well\npleased to have secured so careful a servant, gave him as his wages two\ngreat sacks filled with gold. They had never been made so comfortable\nbefore, and again begged Thorstein to remain another year.\n\nTo this Thorstein would not agree, but said he would remain six months,\nas he was more than ever determined to find out the mystery of the\nlocked room.\n\nHe therefore carefully watched every opportunity, hoping Osric might\nperhaps by chance leave the key behind him. But the giant was much too\ncareful to do so.\n\nOne morning, when Thorstein had risen particularly early, in order to\nbake the bread, the thought of the locked chamber came constantly\nbefore him, and while kneading the dough he kept puzzling his head as\nto how he could circumvent the giant. Suddenly a bright idea struck\nhim. Creeping softly to the back door, which led into the stable yard,\nhe gave a loud knock, and then ran back as quickly as he could to the\nroom where the giants were sleeping, and asked them, with a scared face\n(holding the dough he had been kneading in his hands), whether they had\nnot heard some one knocking.\n\n\u201cOh yes,\u201d they both replied; \u201cwe did hear something, but we thought it\nwas you knocking down a chair while you were sweeping.\u201d\n\nThorstein declared he had not knocked down anything, and added that he\nwas afraid to open the door, for he was quite positive some one had\nknocked there.\n\nThe giants said he was quite right not to open it, for it might be some\nunfriendly giant; so they got up themselves, and ran to the door to see\nwho had disturbed them at that early hour in the morning.\n\nNo sooner had they left the room than Thorstein drew forth the key of\nthe mysterious chamber, which the biggest giant always kept under his\npillow at night, and quickly taking an impression of it in the dough he\nhad in his hand, replaced the key in its former place.\n\nWhen the brothers came back they were not a little put out, for of\ncourse they found no one at the door, and declared that Thorstein had\nonly said it in order to make fun of them.\n\nBut this Thorstein denied stoutly, and maintained that he had heard\nsome one knocking, and supposed, whoever it was, must have run away.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER III.\n\nTHE MYSTERY OF THE LOCKED ROOM.\n\n\nAs soon as the giants had gone forth that day to seek for treasure, as\nusual, Thorstein tried to make a key at the giants\u2019 forge from the\nimpression he had taken in the dough; but many and fruitless were the\ntrials ere he succeeded. Then, watching his opportunity, when the\nbrothers had gone on a long expedition, he unlocked the forbidden door,\nand entered the mysterious chamber.\n\nAt first he could see nothing, for it was almost dark, the single\nwindow being heavily barred and shuttered. But having struck a light,\nhe glanced eagerly round. There, to his amazement and horror, he saw a\nyoung girl fastened to a nail in the wall by her long plaits of hair.\n\nMounting on a chair, he hastened to release her, and begged her to tell\nhim who she was, and how and why she had come there.\n\nAt first the poor girl could scarcely believe that she had at last\nfound a friend; but Thorstein looked so good and kind, that her fears\nquickly vanished.\n\n\u201cAlas!\u201d she said, \u201cI am a most unhappy maiden! My name is Thekla, and\nmy father is King Alfhelm. One day, as I was playing in a field near\nthe palace with my maidens, a great giant suddenly rushed in among us\nfrom the neighbouring wood, and snatching me up in his arms, despite\nall my cries and struggles, carried me down to the shore, where his\nboat was waiting. Ere any help could reach us, we were well out of\nsight, till at length we arrived at this place. He then asked me to\nmarry him, which I indignantly refused to do; and though he comes every\nday to try and persuade me to consent, I will never give in; no, not\nthough they starve or kill me!\u201d And she burst again into bitter sobs.\n\nThorstein tried to comfort her as best he could. He told her that,\nhaving now made a key, he would be able to come and see her every day\nwhile the giants were away. He then brought her some food, for the poor\ngirl was half starved (as the giant only gave her just enough to keep\nher alive), and then, as evening drew near, Thorstein again fastened\nThekla\u2019s hair to the nail, ere he closed the door before the giants\u2019\nreturn.\n\nFrom that day forward Thorstein visited the poor girl regularly every\nday, always bringing her some food, and then putting all straight again\nere the brothers returned, so that they had no idea of what took place\nduring their absence.\n\nWhen the end of the six months drew near, Thorstein told the giants\nthat he wished to leave. But they had got so used to him, and he waited\non them so carefully, that they did not want to part with him, and\nbegged him to remain another year.\n\nAt first Thorstein refused, but after much persuasion, the brothers\ngiving him again two more sacks of gold as wages, Thorstein said he\nwould remain another six months, if at the end of that time they would\ngive him as wages whatever was in the locked room\u2014no matter whether it\nwas valuable or not.\n\nWhen Osric heard this he grew very angry, and told Thorstein not to be\na fool; that what he was asking for was utterly worthless; and that he\nhad much better accept the good wages they were quite willing to give\nhim.\n\nThorstein, however, would not give in. He said he did not care whether\nthe contents of the room were valuable or not. He had set his heart\nupon that, and nothing else, and would remain with them on no other\ncondition.\n\nOsric grew furious, and they argued and fought over this, till at last\nBifrou, seeing that Thorstein was quite determined, advised his brother\nto give in, for they could keep him in no other way. So the big giant\nat last agreed to his terms.\n\nDuring the six months that followed, Thorstein did his utmost to\nlighten Thekla\u2019s imprisonment. Many a long and pleasant chat they had\ntogether, planning their future life, while Thekla described her former\nhome, and how delighted her father would be to see her safely back\nagain.\n\nAt length the weary six months came to an end; and though the giant\nbrothers again tried to persuade Thorstein to remain with them, he was\nfirm, and would listen to no further promises of future wealth and\ngreatness with which they tried to bribe him.\n\nSo, seeing that neither persuasions nor threats would prevail, Osric at\nlast opened the door and brought out Thekla; very much surprised he was\nto see her looking so well when he saw her in the daylight, and half\nrepented him of his promise.\n\nBut Thorstein led forth his two horses, which he had all this time\ncarefully groomed and tended. Placing two sacks of gold on each, he\nlifted Thekla on one horse, and buckling on his sword, as well as a\nsharp dagger, mounted the other horse.\n\nAs he did so, Thekla noticed the giants whispering together, and heard\nthe younger one mutter, with a laugh, \u201cYes, as soon as they get to the\nravine.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, Thorstein,\u201d she said, when they had ridden on a short distance, \u201cI\nknow they mean to attack us. I heard them say so.\u201d\n\n\u201cNever fear,\u201d replied Thorstein. \u201cMy good sword has never failed me\nyet! But you ride on in front.\u201d\n\nAs soon as they were out of sight, he placed the other sacks of gold on\nThekla\u2019s horse, and bidding her ride on ahead, he drew his sword and\nkept a keen look-out.\n\nThey rode on thus for some little distance. The country was open, and\nthough the road was rough, they were soon out of sight of the castle.\nAt length they arrived at the narrow ravine which led down to the\nshore. They had not long entered it when they heard the clatter of\nhorses\u2019 hoofs behind them. Thorstein bade Thekla ride on. He then hid\nhimself behind a projecting rock, and as Bifrou, who was in front, rode\npast, Thorstein rushed at him, and with one blow of his sword, severed\nhis head from his body. Osric, seeing what had befallen his brother and\nfearing the same fate, rode back to the castle for more help.\n\nThorstein then joined Thekla, who had anxiously watched the combat, and\nthey rode on, hoping that all danger of pursuit was now over. But just\nas they emerged from the ravine, Thorstein, looking back, saw Osric,\naccompanied by a still bigger and fiercer-looking giant, hurrying after\nthem.\n\nAgain sending Thekla on in front, he turned and faced his enemies. A\nterrible combat now ensued. They attacked Thorstein, one on each side,\nbut he swung his great broadsword round his head and with one blow cut\noff Osric\u2019s head. Then the big giant, seeing his friend fall to the\nground, grew furious. He threw away his sword, and grasping Thorstein\nround the waist, flung him to the ground. But in an instant Thorstein\nwas on his feet again, and now a desperate conflict ensued. They\nwrestled together fiercely; sometimes one, sometimes the other was\nuppermost, but at length the giant\u2019s weight and size began to tell, and\nThekla was horrified to see Thorstein grow pale and stagger.\n\nWithout a moment\u2019s thought or hesitation she sprang from her horse,\nand, snatching up the dagger that had fallen from Thorstein\u2019s girdle\nduring the struggle, she thrust it through the heart of the giant, who\nrolled over on his side without a groan.\n\nBoth the giant brothers and their friend being now dead, Thorstein said\nthey had better return to their house and take possession of all the\ntreasure they could find. This they did, and by making several journeys\nbackwards and forwards, they had quite a large store of boxes on the\nshore, filled with gold and precious stones.\n\nThen, to their joy, they one day saw a vessel nearing the land, which,\nas it came closer, proved to be a ship belonging to Thekla\u2019s father,\nthe captain, called Randur, being one of his chief ministers.\n\nThe latter was delighted when he saw Thekla, for her father had been so\ngreatly distressed at her disappearance that he had fitted out several\nships to go in search of her, promising that he would bestow her as a\nbride on whoever was fortunate enough to find her.\n\nRandur therefore at once offered to take them home, and sent some of\nhis men ashore to help and carry Thorstein\u2019s treasure down to the ship.\nWhen everything was put on board, the sails were set, and the good\nvessel sped gallantly on her homeward way.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER IV.\n\nHOW THORSTEIN\u2019S KIND ACTIONS RECEIVED THEIR REWARD.\n\n\nThekla and Thorstein now thought all their trials were surely over, and\ngave themselves up to the enjoyment of each other\u2019s society. But Randur\nhad no intention of letting the latter reach Thekla\u2019s home. So he\nwatched his opportunity, and one night, when they were well out at sea,\nhe had one of the boats lowered. In this he placed Thorstein, who was\nfast asleep in the after-part of the ship, and, casting loose the boat,\nlet it drift away. He then made the men take a solemn oath never to\nmention what had been done, but that if any one asked about Thorstein,\nthey were to say they knew nothing about him.\n\nNext morning, when Thekla, surprised at not seeing Thorstein, asked\nwhere he was, Randur pretended to be greatly surprised at his\nnon-appearance, and instituted a search all over the vessel for him.\n\nThekla was very unhappy to think that Thorstein should have disappeared\nso unaccountably; then, suddenly missing one of the boats, she said\nthat perhaps he had gone fishing, and insisted upon the vessel being\nput about to search for him.\n\nBut though Randur pretended to obey her orders, shifting the sails and\nissuing various commands, he was in reality hurrying home as fast as he\ncould, rejoicing at having so successfully rid himself of his rival.\n\nThe boat, meanwhile, in which Thorstein lay fast asleep, had drifted a\nlong distance from the ship ere he awoke, and on first opening his eyes\nhe could not imagine where he was. But when he once realized his\nposition, he decided that Randur\u2019s jealousy must have played him this\ntrick, and he set himself to think what he had better do.\n\nWhen Randur had sent him adrift, he had put neither food nor water in\nthe boat, and as the sun rose higher and higher in the heavens, the\nheat grew intense. In vain he steeped his clothes in the water, hoping\nthus, at least, to assuage his thirst, which was causing him much\nsuffering. He gradually grew more faint and weary, and a feeling of\nhopelessness was stealing over him, when suddenly he heard a voice\nsaying, \u201cDo not lose heart, Thorstein, though your plight is sad,\ndrifting thus hopelessly about on the ocean. But as you once spent your\nall to give me rest, so now I will also aid you.\u201d\n\nAnd immediately the boat flew rapidly over the water, propelled by an\nunseen force. Thorstein\u2019s thirst and weariness vanished, and he reached\nthe island where Thekla\u2019s father lived at the same time as the ship in\nwhich she was returning, though he landed at a different point.\n\nAs Thorstein stepped on shore, he again heard the strange voice,\nsaying, \u201cI am only repaying what I owe you, for had you not given up\nall you possessed to the farmer to whom I was in debt, he would never\nhave allowed my bones to rest in peace in the grave. And now I will\nhelp you further. This is King Alfhelm\u2019s country. Go to the palace, and\nthere offer to look after the king\u2019s chestnut horses, of which he is\nvery proud. His late groom was very careless, and has been dismissed,\nso he will engage you. But, remember, whatever is found beneath the\nhorses\u2019 mangers belongs to you, and you can keep it.\u201d\n\nSo saying, the spirit of the dead man departed, and Thorstein, having\nthanked him gratefully, at once started off for the king\u2019s palace.\n\nKing Alfhelm, who had been rather at a loss as to whom to entrust with\nhis fine chestnut horses, of which he was very proud, was greatly\npleased with Thorstein\u2019s appearance, and at once put him in charge of\nthe stable, where Thorstein, to his surprise, saw his own chestnut\namong the other horses\u2014for Randur, on landing, had given it as a\npresent to the king. But the horse would allow no strange hand to come\nnear it; the moment it saw Thorstein, however, it became gentle as a\nlamb.\n\nThe king, meanwhile, was greatly rejoiced at his daughter\u2019s safe\nreturn, for he had almost given up all hope of ever seeing her again.\nSo he ordered a great feast to be prepared to celebrate her arrival,\nand believing Randur\u2019s tale, that he had rescued the princess from the\ngiants, promised to give him his daughter in marriage.\n\nTo this, however, Thekla objected.\n\n\u201cRather than wed Randur, I will remain single all my life,\u201d she said.\n\nThis threat so frightened the king, for, having no son, he looked\nforward to seeing Thekla\u2019s children growing up, that he did not urge\nher any further.\n\nThekla then begged her father to summon the new groom to the great hall\nthat evening, for she had been told that he had travelled a great deal,\nand it would amuse them all to hear his adventures.\n\nSo the king, willing to please his daughter, and anxious himself to\nhear the tale of his adventures, summoned Thorstein to the big hall,\nwhere the whole court was assembled.\n\nAnd then the whole truth came to light; and when King Alfhelm heard the\nwickedness and treachery of his minister, he grew so angry that he\nordered Randur to be torn to pieces by wild horses.\n\nBut Thekla and Thorstein both interceded for him, so he was only\nbanished for life from the kingdom.\n\nVery soon after, the marriage of Thorstein and the fair princess was\ncelebrated, amid general rejoicings. In addition to the treasure they\nhad brought back from the giant\u2019s house, Thorstein, on looking under\nthe horses\u2019 mangers, found an immense pile of old golden coins, rare\nornaments, and precious stones, which had been hidden there in ancient\nwar times by some previous kings.\n\nAfter King Alfhelm\u2019s death, who lived long enough to see three little\ngrandchildren running beside him, Thorstein and Thekla succeeded to the\nthrone.\n\nThey were both greatly beloved by their people, whose lives they ever\nstudied to make happy, so much so, that to this day that period is\nalways spoken of as \u201cthe reign of the good king and queen.\u201d\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nSIGURD\n\n\nCHAPTER I.\n\nSIGURD FINDS A FRIEND IN HIS STEPMOTHER.\n\n\nIn olden times there lived a king and queen who had an only son called\nSigurd. All went happily until the boy was about ten years old, and\nthen the queen became very ill and died. According to the custom of\nthat land, her body was embalmed and placed on a funeral pile, and\nthere it was watched by the king, who sat day after day beside it in\ninconsolable grief.\n\nTime went on, but he refused to leave the funeral pile, and all the\nbusiness of the kingdom came to a standstill, for the sovereign gave no\nheed to what went on around him, and the courtiers had one and all\nfailed to influence him.\n\nAt last one day he raised his eyes from the ground and looked towards\nthe great pine forest that stretched away as far as you could see round\nthe palace, and there, under the trees, coming towards him, he saw a\nmost beautiful woman, her tall figure clothed in costly black robes.\n\n\u201cWho are you?\u201d he asked, as she drew near.\n\n\u201cMy name is Injibj\u00f6rg,\u201d she answered, in a low, sweet voice. \u201cWhy are\nyou sitting here alone?\u201d\n\n\u201cBecause the queen is dead, and my heart is filled with sorrow.\u201d\n\n\u201cAlas! I can sympathize with you in your grief,\u201d she replied. \u201cI, too,\nlost my husband only yesterday, and now I am alone in the world.\u201d\n\nThe king for the first time began to be interested in something. Here\nwas a person as sad as himself. They soon began talking like old\nfriends, and in the end decided that, as they were both so lonely, it\nwould be a wise thing for them to marry. The king invited her to return\nwith him to the palace, and in a few days the wedding took place, amid\nthe rejoicings of the people at the return of their sovereign once more\nto everyday life and work.\n\nUnder the wise influence of Injibj\u00f6rg the king soon regained his usual\nhealth and spirits. He began to take up the neglected affairs of the\nkingdom, and rode out constantly hunting and fishing, attended by his\ncourt. And Sigurd? In his stepmother the boy found a true friend, who\ncared for him with a real mother\u2019s love, and made his life full of\nsunshine. They were inseparable companions, and people would stop and\nwatch them as they passed along the roads, or played together in the\npalace gardens, saying, \u201cAh, the good stepmother! See how she loves the\npoor motherless boy.\u201d They were a pretty picture\u2014the fair-haired,\nhandsome little prince, and the beautiful tall woman, with her gracious\nmanners and winning smile.\n\nAnd thus their lives went happily on until Sigurd was almost a youth\nand as tall as his stepmother.\n\nOne evening Sigurd and Injibj\u00f6rg were returning to the palace from a\nlong stroll. The sun was lighting up the stems of the pine trees as\nthey walked along beneath them. He had noticed for some days that his\nmother, as he loved to call her, appeared sad and out of spirits, but\nto-day the deepest depression seemed to possess her. As they drew near\nhome, she laid her hand lovingly on the boy\u2019s arm.\n\n\u201cMy son, your father goes hunting to-morrow. It is my wish that you go\nwith him and leave me alone for a day.\u201d\n\n\u201cBut, mother, why? You are sad, I see; my place is surely with you. I\nlove hunting, as you know, but I cannot leave you thus.\u201d\n\nAnd all her persuasions were in vain.\n\nNext morning the king set out, but the young prince remained with his\nstepmother, in spite of all she could say.\n\n\u201cAlas! alas!\u201d she said, when they were left alone, \u201cwhy did you disobey\nmy wishes? I fear me that you will repent it sorely.\u201d\n\nThen she led Sigurd to her own room, and told him to hide under her bed\nuntil she called him forth. Directly he was safely hidden, the ground\nbegan to tremble, there was a terrific noise like thunder, and out of a\ngreat fissure appeared a huge giantess. Her feet were buried in the\nearth up to her ankles, for she was too tall to stand upright in the\nroom. Through a small aperture in the hangings of the great bed, Sigurd\nwatched to see what would happen.\n\n\u201cA pleasant greeting to you, Sister Injibj\u00f6rg!\u201d he heard the giantess\nsay. \u201cIs Sigurd, the king\u2019s son, at home?\u201d\n\n\u201cNo,\u201d replied Injibj\u00f6rg. \u201cHe has gone hunting with his father.\u201d\n\nThen the queen spread the table for her terrible giant sister, with\nrich and dainty dishes. When the meal was at an end, the giantess said,\n\u201cI thank you for the nicest food and the best drink of mead that I have\nyet tasted. Is Sigurd, the king\u2019s son, at home?\u201d\n\nAgain Injibj\u00f6rg said no. So the giantess took leave of her and\ndeparted; the floor closed up, and all was quiet once more. Then the\nqueen called Sigurd, embraced him with the greatest affection, and,\nafter a short time, regained her usual cheerfulness.\n\nWhen the king returned in the evening from the chase, neither the queen\nnor Sigurd told him what had happened during his absence.\n\nThe next morning he declared his intention of going out hunting in a\nstill further part of the kingdom, and once more Injibj\u00f6rg tried to\npersuade the boy to go with his father. Her persuasions were useless.\nHe was more than ever determined to stay with her, hoping, in some\nunforeseen way, that he might be of use; for that there was some\ndreadful mystery about the giantess, he was sure.\n\nThis time, directly the king left, Injibj\u00f6rg put the prince into a\nlarge press, and as she turned away, he saw tears in her eyes, and\nguessed that she feared some terrible new visitor. And he was right.\nHardly had she closed the door when the noises of yesterday were\nrenewed; the ground quaked, and a still greater giantess appeared, her\nfeet buried in the floor up to her knees to allow of her entering the\nroom.\n\n\u201cA pleasant greeting to you, Sister Injibj\u00f6rg,\u201d she cried. \u201cIs Sigurd,\nthe king\u2019s son, at home?\u201d\n\n\u201cNo,\u201d said Injibj\u00f6rg. \u201cHow should he be, when the king, his father, is\nhunting far from the palace?\u201d\n\nAnd, as yesterday, she immediately began to spread the table with\ndelicacies. When the meal was over, the giantess took her leave,\nsaying, \u201cI thank thee for the best food and most refreshing draught of\nale that I have yet tasted. Is Sigurd, the king\u2019s son, at home?\u201d\n\nAgain Injibj\u00f6rg said no, and in a few moments she was alone, and all\nwas quiet.\n\nThen Sigurd came out of the press, and once more his mother clasped him\nin her arms, and he heard her say to herself, \u201cMy son, my son! if I can\nbut save him once more, all may yet be well.\u201d\n\nWith tears she entreated him, for her sake, to go away with his father\nthe next day.\n\n\u201cTwice I have hidden you successfully, but my third sister comes\nto-morrow, and she is sharper and fiercer than either of the others. If\nI can save you this time, they will never come again. My son, leave me\nthis once. Even if they do me harm I shall know that you are safe.\u201d\n\n\u201cMother,\u201d Sigurd answered, \u201cI am no longer a little child. If you are\nin danger at all, my place is with you. And I am sure that your sister\ncannot do me any real harm.\u201d\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER II.\n\nHE WRESTLES WITH THE GIANT SISTERS.\n\n\nAll that evening she tried her utmost to alter his decision, and also\nthe next morning, for now the day had come, and brought with it a\npresage of evil. But nothing would move Sigurd.\n\nDirectly the king had ridden forth, Injibj\u00f6rg concealed the prince\nbehind some thick hangings on the wall. The earth quaked, terrible\nnoises were heard, and a gigantic woman appeared, fiercer and stronger\nthan either of the others, and so huge that only half her body rose out\nof the floor.\n\n\u201cA pleasant greeting to you, Sister Injibj\u00f6rg,\u201d she cried, in a harsh,\nterrible voice. \u201cIs Sigurd, the king\u2019s son, at home?\u201d\n\n\u201cNo,\u201d replied Injibj\u00f6rg, in a faltering voice. \u201cHe is hunting with his\nfather in the woods.\u201d\n\n\u201cI see you lie!\u201d roared the giantess. \u201cThe boy is here;\u201d and she seized\nthe queen, and began to shake her violently. But, as Injibj\u00f6rg\ncontinued to protest that the prince was not at home, she relaxed her\nhold, and the table was spread as usual with beautiful dishes. When the\nmeal was ended, the giantess rose. \u201cI thank you for the best meal I\nhave ever tasted,\u201d she said. \u201cIs Sigurd, the king\u2019s son, at home?\u201d\n\n\u201cNo,\u201d replied Injibj\u00f6rg. \u201cHave I not already answered you?\u201d\n\n\u201cAha!\u201d cried the giantess, her wicked, malicious laugh making the\nrafters ring. \u201cThen if he be so far away, my words can do him no harm.\nBut should he be within hearing, I decree that half of his body shall\nwither up, and he shall never recover until he has sought and found me.\nAnd you, my sister, be thankful if a worse fate does not overtake you.\u201d\n\nAnd, with another peal of mocking laughter, she disappeared.\n\nTrembling from head to foot, the queen went to find her son; but, alas!\nwhen she led him forth from his hiding-place, the curse had fallen upon\nhim, and his left side was shrunk and withered.\n\n\u201cSigurd, Sigurd,\u201d she cried, holding him close, and weeping bitterly.\n\u201cSee what has happened because you would not leave me. Better far that\nI should have suffered than that this should have fallen upon you.\nAlas! alas! what shall we do?\u201d\n\n\u201cMother,\u201d he answered bravely, \u201cthere is but one thing\u2014I must seek your\nsister, as she said, and perhaps, in doing that, I may chance to free\nyou also from their dread visits for ever. Tell me what I must do to\nfind her, and let me depart at once, before my father returns, lest he\nsee me like this, and be angry with you. I grieve to leave you; but it\nis best, I know. Watch for my return day by day, dear mother, and give\nme your blessing before I go. Your love will make me strong to bear all\nthat may lie before me.\u201d\n\nThen Injibj\u00f6rg took a large ball of wool out of a chest and gave it to\nher son, with three golden rings.\n\n\u201cAs soon as you let this ball fall to the ground,\u201d she said, \u201cit will\ngo on rolling till it reaches some rocks. Follow it till it stops, and\none of the giantesses will come forth. Do not lose heart. Do whatever\nshe wishes you to. She will draw you up on to the rock where she\nstands, and you must salute her, and present her with the smallest\nring. When she sees the gold she will be delighted, and will challenge\nyou to wrestle with her. When you get exhausted she will offer you a\ndrink out of a horn; and I have prayed that the strength of that magic\ndraught will make you the victor in the wrestling match, so that she\nwill allow you to depart next day. My other two sisters will behave in\nthe same manner; but be brave and fearless, and remember what I tell\nyou. One thing, dear son, keep ever in your mind, as you love me. If at\nany time my dog comes suddenly to you, puts his paws on your knees, and\nlooks up at you, while tears run down his face, hasten home, let\nnothing stay you, for my life will be in danger. Do not forget your\nstep-mother Injibj\u00f6rg.\u201d\n\nMany times Sigurd embraced the queen before he at length left her on\nhis dangerous journey. And as he looked back for a last farewell, he\nsaw her tall, graceful figure still standing watching him at the\nentrance of the palace. He knew she was wondering if she should ever\nsee her beloved son again. And his heart was very heavy at leaving her\nin such grief.\n\nDirectly he was out of sight of the palace, he threw the ball on the\nground, and eagerly followed its winding course.\n\nTowards sunset he found himself in a wild and rocky region, and at\nlength the ball led him to the foot of a precipitous rock, on the\nsummit of which sat the first giantess.\n\n\u201cAha!\u201d she cried, \u201cthis is splendid! Here is Sigurd, the king\u2019s son. He\nshall be my meal to-night. Come up, comrade! Come hither! Thou art not\nafraid of a woman, I feel sure.\u201d\n\nWith these mocking words she reached down a long boat-hook, and drew\nhim up beside her. Sigurd greeted her bravely, and presented her with\nthe smallest of the golden rings. When she saw the gold, the giantess\nwas delighted. \u201cAh! now thou shalt wrestle with me,\u201d she cried.\n\nAnd they began. Sigurd fought bravely, and when she saw him getting\ntired she gave him a draught of mead, which made him so strong that he\ncame off victor in the end, and she let him go.\n\nThe next day, bidding her farewell, he again followed the ball till it\nreached another high rock. There sat the second giantess.\n\nShe greeted the youth in the same fashion as her sister, pulled him up\nbeside her, and was so delighted at the gift of the ring, that she,\ntoo, offered to wrestle with Sigurd for the victory before making her\nmeal off him.\n\nAgain, as he got exhausted, he was offered a drink of mead from a huge\nhorn, and was able to throw his opponent to the ground with one hand.\n\nOn the third day Sigurd rose with a lighter heart\u2014only one more foe to\nmeet, and then the victory would be won: his mother freed from the\nhateful dominion of her sisters, and he himself restored to his usual\nappearance. As he looked at his withered arm and leg, he vowed to use\nevery effort to become victor.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER III.\n\nHIS MEETING WITH HELGA.\n\n\nIt was early morning when Sigurd left the home of the second giantess,\nbut night had nearly fallen before his ball stopped at the foot of the\nhighest rock he had yet come to. On the summit stood the huge figure he\nhad last seen on that fatal day at the palace; her head seemed to touch\nthe clouds, and a terrible smile played on her lips as she looked down\nat the prince.\n\n\u201cAha! So you have followed me, as I said. Up, comrade, up! You shall\nhave your wish, and see how you like a contest with me in person.\u201d\n\nBut Sigurd\u2019s heart did not fail him. \u201cDraw me up,\u201d he said; \u201cI have a\nmessage for you from my stepmother, Queen Injibj\u00f6rg.\u201d\n\nThen the giantess drew him up, as her sisters had done, and he\npresented the last and largest of the golden rings. This pleased her\nimmensely, and she proposed that they should at once wrestle for the\nvictory, without waiting any longer. Sigurd exerted his utmost\nstrength, feeling that on this combat all his future happiness\ndepended; and just when he thought he could hold out no longer, the\ngiantess reached him a horn of mead, which, as before, gave him\nsupernatural strength, and he forced her to her knees.\n\nIn a moment he felt that his withered side was healed. The glow of\nperfect health came over him, and he could have sung aloud and danced\nfor joy.\n\n\u201cThou hast conquered, Sigurd, the king\u2019s son,\u201d the giantess\nsaid\u2014\u201cconquered in fair fight. I am no longer thine enemy; my power\nover thee is gone for ever. Now, go forth. Not far from here is a lake.\nThere thou wilt see a maiden rocking herself in a boat. Give her this\nsmall ring, and it will be of use to thee. Thou art a brave youth, and\nI have done that for thee which I would not do for any one else. Thy\nstrength is now fully restored to thee, and thou shalt succeed in all\nthine undertakings.\u201d\n\nWith grateful thanks, Sigurd bade her farewell, and took his way to the\nlake she had told him of. All through the night he went on, and when\nthe morning sun arose he saw the glitter of its rays on the water. As\nhe reached the shore he beheld a lovely girl in a tiny green-and-gold\nboat, gently rocking herself to and fro on the waves, close to the edge\nof the water.\n\nSigurd approached, doffed his cap, and ventured to ask her name.\n\n\u201cMy name is Helga,\u201d she said, \u201cand I live yonder with my\nfather,\u201d\u2014pointing to a castle in the distance.\n\nThen Sigurd showed her the ring he had received from the giantess.\n\n\u201cI have come all this way to give it to you,\u201d he said; \u201cfate has\ndecreed that we are to be great friends. Will you accept it, and wear\nit always?\u201d\n\n\u201cI have no friends,\u201d Helga answered. \u201cI will gladly have you for one,\nand wear your ring.\u201d\n\nSo he placed it on her finger, and they rowed in the little boat, and\nwandered about the woods on the shores of the lake, until the sun began\nto sink behind the hills.\n\n\u201cAlas!\u201d cried Helga, as she saw the slanting rays, \u201cit is getting late;\nI must away home.\u201d\n\n\u201cI will come too,\u201d Sigurd answered.\n\n\u201cNo, no,\u201d she cried, in a terrified voice. \u201cMy father allows no\nstranger to enter our home. He would certainly kill you if he found\nyou. No, you must not come.\u201d And she set off running.\n\nSigurd ran too, and came up with her just as they reached the door.\nHelga put out her hand, the one which bore the ring he had given her,\nto stop him. In a moment, the young prince had disappeared, and where\nhe had stood there was now only a huge bundle of wool. Helga then\nrealized that the ring he had given her was a magic one, which she must\nuse for his protection. She at once lifted up the bundle of wool in her\narms, carried it into the castle hall, and threw it up on a high shelf.\n\nAt that instant her father came striding in\u2014he was a giant of great\nsize. Taking no notice of his daughter, he began searching in all the\ncorners, and finding nothing, cried out in an angry voice: \u201cWhere has\nhe gone? What was that I saw you carrying, child?\u201d\n\n\u201cOnly a bundle of wool, father,\u201d Helga answered, as fearlessly as she\ncould.\n\n\u201cAh, it must have been that; but I thought I saw some one with you,\u201d he\nmuttered, and soon after retired to his room. The next morning, when\nHelga went out as usual, she carried the bundle of wool with her, and\nwhen she reached the boat, she touched it with her ring, and Sigurd\nregained his natural form. They rowed to a more distant part of the\nlake, and spent another happy day together.\n\nSigurd told Helga all about his stepmother, and his love for her.\n\n\u201cI owe everything to her kindness,\u201d he said, \u201cand I shall never be\nreally happy till I have finished this journey and returned to her.\nEven when I am with you I dread lest evil may have overtaken her in my\nabsence. But the giantess sent me here for some end, which I must wait\nto perform. My mother is the most beautiful woman I have ever seen,\nexcept you.\u201d\n\nHelga, in her turn, told him of her lonely life with her fierce old\nfather, and of how she had always longed to have some one of her own\nage as a companion.\n\n\u201cBut what shall I do when I am left alone again?\u201d she asked, with tears\nin her eyes.\n\n\u201cBe comforted,\u201d Sigurd said, as he took her hand in his. \u201cI must return\nto my stepmother, but I will come again, and take you away with me to\nmy own home.\u201d\n\nAs they returned, Helga said: \u201cTo-morrow we shall have more freedom,\nfor my father goes to a great gathering of giants, and I will show you\nover the castle in his absence.\u201d When they reached the house, Helga\ntouched him with her ring, and once again Sigurd became a bundle of\nwool, and passed the night on a shelf in the hall.\n\nNext morning, almost at break of day, Helga\u2019s father departed, and\nSigurd was enabled to resume his natural form at once. They walked and\ntalked for some time, and then Sigurd reminded Helga of her promise to\nshow him over the castle. She produced a huge bunch of keys, and\ntogether they passed through room after room, each one more beautiful\nthan the last.\n\n\u201cAnd what is that key for?\u201d asked the prince, pointing to a very\nstrange one, which Helga had not yet used.\n\n\u201cThat is my father\u2019s secret room. The key is of a different pattern to\nall the others.\u201d\n\n\u201cIt is, indeed. But surely you will not refuse to let me see that room\nalso?\u201d And as he spoke, they passed to a door strongly studded with\ngreat iron nails. He entreated Helga not to refuse his request. \u201cThis,\nI am sure, is the door.\u201d\n\n\u201cYes, you are right. But if I open the door you must only just peep in,\nfor I myself am terrified to go inside.\u201d\n\n\u201cNothing can hurt you while you are with me,\u201d Sigurd said, placing his\narm round her; and, with trembling fingers, Helga fitted the key into\nthe massive lock, and opened the door a couple of inches. But Sigurd\npushed it wide open and boldly stood in the doorway. There he saw a\nmagnificent horse, richly caparisoned, eating golden hay, while,\nsuspended to the rafters above its head, hung a sword sheathed in gold,\nwith these words engraved on the hilt\u2014\n\n\n Whoever mounts this horse, and is armed with\n this sword, good luck will ride with him.\n\n\nSigurd entreated Helga to let him ride the horse once round the castle,\nand to carry the sword in his hand. At first Helga would not hear of\nit. Something terrible would happen, she felt sure. But the young\nprince pleaded so irresistibly, that at last he won her reluctant\nconsent. The horse, she told him, was called Gullfaxi, \u201cthe golden\nmane;\u201d the sword, Gunnfj\u00f6den, \u201cfighting blade.\u201d\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER IV.\n\nHIS ESCAPE ON THE WONDERFUL HORSE GULLFAXI.\n\n\nSigurd led the beautiful steed outside the castle, took down the sword,\nand had just mounted, when Helga came running to him with something in\nher hand.\n\n\u201cHere, I give you a green branch, a stone, and a stick,\u201d she said,\n\u201celse I fear that you may get into trouble. Listen carefully to what I\ntell you. If, when you are mounted on the horse, an enemy should follow\nyou and threaten to take your life, you have only to throw down the\ngreen branch as you ride along, and immediately a dense forest will\ngrow up behind you. Should the enemy still attempt to follow, you have\nonly to strike the stick on the white stone, and a terrible hailstorm\nwill kill all who come after you.\u201d\n\nAs she finished speaking, and Sigurd gathered up the reins to start\noff, Helga gave a cry of terror. Striding over the brow of the hill,\nshe saw the huge form of her father.\n\n\u201cFly! fly!\u201d she said. \u201cUse the steed for your own protection; it is\nyour only chance of life. Save yourself, for my sake.\u201d\n\nRaising his cap in farewell to his young hostess, Sigurd set spurs to\nGullfaxi, and as the noble animal put forth his full speed, the prince\nturned in the saddle and shook his fist at the angry giant.