POPULAR TALES FROM THE NORSE

By

SIR GEORGE WEBBE DASENT

WITH AN INTRODUCTORY ESSAY ON THE ORIGIN AND DIFFUSION OF POPULARTALES

Notice to the Second Edition

The first edition of these Tales being exhausted, and a demand havingarisen for a second, the Translator has thought it right to addthirteen tales, which complete the translation of Asbjörnsen andMoe's collection, and to strengthen the Introduction by working insome new matter, and by working out some points which were onlyslightly sketched in the first edition. 

The favour with which the book was welcomed makes it almost a duty tosay a word here on the many kind and able notices which have beenwritten upon it. Duties are not always pleasant, but the fulfilmentof this at least gives no pain; because, without one exception, everycriticism which the Translator has seen has shown him that his prayerfor 'gentle' readers has been fully heard. It will be forgiven him, he hopes, when he says that he has not seen good ground to change oreven to modify any of the opinions as to the origin and diffusion ofpopular tales put forth in the first edition. Much indeed has beensaid by others _for_ those views; what has been urged _against_them, with all kindness and good humour, in one or two cases, hasnot availed at all to weigh down mature convictions deliberatelyexpressed after the studies of years, backed as they are by theresearches and support of those who have given their lives to thisbranch of knowledge. 

And now, before the Translator takes leave of his readers for thesecond time, he will follow the lead of the good godmother in one ofthese Tales, and forbid all good children to read the two which standlast in the book. There is this difference between him and thegodmother. She found her foster-daughter out as soon as she cameback. He will never know it, if any bad child has broken his behest. Still he hopes that all good children who read this book will bear inmind that there is just as much sin in breaking a commandment eventhough it be not found out, and so he bids them good-bye, and feelssure that no good child will dare to look into those two rooms. If, after this warning, they peep in, they may perhaps see somethingwhich will shock them. 

'Why then print them at all?' some grown reader asks. Because thisvolume is meant for you as well as for children, and if you have goneever so little into the world with open eyes, you must have seen, yes, every day, things much more shocking. Because there is nothingimmoral in their spirit. Because they are intrinsically valuable, asillustrating manners and traditions, and so could not well be leftout. Because they complete the number of the Norse originals, andleave none untranslated. And last, though not least, because theTranslator hates family versions of anything, 'Family Bibles', 'Family Shakespeares'. Those who, with so large a choice of beautybefore them, would pick out and gloat over this or that coarseness orfreedom of expression, are like those who, in reading the Bible, should always turn to Leviticus, or those whose Shakespeare wouldopen of itself at Pericles Prince of Tyre. Such readers theTranslator does not wish to have. 

Notice to the First Edition

These translations from the _Norske Folkeeventyr_, collectedwith such freshness and faithfulness by MM. Asbjörnsen and Moe, havebeen made at various times and at long intervals during the lastfifteen years; a fact which is mentioned only to account for anyvariations in style or tone--of which, however, the Translator isunconscious--that a critical eye may detect in this volume. One ofthem, _The Master Thief_, has already appeared in Blackwood'sMagazine for November 1851; from the columns of which periodical itis now reprinted, by the kind permission of the Proprietors. 

The Translator is sorry that he has not been able to comply with thesuggestion of some friends upon whose good-will he sets all store, who wished him to change and soften some features in these tales, which they thought likely to shock English feeling. He has, however, felt it to be out of his power to meet their wishes, for the merit ofan undertaking of this kind rests entirely on its faithfulness andtruth; and the man who, in such a work, wilfully changes or softens, is as guilty as he 'who puts bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter'. 

Of this guilt, at least, the Translator feels himself free; and, perhaps, if any, who may be inclined to be offended at first, willtake the trouble to read the Introduction which precedes and explainsthe Tales, they may find, not only that the softening process wouldhave spoilt these popular traditions for all except the most childishreaders, but that the things which shocked them at the first blush, are, after all, not so very shocking. 

For the rest, it ill becomes him to speak of the way in which hiswork has been done: but if the reader will only bear in mind thatthis, too, is an enchanted garden, in which whoever dares to pluck aflower, does it at the peril of his head; and if he will then readthe book in a merciful and tender spirit, he will prove himself whatthe Translator most longs to find, 'a gentle reader', and both willpart on the best terms. 

CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION

 ORIGIN DIFFUSION NORSE MYTHOLOGY NORSE POPULAR TALES CONCLUSION

TALES

I TRUE AND UNTRUEII WHY THE SEA IS SALTIII THE OLD DAME AND HER HENIV EAST O' THE SUN, AND WEST O' THE MOONV BOOTS WHO ATE A MATCH WITH THE TROLLVI HACON GRIZZLEBEARDVII BOOTS WHO MADE THE PRINCESS SAY, 'THAT'S A STORY'VIII THE TWELVE WILD DUCKSIX THE GIANT WHO HAD NO HEART IN HIS BODYX THE FOX AS HERDSMANXI THE MASTERMAIDXII THE CAT ON THE DOVREFELLXIII PRINCESS ON THE GLASS HILLXIV THE COCK AND HENXV HOW ONE WENT OUT TO WOOXVI THE MASTER-SMITHXVII THE TWO STEP-SISTERSXVIII BUTTERCUPXIX TAMING THE SHREWXX SHORTSHANKSXXI GUDBRAND ON THE HILL-SIDEXXII THE BLUE BELTXXIII WHY THE BEAR IS STUMPY-TAILEDXXIV NOT A PIN TO CHOOSE BETWEEN THEMXXV ONE'S OWN CHILDREN ARE ALWAYS PRETTIESTXXVI THE THREE PRINCESSES OF WHITELANDXXVII THE LASSIE AND HER GODMOTHERXXVIII THE THREE AUNTSXXIX THE COCK, THE CUCKOO, AND THE BLACK-COCKXXX RICH PETER THE PEDLARXXXI GERTRUDE'S BIRDXXXII BOOTS AND THE TROLLXXXIII GOOSEY GRIZZELXXXIV THE LAD WHO WENT TO THE NORTH WINDXXXV THE MASTER THIEFXXXVI THE BEST WISHXXXVII THE THREE BILLY-GOATS GRUFFXXXVIII WELL DONE AND ILL PAIDXXXIX THE HUSBAND WHO WAS TO MIND THE HOUSEXL DAPPLEGRIMXLI FARMER WEATHERSKYXLII LORD PETERXLIII THE SEVEN FOALSXLIV THE WIDOW'S SONXLV BUSHY BRIDEXLVI BOOTS AND HIS BROTHERSXLVII BIG PETER AND LITTLE PETERXLVIII TATTERHOODXLIX THE COCK AND HEN THAT WENT TO THE DOVREFELLL KATIE WOODENCLOAKLI THUMBIKINLII DOLL I' THE GRASSLIII THE LAD AND THE DELLLIV THE COCK AND HEN A-NUTTINGLV THE BIG BIRD DANLVI SORIA MORIA CASTLELVII BRUIN AND REYNARDLVIII TOM TOTHERHOUSELIX LITTLE ANNIE THE GOOSE GIRL

APPENDIX

INTRODUCTION TO APPENDIX

1. WHY THE JACK SPANIARD'S WAIST IS SMALL2. ANANZI AND THE LION3. ANANZI AND QUANQUA4. THE EAR OF CORN AND THE TWELVE MEN5. THE KING AND THE ANT'S TREE6. THE LITTLE CHILD AND THE PUMPKIN TREE7. THE BROTHER AND HIS SISTERS8. THE GIRL AND THE FISH9. THE LION, THE GOAT, AND THE BABOON10. ANANZI AND BABOON11. THE MAN AND THE DOUKANA TREE12. NANCY FAIRY13. THE DANCING GANG

FOOTNOTES TO INTRODUCTION

INTRODUCTION

ORIGIN

The most careless reader can hardly fail to see that many of theTales in this volume have the same groundwork as those with which hehas been familiar from his earliest youth. They are Nursery Tales, infact, of the days when there were tales in nurseries--old wives'fables, which have faded away before the light of gas and the powerof steam. It is long, indeed, since English nurses told these talesto English children by force of memory and word of mouth. In awritten shape, we have long had some of them, at least, in Englishversions of the _Contes de ma Mère l' Oye_ of Perrault, and the_Contes de Fées_ of Madame D'Aulnoy; those tight-laced, high-heeled tales of the 'teacup times' of Louis XIV and his successors, in which the popular tale appears to as much disadvantage as anartless country girl in the stifling atmosphere of a London theatre. From these foreign sources, after the voice of the English reciterwas hushed--and it was hushed in England more than a century ago--ourgreat-grandmothers learnt to tell of Cinderella and Beauty and theBeast, of Little Red Riding-hood and Blue Beard, mingled together inthe _Cabinet des Fées_ with Sinbad the Sailor and Aladdin'swondrous lamp; for that was an uncritical age, and its spiritbreathed hot and cold, east and west, from all quarters of the globeat once, confusing the traditions and tales of all times andcountries into one incongruous mass of fable, as much tangled andknotted as that famous pound of flax which the lassie in one of theseTales is expected to spin into an even wool within four-and-twentyhours. No poverty of invention or want of power on the part oftranslators could entirely destroy the innate beauty of those populartraditions; but here, in England at least, they had almost dwindledout, or at any rate had been lost sight of as home-growths. We hadlearnt to buy our own children back, disguised in foreign garb; andas for their being anything more than the mere pastime of an idlehour--as to their having any history or science of their own--such anabsurdity was never once thought of. It had, indeed, been remarked, even in the eighteenth century--that dreary time of indifference anddoubt--that some of the popular traditions of the nations north ofthe Alps contained striking resemblances and parallels to stories inthe classical mythology. But those were the days when Greek and Latinlorded it over the other languages of the earth; and when any suchresemblance or analogy was observed, it was commonly supposed thatthat base-born slave, the