\n\nWithout staying to question his daughter, the giant strode after his\nhorse, breathing out threats of vengeance. At first he could only just\nkeep them in sight; but, with his gigantic strides, he soon began to\ngain upon them when the ground grew rocky and hilly. Then Sigurd threw\ndown Helga\u2019s green branch, and immediately a thick forest rose between\nhim and his enemy.\n\nBut the giant seized his axe, and began with mighty strokes to hew his\nway through the wood. Crash went trees and bushes; crash, crash, to\nright and to left, and when Sigurd looked back a second time, the giant\nwas through the forest, and close behind him. Then Sigurd touched the\nwhite stone with his stick, and immediately such a terrible hailstorm\nbroke loose behind him that the giant was killed on the spot, while\nSigurd rode on in bright sunshine.\n\nThe giant dead, Sigurd thought he would return and fetch Helga; but\nwhile he was debating which road to take, he saw his stepmother\u2019s dog\nrunning towards him. The dog was dusty and footsore, and whined\npiteously as he drew near. Sigurd dismounted, and went to meet him; the\ndog put his paws upon the prince\u2019s knee, and looked up at him with\ntears running down his face. Then Sigurd\u2019s heart was very heavy, for he\nknew misfortune was threatening his beloved stepmother. He leapt on to\nhis horse, and rode at full speed, taking no rest, either by day or\nnight, till at length he came out of the thick pinewoods, and saw the\npalace before him. In the courtyard a great crowd was assembled, and\nthere, fastened to a stake, and surrounded by huge faggots, he saw the\ngraceful figure of his stepmother.\n\n\u201cHere is Sigurd\u2014Sigurd, the king\u2019s lost son,\u201d he heard voices say, as\nif in a dream, as he galloped furiously on.\n\nHe, however, saw nothing but the beautiful pale face of the queen as he\nleaped from his horse, and pushed his way through the crowd, sword in\nhand. He cut the bands with which Injibj\u00f6rg was fastened, scattered the\nguards, and carried her into the palace, to his father\u2019s room.\n\nThere he found the king lying on his couch, sick unto death for grief\nat the loss of his son.\n\n\u201cMy father,\u201d Sigurd cried, as he stood before him with his arm round\nhis stepmother, \u201cwhat is this that has been done? Why has my mother\nbeen treated thus in my absence?\u201d\n\n\u201cMy son,\u201d his father cried, hardly believing that he saw him alive and\nwell before him, \u201cwhere hast thou been? The people declared the queen\nhad taken thy life, and she was therefore condemned to death, while I\nwas too ill to save her from their vengeance. Forgive me, Sigurd, and\nbeg the queen also to pardon me;\u201d and he embraced them both with the\nutmost affection.\n\nThen Sigurd related all his adventures, and how he had freed Injibj\u00f6rg\nfor ever from the hateful power of her sisters. His love for his\nstepmother was greater than ever, as he heard of all that she had\nsuffered in his absence. He was not happy now when she was out of his\nsight, and he tried in every way to make up to her for what had passed.\nHe told her, too, of Helga in the castle by the lake; and when she was\nquite restored to health, he set out, with her blessing and that of his\nfather, to fetch the maiden to his home, as he had promised.\n\nHelga was rejoiced to see Sigurd again, for she had watched for him day\nby day. They brought away all the treasures of the castle, and in a\nshort time there was a magnificent wedding between Helga and Sigurd,\nthe marriage feast lasting a whole month.\n\nWhen the king died, Sigurd and Helga came to the throne, and, guided by\nthe wise counsels of Injibj\u00f6rg, the kingdom became renowned far and\nnear for its good rule and the happiness of its people.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nLINEIK AND LAUFEY\n\n\nIn olden days, there once lived a king called Ring, and his queen\nGytha, who reigned over a mighty kingdom. They had two children, a son\nand a daughter, who were both almost grown up when my story begins. The\nboy was called Siegfrid, and the daughter Lineik. They were both as\nbeautiful in person as they were gifted in mind. No one in the whole\nkingdom was their equal; and they loved each other so dearly that the\none was never happy when the other one was away. Their father,\ntherefore, had a beautiful palace built for them, where they had as\nmany servants as they wanted, and everything they could possibly wish\nfor.\n\nHere the brother and sister lived together very happily until the queen\nfell ill, and feeling her end was drawing near, she called the king to\nher bedside.\n\n\u201cDear husband,\u201d she said, \u201cwe have lived very happily together; but now\nmy end is drawing near, and, before I die, I hope you will grant two\nrequests I wish to make\u2014first, if ever you marry again, do not choose\nyour wife from any small village or lonely island, but bring your bride\nfrom one of the large cities in the neighbouring kingdoms. If you do\nthis, good fortune will attend you. Secondly, never let any one or\nanything come between you and our dear children; they will bring you\ngood luck and happiness if you always let them stand first in your love\nand affection.\u201d\n\nWhen the queen had spoken these words, she lay back and died. The king\nwas very grieved at her death. He sorrowed so greatly that he never\nleft his room and would not see any one, and all the affairs of the\nkingdom came to a standstill.\n\nThen one day the prime minister came to him, and told him that there\nwould be a rebellion, and that the country would go to ruin if he\ncontinued to shut himself up instead of attending to the affairs of his\nkingdom.\n\n\u201cIt is far more kingly,\u201d he concluded, \u201cto pull yourself together, and\ntry and overcome your grief for the sake of your people, than to sit\nalone and lament! Besides, why should you not look around for another\nqueen, who will be worthy to succeed your late consort?\u201d\n\n\u201cAlas! that will be no easy task,\u201d said the king, sighing deeply. \u201cI\nwill not, however, gainsay your words. As, however, such is your\nadvice, it is best that the responsibility of the choice should also be\nyours. I therefore empower you to find me a bride worthy to share my\nthrone, and be a successor to my late wife. I only make one\nstipulation: you must not seek her in any small village or lonely\nisland, but from some large neighbouring state.\u201d\n\nThe minister, delighted that he had at last roused the king, and filled\nwith the importance of his mission, promised to bear in mind the king\u2019s\ninstructions, and set about preparing for the journey. The king\nprovided him with a magnificent outfit, and a large and imposing\nfollowing, and started him on his journey.\n\nWhen they had sailed for about three days on their way to the\nneighbouring kingdom, suddenly a thick white fog arose; they could no\nlonger see where they were going, and for a whole month they sailed\nabout first in one direction then in another, for they had lost all\nreckoning. Whichever way they steered their vessels, no land was in\nsight, and they were beginning to lose all heart, when at length one\nday they saw a faint grey line on the horizon; gradually, as they came\nnearer, they could distinguish hills and trees, and finding a nice\ngently shelving beach in a sheltered nook, they ran their boats ashore,\nand landing, pitched their tents on the strand. But not a single human\nbeing was in sight, all was perfectly still, and they thought they must\nhave landed on a desert island.\n\nWhile the men, tired with their exertions, were resting, the minister\ndecided to go on a little way inland and explore; and as the sun was\nnow very hot, for it was about mid-day, he bent his steps towards a\nforest he saw some little way ahead. He had not gone very long in that\ndirection, when he suddenly heard a harp being played; following the\nsound, he came to an open glade, and there, sitting on a fallen tree,\nhe saw a beautiful woman, so grand, so stately, he thought he had never\nbefore seen any one so enchanting. Her playing on the harp was so\nperfect, that it was happiness only to listen to her, while at her feet\nsat the loveliest maiden he had ever seen, whose sweet voice\naccompanied the harpist.\n\nThe prime minister doffed his hat and bowed courteously to the lady,\nwho, on seeing him approach, rose and returned his greeting with much\nfriendliness, asking him where he was going and what was the object of\nhis journey.\n\nThe minister, quite charmed with her kindness, told her the purpose of\nhis coming.\n\n\u201cHow strange!\u201d said the lady, \u201cfor almost the same thing has happened\nto me. I, too, have lost my husband. He was one of the great kings who\nreigned on this continent; but, alas! one sad day the Vikings came,\nthey overran the whole land, killed my husband, and took possession of\nthis country. It was only with great difficulty, and not without much\ndanger, that I managed to escape with this maiden, who is my daughter.\u201d\n\nWhen the girl heard this, she said softly\u2014\n\n\u201cIs that the truth you are speaking?\u201d\n\nA sharp slap on the ear, while the minister was looking at the harp,\nrewarded the girl\u2019s speech.\n\n\u201cDon\u2019t forget what I told you,\u201d muttered the lady.\n\nThe prime minister, who had not noticed anything, now asked the lady\nwhat her name was, and whether he could do anything for her.\n\n\u201cI am called Blauv\u00f6r,\u201d she replied, \u201cand my daughter\u2019s name is Laufey.\u201d\n\nThen the minister sat down beside her and began to talk to her; finding\nher very clever and well-informed, and fearing that if he went further\nhe might fare worse, he thought he could not do better than secure so\nwise and beautiful a wife for the king; so he made proposals for her\nhand in his master\u2019s name. His embassy seemed very welcome to Blauv\u00f6r,\nwho said she would be quite willing to accompany him, and that there\nneed be no delay, \u201cfor I have all my treasures here with me, and shall\nnot require any attendants beyond my daughter Laufey.\u201d\n\nAnd so, without loss of time, the minister conducted Blauv\u00f6r and Laufey\nto the shore. The tents were struck, and the whole party having got on\nboard again, the sails were set and the ships turned homeward.\n\nThe dense fog which had accompanied them was now quite dispersed, and\nthey saw that they had landed on a small rocky island; but all were too\ndelighted at the thoughts of the homeward journey to take any notice of\nthis.\n\nA fine fresh wind drove the vessels merrily along, and after six days\u2019\ndelightful sailing, they came in sight of land, and soon recognized the\ngreat high towers of the king\u2019s castle. Then the anchors were dropped,\nand they speedily began to disembark, the minister at once sending a\nmessage to King Ring, to announce their arrival.\n\nThe king was delighted to hear that his minister had been so\nsuccessful. He at once put on his grandest robes of state, and,\naccompanied by his chief ministers and all the principal courtiers,\nequally richly attired, he proceeded down to the shore to receive and\nwelcome his bride.\n\nHe had only gone half way when he met his prime minister, leading two\nbeautiful women by the hand. Both were richly dressed in\ngold-embroidered robes, and decked with rare jewels. When King Ring saw\nall this richness and beauty, he was delighted beyond measure, and when\nhe was told that the elder and the most beautiful of the two was his\ndestined bride, he thought himself the most fortunate of kings.\n\nHe thanked the minister warmly for what he had done, and in his joyful\ngreeting of mother and daughter, he quite forgot to ask whence his\nbride and her daughter had come, but led them with great pomp into the\ncity, and lodged them in the most magnificent rooms in the palace.\n\nA grand wedding-feast was speedily arranged, and all the great people\nin the kingdom were invited, only Siegfrid and Lineik were not asked.\nThe king was so engrossed with his beautiful bride, sitting beside her\nand talking to her, that he had completely forgotten them.\n\nThe wedding was one of the grandest that had ever been seen, and after\nthis feast, all the guests received rich gifts ere they departed, and\nthen at the end of the week the king began again to look after the\naffairs of his kingdom.\n\nThus some time passed quietly, the queen was always present when the\nking received his ministers, and though she never said much, whispers\nsoon went abroad that matters were not as they should be. The queen\nwished everything to be done her way, and insisted on hearing all that\nwas being arranged, so that King Ring began to think that his marriage\nwas not, after all, such a great piece of luck as he had at first\nimagined.\n\nAs for Siegfrid and Lineik, the queen never asked about them, nor did\nshe see them. They never came to the palace, but kept to their own\nhouse and grounds.\n\nThen, after a time, some of the people about the court began to\ndisappear. No one could find out where they had gone, or what had\nbecome of them, and it was always those who had opposed the queen in\nthe council. The king, thinking they had gone away because they would\nnot agree to the queen\u2019s wishes, at first took no notice of these\nstrange disappearances, but appointed other ministers in their place;\nand so things went on for some time.\n\nThen one day the queen came to the king and said she thought it was\ntime for him to make his journey through the country to collect the\nrevenue.\n\n\u201cI have helped you so much in all your business that I can easily carry\non the government while you are away, so you need not hurry home, but\ntake your time and enjoy yourself,\u201d she added.\n\nThe king did not much care to go away. He was getting old, and thought\nhis prime minister might well have gone in his stead, but he was\nfalling each day more under the queen\u2019s rule. She was the one who\nsettled and decided everything, and if any one ventured to oppose her\nthey were made to rue it.\n\nThe king therefore fitted out his ships for the journey, but he was\nvery sorrowful and sad at heart. When everything was ready for him to\nstart, he went to the house of his two children, where of late he had\nseldom been. A warm greeting welcomed him, and both Siegfrid and Lineik\ncould not make enough of their father.\n\nWhen the time for bidding them farewell drew near, the king grew very\nsad again, and sighing deeply, said\u2014\n\n\u201cI cannot tell you, my children, what a sad foreboding haunts me that\nsome evil threatens you. If I should not return from this journey, I\nfear it will not be safe for you to remain here. Take my advice\ntherefore, and go away secretly, as soon as you are sure that there is\nno hope of my return. When you start, remember you must go towards the\nEast\u2014you will then soon arrive at a high, steep rock; when you have\nclimbed this rock you will come to a long, narrow valley. Follow this\nvalley till you come to two beautiful trees, the one has bright, glossy\ngreen leaves, the other dark bronze ones. They are hollow, and so\narranged that they can be securely fastened from the inside, the\nopening being invisible from the outside. You must each get into one of\nthese trees, and as long as you remain in them, nothing can touch you.\u201d\n\nThen the king took a tender farewell of his children, and getting on\nboard his ship, the sails were unfurled, and he started off on his\njourney. They had not, however, been long at sea, before a frightful\nstorm arose. Peals of thunder rent the air, the lightning flashed\nincessantly, and the wind and rain lashed the sea till the waves rose\nmountains high and engulfed the ships, so that the king and all on\nboard the ships were drowned.\n\nThat same night of the storm, Prince Siegfrid had a strange dream. He\nsaw his father standing beside his bed, his clothes streaming with\nwater. Bending over his son, he took the crown off his head and placed\nit beside Siegfrid on the pillow, and then passed silently away.\n\nWhen Siegfrid awoke next morning, he told Lineik his dream, and they\nboth agreed that this could only be a warning from their father,\ntelling them of his death at sea.\n\nThey therefore quickly gathered together all their clothes and jewels,\nand ere the sun had fully risen, they were well on their way on the\nroad their father had told them of.\n\nWhen they reached the foot of the hill they looked back, and there they\nbeheld their step-mother in the distance, following them. She looked so\nfierce and angry, and so big, that she appeared more like some terrible\ngiantess than an ordinary woman. Fortunately they had passed the wood\nat the foot of the hill, so they set fire to this, and the flames rose\nso quickly and brightly that their step-mother was unable to pass it,\nand had to go round. This gave Siegfrid and his sister time to get up\nthe hill, but it was a long and weary climb, and once or twice Lineik\nwas fain to sit down, but Siegfrid took her up in his arms and carried\nher till she was again able to walk. At last they reached the narrow\nvalley in which stood the two trees their father had told them of.\nLineik chose the one with the bronze-coloured leaves, and Siegfrid,\nhaving seen her safely fastened in, got into the other tree, drawing\nthe opening to after him. But though no one could look into the trees,\nthe rough, thick bark grew in such cunning twists and turns, that those\ninside could see everything that happened outside, and the brother and\nsister were thus able to talk to one another.\n\nAbout this time, there reigned a great and powerful king in Greece,\ncalled Menelaus. He had two children, a son called Tellus, and a\ndaughter called Hebe. They were beautiful, clever, and good, and it\nwould have been difficult to find their equals in all the land.\n\nWhen Tellus grew to man\u2019s estate, he distinguished himself by many\nbrave and noble deeds during his numerous warlike expeditions, which\noften carried him far away into foreign lands, and while thus\ntravelling in search of adventures, he had more than once heard of\nPrincess Lineik, who, it was said, surpassed all other women in beauty,\nwit, and goodness; so he determined to try and win her for his bride.\n\nWhen he neared the island of King Ring, the wicked queen, who by her\nenchantments was aware of his coming and also his reasons for so doing,\nprepared to receive him with all honour. Dressing herself in her most\nmagnificent garments, she ordered Laufey to do the same, and then went\ndown to the shore with her maidens to receive him.\n\nThe prince, on landing, greeted her with great respect, and asked after\nKing Ring, whereupon the queen, drawing forth her handkerchief,\npretended to wipe away her tears, and told him that the king and all\nhis attendants had perished at sea in a frightful gale, and declared\nshe could never get over her great loss.\n\n\u201cAnd where is Princess Lineik?\u201d asked Tellus.\n\n\u201cThis is my dear step-daughter,\u201d replied the queen, drawing Laufey\nforward, who, ashamed and angry, had kept in the background.\n\nThe prince seemed much surprised, for though Laufey was very pretty,\nyet from the fame of Lineik\u2019s beauty he had pictured the latter as much\nhandsomer.\n\nBut the queen, seeing his disappointment, said he must not be surprised\nthat the dear child looked pale and sad, having lost both father and\nbrother at one blow.\n\nPrince Tellus thought this was but natural, so he formally demanded the\nprincess\u2019s hand in marriage. As may well be imagined, he did not meet\nwith any opposition from the queen, who said she would hurry on the\npreparations, but Prince Tellus said he had promised his father that\nthe marriage should take place in Greece, with all due splendour, and\nthat the princess must therefore return with him.\n\nThe queen offered to accompany them, but this the prince would not\nconsent to. So Laufey and her maidens were escorted to the prince\u2019s\nship, and they set sail for Greece, leaving Brunhild behind, greatly to\nher chagrin.\n\nThey had not sailed far, when a dense white mist overtook them. The\nsteersman lost his reckoning, and when at length the fog lifted, they\nfound they had sailed up a beautiful fiord. The mountains with their\nsnowy tops rose steeply on each side at the entrance, but as they got\nfurther in, the fiord widened, and grassy slopes shelved down to the\ngolden sands.\n\nThe prince ordered a boat to be lowered, and getting in, they rowed on\ntill they came to the entrance of a narrow valley in which stood two\nbeautiful trees.\n\nThe prince landed to look at them. He had never seen anything like them\nbefore, and nothing would satisfy him but to have them cut down and\ncarried on board his ship to take back to Greece.\n\nNo sooner were they brought on board than the fog lifted. The sails\nwere immediately unfurled, and the homeward journey was speedily\neffected.\n\nOn his arrival, Prince Tellus at once led Laufey to the palace, where\nshe was received with all honour. He gave her up his own magnificent\nrooms, which looked on the court where the great fountains played and\nthe beautiful doves circled amid the fruit and flower-laden trees and\nshrubs. Here Laufey was to spend her days, while at night she retired\nto the women\u2019s apartments under the care of the queen.\n\nThe two beautiful trees, however, Prince Tellus declared he could not\npart from; so he had them placed in his room, one at the head and the\nother at the foot of his couch.\n\nMeanwhile the preparations for the wedding went on apace.\n\nThe prince, according to the custom of the country, then brought Laufey\n(believing she was Lineik) three pieces of rich silk, to make him three\ntunics; one was blue, the other was red, and the third one was green.\nShe was to make up the blue one first, then the red one, and last of\nall the green one, which was to surpass both the others in richness and\nbeauty of design. \u201cFor,\u201d added the prince, \u201cthe green one is the one I\nshall wear on our wedding-day.\u201d\n\nLaufey took the three bits of stuff, and the prince departed. But no\nsooner had he closed the door than, sitting down on the couch between\nthe two trees, she burst into tears.\n\nOh! what was she to do? Brunhild had never taught Laufey anything, but\njust let her grow up as she would, so how could she, who had never had\na needle in her hand, make up or embroider these beautiful stuffs? And\nif the prince discovered how ignorant she was, would he not send her\naway with scorn and laughter, or perhaps even have her put to death for\nher deception?\n\nAnd the poor girl sobbed and cried as if her heart would break.\n\nNow, as has already been mentioned, Siegfrid and Lineik were inside the\ntwo beautiful trees. They could therefore see all that passed in the\nprince\u2019s chamber, and when they heard poor Laufey\u2019s lamentations,\nSiegfrid was so touched at sight of the girl\u2019s tears that he said to\nhis sister\u2014\n\n\n \u201cSister Lineik,\n Laufey weeps;\n Oh, have pity on her,\n And assist her with her task.\u201d\n\n\nThen Lineik replied\u2014\n\n\n \u201cHast thou forgotten, oh brother,\n All Brunhild\u2019s wicked deeds,\n And how she endeavoured\n To kill both you and me?\u201d\n\n\nBut after a while Lineik consented, and creeping forth from her tree,\ngreatly to Laufey\u2019s surprise, she told her who she was and how she came\nthere. Then sitting down beside her, helped her so effectually with her\nskilful fingers that the tunic was soon completed, greatly to Laufey\u2019s\ndelight. Lineik crept back into her tree, and when Prince Tellus\nappeared, she showed him the garment.\n\n\u201cI have never seen so prettily worked a tunic,\u201d he said, greatly\npleased. \u201cNow take the piece of red silk and let that be as much more\nfinely embroidered as the stuff itself is richer.\u201d\n\nBut when Laufey found herself confronted with this fresh piece of work,\nall her courage fled. How could she carry out the prince\u2019s wishes? And\nshe began to cry.\n\nThen Siegfrid again called to his sister\u2014\n\n\n \u201cSister Lineik,\n Laufey weeps;\n Oh, have pity on her,\n And assist her with her task.\u201d\n\n\nAnd again Lineik answered\u2014\n\n\n \u201cHast thou forgotten, oh brother,\n Brunhild\u2019s wicked deeds,\n And how she used all endeavours\n To kill both you and me?\u201d\n\n\nNevertheless, after a while she again consented to help Laufey, and\nleaving her tree she sat down beside her, cut out and made up the red\ntunic, devoting even more care and skill than on the first one. All the\nseams were embroidered in gold thread, and precious stones bordered the\nneck and skirt.\n\nWhen it was ready she gave it to Laufey, while she herself slipped back\ninto her tree.\n\nPrince Tellus was greatly pleased when he saw the second tunic.\n\n\u201cWhy, this is more beautifully worked than the first tunic! I can\nhardly imagine how you have done it without any one to help you. Now\nyou must make the third and last tunic. I will give you three days to\nfinish it; and remember that this tunic must surpass both the others in\nbeauty of design and richness of embroidery, for I shall wear it on our\nwedding-day.\u201d\n\nAfter the prince had gone, Laufey sat down on the couch, and felt very\nsad. How could she hope that Lineik would again help her? She had done\nso twice, notwithstanding all the ill the queen had intended against\nher and Siegfrid, and it was too much to expect her to aid her again,\nand, thinking thus sadly, the tears streamed down her cheeks.\n\nBut Prince Siegfrid was so touched by the poor girl\u2019s grief that he\nagain said to his sister\u2014\n\n\n \u201cLineik, sister,\n Laufey weeps!\n Oh, have pity on her,\n And assist her with her task!\u201d\n\n\nAnd again Lineik replied\u2014\n\n\n \u201cHast thou forgotten, oh brother,\n All Brunhild\u2019s wicked deeds,\n And how she used all her arts\n To kill both you and me?\u201d\n\n\nNevertheless, after a while, she again consented to help Laufey, and\nleaving her tree, she sat down beside her, and with her deft, clever\nfingers the work made rapid progress, and seemed to grow under her\nhands. This time she spent even more care and skill on the garment, and\nwhen, on the third day, it was finished, there was hardly any portion\nof the original stuff visible, so thickly was it covered with rich gold\nand silver scrolls and flowers, starred with rare and precious stones.\nLineik and Laufey were so occupied admiring their work, as they sat\ntogether on the couch, that they did not hear the lifting of the\ncurtain behind them, as Prince Tellus suddenly entered the room.\n\nLineik, with a cry, started up hastily, and was about to slip back into\nher tree; but the prince sprang after her, and taking hold of both her\nhands, led her back to the couch, where Laufey sat in fear and\ntrembling.\n\n\u201cI have long had my suspicions that some mystery was at work here,\u201d he\nthen said; and, seating himself between the two girls, he continued,\n\u201cNay, do not fear me, but\u201d\u2014turning to Lineik\u2014\u201ctell me your name, and\nwho you are, and how you came here.\u201d\n\nSo Lineik told him who she was, and all about her home, and how she and\nher brother Siegfrid had come in his ship. And as he sat and listened\nto her, Prince Tellus thought he had never seen any one so beautiful\nand clever as Lineik; she was just like what he had always pictured her\nto himself. Then, casting an angry glance at Laufey, he told her she\ndeserved to be put to death for her deception of him.\n\nThen Laufey threw herself on her knees before him, and prayed for\nforgiveness, in which Lineik joined most heartily.\n\n\u201cI only deceived you about the work of the tunics,\u201d continued Laufey;\n\u201cfor Lineik forbade me to say who had really worked them. You may\nremember that I never said I was Princess Lineik. It was Queen\nBrunhild\u2014my mother, as she called herself\u2014who thus deceived you.\u201d\n\nAnd while they were thus talking, Prince Siegfrid came forth from his\ntree, whereupon there were fresh explanations and much rejoicing that\nthe mystery was explained; and Prince Tellus lost no time in claiming\nthe hand of the rightful Princess Lineik. But Lineik said she could not\npromise to marry any one till her wicked stepmother, who had wrought\nsuch ill to every one, was driven forth from the kingdom she had\nusurped.\n\nAnd now Laufey had a wondrous tale to tell. Brunhild was no queen, but\na wicked ogress, who reigned over the lonely island, where the Prime\nMinister had found her. There she had lived in a huge cave, together\nwith other giants and ogres.\n\n\u201cI also am a king\u2019s daughter,\u201d continued Laufey. \u201cBut Brunhild, with\ngreat skill and cunning, stole me away one day when I was playing in\nthe fields with my little companions. She threatened to kill me if I\ndid not obey her in everything, and called me her daughter, for she\nthought people would then imagine she also came of a kingly race. It\nwas she who killed your father,\u201d continued Laufey, turning to Siegfrid,\n\u201cand all those people at your court who disappeared so mysteriously\nwere eaten by her at night; for all ogres love human flesh. Her object\nwas to get rid of all your chief people, and then bring over her\nfriends the giants from the stony island, so that they might all live\nin your rich and fruitful kingdom.\u201d\n\nWhen they had heard this tale, Siegfrid said he must at once return\nhome and save his country from the giants. Prince Tellus declared he\nwould accompany him, for it was an adventure quite after his own heart.\nSo they got together a large force, and setting sail, a favourable wind\nspeedily brought them to the island, where they landed, and surrounded\nthe castle before Brunhild had even heard of their arrival; for very\nfew people were about, the greater portion having been killed by\nBrunhild, and the rest having fled and hidden themselves to escape from\nthe wicked queen.\n\nSo there was but little attempt at defence, and Brunhild was taken\nprisoner. When she saw that her wicked plans had been discovered, and\nthat there was no hope of escape, she screamed and raved like a\nmadwoman. But her wicked deeds deserved no pardon. She was condemned to\ndeath, and her head cut off, after which her body was burnt on a huge\nfuneral pile in the yard of the castle.\n\nThen the two princes returned to Greece, and a very gay and splendid\ndouble wedding took place, at which all the greatest nobles of the\nkingdom took part; for on his return, Siegfrid, who during the test of\nthe tunics had lost his heart to Laufey, now proposed for her hand.\n\nAfter the festivities were over, he and his fair bride returned to his\nisland, and great were the rejoicings that the kingdom was again under\nthe rule of a just and kind sovereign. He and Laufey reigned long and\nhappily, and visits were often interchanged between them and Prince\nTellus and his bride Lineik, who in time became known as the wisest and\nbest among all the rulers of Greece.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nTHE FIVE BROTHERS\n\n\nOnce upon a time, long years ago, when giants still lived upon the\nearth, there dwelt an old man and his wife in a small wooden hut,\nsheltered from the rough winter winds by the tall mountains and rocks\nthat surrounded it. The world would have said they were very poor; but\nthey thought themselves rich, for they had five handsome, healthy boys,\nwho were the delight of their eyes. There was only a year\u2019s difference\nin age between the lads, and they were always together.\n\nOne day, the old couple went to cut grass on a slope some distance off,\nleaving the boys alone at home. It was a bright, warm morning, and,\ntired of playing indoors, the children went out into the little garden,\nand soon their merry shouts were heard echoing from the hills.\nPresently, up the path towards them came an old woman, feeble and lame.\n\n\u201cMay an old woman beg for a draught of water?\u201d she said, in a weak\nvoice.\n\nStopping their games at once, the eldest boy ran to the well, while the\nothers made her sit down by the door and rest. In a moment he was back\nwith a pitcher of cool, sparkling water.\n\n\u201cThere, grannie,\u201d he said, \u201cthat will refresh you. I let the bucket run\ndown ever so far, to make the water nice and cold.\u201d\n\nThe old dame thanked him heartily, and, having quenched her thirst,\nasked what their names were. The boys laughed merrily.\n\n\u201cWe have no names,\u201d they said. \u201cWe are all so near in age that we do\neverything together; and when father or mother want anything they just\ncall out \u2018Boys!\u2019 and there we are, always at hand.\u201d\n\n\u201cYou have kind hearts,\u201d the old woman said; \u201cyou are good to the aged\nand feeble. I was nearly dying of thirst, and could not have gone\nfurther without your help. Would that I could reward you as I should\nlike! Alas! I have not the power. But one thing I can do for you. You\nshall no longer be nameless. I am going to bestow a name on each. You,\nmy young cup-bearer,\u201d turning to the eldest boy, \u201cshall be called\n\u2018Watchwell;\u2019 your brothers, \u2018Holdwell,\u2019 \u2018Hitwell,\u2019 \u2018Spywell,\u2019 and\n\u2018Climbwell.\u2019 May these names in the future bring you good fortune, as a\nreward for your kindness to a poor old woman.\u201d\n\nThen she bade them good-bye, reminded them once more of their names,\ntold them to act up to them, and turned away down the path.\n\nIn the evening, when their parents returned, the boys related what had\noccurred, and repeated the strange names they had been given. The old\npeople were much astonished, and asked where the stranger had come\nfrom, and all particulars about her. But the boys could only tell what\nhad happened, and the whole thing would soon have been forgotten, had\nit not been for the names. These they did not forget, and, strange to\nsay, the more they were used the more the owner of each name seemed to\ndevelop the special quality that his name denoted, Watchwell, in\naddition, constituting himself the general guardian of the five. Was\nthere a burden to carry, Holdwell\u2019s strong arms were ready. Did the\nparents require faggots for the winter, Hitwell would cut a pile, up in\nthe dark pine woods on the mountains, that gladdened their hearts. Not\na rabbit or bird could escape the keen eyes of Spywell, and by constant\npractice little Climbwell could scale the steepest cliffs along the\nfiord.\n\nYears rolled on; the bright boys had grown up into tall, handsome young\nmen, and all this time they had never crossed the high rocky hills that\nwalled in their valley, never seen the great world that lay outside.\nBut, now that they were men, a great wish was rising in their hearts to\ngo forth from the old home and play their part among other men. The old\npeople gave them their blessing, and bade them continue to stand by one\nanother as they had ever done, for, if they only did that, there was\nnothing they could not achieve.\n\nAnd so the young men departed, following the steep track over the high\nmountains at first, and then gradually leaving the hill country behind\nthem as they went ever onwards. Sometimes they rested at a farmhouse,\nsometimes in a village, but nowhere did they find any permanent work.\nMany a farmer would gladly have engaged Watchwell and Spywell to guard\nhis flocks, but he had no employment for Holdwell and Climbwell, and\nwhen the two last could have joined the village lads in fishing or\nseabird hunting, there was, again, no post for the other three. Still,\nthey would not be discouraged. They had stout hearts and strong limbs,\nand the good fortune they sought must be found elsewhere. So on they\nwent, climbing high mountains and fording swift rivers, till at last\nthey entered an interminable dark pine wood with a tangled undergrowth\nof brambles and tall ferns. Hitwell cleared a path before them, and at\nlength they emerged on a vast plain.\n\nThe sun was setting, and pouring a flood of crimson, gold, and purple\nover the scene before them. The rays lit up the tall spires and high\ngrey walls of a large city, and turned the broad, flowing river that\nencircled it into molten gold.\n\nThe brothers stood still entranced.\n\n\u201cIt must be the city of the king,\u201d cried Watchwell, at length.\n\n\u201cYes,\u201d said Spywell; \u201clook, there is the royal flag flying on the tower\nof the palace.\u201d\n\nThey soon traversed the plain, and as darkness began to fall, they\narrived at the great drawbridge over the river, and were directed to\nthe palace by the warder. The king received them, and listened to their\nrequest for employment in his service. The brothers were such fine,\nhandsome fellows that he was much taken with them as they stood before\nhim. They were very tall, and had bright blue eyes, and fair curling\nhair. He told them that he could give employment to all five, if they\nwould remain throughout the winter at his court, and watch and guard\nhis daughters at the coming Christmas Eve.\n\n\u201cDo not, however, pledge yourselves to stay, until you learn the nature\nof the task that lies before you,\u201d he said. \u201cFor I have made a vow that\nthe life of the next man who fails in this duty shall be forfeited.\nPerhaps you five brothers acting together can be more careful than\nstrangers. Now listen. Two years ago,\u201d he went on, \u201cI had five fair\ndaughters, but, alas! the Christmas before last my golden-haired Elma\ndisappeared mysteriously in the dead of night. Search was made in all\ndirections; no trace of her could be found. Last Christmas Eve the\nprincesses\u2019 apartments were carefully watched and guarded; no strangers\nwere admitted, only old and faithful servants were near them. But when\nmorning came, Irene, my second daughter, was nowhere to be found, nor\nwas there any sign of her captors\u2019 footsteps near the window of the\nroom where she slept. I have now made a vow, and I shall keep it; but I\nalso offer a reward. He who defends them faithfully this year shall wed\nthe next eldest princess who would without his care have disappeared,\nand he shall be to me as a son. It will be death or honour. Choose,\nyoung men, now, while you are still quite free.\u201d\n\n\u201cWe will stay and guard the princesses,\u201d they cried with one voice. \u201cIt\nis a task that will call all our qualities into full play. No robber\ncan escape the eyes of Spywell, Holdwell will act up to his name, till\nClimbwell and Hitwell reach him, and I,\u201d and Watchwell drew himself up\nproudly, \u201cI will be the one to forfeit my life if we fail.\u201d\n\nSo they remained at the court, and became great favourites with the\nking, who began to feel almost sorry that he had imposed sentence of\ndeath on the man who should fail to defend his daughters. He,\ntherefore, determined to do what he could to make them safe, and caused\na great tower to be built on to the palace with thick walls and windows\nvery high up, and here the princesses were to sleep on Christmas Eve.\n\nAnd now the time drew near. As usual great festivities were held for\nseveral days. On the last night, when the dancing and merry-making were\nall over, the three princesses\u2014Frida, Ida, and Meya\u2014were led to the\ntower by the king, attended by their ladies. As they lay down on the\nbig couch, covered with silken embroideries, he bade them a last good\nnight, and charged the five brothers to guard them with their lives.\nThen he left the tower, double locking the great iron door that led\ninto the rest of the castle. All was still. The brothers lay down on a\nrough bench in the ante-chamber, but the door of the princesses\u2019 room\nwas wide open, and a lamp was kept burning there.\n\nIt had been a long and tiring day, and the younger brothers were soon\nfast asleep. But Watchwell never closed an eye. Wrapped in his long\ncloak, he leant against the wall and watched.\n\nThe night drew on. But what was that? He thought he saw a dark shadow\nslowly approach the window of the princesses\u2019 room. As he looked, a\nmonstrous hand opened the lattice, and stretched out gropingly towards\nthe couch on which the king\u2019s daughters lay asleep.\n\nWatchwell touched his brothers. In an instant Holdwell had grasped the\nmysterious hand so tightly that the owner could not move it; and\nHitwell, with one blow of his sword, severed it from the wrist. A\nterrible wild cry of pain and baffled anger filled the air, and,\nlooking forth, the brothers saw a fearful giant striding rapidly away\nfrom the palace, and shaking his remaining hand threateningly towards\nthe tower. The noise had aroused the king, who was quickly on the spot,\nwhile Watchwell and his brothers hurried after the monster. Faster and\nfaster he went, seeing he was pursued, but, though he was speedily out\nof sight, Spywell\u2019s keen eye traced his footsteps all the way.\n\nOn, on, on, they went, till at last they came to the foot of a high\nmountain. Steep and precipitous before them the sides rose up\u2014no\nfoothold to be seen anywhere. Climbwell, however, never hesitated. He\nshowed his brothers a strong silken cord that he always carried with\nhim, then, making a bold spring to a tiny ledge he had noticed, he\ncommenced to climb, never taking a false step, till he reached the\nsummit in safety. Then, lowering the silken rope, he drew up his\nbrothers one after the other.\n\nWhen they reached the top they found an enormous cavern, and just\ninside the entrance sat a huge giantess, on a low stool, crying\nbitterly. The brothers asked what ailed her.\n\n\u201cWhat matters it to you?\u201d she said, and cried more than ever. But at\nlast she told them that the previous night her husband had lost one of\nhis hands, and she feared he would die, he was in such terrible pain.\nThen they told her that they could heal her husband if she would let\nthem in, but \u201cno one,\u201d they said, \u201cmust be there but ourselves; we must\nbind all others lest they should find out the secret of our healing\npower.\u201d\n\nThe giantess, who was quite as wicked as her husband, and had hoped to\nentice these young men, by her pretended grief, into the cavern, so as\nto provide a dinner for herself and her husband, did not at all like\nthe suggestion of being bound. But she thought, perhaps, they might be\nable to heal her husband first, so she submitted for the moment,\ncomforting herself with the hope that she could easily break the rope\nand set herself free when the young men had cured her husband.\n\nHoldwell bound her with Climbwell\u2019s strong silken rope, and then they\npassed into the inner cavern. The giant was lying on his couch, and\ngave a howl of rage when he saw them. But, crippled by the loss of his\nhand, he was no match for the young men, who speedily put an end to\nhim. Then they also killed the wicked giantess, who had quite a heap of\nhuman bones beside her, and proceeded to explore the inner cavern. They\nthought it might, perhaps, contain some hidden treasure. But nothing\nwas to be found, and they were on the point of leaving, when Spywell\ndescried a small door cunningly let into the rock. Speedily breaking it\nopen, a subterranean passage was seen, leading to another cavern, and\nthere they discovered the two lost princesses\u2014Elma, very pale and\nemaciated; whilst Irene, who had not been imprisoned so long, was more\nrosy and not so thin. The giant had evidently intended securing all\nfive princesses before eating them.\n\nThe king\u2019s daughters were greatly overjoyed when they saw their noble\ndeliverers, and heard that they were prisoners no longer. They quickly\ndeparted, Spywell and Climbwell having discovered an easier road for\nthem to return by.\n\nThey arrived at the palace as night was falling, and the joy of the\nking at having his five daughters united once more can well be\nimagined.\n\nA great banquet was hastily prepared, and before the assembled nobles\nand guests he related the brave deeds of Watchwell and his brothers,\nand announced that he had decided to wed his five daughters to the five\nheroes. \u201cIt is but right and fitting that men such as these, brave,\nnoble and true, should reign over this land when I am gone,\u201d he said,\n\u201cand to whom could I more worthily entrust my dear daughters than to\nthose who have saved their lives?\u201d\n\nNever was there so magnificent a wedding-feast. It lasted a whole\nmonth, and the dresses of the five princesses were perfect marvels of\ngold and silver embroidery and precious stones. Then to each brother\nwas appointed a position in the State which would call his special\nquality into play. They lived long and happily with their respective\nwives, greatly beloved and honoured by all, and when at length the old\nking died, Watchwell succeeded to the throne, and his wise and good\nreign, together with his beautiful and beloved Queen Elma, is still\nspoken of to this day.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nHERMOD AND HADV\u00d6R\n\n\nIn the days long ago, there lived a king and queen. They had an only\nchild, called Hadv\u00f6r, who was not only the heiress to the crown, but\nwas also the most beautiful maiden ever seen.\n\nNow, the king and queen, having no son of their own, had adopted the\nchild of a friend. The boy was called Hermod; he was about the same age\nas Hadv\u00f6r, and equally well-skilled in all knowledge that pertains to a\nyoung prince.\n\nThe young people had played together ever since they could remember\nanything, and the friendship of their childhood only strengthened as\nthey grew older, and they promised to continue true to one another, no\nmatter what might happen.\n\nWhen they were about eighteen years old, the good queen sickened, and,\nfeeling that her end was drawing near, she called the king to her\nbedside.\n\n\u201cDear husband,\u201d she said, \u201cI feel I have not long to live. Pray,\ntherefore, grant me the last request I shall ever make you. I know how\nlonely you will be without me, and I hope, therefore, that you will\nmarry again. But, if you do, let it be the good queen of Hetland, who\nhas lately lost her husband, and who, having no children, will love our\ndear ones as if they were her own.\u201d\n\nThe king, overwhelmed with grief, promised to do as she wished; and the\nqueen died peacefully.\n\nFor some time the king could think of nothing but the terrible loss he\nhad sustained. At length, however, wearying of his lonely life, he\nfitted out a ship, and went to sea.\n\nAfter sailing along for some days under brilliant sunshine, one morning\na thick fog arose. It grew denser and darker, and the sailors could no\nlonger tell which way they were going, when the mist suddenly lifted,\nand they saw land before them.\n\nThe king ordered a boat to be lowered, and was rowed ashore. He then\ngot out alone, telling the men to wait for him.\n\nGoing quietly along, he presently came to a wood, and the sun being\nvery hot and the king very tired, he was glad to sit down and rest\nunder the shade of a big oak tree. He had not been long there, however,\nwhen he heard music in the distance, and, following the sound, he\npresently came to a beautiful open glade, and there he saw three women.\nOne of them, clad in richly embroidered robes, was seated on a golden\nstool. She held a harp in her hand, and had evidently been playing, but\nshe looked sad and troubled. Beside her, seated on a lower stool, was a\nyoung girl, also handsomely dressed, though not so richly as the elder\nwomen, and behind them stood another girl, also good-looking, but very\nplainly dressed, with a green cloak thrown round her. She evidently was\nthe servant of the other two.\n\nAfter gazing at the women for a few moments, the king stepped forward\nand saluted them respectfully.\n\nThe lady seated on the golden stool, having returned his greeting,\nasked him who he was and where he was going.\n\n\u201cAlas!\u201d said the king, \u201cI have lost my dear queen, and now, in\naccordance with her last wish, I am on my way to Hetland, to ask the\nwidowed queen of that country to become my wife.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, king!\u201d replied the lady. \u201cHow wonderful is the hand of fate! I am\nthe queen you are in search of! Hetland has been overrun by Vikings,\nwho burned and destroyed everything they did not carry off, and it was\nonly by a miracle that I managed to escape with my daughter and my\nattendant here.\u201d\n\nWhen the king heard this, he hesitated no longer, but at once offered\nto take her back as his bride.\n\nAfter a slight hesitation, the lady accepted the king\u2019s offer, and,\nhaving rested a little longer, the king led the way back to the boat.\nThey quickly embarked, and, without any further adventures, arrived at\nthe king\u2019s country, where a great wedding-feast was immediately\nprepared, and the marriage took place, amid great rejoicing.\n\nFor some little time matters went very smoothly. Hermod and Hadv\u00f6r kept\nmuch to themselves, leaving the queen and her daughter to enjoy all the\nsplendour and gaiety of the court. But, as time went on, Hadv\u00f6r, who\nwas always kind to those about her, seeing that Ol\u00f6f, the queen\u2019s\nattendant, was much neglected and snubbed by her mistress, took\ncompassion on her, and often asked Ol\u00f6f to come and see her.\n\nAfter some months a war broke out with one of the neighbouring\ncountries, and the king had to go forth at the head of his army. No\nsooner had he sailed than the queen went to Hermod and told him she\nwished him to marry her daughter.\n\n\u201cThat I cannot do,\u201d replied Hermod, \u201cfor I love Hadv\u00f6r, and she alone\nshall be my wife.\u201d\n\nThen the queen, finding that no persuasion and no threats had any\neffect, got very angry.\n\n\u201cIf you will not marry my daughter,\u201d she cried angrily, \u201cneither shall\nyou wed Hadv\u00f6r. I have not forgotten the magic taught me by my mother,\nand, as you will not obey me, I lay my spell on you. You shall live on\na desert island, and all day long you shall roam about in the shape of\na lion; only after sunset shall you return to your human form, and then\nyou shall think of Hadv\u00f6r and remember your former life, and thus\nsuffer doubly in looking back on the past; and you shall not be freed\nfrom this enchantment till Hadv\u00f6r succeeds in burning your lion\u2019s\nskin.\u201d\n\n\u201cI am in your power now,\u201d replied Hermod; \u201cbut your punishment will\novertake you ere long, for I also possess some magic gifts; and, though\nI am at present powerless, as soon as your wicked spell is broken,\nwhich it assuredly will be, you and your daughter, who is as wicked as\nyou are, shall be turned into a rat and a mouse, and you will bite and\ntear each other till you kill one another.\u201d\n\nSo Hermod suddenly disappeared, and no one knew what had become of him.\nThe queen made a pretence of sending out people to search for him, but\nno trace of him was found.\n\nWhen Ol\u00f6f next visited Hadv\u00f6r, she found her in great grief at Hermod\u2019s\ndisappearance.\n\n\u201cNay, do not weep,\u201d she said; \u201cthe queen, by her wicked enchantments,\nhas caused him to disappear for a time. Both she and her daughter are\ntwo wicked giantesses, who have only assumed their present form, and,\nwhen Hermod refused to marry her daughter, she put in practice her\nmagic arts. She has transported him to a desert island, where he will\nbe a lion during the day, but resume his own form every evening, and\nthis charm will last until you succeed in burning the lion\u2019s skin. The\nqueen has also further arranged that you are to marry her brother, a\nterrible, three-headed giant, who lives underground. I, too, have\nsuffered from her arts,\u201d concluded Ol\u00f6f; \u201cshe carried me away from my\nparents\u2019 house, forcing me to serve her. Fortunately, however, she is\npowerless to hurt me, for the green cloak I always wear over my dress\nwas a gift from my godmother, and nothing can harm me while I have it\non.\u201d\n\nPoor Hadv\u00f6r! She felt very hopeless when she heard of all her\nstepmother\u2019s wicked plots against her, and entreated Ol\u00f6f, by the love\nthey bore each other, to assist her.\n\nThis Ol\u00f6f gladly promised she would do.\n\n\u201cBut first, you must keep watch and guard against the queen\u2019s brother,\u201d\nshe said. \u201cHe lives in a cave beneath the castle, and will rise beneath\nyour chamber some night. You must, therefore, always keep a large pot\nof boiling pitch ready, and as soon as you hear a great rumbling noise,\nlike an earthquake, and see the ground cracking, at once pour the\nboiling pitch down the cracks, and this will kill the giant. It is the\nonly thing that can hurt him.\u201d\n\nAbout this time, the king returned home from the wars, and was greatly\ndistressed at Hermod\u2019s disappearance. He made inquiries and sent out\nmessengers in all directions, but no trace of him could be found, and\nthe queen had to use all her arts to console the king under the loss of\nhis adopted son.\n\nHadv\u00f6r meanwhile remained quietly in her own house. Following Ol\u00f6f\u2019s\nadvice, she kept ready the boiling pitch for the giant, and had not\nlong to wait. One night, shortly after the king\u2019s return, she was\nsuddenly awakened by a loud rumbling noise; the ground began to shake\nand tremble; but Hadv\u00f6r, having been fully prepared, was not\nfrightened, and summoned her maidens to assist her. Then, as the noises\ngrew louder, and several great cracks appeared in the floor, Hadv\u00f6r and\nthe girls poured the boiling pitch down the open seams. Then gradually\nthe noises ceased, till everything was perfectly quiet again.\n\nThe next morning the queen rose up early, and as soon as she was\ndressed she hurried to Princess Hadv\u00f6r\u2019s house. There, lying on the\nground outside, she saw the dead body of her brother the giant.\n\n\u201cOh,\u201d cried the queen angrily, \u201cthat must be Hadv\u00f6r\u2019s work! But the\nminx need not think she shall go unpunished, and upset all my schemes;\u201d\nand bending over the body of the uncouth monster, she continued: \u201cBy my\nmagic power, I will that your body shall be transformed into that of a\nbeautiful prince, and that Hadv\u00f6r shall be accused of causing your\ndeath.\u201d\n\nWith these words she placed her hand on the giant\u2019s body, and\nimmediately it was changed into the likeness of a handsome prince.\n\nThe queen then returned to the palace, and, pretending to weep, she\ntold the king that she feared his daughter was a very wicked girl,\nthough she always seemed so good, for that her brother, a brave and\nhandsome prince, had come to ask Hadv\u00f6r\u2019s hand in marriage, who without\nany rhyme or reason had caused him to be killed, for she, the queen,\nhad just seen his dead body lying outside the princess\u2019s house.\n\nWhen the king heard this, he hastened to Hadv\u00f6r\u2019s house, accompanied by\nthe queen; and when he saw the dead body lying there, just as the queen\nhad described, he was very angry. He said he could not have wished for\na handsomer or nobler son-in-law, and that he would gladly have\nconsented to the marriage.\n\nThen the queen begged that she might be allowed to choose Hadv\u00f6r\u2019s\npunishment, and the king, greatly incensed with his daughter, gave his\nconsent.\n\nSo the queen said it would only be a just punishment that Hadv\u00f6r, who\nhad killed her brother, should be buried alive in the same grave with\nhim; and the king, though sorry for his daughter, having given his\nroyal word, said the queen\u2019s wishes must be carried out.\n\nOl\u00f6f meanwhile, who, unknown to the queen, had overheard all that\npassed, hastened away to tell Hadv\u00f6r. When the princess heard what the\nqueen intended doing, she was very frightened, but Ol\u00f6f comforted her\nand promised to help her.\n\n\u201cAnd remember, if you wish to bring Hermod back again, you must not\nmind undergoing some pain and suffering for him.\u201d\n\nOl\u00f6f then brought her a short cloak, which she told Hadv\u00f6r she must\nwear over her dress when she went into the grave or burial mound. The\ngiant, she said, would be a spirit after he was buried.\n\n\u201cHe will then ask you to cut off and give him one of your hands,\u201d\ncontinued Ol\u00f6f; \u201cbut you must not promise to do this until he has told\nyou where Hermod is, and how you are to get to him. Then when you want\nto get out of the grave, he will let you mount on his shoulder; but\nbeware how you trust him: he will only help you to put you off your\nguard, and will take hold of your cloak and drag you back. See,\ntherefore, that it is only loosely tied, so that when once you have\nyour foot on the outer edge the cloak alone will remain in his hands.\u201d\n\nMeanwhile the grave was being prepared, and when all was ready the body\nof the supposed prince was laid in it, and Hadv\u00f6r, who was not allowed\nto say a word in her own defence, was lowered in beside him, and the\ngrave, was walled up and closed.\n\nAnd then all happened as Ol\u00f6f had foretold. The supposed prince became\na spirit, but in his former giant form, and asked Hadv\u00f6r if she would\nlet him cut off one of her hands and her hair, saying, \u201cOnly a maiden\u2019s\nhand will open the grave, and a maiden\u2019s hair will Hermod save.\u201d But\nHadv\u00f6r refused unless he first told her where Hermod was, and how she\ncould get to him.\n\nThen the giant said that the queen had banished Hermod to a desert\nisland, and described exactly where it was.\n\n\u201cBut you will not be able to reach him unless you cut off your hand,\u201d\nsaid the giant \u201cThen you must cut off your hair and plait it together\nand make it into sandals, and with these you will be able to cross both\nsea and land.\u201d\n\nHadv\u00f6r at once carried out the giant\u2019s instructions. She cut off her\nbeautiful long golden hair, and plaiting it together, made herself a\npair of sandals. Then, thinking only of Harmod, bravely held out her\nhand for the giant to cut off, and declared she was ready to go.\n\nThe giant said he would help her, that she must climb upon his shoulder\nand touch the roof with the hand he had cut off, when the top of the\ngrave would open. So she followed his directions; and no sooner was the\ngrave open than the giant stretched up his hand and caught hold of her\ncloak, to pull her back. But with one spring Hadv\u00f6r was outside the\ngrave, the cloak slipped from her shoulders, remaining in the giant\u2019s\nhands; and, without waiting to look round, she flew along the road he\nhad told her of.\n\nShe ran on for some time without venturing to stop or look round, until\nat length she reached the seashore. There, far far away in the\ndistance, she saw a high rocky island. Her sandals, however, enabled\nher to cross the water easily; but when she reached the island the\nshore was so steep and rocky, she could find no way of getting into the\ninterior. This was a terrible disappointment and tired and weary with\nall she had gone through, Hadv\u00f6r sat down on a fallen piece of rock,\nand presently fell asleep. Then she dreamt that a big giantess came up\nto her and said, \u201cI know that you are Hadv\u00f6r, the king\u2019s daughter, and\nthat you are in search of Hermod. He is on this island; but you will\nnot find it easy to reach him, if left to yourself, for the cliffs are\nsteep and dangerous, and, though you are brave and ready to face any\ndanger for him, you will not be able to climb them. But I will help\nyou. Go round the corner of the next cliff, and there you will find a\nstout rope fastened to the rocks. By its help you will be able to climb\nup and get into the island. But it is large and has many caves, and you\nmight be a long time ere you find Hermod. I have, therefore, brought\nyou this ball of ribbon; take hold of the loose end, and the ball will\nroll along and guide you in the right way. I also give you this girdle;\nfasten it round your waist, and as long as you wear it you will suffer\nneither hunger nor fatigue. But remember to keep silence while Hermod\nis still under the spell, and on no account must you speak until after\nyou have burnt the lion\u2019s skin.\u201d\n\nWhen Hadv\u00f6r awoke, feeling quite strong and refreshed, she thought she\nhad only had a very pleasant dream; but, looking round, she saw a ball\nof gaily coloured ribbon and a beautiful silken girdle lying beside\nher. Putting the girdle round her waist, she tucked the ball inside of\nit, and, going round the next cliff, she saw a stout rope hanging down.\nThen she knew that her dream was no ordinary one. She took hold of the\nrope, and began climbing the almost perpendicular rock. But it was a\nlong and difficult task, for the rocks were high and steep, and the\nloss of her hand greatly impeded her progress. But whenever she lost\nheart, she thought of Hermod, and the knowledge that she was at last\nnear him gave her fresh strength, till at length she reached the top.\n\nShe then placed the ball on the ground and followed its lead, till it\nstopped at the entrance to a cave.\n\nCautiously Hadv\u00f6r peeped in, but she saw nothing except a miserable\nwooden pallet, so she crept under this and hid herself.\n\nThe hours seemed very long, as she lay there listening for every sound\nthat might announce Hermod\u2019s approach; then, just as the sun was\nsetting, sending a bright crimson gleam into the cave, she heard a loud\nroar, accompanied by heavy footsteps, and presently a huge lion entered\nthe cave.\n\nHadv\u00f6r\u2019s heart leapt into her mouth, but she remembered that she must\nbe silent if she wished to save him.\n\nThe lion then went towards the hearth, and giving himself a vigorous\nshake, the lion\u2019s skin fell off, and Hadv\u00f6r saw that it was indeed\nHermod.\n\nHe sat down on the bed (little thinking that Hadv\u00f6r was hid\nunderneath), and began talking aloud of his love for Hadv\u00f6r, and his\ngreat grief at their separation, and his utter inability to help\nhimself. \u201cFor, alas!\u201d he concluded, \u201cit is only by Hadv\u00f6r\u2019s finding and\nburning my lion\u2019s skin that I can ever get back my human figure and\npower; and how is it possible she should ever find me here?\u201d\n\nHadv\u00f6r, when she heard these words, almost jumped out from beneath the\nbed, but she remembered in time that she must not speak until she had\nburnt the lion\u2019s skin. So, with a strong effort of her will, she kept\nperfectly still and silent till Hermod threw himself down on the bed.\n\nAs soon as she heard that he was fast asleep, she crept forth quietly,\nand, taking an armful of wood and a lighted brand from the hearth, she\nmade up a big fire outside the cave, and burnt the lion\u2019s skin Hermod\nhad thrown off. She then returned to the cave and wakened Hermod. What\na glad and joyful meeting that was!\n\nHadv\u00f6r told Hermod all that had occurred after his disappearance, and\nhow, by Ol\u00f6f\u2019s help, she had been enabled to find him.\n\n\u201cOh, Hadv\u00f6r,\u201d cried Hermod, \u201cto think of all you have done and suffered\nfor my sake! And, alas, that you should have lost your right hand! How\ncan I ever make up to you for all you have done?\u201d And gently taking the\nmaimed arm, he pressed his lips to the wrist, when lo, and behold, the\nhand was restored, and not even a mark was visible to show where it had\nbeen severed!\n\nThen they began planning how best to return home, and Hadv\u00f6r told\nHermod of her wonderful dream and the gifts she had already received\nfrom the giantess. \u201cSurely,\u201d she added, \u201cshe must live somewhere on\nthis island, and might help us again.\u201d\n\nHermod said he believed a giantess did live on the island, and that she\nwas called Allgood, but he had never seen her, though she was supposed\nto watch over people and help them. So they determined to try and find\nher, and they sallied forth. After a long search, they came to a huge\ncavern, inside of which sat the great giantess, surrounded by her\nfifteen children! Then Hermod asked her if she would help them to\nreturn to their home, telling her how they had been driven forth.\n\n\u201cIt will not be easy,\u201d replied Allgood, \u201cbecause the giant who was\nburied with Hadv\u00f6r will try and throw all kinds of obstacles in your\nway. He has been changed into a huge whale, and swims all round this\nisland, and he will certainly try all he can to kill Hadv\u00f6r ere she\nreaches her own country. But I will lend you my ship, for though\nHadv\u00f6r\u2019s sandals would carry you across the water, they will not\nprotect you from the giant. He may not know that you are in my ship;\nbut if you see him swimming towards you, I fear your life may be in\ndanger. Then call on me, and I will help you.\u201d\n\nHermod and Hadv\u00f6r thanked the giantess warmly for her good advice and\nkind offer of help, and getting on board her ship, where they found\nfood and everything they wanted, they left the island, happy and\nhopeful. But ere long they saw a huge whale swimming rapidly towards\nthem. He spouted the water up, yards high, and lashed the sea with his\ntail as he came near the ship.\n\n\u201cOh, Hermod,\u201d cried Hadv\u00f6r, \u201cthat surely must be the wicked giant! Let\nus call on Allgood to help us!\u201d And they both called loudly on the\ngiantess for aid.\n\nImmediately a still bigger whale than the first one appeared, followed\nby fifteen smaller ones. They swam swiftly towards the ship, and when\nthey had completely surrounded it, they turned on the first whale. Then\na terrific battle began. The water shot almost up to the clouds, the\nsea was lashed into such great waves, that it seemed as if the vessel\nmust be swamped, and Hermod and Hadv\u00f6r watched eagerly for the result.\nThe fight lasted for some time; but when at length it was over, they\nsaw that the sea for some distance was red with the blood of the dead\nwhale. And then the big whale, followed by the fifteen smaller ones,\nswam back to the island, and Hermod and Hadv\u00f6r reached their own land\nin safety.\n\nMeanwhile, strange events had happened at the king\u2019s castle. The queen\nand her daughter had disappeared, and in their apartments a big rat and\na mouse fought all day and night. In vain the servants tried to drive\nthem away. Even if they ran off for a short time, they always came back\nagain and disturbed the whole castle by their cries. Thus some time\npassed, and the king was once again plunged into grief, not only at the\ndisappearance of the queen, but because these horrid animals left\nneither him nor his court any peace.\n\nOne evening, when they were all assembled in the great hall, very sad\nand silent, quick steps were heard approaching, and, to the surprise of\nevery one, Hermod entered. As soon as the king saw him, he embraced him\nwarmly, greeting him like one returned from the dead, and anxiously\ninquiring all that had happened to him. But before sitting down, Hermod\nsaid he must first go to the queen\u2019s apartment. There the rat and mouse\nwere fighting and biting one another, uttering frightful cries; but,\ndrawing his sword, Hermod smote them both, when, to the amazement of\nall, there lay two hideous giantesses dead on the ground. The servants\nquickly carried them out into the great courtyard, where they were\nthrown on a pile of wood and burnt.\n\nMeanwhile, the king and Hermod, accompanied by the whole court,\nreturned to the hall, and then Hermod related all his wonderful\nadventures, greatly to the delight and amazement of the king and his\ncourtiers. And, while they were exclaiming at the wonders of his tale,\nHadv\u00f6r came in, accompanied by Ol\u00f6f.\n\nThen, indeed, there was general rejoicing, and the king at once acceded\nto Hermod\u2019s wish to become his son-in-law. There was no long delay over\nthe wedding, and as the king was now growing old, he handed over the\ngovernment of the country to Hermod, whose reign is still known as that\nof \u201cthe good king.\u201d\n\nHadv\u00f6r, in the midst of her own happiness, did not forget Ol\u00f6f and all\nthe good services she had rendered her. She married one of the great\nnobles of the kingdom, who became King Hermod\u2019s right hand, and Hadv\u00f6r\nand Ol\u00f6f remained close friends all the days of their life, their\nfriendship descending to their children and grandchildren.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nINGEBJ\u00d6RG\n\n\nThere once lived a king and queen who ought to have been as happy as\nthe day is long, for they had a fine kingdom, a beautiful palace,\nplenty of horses and carriages; their treasure-room was filled with\ngold, silver, and precious stones, and no matter how much they took out\nof it, it always remained full.\n\nTheir people were quiet and industrious, and they had no cares or\ntroubles; yet, notwithstanding all this, they grew daily more sad and\nsorrowful, for they had no children to inherit all the riches they\nowned.\n\nOne day the queen went out into the palace garden. It was a fine bright\nwinter\u2019s morning. The snow lay hard and firm on the ground, and each\ntree and bush sparkled and glistened in the sunshine, just as if the\njewels in the king\u2019s treasury had been scattered over them.\n\nThe queen, feeling tired, sat down on a stone bench beneath a huge oak\ntree, when suddenly a large white bird flew down from the tree. It\nbrushed past so close to the queen\u2019s face, that the wing-feathers\nscratched her cheek, and a few drops of bright crimson blood fell on\nthe snowy ground.\n\n\u201cOh,\u201d cried the queen, \u201cwould that I might have a daughter who would be\nas beautiful as those crimson drops on the white glistening ground!\u201d\n\n\u201cYou shall have your wish,\u201d sang the bird, as it flew away, its white\nwings shining in the sun like silver.\n\nThe queen had hardly recovered from her surprise than she heard a noise\nbehind her, and, turning round, she beheld the old man Surtur, who\nlived in a little hut near the palace, and who was well known and\ndreaded as a wicked magician.\n\n\u201cAy, you shall have your wish,\u201d he muttered, in a fierce, angry voice;\n\u201cbut I too intend to have a say in the matter. A daughter shall indeed\nbe born to you, but she shall cause you more sorrow than happiness,\nunless, indeed, she returns you good for evil.\u201d And he laughed\nwickedly, and disappeared.\n\nWhen the queen heard these words she was greatly troubled, for she knew\nthat Surtur was her enemy, and that he was powerful; but as weeks and\nmonths passed and nothing happened, she forgot all about the old man\u2019s\nwords, and when at length her little daughter was born, every one\nagreed that she was the most beautiful child ever seen. She was\nchristened Ingebj\u00f6rg, and grew up as good as she was beautiful.\n\nAt first the queen could not do enough for the child, and could hardly\nbear her out of her sight; but as she grew older, and when she saw how\nfond the king was of Ingebj\u00f6rg, and how every one praised and admired\nher, she began to grow jealous, and all her love seemed to turn to\nhatred.\n\nWhen the king saw this, he thought it would be better to separate\nIngebj\u00f6rg from her mother, so he built her a separate house, and there\nshe lived with her own attendants. But this only made the queen still\nmore angry. At last she fell ill, and sent for her daughter, and when\nthe girl came to her bedside she whispered something in her ear, and\nthen sent her back to her own house again. But from that day a change\ncame over Ingebj\u00f6rg. She no longer laughed and danced as was her wont,\nbut walked about the rooms alone, often weeping, and would never leave\nher house on any pretext whatsoever.\n\nOne day, when Ingebj\u00f6rg, as usual, sat in her room, her work that she\nused to take such pleasure in lying idly on her lap, while the tears\nrolled slowly down her cheeks, she heard some one knocking at the door,\nand on opening it she saw a funny little old woman with a high peaked\nhat, who asked if she might come in and rest.\n\nIngebj\u00f6rg listlessly said \u201cYes;\u201d and then the old woman began telling\nher some wonderful stories, and at last Ingebj\u00f6rg got so interested\nthat her tears stopped, and she looked quite bright and happy like her\nold self.\n\n\u201cAnd now,\u201d continued the old woman, \u201cI want you to come out into the\nwood with me. It is a lovely day, and so beautiful and fresh in the\nshade of the trees.\u201d\n\nThough at first Ingebj\u00f6rg declared she did not care to go, she at last\nallowed herself to be persuaded, and soon they were wandering along on\nthe soft mossy-paths beneath the beautiful great tall-stemmed firs,\ngraceful beeches, and feathery birch, till gradually the sad look\ndisappeared from Ingebj\u00f6rg\u2019s face, and she began to laugh and run like\nthe happy girl she had once been.\n\n\u201cAnd now,\u201d said the little old woman, when, tired of walking, they had\nseated themselves on a mossy bank, \u201cnow tell me, Ingebj\u00f6rg, why are you\nalways so sad?\u201d\n\nAt first the girl refused to speak, but the little old woman kept on\nasking, and she looked so kind and gentle that at length Ingebj\u00f6rg said\nher mother had told her that it had been foretold at her birth that she\nwas to marry a terrible giant, and that she was to burn her father\u2019s\ncastle and so cause his death.\n\n\u201cAnd oh,\u201d cried Ingebj\u00f6rg, \u201cI love him so dearly! He has always been so\ngood and kind to me! Oh, let us hasten home. I quite forgot; I ought\nnever to have left my house, and I never will go out again, and then I\ncannot possibly harm him, or marry that horrible giant.\u201d And the poor\ngirl hurried home, sobbing and crying all the way.\n\n\u201cNay, nay,\u201d said the little old woman, \u201ccomfort yourself, my child. I\nam your godmother, and there is no harm done, and I think we can find\nsome way to avert these evils. It is all that wicked Surtur\u2019s doing. He\nwanted to marry your mother, and when she would have nothing to say to\nhim and married your father, he vowed he would never rest till the king\nwas dead and she was punished. So he got her maid to give her some\ndrops made out of the dragon\u2019s tooth, which turned her love for you to\nhatred and jealousy. But he can only work so far. It remains for you,\nnow that you are grown up, to undo the evil he has wrought by returning\ngood for evil, for love can overcome all things. The king\u2019s palace I\ncannot save, for my power only extends over living things; but neither\nyour father nor mother shall be hurt, and the treasure can also be\nsaved. Neither need you fear the giant if you will do exactly as I bid\nyou. Now you must first go and persuade your father to go out riding in\nthe forest with all his attendants.\u201d\n\nWith a heart greatly relieved at her godmother\u2019s cheery words,\nIngebj\u00f6rg hastened to do her bidding.\n\n\u201cDear father,\u201d she said, as she entered his presence, \u201cthe day is so\nfine and the woods are so beautiful, will you not go out for a ride in\nthe woods and take the courtiers with you?\u201d\n\nAnd the king, pleased at seeing her look so bright and happy, at once\nsaid he would go, and with all his courtiers in attendance, started off\nfor a great hunting party in the forest.\n\nAs soon as they were well out of sight, Ingebj\u00f6rg sent the servants\naway on different errands, and when the palace was quite empty, the\nlittle old dame helped the princess to carry out all the treasure and\nwhatever else was of value in the castle, and then, when they stood in\nthe great empty hall, she told Ingebj\u00f6rg that she must now take down\nthe big can of oil from the mantelshelf. In so doing the girl\u2019s foot\nslipped, and the oil ran over the hearth and into the fire. In a few\nminutes the whole place was in a blaze, the little old dame and\nIngebj\u00f6rg having just time to escape.\n\n\u201cThus,\u201d said the old woman, \u201cone part of old Surtur\u2019s enchantment has\nbeen fulfilled, without harm to any one, and the rest you must now\ncarry out;\u201d so saying, she gave Ingebj\u00f6rg a little silver ball. \u201cNow go\nto the forest, throw down this ball, and follow its windings till it\nstops at a woodman\u2019s hut; go in, but keep the door ajar, so that you\ncan see who comes in, and, whatever you do, remember that you must see\nthe owner of the hut before he sees you. Remain there till I summon\nyou; but when in your dreams you hear me calling you, do not lose an\ninstant, but hasten to the palace, for your mother will need you.\nRemember love is the great conqueror, and can overcome all evils.\u201d\n\nIngebj\u00f6rg promised to do exactly as the old dame had told her. She\nthrew down the silver ball and followed its course as it rolled along,\ntill at last it stopped before a woodman\u2019s hut, and, going in, she hid\nbehind the half-closed door, peeping curiously between the slit.\n\nPresently she saw a huge giant coming towards the hut, carrying a dead\nbear across his shoulders which he had killed out hunting. He pushed\nopen the door, and, as he threw down his burden, he beheld Ingebj\u00f6rg;\nhowever, she had seen him first, and felt very frightened.\n\nBut though he looked terribly fierce, his voice was very soft and kind\nas he told her that she might remain with him, but that she would have\nto make the beds, cook the food, and sweep the floor\u2014all which\nIngebj\u00f6rg promised to do. He then showed her a little inner chamber\nwhere he said she might sleep. \u201cAnd, whatever noises you hear,\u201d he\nadded, \u201cdon\u2019t come in here unless I call you.\u201d\n\nAnd thus passed three days. The giant went out early every morning, and\nnever returned till sunset; while Ingebj\u00f6rg cooked the food, made the\nbeds, and kept the little hut clean and tidy. Every night she heard\nfrightful noises in the outer room, the walls of the hut shook, and the\nearth trembled, but as the giant never called her, she lay quietly in\nher bed, pulling the clothes over her ears to deaden the terrible\nnoises. And then, as she fell asleep, each night she dreamed that,\ninstead of the giant, a handsome young prince stood beside the hearth.\n\nOn the third evening, she had hardly fallen asleep when she fancied she\nheard some one calling her. Quickly jumping out of bed, she hastily\nthrew on her clothes, cautiously opened the door, and, seeing the hut\nwas empty, she ran as quickly as she could to the palace. She knew that\nher mother needed her.\n\nThere, in front of the chief entrance, she saw a wooden stake had been\ndriven into the ground, to which the queen was tied, while the servants\nwere piling fagots of wood round her; for the queen had been condemned\nto be burnt to death for having set the palace on fire during the\nking\u2019s absence and stolen all the treasure, though she in vain pleaded\nher innocence.\n\nPushing her way through the crowd, Ingebj\u00f6rg threw herself down on her\nknees before her father.\n\n\u201cOh, stop, stop!\u201d she cried eagerly. \u201cDear father, my mother is not to\nblame. It was I who was forced to burn down the castle, in order to\nsave your life, which was threatened by the wicked magician, Surtur,\nand the treasure also is safe.\u201d\n\nWhen the king heard this, he at once ordered the queen to be released,\nwho, freed from the wicked spells that Surtur had thrown over her,\nembraced her daughter with many loving words.\n\nSurtur, hearing that his evil deeds were known to the king, tried to\nhide himself in the woods; but he was caught and brought back by the\ngiant, who had also fallen under his enchantments. But Ingebj\u00f6rg\nremembered her silver ball, and, throwing it towards the giant, he\ncaught it, and as he did so he was immediately changed into the\nhandsome young prince Ingebj\u00f6rg had seen each night in her dreams.\n\nBut Surtur was not to escape. The king called his servants, who bound\nthe magician with strong cords. He was condemned to death for all his\nwicked deeds, and was led forth into the desert, where he was torn to\npieces by wild horses.\n\nAll the queen\u2019s old jealousy now died out for ever. She loved Ingebj\u00f6rg\nmore fondly each day, and before long there was a great marriage-feast\nbetween the prince and Ingebj\u00f6rg. They lived happily together all the\ndays of their life, and on the death of the king and queen, Ingebj\u00f6rg\nand her husband reigned in their stead, beloved by all their people.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nHANS\n\n\nCHAPTER I.\n\nHANS STARTS ON HIS TRAVELS.\n\n\nOnce upon a time, many, many years ago, there was an old man and his\nwife who lived in a little cottage beside a big wood. They had three\nsons, called Kurt, Conrad, and Hans.\n\nThe father was very proud of his two elder boys, who were great tall\nfellows, but he never troubled about Hans, the youngest son, who, poor\nboy, often fared rather badly, as he only got whatever his brothers did\nnot care to keep. He was never allowed to join in their games, or\ntrials of skill, in which the father trained his elder boys, but had to\nstop at home, doing the housework and helping his mother in the\nkitchen. She was, indeed, the only one who ever showed him any love or\nkindness.\n\nThus poor Hans was often very sad and lonely, and so, in order to while\naway the time and have some kind of companionship, he got a kitten from\na neighbour, teaching it all kinds of tricks, and as the animal grew\nolder it became so attached to Hans that it followed him about wherever\nhe went.\n\nSo matters went on till all three brothers were grown up. Kurt and\nConrad gave themselves great airs, for, being tall and robust and well\nskilled in all games of strength, they laid down the law whenever they\nappeared on the village green, and bragged so loudly that most people\nwere afraid to contradict them, more especially as their father backed\nthem up in everything. He thought they could do no wrong, whereas Hans\nwas always wrong and of no use at all; he ought, in fact, to have been\na girl, always pinned to his mother\u2019s apron-string.\n\nAnd thus ignored by his father, and set aside by his brothers, there\nwas only his mother to stand up for Hans, but she only loved him all\nthe more, and he in return was devoted to her.\n\nOne day Kurt and Conrad came home from the village, where they had come\noff victors in every trial of strength on the green, and so proud were\nthey of this success, that they begged their father to let them start\non their travels, and go and visit the king whose kingdom lay on the\nopposite side of the great arm of the sea near which stood their hut.\n\nAt first the father did not like the idea of parting with his sons; but\nwhen he looked at them, and saw what great strong fellows they were, he\nfelt convinced that they would certainly win riches and renown; so he\nagreed to let them go, fully convinced they would return both famous\nand wealthy.\n\nNot long after this, the father heard in the village that a big ship\nlay in the offing, so he told his wife she must get new shoes for Kurt\nand Conrad, as well as money for the journey, for he meant them to go\nto the great kingdom across the water, where they would be sure to win\nboth fame and riches.\n\nThe old woman did her best to obey her husband\u2019s behests. She took the\ngreat hanks of flax she had spun during the winter, and having sold\nthese in the village, she bought new shoes for Kurt and Conrad with\nsome of the money, keeping the rest for their journey.\n\nBut when Hans saw all these preparations going on, he had no rest or\npeace, and a great longing came over him to be allowed to go with his\nbrothers.\n\nPlucking up his courage, he went to his father, and begged and\nentreated to be allowed to accompany Kurt and Conrad.\n\nAt first the old man was very irate at what he considered Han\u2019s\nimpertinence, and angrily refused. But when he came to think over it,\nhe decided that he would rather not have him at home alone, when the\nothers were away, so he told him he might go, but only on condition\nthat he did not join his brothers. He must keep quite apart from them,\nso that they need not be ashamed before strangers of its being known\nthat such a small, useless fellow was their brother.\n\nAlthough this was not a very gracious permission, Hans was only too\npleased to get leave of any sort, so he hastened to his mother and\nbegged her to try and fit him out also, like his brothers.\n\nKurt and Conrad, hearing that Hans had likewise got permission to go,\nhastened their own preparations and started at once, as they did not\nwant him to go with them; but he was so anxious to get away and helped\nhis mother so effectually, that he was ready almost as soon as they\nwere.\n\nWhen he came to bid her farewell, she gave him a small purse with her\nsavings in it, and then handed him her oven crutch. [2]\n\n\u201cTake this also, Hans,\u201d she said; \u201cyou will find it very useful, for\nyou can use it either as a walking-stick or a weapon of defence, if you\nare in danger, and you will never lose your way, so long as you have it\nin your possession.\u201d\n\nHans thanked her warmly, bade his father good-bye, and with another\nloving farewell to his mother, went forth on his travels, his cat\nsitting gravely on his shoulder.\n\nHe hurried along as quickly as he could, hoping he would yet be in time\nto overtake his brothers, but when he got down to the shore there was\nno sign either of them or the ship, which had evidently sailed some\ntime before.\n\nUnwilling to lose any chance, Hans kept along the shore for some time,\nthinking that perhaps the vessel had gone into some of the \u201cfiords\u201d\nthat surrounded the coast; but, seeing no sign of a sail, he at last\nleft the beach as the sun was setting, and took a path leading up\ntowards the hills.\n\nHis cat, who had sat on his shoulder all this time, now jumped to the\nground, purring and arching his back as he trotted beside Hans.\nSuddenly, a huge bird came flying rapidly towards them. Hans at once\nsaw that it was a dragon, so he took a firm grasp of his iron crutch,\nwaited till the creature was within reach, then, throwing it, hit him\nso cleverly that he fell to the ground; whereupon the cat, making a\nspring, speedily put an end to the monster.\n\nWhen Hans ran up, he saw that the bird held something white between its\ntalons, and, stooping down, perceived it was a little girl, who cried\nmost piteously.\n\nHans tenderly lifted the little thing in his arms, and tried his best\nto quiet her. But it was not till the big cat came up purring and\nrubbing itself against the wee creature, that she ceased her sobbing\nand was comforted.\n\nHans was now somewhat at a loss as to what he had best do. Night was\ncoming on; there was no house in sight, and no food at hand. But just\nas he was driven to his wits\u2019 ends, he saw a little old man running\ntowards him, puffing and panting. As soon as he came up to Hans, he\nthanked him warmly for having rescued his child from the dragon.\n\nHe was a quaint-looking little man, almost a dwarf, but when he took\nthe child in his arms and began to soothe and quiet it, his face was so\nkind and gentle, that Hans, who had expected to pass the night\nout-of-doors, gladly accepted his offer to go home with him and stay\nthe night.\n\nThey walked on a long way, pussy always trotting by her young master\u2019s\nside, till at length they came to a big stone or rock.\n\nHere the dwarf paused, and, knocking three times, the stone opened.\nThen the dwarf bade Hans enter, and, giving three taps, the stone again\nclosed.\n\nWhen Hans looked round, he was surprised to find himself in a fine\nlarge room, fitted up with every comfort; great couches, spread with\nsoft rugs, ran along two sides; in one corner was the hearth, on which\na bright fire was burning; and on the other side was a table with some\nchairs beside it, and covered with various papers and quaint\ninstruments.\n\nThe old man put the child into a pretty little cot, and after he and\nHans had partaken of some food, he invited the latter to rest.\n\nHans, nothing loath, threw himself on one of the couches, with his cat\nbeside him, and, thoroughly tired out with all the excitement of his\ndeparture and the long distance he had walked, fell asleep almost as\nsoon as his head rested on the pillow. But even in his sleep he heard\nthe dwarf working at his papers during the greater part of the night\n\nNext morning, after they had breakfasted and Hans was ready to start\nforth on his travels, the dwarf again thanked him for his timely\nrescue.\n\n\u201cI can never be grateful enough to you for saving my child,\u201d he\ncontinued. \u201cAnd now I am going to give you three things, which I hope\nwill be useful to you, though nothing can ever cancel my debt to you.\u201d\n\n\u201cIndeed you owe me but small thanks,\u201d replied Hans, laughing; \u201cit was\nreally my cat who saved your child, by killing the dragon ere I came up\nto him.\u201d\n\nBut though Hans declared he wanted no payment, the dwarf would take no\ndenial.\n\n\u201cYou see this small stone,\u201d he said; \u201cit possesses the power of making\nwhoever holds it in his hand invisible. This sword,\u201d he continued,\ndrawing forth a tiny but exquisitely damascened sword, \u201cis both sharp\nand strong, and though small enough to carry in your pocket, you have\nbut to express the wish when you need to use it, and it will at once\nattain its full size and strength. And here,\u201d he added, \u201cis my third\ngift. It is, as you see, but a tiny little ship, like a child\u2019s toy, so\nsmall that you can easily carry it also in your pocket, and yet,\nwhenever you desire, it will become as large as you may need it either\nto go on a river or across the sea, and it further possesses the\nproperty of being able to sail, no matter whether there is any wind or\nnot.\u201d\n\nIt was in vain that Hans protested he had in no way earned such\nvaluable gifts. The dwarf insisted; so Hans was fain to take the\nprecious treasures, thanking him most warmly for his great kindness. He\nthen bade him farewell, kissed the pretty child, who clung round his\nneck, and, taking up his iron crutch, shouldered his cat and departed.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER II.\n\nHIS WONDERFUL ADVENTURES, AND HOW HE RETURNED GOOD FOR EVIL.\n\n\nWhen Hans got down to the shore again, he drew forth the little ship\nfrom his pocket, and, putting it in the water, said\u2014\n\n\u201cShip, ship, grow larger.\u201d\n\nImmediately the tiny boat expanded, and behold a beautiful vessel lay\nthere at anchor.\n\nHans got on board, and then, having said where he wished to go, the\nvessel sailed merrily along towards the kingdom on the opposite side of\nthe big sea.\n\nWhen they were halfway across, a violent thunderstorm came on; but\nthough he noticed that the other vessels near him were tossed about by\nthe great waves, his ship sailed straight on towards its destination,\nand never lay-to or swerved aside till it was safely anchored in its\ndestined port.\n\nAs soon as Hans landed, he said, \u201cShip, ship, grow smaller!\u201d and\nimmediately the great vessel grew smaller and smaller, till it was like\na tiny little model which he could easily put into his pocket.\n\nMaking sure that he had both his other treasures safely stowed away,\nHans, with his faithful cat mounted on his shoulder, made his way\ninland.\n\nPresently he came to a small wood, and here, sitting down beneath a\nfine, big oak tree, near which ran a bright sparkling stream, he\ndecided to remain for a short time, studying the people and their\nhabits, ere he went on to the king\u2019s palace.\n\nThanks to his faithful cat, he never lacked food, for puss went out\nnight and morning, always returning with a rabbit or a bird for her\nmaster\u2019s dinner and supper.\n\nMeanwhile, Kurt and Conrad on their arrival had gone straight to the\npalace, and had asked the king\u2019s permission to remain the winter with\nhim. Although he did not really require their services, the king,\nseeing what fine strong fellows they were, gladly consented. So they\njoined the royal household, and were soon known as the merriest among\nthe party, often boasting of their great feats of strength and the\nvaliant deeds they had done.\n\nAfter some weeks, Hans too arrived at the palace. At first he kept\nsomewhat in the background, where no one noticed him, but whence he was\nable to observe everything that went on.\n\nNow, the king had no son, but an only daughter named Gerda, who was\nboth beautiful and wise. The king, who was getting old, was anxious to\nsee her happily married; but, although he had received numerous offers\nfor her hand from neighbouring princes and other strangers who had\nheard of the princess\u2019s beauty and wit, she had refused them all, for\nGerda was difficult to please.\n\nAt length one day, just at the commencement of winter, and when all the\nforeign princes and courtiers were assembled in the big hall of the\npalace, the king announced that he had quite made up his mind to give\nhis daughter, together with the half of his kingdom during his\nlifetime, to whosoever would bring him by Christmas Eve, the three most\nprecious treasures in his kingdom.\n\nThese were, a chess-board and men, made of pure gold and silver; a\ngold-handled sword, set with precious stones, in a golden scabbard, and\nwith an unbreakable blade, and which always killed your enemy; and a\nwonderful bird with golden plumage, which, when it sang, could be heard\nin every part of the kingdom, yet its wondrous melodies were so sweet\nand soft, that they were not too loud even when quite near.\n\nThese marvellous treasures, said the king, had originally belonged to\nhis ancestors; but, during a great war with the giants, many years ago,\nthey had been carried off, and were now in possession of a terrible\nogress, who lived on a rocky and almost inaccessible island, and always\nkept these treasures in a cave, on a shelf above her head, and they\ncould only be taken away while the giantess was asleep.\n\nThe courtiers did not pay much attention to the king\u2019s words. They had\nheard them before, and they also knew that all those who had ventured\non this quest, had either never been heard of again, or, if they\nreturned, were maimed both in body and mind.\n\nSome of the foreign princes, however, started off, hoping they might\nsucceed. But when days elapsed and they did not return, Kurt and Conrad\nthought they would like to try. Knowing how big and strong they were,\nthe task did not seem an impossible one to them, and they were eager to\nmake the venture.\n\nKurt, therefore, as the eldest, came first before the king, and said\nthat if he could have a ship and crew, he would gladly start in search\nof the treasures.\n\nThe king at once acceded to his request, a vessel was fitted out, and\nKurt sailed away.\n\nAfter many days, he at length reached the island, but, being still\ndaylight when they arrived, they kept well out of sight, and did not\nattempt to land till it was dusk, when Kurt hoped the giantess might be\nasleep.\n\nThen, making his way cautiously to the cave where she lived, he peeped\nin, and there, sure enough, lay the great ogress, fast asleep on her\nbed.\n\nCreeping cautiously along the floor, Kurt looked up for the shelf, and\nthere he saw the three golden treasures.\n\nHe hardly knew which to take first, so he decided to begin with the\nmost difficult one, and, cautiously stretching forth his hand, laid\nhold of the bird, which sat on its perch with its head tucked under its\nwing, thinking to put it in his pocket. But, unfortunately, he grasped\nit too roughly, and immediately the bird began to screech so loudly,\nthat the whole cave shook and trembled.\n\nIn an instant the giantess sprang from her bed, caught hold of Kurt,\nthrew him down on the ground, and tied his hands and feet firmly with\nropes.\n\n\u201cHa! ha!\u201d she laughed. \u201cHere is another one! What fools they all are,\nto think they could outwit me! But this one will do nicely for my\nChristmas dinner when I have fed him up a little.\u201d And with these\nwords, and despite his loud cries and remonstrances, she trundled him\ninto a small cave at the back. \u201cAnd you need not fear that I shall\nstarve you,\u201d she grinned maliciously, \u201cfor I want you to get nice and\nfat; at present you are so thin, you are not worth eating.\u201d So saying,\nshe ran out of the cave and hurried down to the shore, hoping to catch\nsome of the crew, and so fill her larder still further.\n\nBut no sooner did the men see the monster running down to the shore,\nthan they rowed back to the ship with all their might, and, lifting the\nanchor, set sail at once, and were soon out of sight\n\nWhen the men returned home and described the awful ogress who had raced\ndown to the shore to catch them, the king feared there was but little\nhope that Kurt would ever be heard of again. But after a few days,\nConrad began to think that if he had gone, he would have managed more\ncleverly than Kurt, so he asked the king if he would fit out a ship for\nhim and let him try his luck.\n\nThe king, anxious to recover his treasures, at once agreed; and full of\nhope, feeling quite sure his skill and cleverness would not fail him,\nConrad started on his journey.\n\nBut, alas! he was no more lucky than his elder brother. When he got to\nthe cave, he also found the giantess asleep, and, after considering\nwhich of the three treasures he should take first, he decided for the\nsword.\n\n\u201cThe bird may make a noise if it sees me,\u201d he thought, \u201cwhereas if I\nhave the sword, should the giantess awake, I will kill her, and then\nsecure all three treasures.\u201d\n\nSo he watched for a few minutes to make quite sure that both the\ngiantess and the bird were asleep, then stealing cautiously on tiptoe\nacross the floor of the cave, he reached up to the shelf and stretched\nhis hand out to take the sword. But, alas! in his eagerness he only\ngrasped the handle of the weapon, and with a loud crash the scabbard\nfell down.\n\nThe bird began to scream, and in an instant the giantess sprang from\nher bed and had Conrad down on the floor, where she at once tied him up\nwith ropes, as she had his brother.\n\n\u201cHa, ha!\u201d she croaked. \u201cHere is another one! Oh, these fools, these\nfools! But if they will only come on fast enough, I need not stint\nmyself, for I shall have a well-stocked larder by Christmas-time!\u201d\n\nAnd ere he knew what was to happen to him, Conrad found himself inside\nthe small cave beside his brother Kurt.\n\n\u201cDon\u2019t be afraid that I shall starve you,\u201d laughed the ogress; \u201cyou\nshall have plenty of food, and you must eat all you can, and get fat as\nquickly as possible, and then I shall release you;\u201d and she grinned and\nlaughed so loudly, that the whole cave shook and trembled as if there\nhad been an earthquake.\n\nSoon after the second vessel had returned to the court, the men giving\nthe same account of what had occurred as those in the first vessel,\nHans suddenly disappeared. He had become such a great favourite at\ncourt, that every one was very sorry when he thus suddenly vanished.\n\nBut he too was determined to try his luck, and see if he could not\ncarry off the treasures, and so win the beautiful Princess Gerda, who\nhad been most kind to him during his stay at her father\u2019s court.\n\nSo one evening, just as the sun was setting, he walked quietly down to\nthe shore, Puss as usual sitting on his shoulder, and, having placed\nhis little ship in the water, and pronounced the magic words, he\narrived at the giantess\u2019s island about the middle of the day.\n\nHaving landed, Hans took his stone out of his pocket, and thus at once\nbecoming invisible, started off for the ogress\u2019s cave.\n\nLooking in, he saw it was empty, so, although he was invisible, he\nthought it better to hide behind a projecting bit of rock, in case she\nmight knock up against him.\n\nAs evening closed in, the giantess returned. But no sooner had she\nentered the cave, than she sniffed about in all directions\u2014\n\n\u201cPhew! it smells of humans here!\u201d she muttered. Not seeing any one,\nhowever, she concluded it must be the two men she was fattening up in\nthe inner cave. So, after a little time, she lay down on her bed. For\nsome time she could not sleep, and kept on muttering, \u201cPhew! It is very\nstrange that I should smell those humans so strongly to-night! I could\nhave sworn there was a fresh human here!\u201d\n\nAt last, after tossing about restlessly, she dropped off asleep.\n\nHans crept forth softly, but the fire on the hearth had died so low, he\ncould not well see his way, and stumbled over a small stone. In an\ninstant the golden bird raised its head, but just as it was going to\ngive a shrill scream, Hans\u2019s big cat pounced on it and silenced it.\n\nThen the giantess started up, and, jumping out of bed, began feeling\nall round the walls, swearing angrily.\n\nHans knew that he must kill her, for, though he was invisible, if she\ncaught hold of him she would certainly kill him. He therefore drew the\nsword which the dwarf had given him, out of his pocket and wished it to\ngrow bigger. Then, when the giantess came near him, and stretched out\nher huge arms to throw him down, Hans, with one blow of his sword, cut\noff her head, which rolled away into a corner.\n\nHans then blew up the fire, and began searching round the cave; in\naddition to the king\u2019s three treasures, he found several great chests\nfilled with gold and precious stones. Then he noticed that there was a\nsmaller cave at the back, and, lighting a pine knot, he entered and\nfound his brothers. He immediately loosened their bands, and they were\nboth so grateful to be freed from the terrible fate in store for them\nthat they ever after treated him as true brothers should.\n\nThey all three then set to work and carried the treasures from the cave\nto the ship, and when everything had been taken on board they quickly\nreturned to the king\u2019s country, where they arrived on Christmas Eve,\ngreatly to the astonishment of the whole court, who had quite given\nthem up as lost.\n\nBut greater still was the surprise of every one, when Hans presented\nthe king with the three treasures which had been so long lost, and were\nnow once again restored to the kingdom.\n\nThe king was so delighted at having at last gained his wish, and\nrecovered the long-lost treasures, that he told Hans he should always\nlook upon him as a dear son, and that he should certainly marry his\ndaughter.\n\nSo Hans was dressed in royal robes, and very shortly after married the\nfair Princess Gerda, who had long secretly admired him. The wedding was\nheld with all possible magnificence. No expense was spared, and gifts\nwere given to all the poor in the land.\n\nThe king then divided his kingdom in half, putting Hans in charge of\none; whereupon, he sent for his father and mother, and gave them a good\nhouse and sufficient money to live in comfort for the rest of their\ndays. And the two elder brothers were also provided for.\n\nHans and Gerda reigned long and happily. Puss always had a place of\nhonour beside his beloved master, and lived long enough to see Hans\u2019s\nchildren and even grandchildren.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nTHE GIANTESS AND THE GRANITE BOAT\n\n\nOnce upon a time there lived a king and queen who were greatly beloved\nby all their people. They had only one son, named Sigurd, who, even as\na boy, was distinguished for his marvellous skill and dexterity in all\nmanly sports and pastimes, whilst his strength was only equalled by his\nwisdom and his handsome person.\n\nYears passed on. Sigurd had become a man, when one day the king called\nhim to him.\n\n\u201cMy son,\u201d he said, \u201cit is now time for you to choose a fitting bride. I\nam getting old, and cannot expect to live much longer. You must take my\nplace in a few years, and must try to gain men\u2019s respect and esteem by\nshowing yourself capable of winning a princess worthy to share your\nthrone. Visit first the country of Hardrada, my friend. His daughter is\nindeed, I hear, a marvel of beauty and goodness.\u201d\n\nSigurd at once prepared to start on his journey. With a few chosen\ncompanions, he set sail in his noble galley, the high prow breasting\nthe waves, and the stern, all gorgeous with carving and gilding,\nglittering in the sun. After sailing for some days over the tossing\nwaters, the vessel at length reached Hardrada\u2019s country. It was night,\none of those glorious summer nights of the north, when the moon is\nalmost as brilliant as the sun. The bold shore, with its strange,\ngrotesque crags and peaks, seemed utterly unapproachable, till suddenly\na large creek or fiord was seen, at the head of which rose the king\u2019s\npalace. The windows were all ablaze with light, and the sounds of music\nand revelry told the travellers that some banquet was in progress.\n\nLeaving their ship, Sigurd and his companions proceeded towards the\npalace, where they received the warmest of welcomes from the king and\nhis daughter Helga. The princess was indeed all she had been pictured,\ntall and beautiful, and so gentle and charming that Sigurd made up his\nmind to win her. Next morning he acquainted the king with the object of\nhis journey, and gained his consent. Hardrada was indeed anxious to\nhave a son-in-law to share the cares of his kingdom, which, now that he\nwas an old man, weighed heavily upon him. As a condition of his\nremaining with Hardrada, Sigurd only stipulated that he should return\nto his own country directly his father sent for him.\n\nSo the marriage of Sigurd the brave with Helga the fair took place with\ngreat pomp and rejoicing, Thanes and nobles coming from all parts to\nbring presents to the young people.\n\nSigurd and his wife loved each other very dearly, and their happiness\nwas completed when, after the lapse of a year, a son was born to them,\ninheriting the beauty of the mother, and the strength and handsome form\nof the father. Three happy years thus passed away, little Kurt being\ntwo years old, when Sigurd received the news of his father\u2019s death and\na recall to his native land.\n\nIt was a sad parting between Helga and her father; but Sigurd dared not\nlinger, and once more the beautiful Viking ship started on its voyage\nthrough the sun-tipped waves, bearing the young king and his wife and\nchild.\n\nFor several days the wind was favourable; but when within a day\u2019s sail\nof Sigurd\u2019s country the vessel ran into an extraordinary calm. Day\nafter day the sun blazed down fierce and strong; not a breath of air\nwas to be felt. In the forepart of the vessel, the men had all gone\nbelow. Sigurd\u2019s companions were also asleep, while he and his wife\nremained on deck, beneath the awning, talking quietly, with little Kurt\nplaying at their feet. After a little, a strange drowsiness seemed to\noverpower Sigurd himself, and, declaring he could no longer keep awake,\nhe too went below, and fell asleep like the others.\n\nHelga was now quite alone on deck with her boy. Suddenly, as she was\nplaying with him, she saw a strange object moving slowly along the\nsmooth surface of the water. Shading her eyes with her hands, she\nwatched it, and as it came nearer she made out that it was a boat, with\na curious, ungainly form seated in it rowing.\n\nNearer and nearer it came, with silent, swift strokes, and as it\ntouched the vessel with a hard sound the queen saw that it was very\nlarge and cut out of granite. With one spring the terrible giantess who\nhad been rowing it was on deck. Like one in a dream, the queen could\nneither move nor utter a sound to arouse the king or the ship\u2019s crew.\nShe seemed held by an invisible power. The giantess came up to her,\nand, snatching away the child, placed him behind her; then she\nproceeded to take off all the young queen\u2019s beautiful embroidered\nrobes, leaving her only a single linen garment, and as she herself put\non Helga\u2019s clothes, she gradually also assumed her shape and likeness.\nLastly, she seized the queen and placed her in the granite boat, saying\nas she did so, in a terrible voice\u2014\n\n\u201cObey my words and my magic spell. Thou must neither rest nor pause on\nthe way, till thou reachest my brother in the lower regions.\u201d\n\nThe poor queen, half fainting and utterly powerless, sat still and\nsilent in the boat like a statue. With a strong push the giantess sent\nthe boat from the vessel\u2019s side, and it was speedily lost to sight.\nThen little Kurt began to cry. In vain the giantess tried to soothe\nhim; the more she attempted it the worse he became, till at length,\nlosing all patience, she snatched him up and carried him down to the\nking.\n\nWaking him roughly, she upbraided him loudly for leaving her alone on\ndeck with the child.\n\n\u201cIt was most careless and negligent of you,\u201d she went on. \u201cSome one\nought to have been left on guard while you were asleep. No one can tell\nwhat may happen when one is thus left alone. As it is, I found it\nimpossible to quiet the child; I have therefore brought him down here,\nwhich is the proper place for him. It is high time you roused your lazy\ncrew. A favourable wind has at last sprung up, and we can have a chance\nof getting off this wretched ship.\u201d\n\nSigurd was astonished at being addressed by his queen in such terms. In\nall their married life he had never heard her speak like that. He,\nhowever, decided to take no notice of it; she must be overtired with\nthe heat, he thought, and, answering her very gently, he endeavoured to\nquiet the child. The little fellow, however, sobbed and cried as much\nas ever.\n\nBy this time the crew were aroused, the sails hoisted, and, the wind\nfreshening splendidly, they reached land the following day. Here the\nwhole country was still in mourning for the late king. But the people\nrejoiced greatly when it became known that Sigurd had returned in\nsafety. He was crowned amid universal acclamations, and at once took\nthe reins of government into his hands.\n\nBut ever since the strange calm at sea the king\u2019s little son had never\nceased crying and sobbing, especially in the presence of his supposed\nmother, while before that time he had been a remarkably happy,\naffectionate child. The king, therefore, chose a nurse for him from\namong the people at his court, and when he was with her the little\nfellow seemed to be once more the bright, happy child he had been.\n\nThe king could not, however, understand the change that had come over\nthe queen ever since their journey. She who formerly had always been so\ngood and gentle, was now obstinate, cross, and untruthful. And ere long\nothers began to notice the disagreeable, quarrelsome nature of the\nking\u2019s wife.\n\nNow, there were at the court two young men who were so devoted to\nplaying chess that they would sit for hours over their game, instead of\njoining in the outdoor sports of the other young courtiers. As they\nwere the king\u2019s cousins, their room was in the palace, and it happened\nto be next to that of the queen. She had been particularly rude and\ndisagreeable to them ever since she came, and they would have been glad\nto revenge themselves upon her in any way.\n\nOne day, hearing her moving about and talking angrily, they looked\nthrough a slit in the door, and distinctly heard her say\u2014\n\n\u201cWhen I yawn slightly, I grow small and dainty, like a young maiden;\nwhen I give a bigger yawn, I grow into half a giantess; but when I\nstretch out my arms and yawn with all my might, I return to my original\nsize, and become a mighty giantess.\u201d\n\nAnd as she said these words, she stretched herself, yawned frightfully,\nas if her jaws would break, and suddenly grew into a monstrous and\nterrible giantess. Then, stamping her foot, the floor opened, and up\ncame a three-headed giant, bearing a huge trough of raw meat. Greeting\nthe queen as his sister, he placed the trough before her, and she\ndevoured the contents, never resting till she had emptied it.\n\nThe two young courtiers watched this strange scene, though they could\nnot hear all that the giantess and her brother said to one another.\nThey were horrified to see how greedily she devoured the raw meat, and\namazed at the quantity she ate, for at the king\u2019s table she only picked\ndaintily at the dishes. As soon as she had emptied the trough, the\nthree-headed giant disappeared in the same manner as he had come, and\nthe queen, giving a slight yawn, at once assumed her human figure\nagain. The young princes then returned to their game, discussing the\nmystery in undertones.\n\nAnd what of the king\u2019s little son all this time? One evening, when the\nnurse had lighted her lamp, and was playing with the child in her arms,\nsome of the boards in the centre of the floor opened, and a most lovely\nlady, wearing only a single white linen garment, stepped forth. Her\nwaist was encircled by a heavy iron ring, to which was attached a\nchain, which descended right down through the hole in the floor.\n\nWith a soft little cry, she ran up to the nurse, took the little boy in\nher arms, kissed him and fondled him, and, after lavishing no end of\ncaresses on him, gently placed him back in his nurse\u2019s arms and\ndisappeared in the same way as she had come, the floor closing over her\nagain. All this time she never spoke a single word.\n\nThe nurse was greatly amazed at the incident, but, startled though she\nwas, she did not say a word to any one. The next evening the same thing\noccurred. The white-robed lady came up through the floor, took the\nchild, kissed and caressed him lovingly, and then replaced him in his\nnurse\u2019s arms. But this time, when she prepared to descend, she\nmurmured, in sorrowful tones, \u201cTwice this happiness has been permitted.\nOnce more, and then all will be over.\u201d\n\nThen she disappeared, and the floor closed over her as before.\n\nThe nurse became greatly alarmed when she heard the white lady say\nthose words. She feared that some danger must threaten the child, and\nyet she had been much taken with the stranger, who had caressed the boy\nas if he were her own. She therefore thought it best to speak to the\nking, tell him what had happened, and beg him to be present at the time\nwhen the white-robed lady was wont to appear. The king listened\nattentively to the woman\u2019s story, and, suspecting foul play, promised\nhe would be there.\n\nThe following evening, therefore, found him betimes in the nursery,\nseated in a chair, with his sword drawn, close to the spot where the\nstranger had always appeared. He had not long to wait. With a faint\ngrating noise the boards opened, and forth stepped the beautiful\nwhite-robed figure, with the iron ring round her waist, and the long\ntrailing chain.\n\nIn an instant Sigurd recognized in her his own beloved wife, Helga, and\nquick as lightning he seized her in his arms, and with one stroke of\nhis sword cut the chain that fastened her. Immediately the most\nterrible groans and rumblings issued from the earth, the whole castle\nrocked and trembled, and every one thought that an earthquake was\ntaking place. But in a short time the unearthly sounds ceased without\nany damage having been done.\n\nThen Helga related to her dear lord all that had befallen her\u2014how the\nwicked giantess had come to the ship in her granite boat when they were\nall asleep, and with her magic power had taken away all her clothes and\nput them on herself.\n\n\u201cWhen she had placed me in the granite boat, it floated on by itself,\nuntil the ship was quite out of sight,\u201d she continued, \u201cand then I\nperceived we were going towards a large dark object, which, as we came\nnear to land, I saw was a huge three-headed giant. He wanted me to\nmarry him, but I steadfastly refused to be his wife, whereupon he\nchained me up in a big lonely cave, telling me I should never be free\nunless I consented. Every second day he came, repeating the same\nrequest and the same threats. Then, as time went on and I saw no hope\nof help, I began to think how I could escape his hands. At last I told\nhim that I would be his wife if he would allow me to visit my son on\nthe earth for three days running. At first he would not consent, but\nwhen I persisted he gave in; but I had to promise that I would not say\nwho I was. He then placed this iron ring round my waist, to which he\nattached a chain, the other end being fastened to himself. I hoped that\nperhaps one evening you might be there when I came to see our little\nKurt. How sadly my heart failed me when the second evening passed\nwithout my seeing you! But my prayers never ceased, and now my reward\nhas come. The terrible groans when you cut the chain must have been the\ngiant. He would fall when the strain was suddenly taken off the chain,\nfor he lives right under the castle. He probably broke his neck when he\nfell, and the terrible shock must have been his death throes.\u201d\n\nNow the king saw clearly why he could not reconcile the behaviour of\nthe giantess with that of the gentle Helga, his own dear queen. The\nhideous impostor, who had now reverted to her original form, was\nsummoned before the State Council, and, as additional evidence against\nher, the two young princes related what they had heard and seen. She\nwas condemned to be stoned to death, and her body was put into a sack\nand torn to pieces by wild horses.\n\nThen the real queen was invested with all her rightful honours, and\nsoon won the hearts of her people. And little Kurt\u2019s nurse was not\nforgotten. She was married to a great nobleman, the king and queen\ngiving her a rich dowry. She and her husband remained to the end of\ntheir days the friends of Sigurd and Helga.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nGREYBEARD\n\n\nCHAPTER I.\n\nTHE STRANGE ADVENTURES OF GEIR.\n\n\nOnce upon a time, there lived a king and queen in a magnificent palace,\nsurrounded by lovely gardens. Beyond them there stretched out great\nfields and meadows, in which grazed large flocks of sheep and herds of\ncattle, all of which belonged to the king, and beyond these again there\nwas a beautiful big forest. But in addition to all this, they had an\nonly child called Sigrid, who was known as the fairest princess in all\nthe land.\n\nNow, the king of one of the neighbouring kingdoms wanted to marry the\nprincess, and as he was very rich, her father and mother thought they\ncould not do better than give him their daughter.\n\nBut Sigrid much preferred her young cousin Olaf, who, having lost his\nparents when a child, had been brought up with her, and who was as\nbrave and handsome as the king (her suitor) was old and ugly.\n\nWhen her father and the queen found that the princess would have\nnothing to say to the old king, they determined to send Olaf away.\n\n\u201cBut we must be careful how we do it, and pretend it is for his good,\u201d\nsaid the queen; \u201cfor remember, he has a fairy god-mother.\u201d\n\nSo the king sent for Olaf his nephew, and told him he wished him to\ntravel for a year and see something of the world.\n\n\u201cFor it is not a good thing,\u201d said he, \u201cfor a young man always to stay\nat home. Go, therefore, to all the neighbouring kingdoms, and see what\nis done in other lands.\u201d\n\nThe parting between Olaf and Sigrid was very sad, for he feared that\nthe king and queen would force her to marry the rich old king during\nhis absence, and Sigrid dreaded the dangers that might befall Olaf\nduring his travels. But they promised to remain true to one another,\nand that nothing but death should part them. And then Olaf started on\nhis journey.\n\nNow, on the borders of the king\u2019s forest there lived an old man and his\nwife. The old man was called Geir, and his wife Trude. The old couple\nwere very, very poor; their little hut contained only the barest\nnecessaries, but they had one cow, and having no children, the old man\nand his wife managed to live on the milk from their cow, and on the\nroots they gathered in the king\u2019s forest.\n\nOne Sunday, Trude, feeling very tired, said she would stay at home and\nrest, while her husband went alone to the village church. The pastor\u2019s\nsermon that Sunday was on charity, and Geir returned home greatly\ndelighted with what he had heard. In the evening, as they were sitting\nbeside the hearth, his wife asked him what the sermon had been about.\n\n\u201cOh,\u201d said Geir, \u201cit was the best sermon I have ever heard. The pastor\nsaid that, whoever gave away what he possessed, it would be returned to\nhim an hundredfold, and I mean to try it.\u201d\n\n\u201cAh,\u201d said his wife, shaking her head, \u201cI don\u2019t think he can quite have\nmeant that. You must have misunderstood him.\u201d\n\nBut Geir maintained that he was right, and so they went on disputing\nfor more than an hour without either convincing the other.\n\nThe next morning, the old man hastened into the forest, and getting\ntogether a lot of woodcutters, he persuaded them to help him to build a\nhundred stalls. His wife grew very angry, and scolded him well for his\nfolly, as she called it; but he turned a deaf ear to all her\nremonstrance, and continued his work. When the stalls were ready, Geir\nsat down and began to think who would be the best person to give his\ncow to, and so get a hundred cows in return.\n\n\u201cSurely, there is no one so rich as the king,\u201d soliloquized Geir; \u201che\ncould easily give me a hundred cows for my one cow.\u201d And thus thinking,\nhe led forth his cow, despite all the angry protestations of his wife.\n\nWhen he had gone about halfway, a tremendous storm arose. Heavy black\nclouds rolled up from the north, the lightning flashed, and he could\nhardly stand up under the drenching showers of rain and hail, whilst\nthe cow, terrified at the noise and darkness, struggled frantically to\nget away.\n\n\u201cAlas,\u201d sighed the old man, \u201cI fear I shall have to let her go, for I\ncannot hold on much longer. It is so dark, I cannot see a step before\nme, nor do I know in which direction to travel! Alas, alas! it will be\na wonder if I ever reach home alive!\u201d\n\nWhile he was thus wandering helplessly about in the dark, bewailing\nhimself, and not knowing which way to turn, he suddenly saw an old\nwoman standing before him, with a large sack on her shoulders.\n\n\u201cWhat are you doing out in such weather with your cow?\u201d she asked.\n\nThen Geir told her why he had set forth with his cow, and what a rich\nreturn he hoped to get.\n\n\u201cYou will certainly lose your own cow, in place of getting a hundred\nnew ones, and probably lose your own life too,\u201d said the old woman.\n\u201cYou had much better give me your cow, which is leading you a fine\ndance, and take this sack in exchange. See, you can easily carry it on\nyour back, and I promise you, you will find it contains good flesh and\nbones.\u201d\n\nAt first Geir would not hear of the exchange; but finding the animal\ngrow more and more restive and wild, he at last consented, and no\nsooner had the old woman got the cow, than both she and it disappeared.\n\nAfter some difficulty, the old man managed to lift the sack on to his\nshoulders, and, the storm having exhausted itself, made the best of his\nway home, groaning and panting under his burden, which seemed to grow\nheavier and heavier as he went on.\n\nAt length he reached his hut, and told his wife what had happened to\nhim, making a great to do over the sack he had carried, and all the\ngood food it contained.\n\n\u201cOh dear, oh dear!\u201d cried Trude, wringing her hands. \u201cI do think you\ngrow more stupid every day! It was bad enough to take away our only\ncow, and now you come back bringing an old sack!\u201d\n\nBut Geir told her not to scold. She had better fill the big pot with\nwater and put it on the fire, for had not the old woman told him the\nsack contained good flesh and bones?\n\nTrude did as she was told, though grumbling the while, and when the pot\nbegan to boil, Geir went to the sack to untie it. But, behold, no\nsooner did he touch the string than the sack began to move and twist\nand turn about.\n\n\u201cThere is something alive inside,\u201d cried Trude, terrified; \u201copen it\nquickly.\u201d And when Geir had untied the string, out stepped a little man\ndressed from head to foot in grey; even his hair and beard were grey.\n\n\u201cIf you want to cook anything for your supper,\u201d he cried laughingly, \u201cI\nhope you will try your hand on something else than me.\u201d\n\nPoor Geir was struck dumb with amazement; but his wife made up for his\nsilence, and jeered and laughed at him for his folly and stupidity.\n\n\u201cFirst you get rid of our only means of support, and now, when we know\nnot how or where to get food for ourselves, you bring home another\nmouth to feed, and so add to our burden. You surely must have lost the\nlittle wit you ever had!\u201d\n\nAnd thus the war of words raged till the man in grey said\u2014\n\n\u201cYour wrangling will do none of us any good. Rather let me go out and\nsee if I cannot bring back some food for supper. We shall certainly not\ngrow fat on your quarrels.\u201d\n\nSo saying, and without awaiting a reply, he opened the door and sallied\nforth in the darkness, and ere the old couple could come to any\ndecision as to who or what he was, good geni or wicked sprite, the grey\nman returned, bringing back with him a nice fat sheep ready killed.\n\n\u201cThere,\u201d he said, throwing it down, \u201cnow you can prepare some food, so\nthat we may eat.\u201d\n\nGeir scratched his head, and looked at Trude. She returned the glance,\nand then they both looked at the grey man. Surely he must have stolen\nthe sheep! They did not know what to do.\n\nBut at length hunger got the better of their scruples, and, following\nthe directions of Greybeard, as they called him, they cut up the sheep,\ncooked a portion of it for their supper, and lived in comfort on the\nremainder for several days. When that sheep was finished, Greybeard\nbrought in another, then a third, then a fourth, and also a fifth.\n\nBy this time Greybeard had become a very welcome guest, and the old\npeople wondered how they could ever have lived without him.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER II.\n\nHOW GREYBEARD OUTWITTED THE KING AND WON PRINCESS SIGRID.\n\n\nAnd now we must take a peep at the king\u2019s palace.\n\nIt was just a year since Prince Olaf had started on his travels, and as\nnothing had been heard of him from any of the knights or wandering\nminstrels who travelled about from one country to another, the king and\nqueen told Sigrid that it was no use waiting any longer, and that she\nmust marry the rich old king.\n\nIn vain she protested that she would rather not marry at all if she\ncould not wed Olaf. But the king said that was all nonsense; princesses\nmust marry. And so the preparations for the wedding were begun, for\nboth the king and queen determined that the marriage feast should be on\na most magnificent scale. All the neighbouring kings and queens, and\nprinces and princesses were invited, and as the feasting was to\ncontinue for a whole week, all the royal cooks and bakers were busy\nfrom morning till night.\n\nNow, the royal shepherd had noticed that, for some time past, one of\nthe sheep from his flocks disappeared every few days. He puzzled his\nhead to try and find out the cause, but so far he had not succeeded,\nand when the fifth sheep disappeared he went to the king and told him\nwhat had happened.\n\n\u201cThere surely must be a thief about the court,\u201d he added. \u201cThat is the\nonly way I can account for the loss of the sheep.\u201d\n\nOn hearing this the king got very angry, and immediately made inquiries\nif any strangers had been seen in the neighbourhood lately. At first he\ncould learn nothing; but at last one of the servants said he had heard\nthere was a little man dressed in grey whom no one knew, and who lived\nin the hut of old Geir and his wife.\n\nThen the king sent messengers to the hut, commanding the immediate\npresence of the stranger in the great audience hall of the palace.\n\nThe old couple were greatly terrified when they heard this message.\nThey made sure that their kind guest, through whose means they had been\npreserved from starvation, would be hanged as a thief. But Greybeard\ndid not seem the least frightened, and prepared cheerfully to return\nwith the king\u2019s messenger.\n\nWhen he entered the great hall, the king asked him if he was the man\nwho had stolen the five sheep.\n\n\u201cYes, sire,\u201d replied Greybeard; \u201cI do not deny it.\u201d\n\n\u201cAnd pray, may I ask why you did it?\u201d demanded the king.\n\n\u201cI did not go very far beyond my rights,\u201d replied Greybeard. \u201cBesides,\nthe old people who live in the hut yonder, are no longer able to\nsupport themselves,\u201d he continued; \u201cthey had no food, while you, oh\nking, have plenty, and more than you can possibly use. It seemed only\nfair to me, therefore, that they should have as much as they needed, of\nthat which you did not require, and could not use.\u201d\n\nThe king was at first inclined to be angry at this cool rejoinder; but\nhe then became amused at Greybeard\u2019s coolness\u2014it just reminded him of\nwhat Prince Olaf used to do. So he laughed, and asked him if the art of\nthieving was the only thing he had ever learned.\n\n\u201cNo, sire,\u201d replied Greybeard, smiling; \u201cI took no more than I had a\nfair right to, neither did I take it for myself, nor did I deprive you\nof anything you really needed.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell,\u201d said the king, \u201cyou certainly are a funny fellow, and always\nready with an answer. But though I won\u2019t hang you for stealing my\nsheep, I must give you a lesson. To-morrow I will send my servants into\nthe forest with my young red bull. If you succeed in stealing him, you\nshall be pardoned, but if you fail, you shall be hanged.\u201d\n\n\u201cI do not think I could steal the bull,\u201d replied Greybeard, \u201cfor, of\ncourse, you will have him carefully guarded.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat is your affair,\u201d answered the king; \u201csee that you do not fail.\u201d\n\nWhen Greybeard returned to the hut, the old people received him with\ngreat joy, for they feared they should never see him again. He asked\nthem if they had a stout rope, as he would need it next morning. Trude\nsearched in her cupboards, and luckily found a nice bit of strong rope.\nThis she gave Greybeard, and then all three retired to rest.\n\nAt break of day, Greybeard got up very quietly, dressed himself, and,\ntaking the rope, left the hut.\n\nHe went to that part of the forest where he knew the king\u2019s servants\nmust pass with the young bull. Climbing up into a big oak tree that\nstood close to the side of the road, he wound the rope round his body,\nand, crawling along a thick branch, he dropped gently from it, the rope\nunder his arms, and his head hanging on his breast.\n\nPresently he heard the king\u2019s servants coming along with the young\nbull. As they came near the tree, they looked up, and saw, as they\nthought, the grey man, hanging apparently lifeless from the branch.\n\n\u201cAha!\u201d said one, \u201cno doubt he has been robbing others beside our king,\nand so they have hanged him! Serve him right, the rascal; he will not\ntrouble us again, or try to steal the bull!\u201d So they passed on, quite\nsatisfied that their enemy was dead.\n\nBut no sooner were they out of sight, than Greybeard climbed down, and\ntaking a short cut through the brushwood, known only to himself, he was\nsoon well in advance of the men. Quickly climbing up another big oak\nthat stood near the road by which the king\u2019s servants had to pass, he\nagain twisted the rope round his body and hung down from the branch.\n\nWhen the men arrived with the bull, they were greatly surprised to see\nanother grey man hanging from the tree.\n\n\u201cCould there possibly be two Greybeards?\u201d they asked each other, \u201cor\nwas there some magic at work?\u201d\n\n\u201cListen,\u201d said the chief servant, \u201cwe will leave the bull here, run\nback to the other tree, and find out whether there are two Greybeards,\nor whether the same man hangs from both trees.\u201d\n\nSo saying, they fastened the bull to the tree with a stout rope, and\nran back the way they had come.\n\nNo sooner were they out of sight, than Greybeard quickly dropped to the\nground, untied the bull, and led him away to the hut.\n\n\u201cHere, friends,\u201d he called out to the old people, \u201chere is food in\nplenty. Kill the bull; we will have a good roast of beef. You can then\nsalt down the rest, and make candles out of the fat; but his skin you\nmust keep for me!\u201d\n\nThe delight of the old people at the prospect of such a supply of good\nfood, can well be imagined.\n\nThe king\u2019s servants meanwhile, having gone back to the first oak tree\nand finding no one there, had returned to the second tree, but when\nthey found that both the bull and Greybeard had disappeared, they began\nto realize that a trick had been played upon them. So there was nothing\nto be done but to return to the palace and tell the king what had\nhappened.\n\nAfter hearing their tale, the king at once sent a messenger to\nGreybeard, telling him to come with all possible speed to the palace.\n\nThe old couple greatly feared, when they heard his message, that some\nevil was intended towards Greybeard, and quite expected the king would\nhang him.\n\nBut Greybeard told them to keep up a good heart and not to weep; and,\nwhistling cheerfully, he appeared before the king without any sign of\nfear or dread.\n\n\u201cWas it you who stole my bull?\u201d asked the king.\n\n\u201cI did not steal it, sire; I had to take it, in order to save my life,\u201d\nreplied Greybeard.\n\n\u201cWell,\u201d said the king, \u201cI suppose that is true, I will therefore pardon\nyou again, if you can this night manage to take away the sceptre from\nunder my pillow without waking either the queen or me.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat is beyond the power of any man to do,\u201d replied Greybeard; \u201cfor\nhow can I get at night into your palace, which is always guarded? much\nless into your bedchamber!\u201d\n\n\u201cNay, that is your affair; you must see to that,\u201d replied the king.\n\u201cAnd remember that, if you fail, it means losing your life.\u201d And with\nthese words he dismissed him.\n\nThen Greybeard returned to the old couple, who welcomed him as if he\nhad indeed returned to them from the dead. Trude had roasted the finest\njoint, gathered a big bowl of whortleberries, and baked some nice crisp\ngirdle cakes, so they had a great feast, after which Greybeard asked\nher to give him one of her nice sleeping-potions which she made for\nGeir when his rheumatism was very bad.\n\n\u201cThat I will gladly, my son,\u201d said Trude, heartily. She quickly hung\nher pot over the glowing embers, putting in henbane and many other\nherbs, and when the potion was ready she poured it into a little bottle\nand gave it to Greybeard.\n\nThe sun had by this time set like a golden ball, tinting the great\nbrown stems of the tall pines with a rich crimson glow, as Greybeard,\nwith the bottle carefully placed in his coat pocket, made his way back\nto the castle.\n\nWatching his opportunity when the sentry at the little postern gate had\nturned his back, he slipped through the gate and hid himself in a dark\ncorner behind one of the great buttresses. Presently he heard the gates\nclose for the night, so that there should be no possibility of a thief\ngetting in.\n\nWhen Greybeard thought he had allowed a sufficiently long time to pass\nto admit of every one, including the king and queen, being soundly\nasleep, he stole quietly and cautiously out of his hiding-place and\nalong the great passages, till he reached the royal bedchamber.\nCarefully opening the door, he crept softly up to the big couch on\nwhich reposed the king and queen. Making sure that they were sound\nasleep, he drew forth his little bottle, poured some of the contents on\nhis handkerchief, and dropped it lightly over the faces of the royal\ncouple.\n\nHe waited for a few minutes to see that the sleeping-drops had taken\neffect, and then, slipping his hand under the king\u2019s pillow, he slowly\nand cautiously drew forth the great golden sceptre, buttoned it safely\ninside his coat, and, removing the handkerchief, he hastened back to\nhis hiding-place behind the buttress, and as soon as the gate was\nopened at daybreak, he ran back to old Geir\u2019s hut.\n\nThe next morning, when the king and queen awoke, the former put his\nhand under the pillow, and behold the sceptre was gone!\n\n\u201cAh, that rascal has been too clever for us again!\u201d cried the king, and\nimmediately sent another messenger to Greybeard to summon him to the\ncastle at once.\n\nThis time Geir and Trude made sure the king would hang Greybeard, and\nwere almost heart-broken as they bade him farewell.\n\n\u201cDid you yourself steal the sceptre from under my pillow last night\nwhile we were asleep?\u201d asked the king.\n\n\u201cYes, oh king,\u201d replied Greybeard. \u201cI did not steal it, however; but\ntook it, as you told me. I had to do it to save my life.\u201d\n\n\u201cWell,\u201d said the king, \u201cyou certainly are a clever fellow. I will\ntherefore pardon you all you have done if this night you can carry off\nboth the queen and me, out of our bed. If, however, you fail to do so,\nyou shall certainly be hanged without hope of forgiveness.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat is not possible for any one to do unassisted,\u201d said Greybeard.\n\n\u201cOh, that is your affair; see you to that,\u201d answered the king, and\ndismissed him.\n\nGreybeard returned to his hut. The old people were greatly rejoiced to\nsee him, for they quite expected the king would have hung him; but he\nwas more silent than usual, and after they had finished their evening\nmeal, and the old people had gone to bed, Greybeard went out and walked\nin the moonlight under the tall trees, planning how to carry out the\nfresh task given him.\n\nPresently he returned to the hut and took down the old man\u2019s\nwide-brimmed felt hat that hung on a nail at the back of the door.\nBoring holes in the brim, he stuck in them some of the candles which\nTrude had made from the fat of the bull, and also fastened candles in\nhis belt, and then, taking the great leather sack which Geir had made\nout of the bull\u2019s skin, he returned to the palace and stood in front of\nthe chapel steps which faced the king\u2019s bedroom. Laying down the sack,\nhe lighted all the candles he had brought, sticking them on his\nshoulders and wherever he could fasten them, and then rang the chapel\nbell.\n\nThis unusual sound in the middle of the night wakened the king and\nqueen. Jumping hurriedly out of bed, they hastened to the window, and\nthere, standing outside the chapel door, they saw a figure, all blazing\nwith light. Greatly startled, they thought it must be a spirit.\n\n\u201cSuch a visitor must be received with all honour,\u201d said the queen. \u201cLet\nus go out and ask his protection and goodwill.\u201d\n\nSo they put on their very grandest clothes and went out to meet the\nsupposed spirit. Falling on their knees, they begged him to tell them\nwhy he had come, and hoped he would not be too severe with them, or\nwant them to give away too large a portion of their treasure.\nGreybeard, looking very stern beneath the light of the blazing candles,\nsaid he did not want any of their money, but they must both get inside\nthe sack which he placed on the steps.\n\n\u201cIs that all?\u201d cried the king, quite relieved. \u201cWhy, that is very\neasily done!\u201d And, helping the queen in first, he crept in after her.\n\nBut no sooner were they both inside than Greybeard pulled to the\nstring. In vain the king kicked and threatened, the queen adding her\ncries and tears. Greybeard quietly blew out all the lights, and\ndragging the sack rapidly across the yard, said\u2014\n\n\u201cI am no spirit, oh king, but your old friend Greybeard. You see, I\nhave got you and your queen out of your beds as you commanded me to do,\nand now it is for me to make my conditions. I will not let you out of\nthe sack unless you promise me your forgiveness for what I have done,\nand also give me your royal word that you will grant the request I will\npresently make you.\u201d\n\nThe king was so frightened and helpless, fearing that he might die ere\nGreybeard opened the sack, that he willingly gave his royal word to\ngrant his request, whatever it might be. Whereupon Greybeard untied the\nsack, and when the king and queen had crept forth, looking very\ncrestfallen, Greybeard said that, as next day was the princess\u2019s\nwedding-day, he had now to demand the hand of the fair Sigrid in\nmarriage, as well as the half of the kingdom during the king\u2019s\nlifetime; and, further, that old Geir and his wife, who had befriended\nhim in his poverty, should also live at the palace, and be amply\nprovided for.\n\nThe king, having given his royal word, could not of course retract, so\nhe and his queen returned to the palace very sad and sorrowful, for\nnow, instead of having the rich old king for a son-in-law, they had to\naccept this terrible stranger and lose the half of their kingdom as\nwell.\n\nGreybeard meanwhile returned to the cottage, and when he told Geir and\nhis wife that instead of losing his life he was going to marry the\nprincess the next morning, and that they also were to be provided for,\nthey could hardly believe his words.\n\n\u201cAnd now you must put on these smart clothes I have brought you, and go\nback with me,\u201d added Greybeard; and as soon as the old couple were\nready, they returned with him to the palace.\n\nThe morning of the wedding rose bright and sunny, and the old king, who\nhad arrived, was lodged in the palace. Leaving Geir and Trude among the\nassembled guests, Greybeard went down into the beautiful gardens, and\nthere, seated on the stone bench near the fountain, he saw Sigrid,\nlooking sad and pale. She had heard of the grey stranger and all his\nwonderful doings, and though glad that she was not to marry this ugly\nold king, she could not forget Olaf.\n\nHearing a step approaching, she looked up and saw Greybeard coming\ntowards her.\n\n\u201cFair princess,\u201d he said, kneeling down before her. \u201cDo not fear me,\nbut lay your hand in mine and trust me; believe me, I only wish to make\nyou happy.\u201d\n\nHis voice was so soft, and he spoke so gently, that Sigrid, despite his\nugly grey beard, after a moment\u2019s hesitation, placed her hand in his.\nNo sooner, however, had she done so, than the quaint grey figure\ndisappeared, behold! Olaf himself stood before her, and with a glad cry\nshe threw herself into his outstretched arms.\n\nTogether they then hastened to the king and queen, and Olaf told them\nhow, by the aid of his fairy godmother, he had been able to help the\nold couple who had fed and sheltered him, and also to claim his\ncousin\u2019s hand, when his year of travel was ended.\n\nThe king having given his word, there was nothing further to be said,\nand the old king had to return to his own country.\n\nThe wedding was one of the grandest that had ever been seen, and the\nfeasting lasted a whole month. Olaf and Sigrid lived long and happily\ntogether, and after the king\u2019s death Olaf succeeded to the kingdom,\nwhich he ruled with such wisdom and goodness, that his reign has ever\nsince been known as \u201cThe reign of King Olaf the Good.\u201d\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nLITILL, TRITILL, THE BIRDS, AND THE PEASANT LAD\n\n\nThere once reigned a king and a queen, and in the same country there\nalso lived a poor old man and his wife. The king had an only daughter,\ncalled Enid, who was greatly beloved by both her father and mother.\nThey spared no expense, and she had the best masters and governesses,\nand a number of servants to wait upon her; but notwithstanding that she\nwas so carefully watched and looked after, she suddenly disappeared.\nThe head-governess said she had left her in her room only for a few\nminutes practising her harp, with two of her maidens in attendance, and\nwhen she came back she found both the girls fast asleep, and the\nprincess gone. Inquiries were made of every one, but nothing could be\nheard of the princess. No one had seen her; she had vanished in the\nmost mysterious manner. The king, in despair, sent out messengers in\nall directions, and spent a great part of his treasure searching for\nher; but all in vain. Then, at last, he vowed that he would give the\nprincess in marriage to whoever should be fortunate enough to find her,\nand also give him the half of his kingdom. But though many of the\nknights and nobles about the court, eager to secure so great a prize,\nwent off in search of her, they one and all returned empty-handed.\n\nNow, the poor old man who lived outside the palace grounds had three\nsons. Their names were Osmond, Tostig, and Harald. The two eldest boys\nwere greatly beloved by their parents; but Harald, the youngest and\nhandsomest, was disliked by his father and mother, and both his elder\nbrothers ill-treated him and made him do all the work, while they went\nout shooting and fishing.\n\nWhen the boys were grown up, Osmond came to his parents, and said he\nwould like to start off and see the world, and try to win fame and\nriches for himself.\n\nHis father and mother were quite willing he should do so, and providing\nhim with a new pair of boots and a large bag of food, he started off on\nhis journey.\n\nAfter he had gone a long, long way, he arrived at a little hillock.\nHere he sat down to rest, and unpacked his bag of provisions.\n\nJust as he was beginning to eat, a tiny little man, dressed in grey,\ncame up to him, begging for a morsel of food. Osmond angrily ordered\nhim away, threatening to beat him if he did not go quickly.\n\nAfter he had rested, Osmond went on again a long, long way, till he\ncame to another hillock. Here he again sat down to rest, and began to\neat. But he had hardly commenced than a still smaller and shabbier\nlittle man, dressed in green, came up to him and asked him for a morsel\nof food. Osmond spoke angrily to him, and sent him away with a volley\nof abuse.\n\nHe then went on again a long, long way, till he reached a large open\nglade in the wood. Here he sat down on the soft, mossy grass at the\nfoot of a big beech tree, and thought he would eat another morsel. But\nno sooner had he opened his bag and taken out the food, than a whole\nflock of birds flew down beside him; but he angrily chased them away,\nand then, having rested himself, went on his way, till he came to a big\ncave. Looking in, and seeing no one, only a lot of cattle, he thought\nhe would go in and wait till the dawn arrived.\n\nJust as the sun was setting, an enormously big giantess walked in.\nOsmond was greatly startled, but, taking courage, he went up to her,\nand asked whether he might stay the night there.\n\nThe giantess said yes, on condition that in the morning he would do the\nwork she would require of him. This he promised he would do; so she\nallowed him to remain the night, she herself retiring into an inner\ncave.\n\nThe next morning the giantess told him that he must clean out the cave,\nand put down fresh bedding for the cattle, and that he must have it all\nfinished before the evening, else she would take his life. With these\nwords she went away.\n\nOsmond took up a prong he saw standing in a corner, but no sooner did\nhe begin to turn up the straw than the prong stuck fast in the bedding.\nIn vain he pushed and pulled and tried to drag it out, the prong\nremained firmly fixed; and when in the evening the giantess came home\nand found that the cave had not been cleaned out, she took hold of\nOsmond and hung him up to a nail in the cave.\n\nMeanwhile Tostig, the second son, thought he, too, would like to go out\ninto the world to seek his fortune, for he felt sure his brother by\nthis time must be quite a rich man. So he told his parents that he did\nnot care to remain at home now his elder brother was away, and with\nonly that stupid Harald at home; so having gained their consent, he,\ntoo, started off, provided with a pair of new boots and a big bag of\nprovisions.\n\nBut he was not more fortunate than Osmond had been. He flouted the\nlittle men while he rested on the hillocks, he chased and killed some\nof the birds who came flocking round him for crumbs; and when he\nreached the cave, he also received leave from the giantess to remain\nthe night, on condition that he cleaned out the cave next morning. When\nhe went and took up the prong to throw out the old bedding, it stuck\nfast in the straw, and no efforts of his could move it. So the giantess\ncoming home, and finding that he had failed to accomplish his task,\ntook him and hanged him beside his brother.\n\nSo now there was only the youngest son, Harald, left. But though he was\nthe only one at home, his parents did not love him any better, and the\npoor lad often felt that his presence reminded them of their lost sons,\nand that they regretted not having sent him away in their place. So he\nalso decided to go away.\n\n\u201cI do not suppose I shall win riches and fame. All I hope is that I may\nbe able to earn enough to support myself, and be no longer a burden to\nyou.\u201d\n\nThen his parents told him he might go; but instead of nice strong new\nboots, they only gave him an old pair of his brother\u2019s, and his sack\ncontained nothing but some hard, dry crusts.\n\nBut Harald started off with a light heart, and as it chanced he, too,\ntook the same road his brothers had done, and presently he came to the\nfirst hillock. \u201cI think my brothers must have rested here, if they felt\nas tired as I do,\u201d he said, \u201cso I will do the same.\u201d And seating\nhimself on the hillock, he began to eat one of his dry crusts, when,\nlooking up, he saw a little old man in grey standing beside him.\n\n\u201cWill you share your crust with me? I am very hungry, and have had no\nfood to-day,\u201d he said.\n\nHarald pitied the old man, who looked so feeble and tired. He begged\nhim to sit down beside him and share his meal. When they had done, the\nold man got up, and, after thanking him, said, \u201cMy name is Tritill.\nAlthough I am old and feeble, if ever you are in need of help, call me,\nand I will come to you.\u201d So saying, he went round the back of the\nhillock and disappeared.\n\nHarald then continued his journey till he came to the second hillock.\n\n\u201cI feel sure my brothers must have rested here,\u201d he said. \u201cIt is a long\nway from the last hillock. I, too, will rest here awhile.\u201d And he sat\ndown, and opening his bag, took out another crust. Hardly had he done\nso when a tiny, shabby, little old man, dressed in green, came up to\nhim and asked for a morsel of food. Harald very good-naturedly asked\nhim to sit down beside him, and shared his crust with him. When they\nhad finished eating, the little green man got up, and, after thanking\nHarald, said\u2014\n\n\u201cCall me, if ever you think I can do you a service. My name is Litill.\u201d\nAnd he, too, went away, and was soon out of sight.\n\nHarald then continued his journey until he came to the large open glade\nin the wood.\n\n\u201cI am sure my brothers must have rested here,\u201d he thought. \u201cI will do\nthe same.\u201d And he sat down and took out another crust. No sooner had he\ndone so than a great flock of birds came down. They circled round and\nround him, and seemed so hungry and fought so eagerly over every crumb\nhe threw them, that Harald\u2019s heart was filled with pity. \u201cPoor little\nthings!\u201d he said; \u201cthey need it more than I do.\u201d And he broke up the\nremaining crusts and threw the crumbs among them.\n\nWhen they had eaten up every crumb, the biggest bird alighted gently on\nHarald\u2019s shoulder and whistled softly\u2014\n\n\u201cIf ever you think we can do you a service, call us. We shall hear you\nwherever we are, for we are your birds.\u201d And ere he had recovered from\nhis astonishment, they had all flown away and were out of sight.\n\nHarald then continued his journey, until he, too, came to the big cave.\nLooking in, he saw it was full of cattle, and hanging from a beam in\none corner he saw the bodies of his two brothers.\n\nStartled at the sight, Harald\u2019s first impulse was to go away; but he\nthought he must first bury his brothers. So he took down the bodies,\nand seeing a spade near the entrance, he speedily dug a grave and\nburied them in the sand outside the cave. Just as he had finished, the\ngiantess arrived.\n\nHarald, who was very tired, asked her if he might stay the night there.\n\n\u201cYou may do so, if you will promise to do what I tell you in the\nmorning,\u201d answered the giantess.\n\nThis Harald agreed to, and he slept that night in the cave.\n\nNext morning, the giantess, who had slept in an inner cave, told him\nthat he would have to clean out the cave, and put down clean bedding\nfor the oxen.\n\n\u201cBut remember, if your work is not finished when I come home, I shall\nhang you the same as I did your brothers;\u201d and so saying she went away.\n\nHarald took up the prong standing in the corner and began his work. But\nno sooner had he pushed the prong into the bedding and tried to lift it\nthan it stuck fast to the ground. In vain he used all his strength, the\nprong remained firmly fixed. In his despair he called out: \u201cOh, dear\nTritill, come and help me!\u201d\n\nNo sooner had the words passed his lips than he saw Tritill standing\nbeside him, who asked what he could do for him. Harald showed him the\ndifficulty he was in.\n\nThen Tritill called out: \u201cPrick prong and shovel spade!\u201d and\nimmediately the prong pricked up the bedding and the spade shovelled it\naway, till in a very short time the cave was all cleaned out and fresh\nstraw put down. Harald thanked him warmly for his help, and Tritill\nwent away.\n\nWhen the giantess came home in the evening and saw that the work was\ndone, she said to Harald\u2014\n\n\u201cOh, man, man! you have not done this by yourself! But I will let it\npass!\u201d and she retired into the inner cave.\n\nThe next morning the giantess told Harald that she had some fresh work\nfor him to do. He was to carry her own bedding outside the cave, take\nout all the feathers, spread them out in the sun to air, and then put\nthem back again.\n\n\u201cBut remember, if when I come back in the evening there is a single\nfeather missing, I shall hang you as I did your brothers!\u201d And with\nthese words she went away.\n\nHarald carried out the great featherbed and the big pillows; and as the\nsun was shining warm and bright, and there was not a breath of wind, he\nripped open the seams and spread out the feathers in the sun.\n\nNo sooner had he done so than a strong wind arose, and in one moment\nall the feathers were whirled away, not a single one remaining.\n\nIn despair Harald called out: \u201cDear Tritill, dear Litill, and all my\ndear birds\u2014oh, come and help me if you can!\u201d And almost before the\nwords had passed his lips, Tritill, Litill, and the whole flight of\nbirds, came bringing the feathers with them; and while Tritill and\nLitill helped Harald to fill the bed and the pillows, and sew them up\nagain, the birds flew round picking up all the stray feathers, so that\nnone were missing. But out of each pillow they took one feather, and,\ntying them together, told Harald that when the giantess missed them and\nthreatened to kill him, he was to tickle her nose with the feathers.\n\nThereupon Tritill, Litill, and the birds all disappeared.\n\nWhen the giantess came home in the evening, she went up to her bed, and\nthrew herself down on it so heavily that the whole cave shook. Then she\nbegan carefully feeling all over the bed, and when she came to the\npillows she cried out\u2014\n\n\u201cAha, man! I have caught you\u2014there is a feather missing in each pillow!\nNow I shall hang you like your brothers!\u201d\n\nBut as she took hold of him, Harold quickly pulled the two feathers out\nof his pocket and tickled her nose with them.\n\nIn an instant the giantess fell back on her bed looking terribly white\nand frightened; but Harald laughingly gave her back her feathers,\ntelling her he did not want to keep them.\n\n\u201cAh, man, man!\u201d said the giantess, \u201cI know you did not do this alone;\nbut I will let it pass this time!\u201d\n\nSo this third night Harald also passed in the cave, and in the morning\nthe giantess said to him\u2014\n\n\u201cI have some fresh work for you to-day. You must kill one of my oxen.\nThen you must scrape and clean the skin to make a leather bag; cut up\nthe animal in joints ready for cooking; clean all the entrails, and\nmake spoons out of its horns. All must be finished ere I return this\nevening. I have fifty oxen, as you see, and it is one of these I want\nkilled. I shall not, however, tell you which one I have fixed upon;\nthat you must find out for yourself. If all is done as I wish when I\nreturn, you can depart in the morning and go wherever you like; and in\naddition, as a reward, you may choose three things from among such of\nmy treasures as I value most. If, however, everything is not finished,\nor if you kill the wrong animal, then it will cost you your life, and I\nshall hang you the same as I did your brothers.\u201d And so saying the\ngiantess departed.\n\nHarald was sorely puzzled. How could he possibly decide which of the\nanimals the giantess wished killed? Then he remembered his friends.\n\n\u201cDear Tritill, dear Litill, come once again to my aid,\u201d he cried.\n\nHardly had the words passed his lips, than he saw them both coming\ntowards him, leading a huge ox between them. They at once set to work\nand killed him, and while Harald cleaned the entrails and cut up the\njoints, Tritill scraped the skin and prepared it for making the bag,\nand Litill began fashioning the spoons out of the horns.\n\nSo the work sped along quickly and merrily, and all was ready ere the\nsun sank to rest.\n\nHarald now told his friends what the giantess had promised him if he\nshould have finished his task ere she returned.\n\n\u201cCan you advise me what to ask for?\u201d he said.\n\nThen they told him he should first ask for that which was over her bed,\nthen for the chest which stood beside her bed, and lastly for that\nwhich was behind the wall of her bed.\n\nHarald thanked them warmly for all they had done for him, and said he\nwould do as they had told him, whereupon the little men disappeared.\n\nWhen the giantess came home in the evening and found that Harald had\nfinished all the tasks she had set him, she exclaimed\u2014\n\n\u201cAh, man, man! you never did all this alone; but you have conquered, so\nI must let it pass.\u201d And so saying she retired to rest.\n\nThe next morning, the giantess called Harald into the inner cave and\ntold him he might choose the reward she had promised him, and that then\nhe might go where he liked.\n\n\u201cThen,\u201d said Harald, \u201cif I may have whatever I like, I choose, first,\nthat which is above your bed; then the chest which is beside your bed;\nand, lastly, that which is behind the wall of your bed.\u201d\n\n\u201cAh, man, man!\u201d cried the giantess. \u201cYou have not chosen these things\nby yourself; but I cannot refuse you; you are too strong for me, and\nyou have conquered, and I must give you the reward you claim.\u201d\n\nSo saying, she mounted some steps above her bed cut into the rock, and,\nopening a secret door, she led forth a beautiful maiden. This was none\nother than the fair Princess Enid, who had disappeared so mysteriously\nsome time ago.\n\n\u201cTake her back to her father, and he will reward you as you deserve,\u201d\nsaid the giantess as she placed the princess\u2019s hand in that of Harald.\n\nShe then opened the lid of the chest beside her bed. This was filled\nwith gold, pearls, and precious stones; and then moving aside the bed,\nshe touched a secret spring, and the wall sliding back, they saw the\nblue sea, and anchored close to the cave lay a beautiful ship\ncompletely fitted out, her sails all set, and her pennant flying, and\npossessing the power of sailing wherever its owner wished, without aid\nof either captain or crew.\n\nWhen the giantess had handed him over these gifts, she told Harald that\nhe would henceforth be one of the happiest and luckiest of men.\n\nHarald then carried the chest containing the gold and precious stones\non board ship, and then having arranged some soft cushions for the\nPrincess Enid, in the stern of the vessel, they quickly departed, and\nreached her father\u2019s country.\n\nThe delight of the king and queen on recovering their long-lost\ndaughter can be more easily imagined than described. They never tired\nhearing of the wonderful adventures through which Harald had gone, and\nthe king ordered a great feast in honour of the rescuer of his child,\nwhich ended with the wedding of Enid and Harald.\n\nThe king then made Harald his prime minister; and so well and so wisely\ndid he rule the country, that on the king\u2019s death he was chosen to\nsucceed him, and he and Queen Enid lived long and happily together,\nseeing their children and grandchildren growing up around them.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nLAUGHING INGIBJ\u00d6RG\n\n\nCHAPTER I.\n\nTHORWALD AND INGIBJ\u00d6RG ARE CRUELLY TREATED BY THEIR STEPMOTHER, WHO\nTRIES TO GET RID OF THEM.\n\n\nLong ago, when giants and ogres still walked about the earth, in a far\ndistant country, there once lived a king and queen. They had two\nchildren, called Thorwald and Ingibj\u00f6rg; but before the children were\ngrown up, the good queen died.\n\nThe king, who was very fond of his wife, was quite inconsolable at her\ndeath. He lost interest in everything, shut himself up in his own\nrooms, only coming out to sit and weep beside her grave.\n\nThis went on for so long, that at last his ministers came to him, and\ntold him that everything was going wrong in his kingdom, and that there\nwas a rumour abroad, that a neighbouring prince, hearing that the king\nno longer took any interest in his affairs, meant to cross the water\nand take possession of the king\u2019s throne and lands. They therefore\nbegged him to rouse himself and look out for another wife, and either\ngo forth and seek her himself, or else send his ambassadors to try and\nbring back a suitable princess.\n\nAt first the king would not listen to a word they said, but after a\ntime he saw that his ministers were right, so he agreed to fit out some\nships and send an embassy to several other countries in order to find\nsome fair princess worthy to share his throne.\n\nSoon after the ambassadors had started and were once fairly on the high\nseas, a great storm arose. The sky grew black as night, the thunder\nroared and the lightning flashed, and the wind blew so strongly,\ndriving the ships in all directions, that the sailors quite lost their\nreckoning; their rudders were broken, and they drifted about at the\nmercy of the winds and waves. At length, after many days, they sighted\nland; but when they came near, they saw it was quite an unknown shore.\n\nThe chief men of the expedition now disembarked, in order to make some\ninquiries, leaving the sailors in charge of the ships.\n\nFor some time they could see no sign of any human habitation, and\nthought they must have landed on some uninhabited island, but at length\nthey arrived at a small farm, consisting of a few wretched huts.\n\nNot hearing a sound, and seeing no one about, they at first concluded\nthe place was deserted; but when they reached the last hovel, an old\nwoman came forth, who, despite her great age, was both tall and\nstately, and at once asked them who they were and whence they had come.\n\n\u201cWe have been driven here by the storm,\u201d replied the leader, and he\nthen proceeded to tell her the object of their search.\n\n\u201cYou certainly have been very unfortunate so far,\u201d answered the old\nwoman, \u201cand I fear there is but little chance of your finding what you\nseek here.\u201d\n\nWhile they were talking, the sun had set, and as the weather showed\nsigns of again turning stormy, the ambassadors asked the old woman\nwhether she could give them shelter.\n\nAt first she absolutely refused, saying her miserable hut was not\nfitted to receive people accustomed to live in royal castles; but, as\nthe storm increased, they continued to urge her to let them stay, till\nat length she consented and bade them enter.\n\nWhat was their surprise and astonishment to find the inside of this\napparently miserable hut richly fitted up like some kingly apartment\n\nHandsome skins covered the floor, soft couches ran round the walls,\nwhich were ornamented with richly chased shields and arms, and a bright\nfire burnt cheerily on the hearth.\n\nAs soon as the men were seated, the old woman laid the great oaken\ntable which stood in the centre, and served the strangers with such\ndainty dishes as might well befit a royal table.\n\n\u201cAnd do you mean to say that you live here all alone?\u201d asked the chief\nambassador, during the meal.\n\n\u201cI might almost say that I do,\u201d replied the woman, \u201cfor besides myself\nthere is no one here but my only child Guda.\u201d\n\n\u201cAnd, pray, may we not see the maiden?\u201d asked the ambassador; for they\nwere all wondering what the girl, living alone with her mother in these\nstrange surroundings, would be like.\n\nAgain the old woman demurred; but the more she pretended to hesitate,\nthe more the ambassadors urged her, till at last she consented, and\nsaid she would bring her daughter.\n\nWhen at last she entered by her mother\u2019s side, the ambassadors were\nalmost startled by her marvellous beauty. Tall and fair, like a stately\nlily, with a perfect wealth of golden hair, falling in shining masses\nto the ground, Guda appeared before them like the goddess Freya.\nSurely, they thought, nowhere could they find a lovelier maiden to fill\nthe vacant seat beside the king\u2019s throne.\n\nSo, without further hesitation, they at once solicited her hand in\nmarriage, in the king\u2019s name.\n\nThe old woman pretended to think they were only joking, and laughed at\nthe idea of the king seeking a wife in a peasant\u2019s cottage, adding that\npoor girls like her daughter had better remain at home, for such\ngrandeur was not for them, and their ignorance of the ways of the world\nonly brought them to shame instead of honour.\n\nThe king\u2019s ambassadors, however, would not be put off, and the more the\nold woman declared she could not part with her daughter, the more\ndetermined they were to take her away with them. At last, seeing the\nmen would take no refusal, she consented to let the girl go, on\ncondition that they would bring her back again, if, on seeing her, the\nking did not wish to marry her.\n\nTo this the ambassadors agreed, and then they all retired for the\nnight.\n\nNext morning the men prepared to return to the ships, and the old woman\nsaid her daughter would be ready to accompany them when she had got her\nthings together. Then, to their surprise, they found she had so many\npackages that it needed all the ships\u2019 crews to carry them to the shore\nand put them on board.\n\nThe mother and daughter now went down to the beach together, talking\nearnestly, but in such low tones that no one could make out what they\nwere saying; but one man heard the old woman say, \u201cRemember, you must\nsend me back the big stone; I will manage the rest.\u201d\n\nAnd then they reached the shore, where the old mother kissed her\ndaughter, and, bidding her good-bye, wished her all good luck and\nprosperity.\n\nThen the anchors were weighed, the sails were hoisted, and the vessels\nput out to sea, reaching their destination without any mishaps.\n\nWhen the king heard that his ambassadors had returned, he went down to\nthe shore, accompanied by all the chief officers of his court, to bid\nthe travellers welcome, and when he saw the young girl whom the\nambassadors had chosen for his queen, he was greatly delighted, for she\nwas more beautiful than any maiden he had ever seen, and seemed as\nsweet and good as she was lovely.\n\nHe conducted her back to the palace in great state. There a magnificent\nbanquet had been prepared, and soon after the wedding was celebrated,\namid the rejoicings of the whole island. The feast lasted three days,\nand every one who saw the fair Queen Guda in her rich and costly robes,\nseated on the throne beside her husband, declared no more beautiful\nqueen could possibly have been found, and though the king had loved his\nfirst wife, he soon became so completely wrapped up in Guda, that her\nword was law in everything.\n\nSome months after the wedding, a war broke out in a neighbouring\nkingdom, belonging to a cousin of the king, who had, therefore, to\nstart off and help him, as his enemies were too strong for him to fight\nthem alone.\n\nThe king, therefore, ordered out his war-galleys, and, as he expected\nto be away some time, he, at the queen\u2019s request, handed her his royal\nsignet ring, begging her to rule the kingdom during his absence, and be\na kind and loving mother to his two children, Thorwald and Ingibj\u00f6rg.\n\nThis Guda promised she would do. So the king took a tender farewell of\nhis wife and children, and getting on board his ship, followed by his\nmen, a strong wind rapidly carried the vessels out of sight.\n\nFor some little time after the king had left, Queen Guda was very kind\nto the children. She had them to dine at her own table, gave them fruit\nand sweets and toys, and often took them for drives in her beautiful\nchariot, with the cream-coloured horses.\n\nThen one day she asked them to go down to the shore with her and play\nsome games.\n\nIt was a beautiful morning; the sun shone warm and bright, the blue sea\nwas smooth and glistening like a great sheet of glass, and as the tiny\nwavelets receded, the golden sands were strewn with lovely pink and\nviolet shells and glistening feathery weeds of every hue and shade.\n\n\u201cOh, Thorwald!\u201d cried Ingibj\u00f6rg, running up to her brother and laughing\nmerrily, her arms filled with long trails of crimson and green seaweed.\n\u201cLook how beautiful they are! Let us play at being king and queen, and\nI will make two lovely crowns.\u201d\n\n\u201cNo; come here, children,\u201d said the queen. She had walked some little\ndistance along the shore, and now stood beside a big square stone.\nThen, as Thorwald and Ingibj\u00f6rg came near her, she muttered, \u201cOpen, oh\nstone!\u201d And at these words the great square stone parted asunder,\nshowing a large cavity inside, and before the children knew what had\nhappened, Queen Guda had pushed them both in; the stone closed with a\nsnap, and, giving it a strong shove, she rolled the stone into the sea.\n\nShe then returned to the castle weeping, telling her attendants that\nthe children had run away, that she had called them to come back, but\nall in vain, they would not obey; so she now sent out messengers in all\ndirections, pretending terrible grief at their supposed loss.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER II.\n\nHOW THORWALD AND INGIBJ\u00d6RG FOUND THEMSELVES AT THE WITCH\u2019S ISLAND, AND\nWHAT THEY DID.\n\n\nThe two children meanwhile, when they felt the stone closing, tried\ntheir utmost to force it open. But all their efforts proved fruitless;\nthe stone remained shut, and the children soon felt, by the rapid\nmotion, that they were fairly out at sea, for, being a magic stone, it\nfloated on the surface of the water instead of sinking to the bottom.\nThe waves tossed it about for many hours, but at length the children\nfelt the motion getting less and less, until at last the stone lay\nperfectly still.\n\n\u201cI think we must be near land now,\u201d said Thorwald. \u201cThere is no motion\nat all.\u201d\n\n\u201cIf you think that, why should not you say the same words the queen\ndid?\u201d replied Ingibj\u00f6rg.\n\nSo Thorwald waited a little longer in order to make sure it was not\nmerely a temporary lull, and then he called out loudly\u2014\n\n\u201cOpen, oh stone!\u201d\n\nAnd immediately the great stone parted asunder, and Thorwald saw they\nwere close to the shore.\n\nThe two children then slipped out, and paddled through the shallow\nwater to the land. But though they wandered along the fine dry sand for\nsome distance, they could see no sign of any habitation. They therefore\ndetermined to try and build a little hut for themselves.\n\nNow, Thorwald, although but a young lad, had always gone out hunting\nwith his father, who had given him a small gun and hunting-knife. These\nand his flute, on which he played wonderfully well, the boy never\nparted with, and he therefore had them with him when he and his sister\nhad gone out with the queen in the morning.\n\nFashioning a rough wooden spade out of some driftwood for Ingibj\u00f6rg, he\nused his knife to such purpose that a large hole was soon dug in the\ndry sand. This he then covered over with branches cut from the\nbrushwood on the rocks, and leaving his sister to collect dry wood for\na fire, he went in search of some birds for their supper. But although\nsuccessful in shooting a couple, there was, alas! no fire to cook them,\nand poor Ingibj\u00f6rg, who was getting very hungry, looked sadly at the\nfood they could not eat.\n\n\u201cYou pluck and prepare the birds,\u201d said Thorwald, \u201cand I will go\nfurther inland and see if I cannot get some fire.\u201d\n\nSo saying, he went up a narrow valley instead of, as heretofore,\nkeeping along the shore, and after he had gone some little distance, he\ncame to a small miserable-looking farm. He could see no one about, so\nhe climbed up the steep slanting roof of the centre hut and peeped down\nthe hole which served as a chimney.\n\nThere he saw an old, very ugly, and dirty woman, busily engaged raking\nout the ashes from the hearth. But he noticed that half the cinders\ntumbled down among her feet, instead of into the ashpan she held in her\nleft hand. So Thorwald made certain that the old woman must be blind.\n\nHe determined, therefore, to enter quietly into the house, and carry\noff a few live coals. First slipping down the roof, he crept slowly in\nat the low door, and then, watching his opportunity, he crawled along\nthe wall till he reached the hearth. Then, seeing a small iron cup, he\ncarefully pushed some glowing coals into it, and seeing no one else\nabout, he made sure the old woman was alone, and while she was still\nbusy raking, he crept out of the hut, and, much pleased with his\nsuccess, hastened back to his sister.\n\nIngibj\u00f6rg was delighted when she saw him arrive, and, the fire being\nall ready laid, a bright flame soon shot up; the birds were roasted,\nand the two children made a hearty supper, Ingibj\u00f6rg\u2019s merry laugh\nsounding again as gay as ever.\n\nThorwald, somewhat tired with his day\u2019s work, asked his sister to make\nup a good fire ere they went to sleep, so that it might last all night.\nBut, alas! when they woke next morning the fire was out, so he had to\ngo again to the old woman\u2019s farm to fetch more coals.\n\nThis time he begged Ingibj\u00f6rg earnestly not to let the fire out; but,\nalack! the little princess, though very willing and anxious to please\nher brother, had not been accustomed to attend to fires, so, though\ndoing her best by making up a huge fire ere she went to sleep, it was\nout in the morning.\n\nIngibj\u00f6rg even tried to wake up very early in order to put on fresh\nwood; but, despite all her efforts, each morning the fire was out, and\nThorwald had to go every day to fetch fresh fire.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER III.\n\nTHEIR FURTHER ADVENTURES AND ESCAPE.\n\n\nThus the brother and sister lived for some time on the birds and game\nthat Thorwald killed; and Ingibj\u00f6rg having made a net out of the long\ntough shore grasses, they also managed to catch some fish and crabs,\nand their days passed pleasantly enough, while every morning Thorwald\nwent up the valley and brought away some live coals, without the old\nwoman ever finding it out.\n\nOnce, after he had taken away the coals, he heard her mutter\u2014\n\n\u201cAh! those devil\u2019s children! they are a long time in coming, but arrive\nhere at last they must, for I made Guda promise to send them in the\nstone, and she dare not disobey me. Ah! only let me once get hold of\nthem, and I will very soon put them out of the way.\u201d\n\nThorwald thought these words must surely refer to himself and his\nsister, who had arrived there in such a strange manner. He was,\ntherefore, very careful whenever he came to the hut for the fire coals,\nto make as little noise as possible. He sometimes scarcely dared to\nbreathe for fear the old woman might discover him.\n\nMeanwhile Ingibj\u00f6rg, who had been very good about staying alone in\ntheir little hut, at last became very curious about the old woman, and\nbegged and entreated Thorwald to let her go with him some day.\nThorwald, though willing to please his sister, was afraid to trust her,\nfor he knew that the sight of the queer old woman would make her laugh;\nbut he found it very difficult to deny her anything within his power to\ngrant, and when, therefore, she continued to beg him to take her, he at\nlast consented on condition that, no matter what she saw or heard, she\nmust promise him she would not laugh, as, if she did, it might cost\nthem their lives.\n\nIngibj\u00f6rg promised she would keep quite still; so the next day the\nbrother and sister started off together for the old farm.\n\nWhen they got there they climbed up the sloping roof, and, with another\nwarning to keep silent, Thorwald let his sister peep down through the\nchimney hole. But, alas! what Thorwald had dreaded actually took place.\n\nThe old woman, who stood near the hearth, was raking out the ashes so\nvigorously, that not only did she send them all over the floor instead\nof into the ashpan, but she made such a cloud of dust that she was soon\ncompletely covered from head to foot with a coating of grey ashes, and\nbegan to cough violently.\n\nWhen Ingibj\u00f6rg saw this, she could not repress her laughter, and a\nmerry peal rang out in the clear air.\n\nNo sooner did the old woman hear this, than she chuckled gleefully.\n\n\u201cHa! ha! ha! So those devil\u2019s children have come at last, have they?\nHo! ho! ho! what a joke! Now I shall have them! Ha! ha! ha!\u201d\n\nAnd with these words she rushed out of the house. She was so quick,\nthat she came up to the children just as they were sliding down the\nroof, and they might even then have got away, but that Ingibj\u00f6rg, at\nsight of the old woman, could not stop laughing; she thought her still\nmore comical-looking when she began to run.\n\nBut the laugh now turned to grief, for the old witch pulled some strong\nleather straps out of her pocket, and, fastening them round the brother\nand sister, she drove them back into the house. There she shut them up\nin a lean-to, and secured them firmly with another strap to two strong\nwooden posts.\n\nThe children at first were terribly frightened when they found they\ncould not get away, and Ingibj\u00f6rg blamed herself greatly for having,\nthrough her foolish laughter, brought about this terrible pass.\n\nBut the old woman evidently did not mean to starve them, for presently\nshe placed a big bowl of bread and milk before each of them, saying\u2014\n\n\u201cNow eat all you can, and don\u2019t waste anything.\u201d\n\nIn the evening she again brought them food in plenty; and this went on\nfor some days.\n\nBut, though they were not harshly treated, except that they were never\nuntied, the children grew very weary and tired; the room was almost\ndark, the only light coming through the hole in the roof, which also\nserved as a chimney. On the third day, the old woman took one of each\nof their hands, and mumbling and gently biting their fingers, she\nmuttered\u2014\n\n\u201cNo, no! Not fat enough yet!\u201d\n\nThorwald, therefore, determined to make every effort in order to free\nthemselves; but this was no easy matter. At length, after many\nattempts, he succeeded in biting through the strap that fastened his\nhands. He was thus able to get at his hunting-knife, which he\nfortunately always wore beneath his tunic, so the old woman had not\nseen it, else she would certainly have taken it away. Then, waiting\ntill night closed in and the old witch was asleep, he cut through the\nrest of the straps that bound him and his sister.\n\n\u201cBut the old woman will run after us and catch us if she sees us,\u201d\nwhispered Ingibj\u00f6rg.\n\n\u201cI have thought of that too,\u201d replied Thorwald; \u201cwe must, therefore,\nmake sure she is asleep.\u201d And, creeping cautiously along the floor, he\nbent over the old hag, who lay snoring in one corner on a great heap of\nskins.\n\n\u201cShe is sound,\u201d he then whispered, turning to Ingibj\u00f6rg, having first\ncarefully placed another thick skin over the old woman. \u201cWe must get\naway ere she wakens. Come, sister; don\u2019t delay!\u201d And, taking Ingibj\u00f6rg\nby the hand, he hurried her out of the house.\n\n\u201cNow you wait behind that great stone,\u201d said he, \u201cwhile I cut and widen\nthis ditch which runs across the road.\u201d Then Thorwald set energetically\nto work with his hunting-knife, and ere long had cut a deep wide ditch,\nthrowing up the loose earth to form a bank, which rose up between them\nand the hut.\n\nBy this time the old ogress had wakened up, and, not hearing a sound,\nbegan feeling about for the children. When she had tapped all round and\ncould not find them, she began to scream and swear with rage, and ran\nout, calling loudly after them.\n\nAs soon as Ingibj\u00f6rg saw her rushing along, her hair streaming wildly\nbehind her, she could not help laughing out aloud.\n\n\u201cHa! so you are there, you bad wicked children!\u201d cried the ogress. \u201cBut\nonly wait, just let me catch you, and I will teach you to run away! You\nshall be put into the oven at once, for you are quite fat enough now,\nand then I shall have a good meal!\u201d So saying she ran along the path to\nwhere she heard Ingibj\u00f6rg\u2019s voice, but, unable to see the ditch, she\nfell in headlong and broke her neck.\n\nThorwald did not wait to learn what happened, but as soon as he saw the\nogress run after them and fall into the ditch, he took hold of\nIngibj\u00f6rg\u2019s hand, and together they raced back to the shore, very\nthankful that they were now safe from the old witch\u2019s clutches.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER IV.\n\nTHE KING\u2019S RETURN, AND QUEEN GUDA\u2019S RELEASE FROM THE WITCH\u2019S THRALL.\n\n\nSeveral weeks now passed. Each morning Thorwald first gave a look\nacross the sea in hopes of seeing a ship or boat, and would then start\noff in search of birds and game, while, strangely enough, after the old\nwitch\u2019s death their fire never went out, and Ingibj\u00f6rg, by carefully\nattending to it, was able to keep it burning both day and night.\n\nSometimes, when no food was needed, the children having laid in a\nsufficient supply of game and fish, Thorwald would take his flute and\nplay, while his sister plaited mats and baskets out of the long rushes\nthat grew near the shore.\n\nThus it happened that one day, while the two children sat on the shore,\nthey saw several ships sailing slowly past the island.\n\nThorwald, who had just put down his flute, now took it up again, and\nbegan playing as loud as he could.\n\nThe ships came gradually nearer.\n\n\u201cOh, Thorwald!\u201d cried Ingibj\u00f6rg, clapping her hands, \u201csee, they are\ncoming nearer! Oh, play louder, louder!\u201d and she joined her voice to\nhis flute.\n\nAnd sure enough, ere long, the largest of the vessels cast anchor close\nto the shore, the other ships still keeping out to sea at some\ndistance.\n\nAnd then, to the children\u2019s great joy, they saw their father standing\non the deck. A boat was lowered, the king and one of his followers were\nquickly rowed to shore, and in a few more moments Thorwald and\nIngibj\u00f6rg were clasped in their father\u2019s arms.\n\nGreat was his surprise to find them on this lonely island, for he had\nheard nothing of what had happened in his own country during his\nabsence, and it was only by chance that he had sailed close to the\nisland, none of his people caring to come near it, as it was supposed\nto be the home of evil spirits; and when they heard the sound of the\nflute they thought it must surely be the song of some mermaids, wiling\nthe king\u2019s fleet to destruction by their soft sweet melodies.\n\nBut the king for some reason felt he must find out what it was, so had\nventured near the land, the rest of his fleet keeping out to sea.\n\nThe king then asked his children how it was they were there, and when\nhe heard what had happened during his absence, he grew very wroth.\n\nHe at once took the children on board his own ship, and commanded his\npeople under pain of instant death not to breathe a word to any one of\nwhat had occurred.\n\nThe fleet was then ordered to set sail and return home with all\npossible speed. Arrived near his own island, the king chose a quiet and\nretired part of the shore, and there he landed the children in charge\nof his own attendant, telling him to keep them hidden till he sent him\nword to appear with them at court.\n\nThe fleet then departed and cast anchor at the usual landing-place.\nHere the queen, arrayed in her richest garments and attended by all her\nmaidens, came down to welcome the king, expressing great joy at his\nreturn.\n\nThe king appeared well pleased to be at home again.\n\n\u201cBut where are the children?\u201d he asked; \u201cand why have they not come to\nmeet me, as they always do?\u201d\n\n\u201cAlas, alas!\u201d cried the queen, putting her handkerchief to her eyes as\nif to hide her tears, but really because she was afraid to look at the\nking. \u201cPoor, poor children! Pray do not speak of them! Soon after you\nwent away, they suddenly got very ill, and though I watched and nursed\nthem myself, the poor little things both died!\u201d and Guda began to sob\nand cry in reality, for she greatly feared what the king might do if he\never heard the truth.\n\nAnd no one dared say a word; for during the king\u2019s absence Guda, urged\non by fear of her mother if she did not get rid of her stepchildren,\nand also thinking that she could only govern by making herself feared,\nhad ruled the kingdom with great severity, so no one dared say a word\nagainst her, believing that the king was still devoted to her.\n\nThe king, wishing to get at the truth of the strange tale, pretended\ngreat sorrow at the news of the children\u2019s death.\n\n\u201cAnd where are the poor little things buried?\u201d he asked. \u201cI should like\nto see their tomb.\u201d\n\nThe queen tried to persuade him not to go. She said she was sure it\nwould only increase his sorrow, and entreated him to desist.\n\nBut the more she urged him not to go, the more determined he was to see\ntheir tomb.\n\nSo at length Guda yielded, and herself accompanied him to the wood at\nthe back of the palace, where, in a pretty open glade, she had caused a\nhandsome mausoleum to be erected.\n\nHe greatly admired the beautiful carving on the stone, but he never\nshed a tear, which somewhat surprised the queen. Soon after they both\nreturned to the palace, where the queen had had a banquet prepared to\nwelcome home the travellers.\n\nAll during the feast the king still remained very silent and\npreoccupied, and next morning he again went to the mausoleum, and then\nsaid he meant to have the children\u2019s coffins taken out.\n\nWhen the queen heard this, she threw herself on her knees before the\nking, and begged and entreated him not to thus further increase his\npain and grief. But the king remained firm. The door of the great\nmausoleum was thrown back, and two small coffins, handsomely ornamented\nwith gold and silver, were brought forth. But, behold, when at the\nking\u2019s order these were opened, instead of containing the bodies of the\ntwo children, they were filled up with stones!\n\nThe queen gave a great cry when she saw her wickedness had come to\nlight. She fell down at the king\u2019s feet, and, sobbing and praying for\nmercy, she confessed what she had done, adding that her mother, the old\nwitch, had forced her to do it.\n\nBut the king was so angry that he would not listen to her words, and\nordered her to be shut up in the castle donjon till the Volkthing\ndecided what her punishment should be.\n\nMeanwhile Thorwald and Ingibj\u00f6rg arrived at the palace, the king having\nsent a messenger for them, and great was the rejoicing among the people\nwhen they learnt their young prince and princess, whom they thought\ndead, were alive and once again among them all.\n\nThe children then told their story before the assembled nobles and\nvikings, and when Ingibj\u00f6rg related how Thorwald had killed the old\nogress, who had only been fattening them up in order to eat them, there\nwas a flash of lightning, and a loud crash of thunder resounded through\nthe great hall. The door at the lower end opened, and, to the surprise\nof every one, the queen, draped in a long glistening white robe, walked\nup the hall, and falling down at the king\u2019s feet, she raised her\nclasped hands towards him.\n\n\u201cPardon and forgiveness, oh king!\u201d she cried. \u201cThe spell that has\nnearly cost me my life, is at length broken! That terrible old ogress\nwas not my mother, but a wicked fairy who, because she thought my\nmother had not treated her as well as the other fairies at my\nchristening, condemned me as soon as my mother died, to serve her and\nobey all her behests as long as she lived. Now that your brave boy has\nkilled her, I am freed from her wicked spells. And now, oh my king,\npunish me for the harm I have so unwillingly done; but, oh, let me live\nto prove my gratitude to you and yours!\u201d\n\nGreat was the surprise of every one at the queen\u2019s story, and the\nambassadors then recalled to mind how silent and grave the young queen\nhad been when they first saw her, even while she did all the old witch\nordered her to do.\n\nThorwald also added his entreaties to those of the queen, and when\nIngibj\u00f6rg with a merry laugh threw one arm round her father and the\nother round the queen, the king relented. And thereupon the interrupted\nfeast was renewed amid general rejoicing, the queen seated at the\nking\u2019s right hand with Thorwald beside her, and Ingibj\u00f6rg on his left\nhand.\n\nThere was no happier family in all the land. Queen Guda, having no\nchildren of her own, lavished all her affection on Thorwald and\nIngibj\u00f6rg, whose entreaties had restored her to her husband, and the\nreign of the king and Queen Guda was ever after cited as one of the\nlongest and happiest ever known.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nTHE THREE PEASANT MAIDENS\n\n\nCHAPTER I.\n\nHOW QUEEN HERTHA FELL FROM HER HIGH ESTATE.\n\n\nIn a distant island, long, long ago, there lived a wealthy peasant, who\nhad three daughters called Alitea, Truda, and Hertha. Alitea and Truda\nwere both fine handsome girls, but Hertha, the youngest, was by far the\nloveliest of the three.\n\nTheir house was not far from the king\u2019s palace, and one day, when the\nthree sisters were out walking, they met the king, attended by his\nsecretary and his valet.\n\n\u201cAh,\u201d sighed Alitea, the eldest sister, \u201chow happy I should be if I\ncould only marry the king\u2019s valet! I should then be able to see all the\ngrand feasts that are held at the palace!\u201d\n\n\u201cAnd I should like to marry his secretary,\u201d murmured Truda, the second\nsister, \u201cfor then I should both hear and see all that was going on.\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, if I had to marry any one,\u201d cried Hertha, the youngest sister, \u201cI\nshould like to marry King Leofric himself! See how young and handsome\nhe is!\u201d\n\nThe king, who had noticed the whispers and eager glances of the girls,\nsaid to his attendants\u2014\n\n\u201cI wonder what those pretty maidens want? Let us go to them and find\nout what they are talking about; I thought I heard them mention my\nname.\u201d\n\nThe secretary tried to dissuade the young king from speaking to the\ngirls, saying he was sure their chatter was not worth listening to, and\nthat his Majesty had better not attend to them. But King Leofric would\nnot be put off, and it ended in their all three going up to the young\nmaidens. Then the king asked them what they had been talking about when\nhe and his attendants came in sight.\n\nNow when the girls saw the king come up to them, they were rather\nfrightened, but he spoke so kindly and pleasantly that their fears soon\nvanished, and when he insisted on hearing what they had said, they at\nlast confessed the truth.\n\nKing Leofric was mightily amused when he heard their tale. He thought\nthe girls very handsome, especially the youngest one, and after\nchatting with them for some little time, he found them so bright and\nclever, that he told them their wishes should be fulfilled.\n\nThe sisters were so surprised to think their idle words should speedily\nbecome real facts, that they were speechless with wonder and delight.\n\nSo the king and his two attendants escorted the girls back to their\nhome, where the father\u2019s pride may be imagined when he heard who the\nsuitors were. Of course he threw no difficulties in the way, and as the\nking\u2019s wishes were law, all three maidens were shortly married each to\nthe man of her choice.\n\nNow, although Alitea and Truda would have been quite satisfied with\ntheir choice had Hertha not become queen, no sooner did they realize\nhow much grander was her lot than theirs, than they became very jealous\nof her, and though she did her best to be friends with them, giving\nthem handsome presents, and taking them everywhere with her, their envy\nonly grew stronger, till at last they determined that, no matter at\nwhat cost, she must be brought down from her high estate. So they\nplotted and planned for many a long hour, how they could best get her\nout of the way.\n\nAt the end of a year the queen had a little son. Then her sisters took\naway the baby in the night, and arranged that it should be cast into\nthe deep ditch outside the city walls, where all the rubbish was\nthrown. But the old woman who had undertaken to do this, thought she\nwould give the poor babe a chance for its life; so, instead of throwing\nit in the ditch, she placed it on the bank, hoping that some kind\nperson passing might see it and take it away.\n\nAnd this actually did happen, for Osric, a poor old woodcutter, on his\nway home, seeing the pretty babe lying there crying helplessly, took it\nup in his arms.\n\n\u201cThis is a strange thing,\u201d he said. \u201cSome one surely must have put it\nhere purposely. But I cannot leave the poor bairn crying here.\u201d\n\nSo saying, he carefully wrapped it in his old coat and took it home,\nwhere he fed it as best he could.\n\nWhen next morning it was found that the baby had disappeared, the\nsisters told the king they were sure that the queen must have put away\nor killed the child; but, though King Leofric was greatly grieved at\nthe loss of his little son, he loved his wife too dearly to blame her\nfor the child\u2019s disappearance.\n\nThe next year the queen again had a baby boy, and the news caused great\nrejoicings all through the kingdom. But that same night this child also\ndisappeared, and the two sisters again told the king that they were\nsure the queen had caused it to be killed.\n\nBut King Leofric, though startled and grieved at these strange\ndisappearances of his children, still trusted his wife and would not\nhear a word against her.\n\nThe following year, greatly to the king\u2019s delight, the queen had a baby\ngirl.\n\n\u201cSurely,\u201d she thought, \u201cthis time nothing shall come between me and my\nbaby.\u201d So she would not let the little creature out of her arms day or\nnight.\n\nBut she was weak and ill, and the second night, seeing she would not\nlay down the child, the wicked sisters gave her a sleeping-draught, and\nas soon as her eyelids closed, they again took away the babe and gave\nit to the old woman to throw into the ditch.\n\nWhen next morning the king heard that his little daughter, at whose\nbirth he had so rejoiced, had also disappeared, his grief and anger\nknew no bounds. They quite overcame his former love for his wife. He\nwould listen to no excuses, and ordered her to be thrown into the den\nof the big lion.\n\nWhen the wicked sisters heard this, they thought they had now got rid\nof Queen Hertha. They were quite pleased to think they had at last\nsucceeded in the wicked plot they had planned, without the king or any\none else ever suspecting the part they had taken in it.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER II.\n\nWHAT HAD BEFALLEN THE TWO LITTLE PRINCES AND THEIR SISTER.\n\n\nBut Queen Hertha was not dead; for the lion, so far from hurting her,\nlaid himself quietly down at her feet, and when his food was brought to\nhim, he would never touch it till the queen had taken her share.\n\nSo, while every one thought she was dead, Queen Hertha lived beside her\npowerful friend. At first she had been terribly frightened, but she\nspeedily grew almost to love the huge beast, who, when the king and her\nsisters had been so cruel, had befriended her in her hour of need.\nStill it was at best but a dreary existence, and many times and often\nshe wished she could but know what was happening outside the lion\u2019s\nden.\n\nAs for the children, the same old man, Osric, who had picked up the\nfirst baby, had fortunately also found the other boy and the baby girl,\nand had taken them home to his own little cot, near the woods, where he\nbrought them up as well as he could. He called the elder boy Wilhelm,\nthe second one Sigurd, and the little baby girl Olga.\n\nHe had tried at first to find out whose children they could possibly\nbe, but one night he dreamed that a beautiful fairy came to his\nbedside, and said\u2014\n\n\u201cOsric, if you love the children, don\u2019t ask any questions about them,\nbut bring them up as your own\u2014their enemies will else destroy them. Let\nthem wait till they are grown up.\u201d\n\nSo he had kept his own counsel, and did the best he could for them.\nStrangely enough, too, he found that his barrel of meal never ran\nshort, and with his cow and his little patch of garden ground they\nalways had a sufficiency of food.\n\nSo the children grew up strong and healthy, the boys helping the old\nman in his forest work, and fetching the wood and water that was\nwanted; and as for Olga, she soon became quite an expert little\nhousekeeper. But, though they wore rough, home-spun garments, they were\ngood to look at, for they all three inherited the marvellous beauty of\ntheir father and mother.\n\nAt last, when the young people were grown up, the old man, feeling his\nend draw near, called Olga and her brothers to his bedside. He then\ntold them how and where he had found them, and also mentioned the\nstrange vision he had had.\n\n\u201cBut now that you are grown up,\u201d he added, \u201cI should advise you to make\nall inquiries, and not to rest till you have found out who and what you\nare, for I feel sure you are no ordinary children.\u201d Thereupon he gave\nthem his blessing and died.\n\nWilhelm, Sigurd, and Olga sorrowed deeply over the death of their kind\nfoster-father, for they had loved him dearly. When they had buried him\nin the forest, they returned sadly to the empty hut and consulted\ntogether as to what they had best do in order to carry out his\ninstructions.\n\nWhile they were thus sitting and talking, the door of the hut opened,\nand an old man entered. He was dressed entirely in green; his hair was\nlong and white, so also was his beard, and in his hand he carried a\nthick oaken staff.\n\n\u201cGood morrow, father,\u201d said Wilhelm; \u201cyou are welcome, though we have\nnot much to offer you. Pray take a seat and rest, for you look weary.\u201d\n\n\u201cI have come a long way, my son,\u201d answered the old man; \u201cbut though I\nam still hale and hearty, I shall not be sorry for a short rest. But\nyou seem in sorrow or trouble,\u201d he added, looking from one to the\nother. \u201cPerhaps I might be able to help you, for I have travelled far,\nand seen many strange and wonderful things.\u201d\n\n\u201cWe shall indeed be glad of some advice,\u201d said Sigurd, while Olga\nhastened to place a bowl of new milk and some oatcakes before the\ntraveller. \u201cSir, we are sadly perplexed as to what we ought to do.\u201d And\nthe brothers then proceeded to tell the stranger their story, and the\nadvice their foster-father had given them.\n\nWhen he had heard their strange tale, the old man said\u2014\n\n\u201cI fear I cannot help you myself, but I think I know some one who may\nbe able to advise you. You must know that about three days\u2019 journey\nfrom here, there lies a valley full of strangely shaped stones. In the\nmiddle of this valley there is a rock, on which a large bird sits, who\nis very wise, and understands and speaks the human language. Now, I\nthink you should go and see this bird, though I will not conceal from\nyou that there is very great danger attending such a visit. Many people\nhave gone to consult him, but so far no one has ever returned. He is,\nhowever, so wise that he can both foretell the future, and also reveal\nthe past. Many princes and others have gone for advice to this\nwonderful bird, but one and all have failed in carrying out the\nconditions, which can alone insure success. You must know that whoever\nmounts the rock on which the bird sits, must be so brave, and have such\nstrength of will, that, no matter what he may see or hear, he must not\nturn round or look back; for if he does, even for only a second, he\nwill at once be turned into stone. So far, no one yet has possessed the\nrequired purpose and unswerving staunchness,\u201d continued the old man;\n\u201cbut it is not difficult to mount the rock, provided you have the\nnecessary determination. Then, when you have mounted, you will have the\npower to restore to life all those who, through lack of will and\nstrength of purpose, were turned into stone, for on the summit of the\nrock there is a huge jar filled with magic water, and he who safely\nreaches the summit may take some of this water, and sprinkle it over\nthose who have been turned to stone; they will then awake to life, and\nregain their form and figure.\u201d\n\nBoth brothers thought the task by no means a difficult one, and\ndeclared themselves quite ready and willing to undertake the journey.\nThey thanked the old man heartily for all his information and advice,\nand then sped him on his journey.\n\nNext morning Wilhelm said to Sigurd that he would start forth in search\nof the rock. But before he left, he said to his brother\u2014\n\n\u201cIf at any time you see three drops of blood on your knife when you are\nat dinner, you must get up and follow me, for you will then know that I\nhave failed, and have been turned to stone, and that you must then try\nyour best.\u201d\n\nSo Wilhelm went forth, followed by the good wishes of Sigurd and Olga.\nBut after three days, when the brother and sister sat down to dinner,\nbehold three drops of blood were on the blade of Sigurd\u2019s knife!\n\nHastily starting up, he told Olga he must be off at once in search of\ntheir brother.\n\n\u201cAnd remember, Olga, though I hope I may be successful, if at the end\nof three days you see three drops of blood, on your knife, you will\nknow that I too have failed.\u201d\n\nHe then bade her a loving farewell; and Olga saw him start on his way,\nwith many fears and prayers in her heart for his safety.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER III.\n\nOLGA\u2019S COURAGE RESCUES HER BROTHERS, QUEEN HERTHA IS RESTORED TO HER\nHUSBAND, AND THE PARENTS RECOVER THEIR CHILDREN.\n\n\nIt seemed to Olga as if the time would never pass. Each day seemed\nlonger than the last, and when the morning of the third day arrived,\nshe had scarcely courage to look at her knife as she sat down to her\nbreakfast.\n\nBut, oh joy! the blade was bright and clear, and with a light and happy\nheart, she went about her daily tasks.\n\nWhen midday approached, she again glanced anxiously at the table, but,\nto her intense relief, the knife beside her plate was undimmed by\neither spot or stain, and feeling as if a great weight had been lifted\noff her, she sat down to her spinning-wheel, which she had not had the\nheart to do before, and hummed one of her favourite ballads, to drive\naway the feeling of loneliness that crept over her. And thus the hours\npassed; then, as the long, slanting rays of the sun warned her that the\nday was nearly over, Olga put away her spinning-wheel, and got ready\nher supper. She had placed her plate of porridge on the table, and,\nbringing a bowl of milk from the cupboard, had just seated herself,\nwhen, glancing down, she saw three bright crimson drops on the knife\nbeside her plate!\n\nWith a cry of grief and horror, Olga sprang up. There was now no\nthought of food or rest. Not a second must be lost if she hoped to save\nher brothers!\n\nHastily putting on her cloak and hood, she hurried out into the forest,\nfollowing the path she had seen her brothers take.\n\nEvening was closing in, and the tall trees cast dark and weird shadows\naround her. But never for a moment did Olga hesitate or rest. Strange,\nuncouth sounds seemed to fill the air, and she could almost fancy that\nthe clinging brushwood which often crossed her path, seemed like long\narms trying to hold her back. But she had only one thought, one\nresolve\u2014the rescue of her brothers; so she kept bravely on, putting\naside every obstacle that obstructed her way.\n\nAt length, after a long and weary journey, Olga arrived at the valley\nin which stood the great rock. As she came near, she saw that the whole\nground was covered with innumerable stones of quaint and varied forms.\nSome looked like people, some like animals, and one tall figure had\nseveral square stones at his feet, like chests or boxes.\n\nBut Olga, though her heart almost jumped into her mouth at the wild,\nweird scene, walked courageously forward, turning neither to the right\nnor left till she reached the rock on which sat the bird, his crest\nraised fiercely, while angry flashes of light from his eyes almost\nblinded her. No sooner, however, had her foot touched it, than a loud\nrumbling noise arose, wild cries and screams filled the air, thunder\npealed, and flash after flash of lightning filled the valley with a\nlurid light, strong arms caught hold of her and tried to keep her back,\nwhile entreaties for help sounded on every side. Once, indeed, she\ndistinctly heard her brothers\u2019 voices, praying her to look round if she\nloved them. Steadfastly, however, with a prayer on her lips for\nstrength and guidance, Olga went bravely up the rock.\n\nNo sooner had she reached the summit, than immediately the thunder and\nlightning ceased, the weird cries and screams were silent, and, as she\napproached the great bird, he lowered his angry crest, and in a soft\nvoice, praised her for her courage and steadfastness.\n\n\u201cI can now tell you whatever you desire, and will gladly help you in\nany way you wish,\u201d he added.\n\nThen Olga asked that she might first of all be allowed to restore to\nlife all those who had been turned to stone.\n\nThis the bird readily granted, and, filling the lid of the stone jar\nwith some of the life-restoring water, Olga lost no time in sprinkling\nall the strangely shaped stones with the magic water.\n\nThey all immediately regained their natural forms; the still and silent\nvalley soon re-echoed with the sound of voices, and as the girl stood\nthere between her two rescued brothers, all the others came up to thank\nthe fair and brave maiden whose courage and steadfastness had rescued\nthem from their stony prison and restored them to life.\n\n\u201cAnd now,\u201d said Olga, turning again to the wonderful bird, \u201ccan you\ntell us whose children we are?\u201d\n\n\u201cYou are the children of the king of this country,\u201d he replied; and\nthen proceeded to tell them how the two wicked aunts, through jealousy,\nhad caused them to be carried away, and had then accused their mother\nof destroying them, for which supposed misdeed she had been thrown into\nthe lion\u2019s den.\n\n\u201cBut,\u201d he added, seeing the grief and horror of the young people, \u201cthe\nlion\u2019s mouth was closed, so that, instead of killing her, he not only\nshares his food with her, but has so guarded the cage that no one dares\nenter; she is still alive, therefore, though almost at death\u2019s door\nthrough grief and all the anxiety she has endured.\u201d\n\nThen one of the strange figures who had been restored to life, and whom\nOlga had especially noticed as being taller and fairer than most of the\nothers, and also because he was surrounded with several quaintly shaped\nchests, now came forward. He was a handsome young fellow, and stated\nthat he was called Odo, and was the son of a neighbouring king, and\nthat, having gone forth in search of treasure and adventures, he had\nsucceeded in amassing a large quantity of gold and precious stones, and\nwas on his way home, when he heard of the wonderful bird, who could\nforetell the future. He had gained the valley and was almost close to\nthe bird, when he incautiously looked back, hearing wild cries for\nhelp, and in that moment he had been turned to stone, and his were the\nquaintly shaped chests Olga had noticed.\n\nThe bird, being in a gracious mood, allowed the prince to carry away\nhis treasure; so, followed by his servants, he accompanied Olga and her\nbrothers to their home.\n\nAs soon as they arrived, they at once went to the lion\u2019s den and\nliberated the poor queen\u2014the lion offering no resistance\u2014and took her\nback to their hut. Poor Hertha was almost dead with grief and anxiety;\nbut loving care quickly restored her to health, and the delight of\nseeing her dear children, whom she had thought dead, alive and well\nbefore her, did more than anything to restore her and make her strong\nand well.\n\nThey then procured her some rich and fitting garments, and leaving her\nin the hut, they repaired to the king\u2019s court and demanded an audience.\n\nAfter some little delay, this was granted, for after the loss of his\nwife and children the king had grown sad and listless, often blaming\nhimself for condemning his queen so hurriedly; for, when he had time to\nthink it all over, he could not, despite her sisters\u2019 repeated\nrepresentations, believe that the queen had really killed her children.\n\nWhen the sister and brothers were ushered into the royal presence, the\nking was at once struck by their noble appearance, especially with\nOlga, whose likeness to her mother was marvellous.\n\nThey then told him who they were and how they had been saved, and also\nthat they had just freed their mother, who was not dead, as he had been\ntold.\n\nKing Leofric could scarcely believe he heard aright as they related\ntheir wonderful tale, the particulars of which they had received from\nthe magic bird, and it is impossible to describe his delight and\nthankfulness to find that his wife, whom he had loved so dearly, was\nnot only proved innocent, but was alive and well.\n\nHe immediately sent for her two wicked sisters, and when questioned as\nto what they had done, they began first to prevaricate, and then each\naccused the other of having done the wicked deed. But the truth was\nclearly proved against them, they were therefore both thrown into the\nlion\u2019s den, where the poor queen had so long lingered; this time,\nhowever, the lion never hesitated, but eat them both up at once.\n\nThe king then eagerly went to fetch his queen, who returned to the\npalace with all due honours and splendour.\n\nA great feast was immediately prepared to celebrate the happy\nrestoration of the lost queen and her three children.\n\nThis feast lasted many days, for all who chose to come were welcome;\nindeed, it seemed as if the king could not do enough to show how\nthankful he was.\n\nHe remitted the sentences of many state prisoners, and all the poor in\nthe kingdom received rich gifts.\n\nWhen at length the feast came to an end, Prince Odo asked the king for\nthe hand of his daughter, the fair princess Olga.\n\nThereupon a fresh feast was arranged to celebrate the marriage of the\nprince and princess, and this was carried out with still greater\nsplendour, such as had never been seen before.\n\nNot only was the big hall of the palace prepared for the invited\nguests, but endless tables were spread in the great courtyard for all\nthe poor and homeless, to whom abundant good fare was generously\ndispensed, for, Princess Olga said, as they had been poor themselves\nthey must never forget their less fortunate subjects.\n\nThen, when it was over, Prince Odo returned to his own kingdom with his\nwife, where they reigned in peace and happiness for many years.\n\nWilhelm married a beautiful cousin, and succeeded to the throne at his\nfather\u2019s death, Sigurd also married a lovely princess in a neighbouring\nstate, and came to the throne on the death of his father-in-law.\n\nThus Olga and her brothers, after all their trials, lived long and\nhappily, their children and children\u2019s children reigning after them for\nmany generations.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nTHE FAIR AND THE DARK ISOLDE\n\n\nCHAPTER I.\n\nDEATH OF THE QUEEN. THE KING REMARRIES, AND PROCEEDS ON A TOUR THROUGH\nHIS KINGDOM.\n\n\nThere once reigned a king and queen, and they had one little daughter\ncalled Isolde. She was the loveliest little maiden ever seen; her skin\nwas white as the driven snow, her cheeks looked as if pink rose-petals\nhad fallen on them, her lips were the colour of the reddest cherries,\nand the deepest blue of the summer sky seemed reflected in her eyes,\nwhile her long fair hair, reaching almost down to the ground, glistened\nlike gold when touched by the sun\u2019s rays.\n\nHaving no son of his own, the king had adopted his nephew Fertram as\nhis heir to the crown.\n\nThe boy was as handsome as the little girl was lovely, and his father\nand mother being both dead, he was brought up at his uncle\u2019s court.\n\nHe was two years older than Isolde; but the children were devoted to\neach other, and the parents often looked forward to the time when they\nwould be old enough to be betrothed and married.\n\nBut the truth of the old saying, \u201cthe best-laid plans of mice and men\ngang aft agley,\u201d was once again to be verified, for when Isolde and\nFertram were respectively sixteen and eighteen, and there was talk of a\ngreat betrothal feast shortly, the good queen, who had gone out bathing\nin the sea on a raw autumn morning, took a severe chill and shortly\nafter died.\n\nThe king was quite inconsolable at her loss, and after her funeral, he\nshut himself up in his rooms for many months and would see no one but\nFertram and Isolde. Even when at length he again came forth, he seemed\nto take no interest in anything.\n\nGradually matters grew worse and worse, till at last the chief officers\nof the court came to him and advised him to marry again.\n\nFor a long time the king would not listen to them; but at length,\nwearied out with their importunities, he said they might go and see if\nthey could find any one worthy to succeed his late queen.\n\nSo some ships were fitted out, and the chief officers started forth on\ntheir quest, they sailed on for many days without seeing any land, but\nat length they saw some rising ground on the horizon, which, as they\ncame nearer, proved to be a rocky island surrounded by a low sandy\nbeach.\n\nHere the men landed, and following a narrow road which led them up a\nthickly wooded valley, they presently arrived at the gates of a fine\ncastle.\n\nThey looked to see if the warden was there, for the drawbridge was\ndown; but no one was on the walls, so they crossed the bridge and blew\nthe horn which hung near the gateway. Immediately the great doors flew\nopen, and they entered.\n\nStill there was no one about; so they walked up a wide flight of\nstairs, and presently they came out on a broad terrace. Here a\nhandsome, tall, and stately woman, dressed all in black, came forward\nand bade them welcome; she then clapped her hands, and a pretty\ndark-haired maiden appeared, bearing a silver tray with flagons of rich\nwine and fruit.\n\nThe ministers were invited to sit down on one of the big stone benches,\nand while they were partaking of the fruit and wine, which was very\nwelcome after their long walk, the lady told them that her husband had\ndied in battle, most of his followers having also been killed, and that\nshe was now living there alone with her daughter.\n\nThen she brought out her lute, and sang to the men while they rested,\nand entertained them so well, that they all agreed they need go no\nfurther to seek a lady worthy to fill the late queen\u2019s place; so they\nforthwith solicited her hand for their master the king.\n\nAt first the queen said she could not think of accepting the offer, for\nthat she had made up her mind, after her dear husband\u2019s death, to live\nand die in his now deserted castle; but the more reluctant she\nappeared, the king\u2019s ambassadors only grew the more urgent, until at\nlength she consented to go with them.\n\nHanding over the castle and all it contained to an old servant, she and\nher daughter departed with the king\u2019s people, and, the wind being\nfavourable, the homeward journey did not take many days to accomplish.\n\nWhen the king saw the ships in the distance all decorated with flags\nand gaily coloured banners, he knew that the ministers must have been\nsuccessful in their quest; so he ordered out his golden chariot, and,\naccompanied by all his chief courtiers, drove down to the shore, there\nto await the travellers.\n\nAt length the vessels were beached, and no sooner had the king set eyes\non his bride, than he at once felt a great love for her in his heart.\nHe placed her beside him in his golden chariot, while her daughter and\nthe attendants followed in a silver one. And thus they proceeded back\nto the palace, where a great feast had been prepared, at which all the\ngreat princes and nobles of the land were present.\n\nThe rejoicings continued for a whole week; wine and mead were lavishly\ndispensed to all who came, and the tables literally groaned beneath the\ngreat dishes of fish, flesh, and fowl, interspersed with huge pyramids\nof delicate cakes and delicious fruits.\n\nAt the end of the feast, each guest was presented with valuable gifts\nfrom the king\u2019s treasure-house, so that all those who were poor when\nthey came, returned home rich and happy, while the queen herself was\ninvested with all the grandeur and power of her new position.\n\nStrangely enough the new queen\u2019s daughter was called Isolde, like the\nking\u2019s daughter; but, though the former was very pretty, every one\ndeclared she could not compare with the latter. So, in order to\ndistinguish them, the former was always spoken of as \u201cdark Isolde\u201d and\nthe latter \u201cfair Isolde.\u201d\n\nNow Isolde, the king\u2019s daughter, did not live in the palace, for her\nfather, on her sixteenth birthday, had built her a separate tower\nstanding in the midst of a beautiful garden. It was fitted up with\nevery possible luxury and convenience; rich curtains draped all the\nwindows, soft couches, covered with dainty silks and cushions of cloth\nof gold, lined the walls, and bright carpets were spread on the inlaid,\npolished floors.\n\nHere Isolde spent her days very pleasantly with her two favourite\nattendants Eya and Meya, spinning and weaving and gathering flowers to\ndeck her rooms; and here Fertram would often join her, after one of\ntheir long rides in the forest, chatting and laughing and making happy\nplans for their future.\n\nSoon after the king\u2019s second wedding, the queen came to him one day,\nand, after praising his kind rule over his people, told him she thought\nhe ought not to remain longer at home with her, but make a tour and\nvisit all his provinces to see what the governors were doing, and\nwhether they were getting in the treasure rightly.\n\nThe king, who was very happy and comfortable at home, did not at first\nagree to this; but the queen at last managed to persuade him, and also\nadvised him to take Fertram with him, saying that it was only right he\nshould see something of the world, and of the kingdom over which he was\none day to rule.\n\nSo at length the king yielded, and ordered his ships to be got ready,\nat the same time telling Fertram that he was to accompany him.\n\nThough pleased at the thought of the journey, Fertram was grieved to\nleave fair Isolde, and the parting between them was a very sad one, for\nboth felt that some misfortune was hanging over them, and yet they\ncould not tell what.\n\nA few days later the king and Fertram sailed away amid great cheering\nof the people, who crowded down to the shore to wish the travellers\ngood speed on their journey and a quick and happy return.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER II.\n\nWHAT BEFALLS \u201cFAIR ISOLDE\u201d AFTER HER FATHER HAS GONE.\n\n\nIsolde the fair felt terribly sad and lonely after her father\u2019s and\nFertram\u2019s departure; she lost all interest in her work and play, and\nwould sit for hours at one of the windows facing the sea, ever hoping\nto see the welcome sight of the returning ships.\n\nAt last, one morning about a fortnight after the king had gone, the\nqueen came to her, and, greeting her kindly, asked her to come with her\nand her daughter dark Isolde and spend the day in the woods.\n\n\u201cI know a lovely spot,\u201d she added, \u201cwhere we can have a splendid game\nof ball, and then, when we are tired, we can sit down and rest and dine\nbeneath the shade of the trees.\u201d\n\nFair Isolde at first refused, saying she did not feel as if she cared\nto play; but the queen would take no denial, and at last Isolde, who\nhad been very lonely since Fertram went away, agreed to go, together\nwith her two maidens Eya and Meya.\n\nIt was a fine bright morning as the whole party set forth, and the sun\nand the fresh air soon made Isolde feel more like her former self.\n\nLaughing and singing, the whole party wandered merrily through the\nwoods till they reached a lovely open glade, when they commenced a\nmerry game.\n\nHere, there, and everywhere flew the bright-coloured balls, tossed and\ncaught by eager hands.\n\nIsolde the fair was more deft in her play than the others, and never\nmissed a ball; but further and even further flew the balls sent by the\nqueen and her daughter, till at length they and fair Isolde were quite\nout of sight of their attendants, when the latter, running swiftly\nafter a bright crimson ball, suddenly paused, for at her feet there\nyawned a deep dark pit.\n\n\u201cOh, stop!\u201d she cried, startled, looking round at the queen and dark\nIsolde. \u201cStop! Don\u2019t come any further, or you will fall into this\ndreadful place!\u201d But the words had scarcely passed her lips when she\nfelt a strong push and fell headlong into the hole.\n\nThen the queen, laughing wickedly, looked down at poor Isolde and said\u2014\n\n\u201cHa! ha! my pretty bird! How do you like your new house, fair Isolde?\nIt is not quite so fine as your grand, beautiful tower, is it? But you\nwon\u2019t need such pretty things now, for you will soon be dead, and then\nFertram on his return will marry my dark Isolde!\u201d\n\n\u201cOh, help me out! Don\u2019t leave me here!\u201d cried fair Isolde; \u201cand I will\npromise, on the word of a princess, never to speak of this to any one!\u201d\n\n\u201cNo, no, my young damsel! Promises are easily broken; but the dead tell\nno tales!\u201d And, despite her tears and entreaties, the wicked queen and\nher daughter placed branches of pine trees across the open pit, and\nthen covered them thickly with earth and leaves, so that no one, even\nif they passed that way, would ever dream there was a grave hidden\nbeneath.\n\nBy this time the sun had set, and it was getting dusk ere they had\nfinished their task; so the queen and dark Isolde hastened back to the\npalace, but ere they entered it, they set fire to fair Isolde\u2019s tower,\nwhich was soon completely burnt to the ground.\n\nThe queen\u2019s attendants, meanwhile, together with Eya and Meya, finding\nthe queen and the two princesses did not return, called out and\nsearched for them in various directions, but, seeing nothing of them,\nconcluded they had returned to the palace, and so, as it was now quite\ndark, hastened home themselves.\n\nOn their arrival there, they found the queen and dark Isolde, who said\nfair Isolde had returned with them back to her tower, saying she was\ntired, when shortly after, to their horror, they had noticed flames\nbursting out of the windows, but ere they could send help, the tower\nwas burnt down.\n\nPoor Eya and Meya were inconsolable at the loss of their beloved\nmistress, and mourned long and sadly for her.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER III.\n\n\u201cFAIR ISOLDE\u201d ESCAPES, AND DISGUISES HERSELF.\n\n\nWe must now return to fair Isolde.\n\nWhen she heard the queen\u2019s words and knew that they did not mean to\nhelp her, but intended leaving her there to die, she wept long and\nbitterly; then, as hour after hour passed, and, though she listened\nintently, she could hear no one passing by who might have helped her,\nshe sat down on a heap of leaves lying in one corner, and began to\nthink how best she could get out. Then she suddenly remembered that she\nhad fortunately that morning put on the golden girdle which had been a\nparting gift of her mother on her death-bed, and to which was attached\na large pair of golden scissors. She had enjoined fair Isolde never to\ngo outside the house without this girdle, for it had been given her by\na fairy godmother, and had the marvellous power of preserving whoever\nwore it both from hunger and fatigue.\n\nIsolde, therefore, after her first burst of grief, felt she was not\nquite helpless; the power of the girdle would save her from starvation,\ntill she could once again procure food. And meanwhile, feeling somewhat\ncomforted, she took hold of the big golden scissors, and by working\nhard, and persevering in spite of fatigue, she managed to dig some deep\nholes in the side of the pit, large enough to give her a good foothold,\nand thus managed to climb up to the top, and work her way through the\nmass of earth and leaves the wicked queen and her daughter had piled up\ntogether.\n\nWhen she at last got out, she wandered about the forest for some time,\ntill she got back to the open glade, where they had played ball.\n\nHere she sat down to consider what she had better do.\n\nAt first she thought it would be safer to keep hidden away in the\nforest, for fear her stepmother might find her and again try to kill\nher; but, on second thoughts, she decided it would be better for her to\nreturn to the tower, and so disguise herself that no one could possibly\nrecognize her.\n\nShe first stained her face brown with the juice of some berries, and\nthen with her deft fingers she made herself a quaint dress and large\ncap out of various coloured leaves, and thus disguised, she went back\nto her tower, and found it a heap of ashes. Feeling now certain there\nwas a plot against her, she determined to go on to the palace, went\nround to the kitchen door, and begged the cook to give her a morsel of\nfood, as she was very hungry.\n\nThe cook, who was a kind-hearted old woman, told her to sit down on a\nbench, and fetched her some bread and meat, in return for which, Isolde\noffered to mend her clothes for her, as she probably had no time to do\nso herself, saying her name was N\u00e4fra Kolla, the sewing girl.\n\nThe old cook, who, although good at her own work, was no great hand\nwith her needle, was delighted when she heard this, and told her she\nwas welcome to stay as long as she liked, more especially as the king\nwould soon be back, when there would be plenty of work for every one.\n\nSo N\u00e4fra Kolla remained, and when it was seen how clever she was with\nher needle, she found plenty to do, for the whole king\u2019s household\ndeclared they had never seen such beautiful work as hers.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER IV.\n\nFERTRAM FALLS UNDER A SPELL, AND IS BETROTHED TO \u201cDARK ISOLDE.\u201d\n\n\nAt length the king returned from his long tour accompanied by Fertram,\nand as soon as the ships were in sight, the queen and her daughter\ndrove down to the shore to welcome them home.\n\nWhen they were all four seated in the golden chariot on their way back\nto the palace, both the king and Fertram were greatly surprised not to\nsee fair Isolde, and asked why she had not come down to meet them.\n\nThen the queen, pretending to weep, and putting her handkerchief to her\neyes, said that some time after the king\u2019s departure, the tower in\nwhich Isolde lived had been burned to the ground; no one could find out\nhow the accident had happened, but they thought the princess must have\ncarelessly left a light near some of the curtains.\n\nThis terrible calamity was a fearful blow to Fertram, so, instead of\njoining in the festivities to celebrate the king\u2019s return, he shut\nhimself up in his own rooms and would see no one for several weeks.\n\nAt last the queen herself came to his door, and as she would take no\ndenial, he was at length obliged to open it. When she entered, he saw\nshe held a golden goblet in her hand, filled with wine. At first he\nwould have none of it; but as she continued to press and urge him, if\nonly just to taste it, hoping by so doing to get rid of her, Fertram\ntook the cup and drank a little. But no sooner had he swallowed the\nfirst mouthful than he fell into a deep sleep, and lost all\nconsciousness.\n\nWhen at last he awakened, all remembrance of his love for fair Isolde\nhad vanished.\n\nThe queen, seeing the satisfactory effect of her magic draught, lost no\ntime in sounding the praises of her own daughter, until at length,\nafter much persuasion, Fertram consented to marry her, and a day was\nfixed for the wedding.\n\nEre this could take place, however, the future bride had, according to\nthe custom of the country, to embroider and make up both her own and\nthe bridegroom\u2019s wedding garments.\n\nNow, dark Isolde was not good with her needle; she was very lazy, and\nmuch preferred idling about and gossiping in the stables and kennels,\nto sewing or spinning indoors.\n\nIn her perplexity as to what she had better do, for she wanted to marry\nFertram, she sauntered across the stable yard to the kitchen, where the\nold cook was sitting on a stool shelling peas, and asked her what she\nwould advise her to do.\n\n\u201cYou ought to be ashamed of yourself to be so helpless,\u201d answered the\ncook, crossly, for she had no love for the new queen and her daughter.\n\u201cIt is all very well for a poor old woman like me not to be able to use\nher needle, for I have always had to work hard for my living, and my\nhands soon got too rough for sewing much; but for a young princess like\nyou not to be able to embroider her own wedding-dress! Why, such a\ndisgrace will be handed down for generations! But there, as you are so\nstupid, I suppose I must try and help you. Fortunately there is a young\ngirl here, called N\u00e4fra Kolla, who sews as beautifully as any princess;\nyou tell her I sent you, and I dare say she will help you.\u201d\n\nWhen dark Isolde heard this she was greatly pleased, and at once ran up\nto her room and brought down the various pieces of silk and twists of\ngold and silver thread, and brought them to N\u00e4fra Kolla, begging her to\nmake up the garments. This N\u00e4fra Kolla promised to do, and her clever\nbusy fingers finished both the bridal garments the evening before the\nwedding.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER V.\n\nTHE SPELL IS BROKEN, AND THE WICKED QUEEN\u2019S DESIGNS ARE FRUSTRATED.\n\n\nThe following morning the sun shone out bright and clear, and every one\ndeclared no happier omen could usher in so auspicious a day.\n\nBut when the queen went to her daughter\u2019s room to waken her, in place\nof dark Isolde, there lay a hideous dwarf in the bed.\n\n\u201cOh, Isolde!\u201d cried the queen, wringing her hands, \u201cwhat can we do? How\nwas it possible that we both forgot that this is the one morning in the\nyear on which you must resume your own form? Oh, this is terrible! We\nmust put off the wedding, and say that you are ill!\u201d\n\n\u201cNo, no,\u201d croaked the misshapen figure; \u201cif we once let Fertram off, I\nknow he will never marry me.\u201d\n\nThe queen remained lost in thought for a few minutes. Then she\nexclaimed\u2014\n\n\u201cI know what we will do! I will get N\u00e4fra Kolla, the sewing girl. She\nis just your height and size. I will dress her as the bride, and under\nthe thickly embroidered veil no one will notice the difference. Then,\nafter the whole party come back from their ride, you will have resumed\nyour own pretty face and figure. You can then change with N\u00e4fra Kolla,\nand none will be any the wiser.\u201d\n\n\u201cBut will not N\u00e4fra Kolla talk about it or object?\u201d asked the dwarf.\n\n\u201cNeither she herself nor any one else will know anything about it,\u201d\nreplied the queen, \u201cYou leave it all to me.\u201d\n\nIn a short time the queen went to N\u00e4fra Kolla\u2019s room, and brought her a\nhot cup of coffee.\n\n\u201cDrink this,\u201d she said; \u201cI am sure you must be wearied out with all the\nwork you have done, and this will be a tiring day for you.\u201d\n\nThough N\u00e4fra Kolla was not thirsty, she did not like to refuse the\nqueen, thinking she really meant it kindly; but no sooner had she\nswallowed the coffee than she seemed to fall into a sort of trance. It\nseemed to her as if she were Isolde again, and that this was her own\nwedding-day. She was dressed in the bridal garments, and the richly\nembroidered veil was thrown over her; then, after the wedding ceremony\nwas over, the whole bridal party went for a ride through the forest. It\nall seemed like a strange dream to the girl.\n\nAs they passed the blackened ruins of Isolde\u2019s tower, N\u00e4fra Kolla\nmurmured\u2014\n\n\n \u201cOnce thou wert bright and fair,\n Now thou art burnt, oh chamber mine.\u201d\n\n\nFertram bent forward on his horse, and asked her what she had said. But\nshe gave him no answer.\n\nShortly after they came to a big lime tree, whose sweet blossoms\nscented the whole air, and N\u00e4fra Kolla murmured\u2014\n\n\n \u201cBehold this giant linden tree\n Beneath whose shade Fertram and Isolde\n Plighted their troth for ever and aye.\n And he will hold to it yet!\u201d\n\n\nAfter riding some little distance further, they came to the deep\ntrench.\n\nLooking down into it, N\u00e4fra Kolla murmured\u2014\n\n\n \u201cBut for my dear mother\u2019s golden gifts,\n Here would my life have ended.\u201d\n\n\nOnce again Fertram asked her what she had said; but still she remained\nsilent.\n\nAt last, just as the sun was setting, they returned to the palace.\nN\u00e4fra Kolla dismounted and went up to her own room; but scarcely had\nshe sat down, than a sudden giddiness seized her, all grew dark before\nher eyes, and she lost consciousness.\n\nThen the queen, who had been waiting for her, came forth from behind a\nscreen where she had been hidden, and, taking off the bridal garments,\nshe hastened with them to dark Isolde\u2019s room. The latter had now\nregained her fair form, and was quickly robed in the rich garments of\nthe bride, after which the queen returned to N\u00e4fra Kolla and dressed\nher in her usual dress.\n\nPresently Fertram came for Isolde, and, sitting down beside her, asked\nher what she had said during the ride, when they passed the ruins of\nher tower.\n\n\u201cI really cannot remember what I said,\u201d replied Isolde.\n\n\u201cBut you must tell me,\u201d said Fertram.\n\nThen Isolde went to her mother and asked her what N\u00e4fra Kolla could\nhave said. So the queen told her, and Isolde returned to Fertram and\nrepeated the words.\n\nBut he felt strangely dissatisfied.\n\n\u201cI should also like to know what it was you said when we passed beneath\nthe great lime tree, and when we came to that deep trench in the\nforest.\u201d\n\n\u201cI really cannot recollect all I said,\u201d replied dark Isolde, crossly.\n\u201cI am sure it was nothing of any importance.\u201d\n\n\u201cNay, but I insist upon knowing,\u201d said Fertram, \u201cyou seemed so strange\nand not at all like yourself; you must tell me!\u201d\n\nSo Isolde once again went to her mother, and the queen said that when\nthey came to the great linden tree, N\u00e4fra Kolla had said\u2014\n\n\n \u201cBehold the giant linden tree\n Beneath whose shade Fertram and Isolde\n Plighted their troth for ever and aye.\n And he will hold to it yet!\u201d\n\n\nand that when they arrived at the deep trench, she murmured\u2014\n\n\n \u201cBut for my dear mother\u2019s golden gifts,\n Here would my life have ended.\u201d\n\n\nWhen dark Isolde returned to Fertram with these answers, she thought,\n\u201cSurely now, he must be satisfied.\u201d\n\nBut all these replies had just the opposite effect, for the more he\nheard, the more strange and startling did it all appear to him.\n\n\u201cOh, my lost fair Isolde,\u201d he cried, \u201cwould that I could learn the\ntruth of all this!\u201d\n\nThen suddenly it seemed as if a veil were lifted from his memory, he\nrecollected all his love for his cousin fair Isolde, and how different\nshe was in every way to the dark maiden beside him.\n\n\u201cOh, Isolde, my own fair princess,\u201d he cried, \u201cwould that I could see\nyou once again and hold you to my heart! But as you are dead, and this\nis not possible, may I also die, and so be with you!\u201d\n\nScarcely had these words passed his lips, when a soft light suddenly\nfilled the room, and lo! in the open doorway stood his own fair cousin,\nmore sweet and beautiful than ever.\n\nStretching out her arms towards him, she said\u2014\u201cOh, Fertram, your love\nand faithfulness have conquered and overcome the wicked spells of my\nstepmother. If you indeed are still true to me, we may yet defeat her,\nand all will be well!\u201d\n\n\u201cIsolde, my own Isolde,\u201d cried Fertram, \u201ccan it really be you, or is it\nonly your spirit; and are you not dead, as they solemnly assured me?\u201d\nAnd he drew her lovingly towards him.\n\nAt this moment, the queen rushed into the room, speedily followed by\nthe king.\n\nWhen she saw that her wicked scheme had fallen through, she gave a\ngreat scream, which shook the whole palace. In an instant she was\nchanged back into the wicked giantess she had originally been, and her\ndaughter, who was behind her, became again the ugly little dwarf.\n\nThe king, in his anger at the terrible deception that had been\npractised on him, wanted then and there to order them to be instantly\nkilled; but, at fair Isolde\u2019s petition, they were sent back to their\nown island, and bound never to quit it on pain of instant death.\n\nThen a fresh, and, this time, a very merry wedding-feast was ordered,\nwhich was much more magnificent than the last one. The tables were\nladen\n\n\n \u201cWith peacocks roasted\n And peacocks spiced,\n With fishes boiled\n And fishes fried,\n With mimjam and pimjam\n And multum salve;\n The wine that was drank\n Was primat and claret,\n As well as the wine of Garganus.\u201d\n\n\nThen all the guests, ere their departure, were laden with presents from\nthe king\u2019s treasure-house; and when, after some years, the old king was\ngathered to his fathers, Fertram and Isolde reigned jointly, and lived\nlong and happily, seeing their children and great-great-grandchildren\naround them.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nPRINCE HLINI\n\n\nIn a far country, there once lived a king and a queen. They had an only\nson, called Hlini, who even as a child showed wonderful talents, and\ngrew up the handsomest, cleverest, and bravest man in all the land.\n\nOne day, the prince went out hunting with some of the courtiers. It was\na beautiful morning; the sun shone with unusual brilliancy, birds and\ngame of all kinds were plentiful; and, well pleased with their good\nday\u2019s sport, the whole party turned homewards as the afternoon shadows\nbegan to lengthen, when suddenly a thick fog arose, which soon\ncompletely surrounded them. They lost sight of the prince, and it was\nonly with great difficulty that they made their way back to the castle.\n\nWhen the king heard that his son had not returned, he became very\nanxious; and the fog having somewhat lifted, he at once sent out\nmessengers to try and find him. But although they searched in all\ndirections for three days and nights, they could find no trace of\nhim,\u2014no one had heard of or seen Prince Hlini.\n\nThis sudden disappearance of his son greatly grieved the king; and\nwhen, on the evening of the third day, the messengers returned without\nany news of him, the king retired to his room, and, throwing himself on\nhis bed, gave way to the deepest grief. In vain the queen tried to\ncheer him, telling him that Hlini was so brave and clever, he would be\nsure to return safely. The king would not be consoled, and said he\nwould gladly give the half of his kingdom to any one who would bring\nhim back his son.\n\nNow, not far from the palace, in the middle of a wild moor, covered\nwith yellow gorse and purple heather, there lived an old man in a\nlittle cottage with his only child, a daughter called Signy, who was\nboth beautiful and clever. They were very poor, but lived happily and\ncontented on wild honey and the berries that grew on the moors. When\nSigny heard from the shepherds that the prince had disappeared and that\nthe king had offered the half of his kingdom to whoever should find\nhim, she begged her father to let her go in search of him. At first he\nwas very unwilling to part with her, dreading the dangers she might\nhave to encounter; but Signy said she felt quite sure she would succeed\nin her search. All she wanted was a pair of new shoes and some food.\nAnd so, after a little more persuasion, her father gave her his\nblessing and started her on her journey.\n\nSigny wandered on for several days, resting in the evenings in some\nsheltered nook, and ever going towards the north. It was now\nmid-summer, the days were long\u2014in fact, there was scarcely any night;\nand on the fourth evening, just as the sun, like a huge red ball, was\nsetting in a bed of crimson and gold, only to rise again, Signy saw\nsome rocks in front of her, in one of which was a huge cave. Listening\ncarefully for a few minutes and hearing no sound, Signy entered very\nsoftly, and there she saw two beds: one was covered with a beautiful\nblue silk quilt, embroidered with gold; the other had a crimson velvet\nquilt, embroidered with silver. Going cautiously forward, she saw the\nprince, lying fast asleep on the bed with the golden quilt.\n\nSigny was delighted with her discovery, and went up to him to waken\nhim; but though she shook him, at first gently and then more roughly,\nshe found she could not rouse him. Looking up, she saw some strange\nletters, or runes, cut into the wooden headboard of the bed.\n\nNow, though her father, who was a learned old man, had taught Signy to\nread runes, she could make nothing of these. She therefore determined\nto wait and see who the owner of the cave was, and discovering a narrow\nrecess near the opening, she crept quietly in.\n\nHardly had she got safely into her hiding-place, than she heard a\nterrible noise, like a peal of thunder. The earth began to quake, and\npresently two frightful giantesses entered the cave.\n\nAs they came in, the taller and elder of the two cried out angrily,\n\u201cPah! I smell the smell of a human being here!\u201d\n\n\u201cOf course you do,\u201d replied her sister, \u201cseeing that Hlini the king\u2019s\nson is asleep here.\u201d\n\nThey then went to the bed on which Hlini was lying, and moving the\nheadboard, on which the runes were carved, to one side, out came two\nbeautiful silver swans.\n\n\u201cSing, my beautiful swans, sing, and waken Hlini,\u201d cried the\ngiantesses.\n\nAnd as the swans, obeying, sang a lovely sweet song, the prince awoke.\n\nThe younger giantess then brought him a silver tray laden with\ndelicious fruit and wine; but the prince would not touch anything.\n\n\u201cWill you marry me now?\u201d then asked the giantess.\n\n\u201cNo, no, and again no!\u201d cried the prince.\n\n\u201cThen sing, sing, my beautiful swans, that Hlini may go to sleep\nagain,\u201d she called out angrily.\n\nAnd as the swans raised their voices in a sad, plaintive melody, the\nprince fell back on the bed, and was soon in his magic sleep again.\n\nThe two sisters then lay down on the other couch with the\nsilver-embroidered quilt.\n\nIn the morning they again wakened Hlini in the same manner, and offered\nhim food, which, however, he angrily refused; whereupon the younger\ngiantess again asked him if he would marry her; and when he refused, as\nbefore, the sisters put him to sleep by the song of the swans, and then\nleft the cave, closing it as they went out.\n\nAfter waiting a little while to make sure that the wicked sisters were\nnot coming back again, Signy came out of her hiding-place, and moving\nthe headboard of the bed, as she had seen the sisters do, she called to\nthe swans, and as they sang their song, the prince awoke.\n\nHe was greatly surprised to see Signy in place of the hideous giant\nsisters, and thanked her warmly for her help, asking how she had come\nthere.\n\nThen Signy told him how much his father sorrowed at his mysterious\ndisappearance, and that she had determined to try and find him.\n\nHlini was very grateful, and told Signy that, after he had got\nseparated from his friends in the fog, he had suddenly encountered the\ngiant sisters, who, having their swans with them, put him to sleep\nbefore he had time to fight them or get away, and that they had then\nforcibly carried him off to their cave; and that the younger sister, as\nshe had no doubt heard, wanted to marry him. But this he had steadily\nrefused to do. As long as he remained firm, they could only keep him\nthere asleep; but, he added, he would rather remain thus for ever than\nmarry the ogress.\n\nWhen he had finished his tale, Signy said, \u201cNow the first thing we must\ndo, is to find out the meaning of the runes on the headboard. When,\ntherefore, the sisters come in this evening, do not refuse their food\n(for you will want all your strength to get away), but be friendly with\nthem, and then ask them what the letters mean, and also what they do\nall day while they are away.\u201d\n\nHlini said he would certainly follow Signy\u2019s advice. Then, finding a\nchessboard and some men on a shelf, they sat down and amused themselves\nplaying and chatting, till they thought it was drawing near the time\nwhen the giantesses usually returned; then Signy called the swans and\nput the prince to sleep, as she had seen the sisters do, after which\nshe hid herself in her dark corner.\n\nSoon she heard the sisters returning, and presently they entered the\ncave.\n\n\u201cI certainly do smell the smell of a human being,\u201d said the elder\nsister, sniffing angrily round the cave.\n\n\u201cNonsense!\u201d replied the younger one, who, having lit the fire, was\nanxious to get their supper cooked. \u201cOf course you smell it when Hlini\nis here.\u201d\n\n\u201cBut this is a different smell,\u201d persisted the elder sister; and Signy,\nseeing her peering about, feared she would discover her.\n\nBut the younger sister, having plucked and cleaned the birds they had\ncaught, told her elder sister she must cook them at once, as she was\nabout to waken Hlini; and, going up to the couch with the\ngold-embroidered quilt, on which Hlini was lying asleep, she called\nforth the swans, and wakened him.\n\nBy this time the birds were cooked; and when she asked him if he would\ntake any food, instead of refusing, Hlini said he felt hungry, and\nwould join them at their supper.\n\nThe younger giantess was greatly pleased, and after helping him to\nfruit and wine, asked him whether he would not now make her his wife.\n\nBut Hlini said he must first know more about her and her sister before\nhe could decide.\n\n\u201cWhat, for instance, is the meaning of those runes carved on the\nbedhead?\u201d he asked.\n\n\u201cOh,\u201d replied the giantess graciously, \u201cthe words are\u2014\n\n\n \u201c\u2018Fly, fly, oh bedstead mine,\n And carry me whither I will.\u2019\n\n\nYou have only to sit down on the bed and repeat those words, and\nimmediately you are carried to whatever place you wish to go.\u201d\n\nThe prince was delighted when he heard this, as he hoped it would\nenable him and Signy to escape.\n\n\u201cAnd what do you and your sister do all day when you are out?\u201d he\nasked.\n\n\u201cWell, we roam about, looking for some man, woman, or child, for our\ndinner, for we always prefer them to birds or animals; and then, when\nwe get tired, we sit down under a tree and play with our \u2018life egg.\u2019\u201d\nreplied the giantess.\n\n\u201cI suppose you have to be very careful when you are playing with your\nlife egg?\u201d asked the prince.\n\n\u201cYes, indeed we have to be,\u201d answered the giantess, \u201cfor if it were\nbroken, we should both die. But there is no fear of that,\u201d and she gave\na loud laugh, \u201cwe are much too careful; it can only be broken by a\nhuman being; and whenever one of them comes near us, we soon catch him\nand eat him.\u201d\n\nThe prince now declared that he felt so tired, he really must go to\nsleep; and though, before calling the swans, the giantess again asked\nhim to marry her, he said he could say nothing till the morning, so he\nwas put to sleep as before.\n\nThe next morning, after the sisters had wakened him and given him some\nfood, they asked him if he would go to the woods with them; but Hlini\nsaid he still felt very tired, and would prefer to rest, so the sisters\nput him to sleep again and went away, closing the cave after them.\n\nWaiting a short time, so as to make quite sure that the giantesses\nwould not return, Signy presently came forth from her hiding-place and\nawakened the prince.\n\n\u201cGet up quickly,\u201d she said, \u201cfor we will follow the giantesses into the\nwood. Take with you your hunting spear which stands beside the bed, and\nwhen they begin to play at \u2018throw and catch\u2019 with their life ball, you\nmust throw your spear at the egg; but keep a clear eye and a firm hand,\nfor, remember, if you miss, both your life and mine will be forfeited.\u201d\n\n\u201cNever fear,\u201d said Hlini; \u201cthere is too much at stake. I will be\ncareful.\u201d Then they seated themselves on the couch, and both repeated\nthe rune.\n\n\n \u201cFly, fly, oh bedstead mine,\n And carry me whither I will.\u201d\n\n\nAnd immediately the bed rose up, the wall of the cave opened, and\npassing swiftly through the air, it landed them amid the leafy branches\nof a huge oak tree.\n\nPeeping cautiously down, they saw the two giantesses sitting at the\nfoot of the tree; one was holding the golden life egg in her hand,\nready to throw it at her sister, and both were laughing loudly, as the\negg flew backwards and forwards between them.\n\nWatching his opportunity, Hlini threw his spear just as one sister was\npoising it in her hand, and as the point of the spear hit the egg, it\nbroke in half.\n\nAt the same instant, both giantesses fell back dead, a stream of\ndark-coloured poison poured from their lips, and huge deadly black and\nyellow fungi sprang up and speedily covered them completely.\n\nHlini then seated himself beside Signy on the couch, and immediately\nthey were carried back to the cave.\n\nHere they found, on searching round, an immense quantity of gold,\nsilver, and jewels; and having laden both beds with these and the two\nsilver swans, they each sat down on one, and, repeating the runes, were\nspeedily transported to the hut of Signy\u2019s father, who was delighted at\nhis daughter\u2019s safe return, and made Hlini very welcome.\n\nThe next morning Signy went to the king\u2019s palace and demanded an\naudience, and the king, having admitted her, asked her who she was and\nwhat she wanted.\n\n\u201cI am the daughter of the old man who lives in the little hut on the\nmoor near your palace,\u201d replied Signy, \u201cand I have come to ask what\nreward you would give me if I bring your son back to you safe and\nwell?\u201d\n\nThe king laughed good-naturedly. \u201cI do not think I need trouble to\nanswer that,\u201d he said. \u201cThere is not much chance of your finding him,\nwhen so many others have failed.\u201d\n\n\u201cBut if I succeed,\u201d persisted Signy, \u201cwill you give me the same reward\nas you have promised to others?\u201d\n\n\u201cCertainly,\u201d replied the king; \u201cif you succeed in bringing back my son\nsafe and well, I will not go back from my word.\u201d\n\nThen Signy returned to the hut, and begged the prince to return with\nher to the palace; and together they entered the great audience hall.\n\nWhen the king beheld his son, whom he had mourned as dead, alive and\nwell, he was greatly rejoiced, and made him sit down on his right hand\nand relate the story of all that had happened to him since the day he\nbecame separated from his friends during the chase.\n\nWhen Hlini seated himself beside the king, he begged Signy to take the\nseat on his other hand, and then began the relation of all his\nadventures\u2014telling of his imprisonment in the cave, and how Signy had\nfreed him, and saved his life by rescuing him from the hands of the\nwicked giantesses.\n\nWhen he had finished, he rose from his seat, and standing before his\nfather, asked his permission to take Signy as his wife. To this the\nking willingly assented, saying that no reward could be too great for\nher, who had restored his son to him. So orders were at once issued for\nthe preparation of a magnificent wedding-feast; all the great nobles of\nthe kingdom were invited, neither were the poor forgotten. There was\nample provision made for all, and every one praised the king for his\nright royal hospitality, for each one received rich gifts ere they\nreturned home. Signy\u2019s father was made the king\u2019s librarian, and put in\ncharge of the royal manuscripts; and Hlini and Signy lived long and\nhappily together, surrounded by their children and grandchildren.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nFERTRAM AND HILDUR\n\n\nLong, long ago, in a distant land, there lived a king and queen, who\nwere quite happy, save for one thing\u2014they had no children. Some years\npassed, and then, to their great joy, a little baby girl arrived, who\nwas named Hildur. When the christening feast came to an end, the king,\nwho was devoted to hunting, set out with his courtiers for a long day\nin the great forest which surrounded the castle. Nothing unusual\nhappened until the hunting party began to turn homewards. The king was\nriding alone, a little in front of his gaily dressed retinue, when he\nsuddenly saw an enormous dragon flying swiftly through the air towards\nhim, holding a small child in his talons. In an instant the king drew\nhis bow; the arrow, shot by his practised hand, sped to its mark, and\nthe monster fell to the ground, pierced through the heart. The king\nleapt from his horse, and by the time his courtiers reached his side,\nhe was holding in his arms the rescued child, a beautiful boy of about\na year old, quite unhurt.\n\nThere were plenty of willing arms ready to carry the little fellow; but\nthe King refused.\n\n\u201cI rescued him; and now he shall be a playmate for my little daughter,\u201d\nhe said. And the whole party went back to the castle.\n\nYears passed on. The children grew up together, and loved each other\ndearly. The king and queen had named the little boy Fertram, and they\ntreated him in all respects like their own child. If one of the little\nones had a present, the other had the same, and at last they were never\nhappy if they parted even for a day.\n\nNow, Hildur\u2019s grandmother was deeply versed in all kinds of magic arts,\nand even when the young princess was still quite a girl, she taught her\nmany of her secrets. The child was the one being whom she loved. On the\nother hand, she had an unreasoning dislike to the boy who had so\nstrangely become part of the family, and when she saw the affection of\nthe young people for one another, she determined to poison Fertram.\n\n\u201cNever shall my beloved grandchild wed this foundling boy,\u201d she said to\nherself. \u201cThe son of one of our rich neighbours is the mate I destine\nfor her.\u201d\n\nSo she waited for an opportunity.\n\nOne day Fertram came in very hungry from a long day\u2019s hunting. The\ngrandmother caused a dainty dish to be set before him, and begged him\nto partake of it. But Hildur, who had noticed her grandmother\u2019s dislike\nto the young prince, came in at the moment, and, seeing the dish was\npoisoned, prevented his eating it.\n\nAnother time the grandmother attempted to kill him as he lay asleep in\nhis bed, but Hildur again divined her intentions. She warned Fertram,\nand they placed a log of wood in the bed. When night came, the old\nwoman entered, and with a dagger pierced the figure in the bed, as she\nthought; but, to her surprise, the weapon remained firmly fixed in the\nlog, whilst her hands were fastened to the handle, and she had to\nremain thus until morning broke, when the spell gave way.\n\nTwice had Hildur thus been able to save Fertram, but they both saw that\nhe was no longer safe. At any moment the old woman might exercise some\nmagic art, and prevent Hildur saving him again. They decided that they\nmust take some other course.\n\nOne morning early, before even the sleepy guards at the gate were\nawake, the young princess and Fertram passed through, and turned their\nsteps towards the unknown world lying beyond their own grounds. At\nfirst they wandered through fields, and found the way easy.\n\n\u201cIt was the only way, Fertram,\u201d said Hildur, when the young man\nregretted leaving without a word of thanks or love to those who had\ncared for him through the long years since his childhood\u2014\u201cit was the\nonly way. Nowhere in my father\u2019s castle would you have been safe, and\nmy grandmother would only have vented her anger upon my parents, if\nthey had known of our flight.\u201d\n\nAt length a small river stopped their way. In an instant Hildur changed\nherself and Fertram into trout, and, glittering in the sunlight, they\nleaped into the water. Hardly had they got below the surface when they\nsaw the grandmother walking along the bank of the river. She had\ntracked them at once, and now used her spells to try and catch them in\ntheir present form. The day wore on, but her art was useless\u2014nothing\nwould entrap the wary trout; and at last, filled with rage, she\nretraced her steps to the castle.\n\nIt was sunset now, and the two young people, having resumed their\nnatural shape, pursued their way into the forest.\n\n\u201cWe must no longer take the form of fish,\u201d Hildur said. \u201cEven now\ngrandmother will be weaving a magic net, out of which no fish can\npossibly escape.\u201d\n\nAnd up in her tower, the grandmother went on weaving, weaving. At first\nthe work went smoothly; but soon the netting became entangled, the\nknots no longer held together, and her spells showed her that the\nfugitives were no longer fish, but had resumed their own forms.\n\n\u201cGo forth immediately,\u201d she said to her servants. \u201cTake every one who\ncan be spared. Search all through the forest, and kill every living\nthing that you see.\u201d\n\nSo the servants searched all day in every direction, but not a creature\nwas to be seen. At last, as night drew on, they met two beautiful dogs;\nthey were the most magnificent animals they had ever seen. But,\nalthough they were quite friendly with the servants, they did not allow\nthemselves to be touched. The men therefore returned to the castle and\ntold what had happened.\n\nThe wrath of the grandmother was terrible to see. She knew at once that\nthe dogs were Fertram and Hildur, and she commanded the servants to be\nthrown into the dungeons for not carrying out her orders.\n\nHildur, by her magic power, knew what had taken place.\n\n\u201cWe must not stay here, Fertram,\u201d she said sadly; \u201cmy grandmother will\nnever rest now until she kills us. Even her love for me seems to have\nturned to hatred.\u201d\n\n\u201cBut what can we do?\u201d Fertram asked. \u201cBetter let me go by myself out\ninto the world, and do you return. Then all will be well.\u201d\n\nBut Hildur made no answer. Presently she unfolded a square of green\ncloth.\n\n\u201cSit on this beside me,\u201d she said.\n\nIn a moment they were floating high up in the air. The day wore on.\nSometimes they were borne along swiftly by a strong breeze, then a soft\ngentle wind would come and seem almost to rock them to sleep, till just\nas the sun was setting, and the sky was one blaze of gold and crimson,\nHildur made the cloth descend slowly to the earth again, and they found\nthemselves in a great flowery plain. Magnificent trees shaded it here\nand there. A beautiful river wound its way gently through luxuriant\nbanks covered with ferns, and in the distance rose the tower of a great\ncity, surmounted by a magnificent castle, standing out distinctly\nagainst the sky.\n\n\u201cFertram,\u201d Hildur said, in a low voice, laying her hand on his arm,\n\u201cthis is your native land. You are the son of the king who once reigned\nhere. Now he has been dead for some years. When you were only a year\nold, your mother carried you into the beautiful orchard which lies at\nthe foot of the castle, when suddenly a great dragon swooped down, tore\nyou from her arms, and she saw you no more. Your father grieved even\nmore for you than your mother; you were his only child, and the loss\npreyed upon him, till at length he died of grief. The kingdom will soon\nhave no ruler, for your mother, who hid her grief for your father\u2019s\nsake, is now pining away, and they fear for her life too. Now, Fertram,\nyou must go to her, tell her your history, and receive the kingdom from\nher hands.\u201d\n\n\u201cHildur, dear Hildur, can it be true? Have I really a mother of my own,\nas you have? It is almost too delightful to believe. Come, let us\nhasten to her!\u201d cried Fertram.\n\n\u201cNo,\u201d Hildur answered; \u201cI must not go with you. You must go alone. But\nI will remain quietly in that small hut which is under the great tree\nyonder, until you come for me. But, oh, Fertram,\u201d and she clasped his\narm with her two white hands, \u201cremember I am alone in a strange\ncountry; do not forget me.\u201d\n\n\u201cForget you, when you have been everything to me all these years!\nHildur, how could I? Such a thing could never happen. I love you better\nthan myself.\u201d\n\n\u201cYes, I know,\u201d Hildur answered; \u201cbut I fear some evil. I know not\nwhat.\u201d\n\nThen, to prevent her grandmother\u2019s spells taking effect, she rubbed\nsome salve out of a small box she carried, over his hands and face, and\nbade him a sorrowful farewell.\n\nFertram embraced her tenderly, laughed away her fears, and then took\nhis way towards the town. He looked very handsome, as he turned once\nmore to wave his cap to her, and the sun\u2019s rays lit up his fair hair.\nShe watched him till she could see him no longer, and then went on to\nthe little hut she had destined for her temporary abode.\n\nFertram only stopped once on his way to the city. Feeling tired with\nthe long journey, he sat down under an oak tree, on a grassy mound.\nWhile he was resting, a beautiful dog came up, and as he patted and\nstroked it, the dog licked his face and hands. Immediately Fertram\nforgot all his past life, and that Hildur was waiting for him in the\nhut under the trees.\n\nHaving rested, he rose up and pursued his way into the town.\n\n\u201cCan I see the queen?\u201d he inquired. \u201cI have news for her, which will\ngive her joy.\u201d\n\nAt first no one paid any heed, but the youth\u2019s noble appearance struck\nthe courtiers, and at length he was admitted into the palace.\n\nThere he was brought before the queen, who was lying, pale and languid,\non a great couch of rich silks and cloth of gold. When he bowed before\nher, she rose to a sitting position, startled out of her apathy and\nweakness by his likeness to the dead king.\n\n\u201cWho is this youth? Where does he come from?\u201d she asked.\n\n\u201cMadam,\u201d the courtiers answered, \u201che is a stranger, who craves\nadmittance as a bearer of good tidings to your majesty.\u201d\n\nThen, in a few words, Fertram told his tale. Before it was done he was\nclasped in the loving arms of his mother, who felt it was indeed her\nlong-lost son. The court was summoned together to hear the glad\ntidings, the news was proclaimed in the streets of the city, the queen\ngave the government at once into the hands of her son, and the young\nking was crowned amid universal rejoicings.\n\nDay after day went by, Fertram was absorbed with the affairs of his\nkingdom, and his love for his mother. All thought of Hildur had gone\nlike a dream.\n\nOne day the city was roused to great excitement by the appearance of a\nmost beautiful maiden. No one knew whence she had come, but all agreed\nthat her loveliness could not be surpassed, and when the queen saw her,\nshe sent for her to the palace, treated her like a daughter, and\nbesought Fertram to marry her. This, however, he steadily refused to\ndo.\n\nAfter a time, whispers went abroad that the beautiful girl was not as\ngood as she was lovely. Her fair face was constantly disfigured by an\nugly frown if things were not arranged as she liked, and the courtiers\nbegan to think that the king was right, after all, in preferring to\nseek another wife.\n\nJust then one of the royal swineherds happened to lose his way in the\nforest, and he wandered on until he came to a little hut. There he\nfound an old man and his wife, and with them a fair maiden, whom they\ncalled their daughter. Never had the swineherd seen any one so\nbeautiful, and he determined to stay the night with these people, and\nif possible carry off the maiden. He found that her name was Hildur;\nand when the old people had gone up to bed, while Hildur was closing\nthe windows, and putting things straight before following their\nexample, he suggested that they should go out and look at the beautiful\nmoon rising. But Hildur said\u2014\n\n\u201cI must first make up the fire on the hearth.\u201d\n\nThe man offered to do it for her; but no sooner had he knelt down, than\nhis hands became fastened to the hearth. In vain he struggled to get\naway, it was all of no avail. Hildur was nowhere to be seen, and it was\nnot until morning that he felt free once more. Then, rising to his\nfeet, he fled from the uncanny place without once looking back.\n\nWhen he reached the castle, his fellow servants soon heard the whole\ntale, and the report of the beauty of the woodcutter\u2019s daughter was\ncirculated from one to the other. The royal huntsman thought he, too,\nwould like to see her. So, setting off at once, he reached the hut, and\nbegged for a night\u2019s rest. The old people granted it willingly. The\nbeautiful girl was still there, and the huntsman in his turn planned to\ncarry her off that night. He begged Hildur to come for a walk, as it\nwas such a beautiful night. But she refused.\n\n\u201cMy time is too fully occupied for idle wanderings,\u201d she said. \u201cWill\nyou help me by locking up the door for the night?\u201d\n\n\u201cWillingly,\u201d said the huntsman, intending to put the key in his pocket,\nand carry her off later on.\n\nBut no sooner had his hands touched the lock, than they remained\nfastened to it. A mocking laugh behind him made him look round, and he\nsaw Hildur disappearing up the stairs to her room.\n\nWhen the sun was well up in the sky, and the old couple beginning to\nstir, the huntsman found he could remove his hands, and he hurried off\nshamefaced to his home.\n\nShortly after this, the king was out hunting in the forest, when\nsuddenly a thick black fog enveloped everything. He lost his way\ncompletely, and became separated from his people. At length, after some\nhours, he arrived at a little hut, knocked joyfully at the door, and on\nits being opened by an old man, craved leave to rest. He was at once\ninvited to enter; and then the old man, recognizing the king, begged\nhim to excuse the poverty of the place.\n\nThe king sat down, wearied with his long wandering, and the old man\nwaited upon him, bringing food and drink of the best he had. Just as\nthe meal was ended Hildur came in, and the king thought he had never\nseen any one so beautiful before. She was dressed as a simple peasant,\nbut she looked like a royal princess. The king begged leave to stay the\nnight, as it was still too foggy for him to find his way, and the old\nman acceded, only apologizing for the poorness of the accommodation.\n\n\u201cI will not disturb you,\u201d the king said. \u201cLet me only rest in this room\nfor the night, as I have been doing now.\u201d\n\nSo it was arranged.\n\nAfter the old couple had gone to bed, the king begged Hildur to stay\nand talk with him; but she said she must see to the calves in the\nstable.\n\n\u201cThat I can do for you,\u201d he answered; and, rising, he went out into the\nstable, put the straw and hay right for the calves, and had made\neverything tidy, when one of them got out. After great trouble he\ncaught hold of it by the tail; but, alas! his hands remained fastened\nto it, and he was found in this plight by Hildur just before dawn.\n\nShe laughed merrily when she saw him.\n\n\u201cIt hardly suits a king, my lord,\u201d she said, \u201cto be hanging on to the\ntail of a calf!\u201d\n\nBut Fertram humbly begged her to release him. As she did so, she looked\nup at him.\n\n\u201cDo you not recognize me?\u201d she said.\n\n\u201cNo,\u201d replied Fertram, much astonished. \u201cI have never seen you before,\nI am certain.\u201d\n\n\u201cPerhaps, then, I remind you of some one?\u201d she asked again. \u201cOf Hildur,\nthe king\u2019s daughter, who brought you back to your kingdom?\u201d\n\n\u201cNo,\u201d he said again, more puzzled still; \u201cI never even remember hearing\nthe name of Hildur.\u201d\n\nThen Hildur went and fetched the little box of ointment, and directly\nshe rubbed it on his hands and face, his past life came back to him. He\nembraced Hildur again and again, thanking her for all she had done for\nhim, and asking her to forgive his apparent coldness and forgetfulness.\n\n\u201cYou, and you alone, have had my love all this time, at any rate,\u201d he\nsaid; \u201cfor I could love no one else. And you alone shall be my queen.\u201d\n\nSitting down together in the early morning sunshine under one of the\ngreat forest trees, Hildur told him what he did not know; namely, that\nthe beautiful girl whom his mother had taken into the palace was really\nher old grandmother. She had followed them, and transformed herself so\nthat Fertram should marry her. Then she meant to kill him and his\nmother, and seize the kingdom.\n\n\u201cSo far I have guarded you from her wicked schemes,\u201d Hildur said,\nlaying her hand on his; \u201cbut, knowing that the past was no longer in\nyour mind, I have feared each day that she might succeed in winning\nyou. For had you been unfaithful to me, I could no longer have done\nanything for you against her wiles.\u201d\n\nAgain and again Fertram thanked her; then he bade her a tender\nfarewell, and went straight back to the city. The great council of the\nkingdom was summoned, and to them the young king disclosed the real\nhistory of the wicked grandmother. But she was too cunning to be caught\nand punished. Divining what had happened, she disappeared amid a cloud\nof fire and smoke.\n\nThen Fertram, accompanied by a magnificent retinue, with glittering\ndresses, splendid horses, and all the nobles of the kingdom, went to\nfetch his bride. She was still in her simple peasant\u2019s dress, but her\nbeauty made all forget what she wore. Mounting the beautiful steed\nbrought for her, she rode back beside Fertram to the palace; and on the\nsteps, waiting to receive her, was Fertram\u2019s mother. This was indeed a\njoyful day for her. The wish of her heart was granted, in the\nloveliness and goodness of her son\u2019s bride.\n\nThe wedding was celebrated with the utmost pomp and magnificence, and\nFertram and Hildur lived happily together, surrounded, as years passed\non, by their beautiful children and grandchildren.\n\n\n THE END.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nNOTES\n\n\n[1] The Norse Vulcan.\n\n[2] This is a small bar of iron, about the size of a walking-stick,\nwith a cross-piece at one end, still in use in Iceland.","title":"Icelandic Fairy Tales","tradition":"myth-cosmogony","translated_text":null,"word_count":66919}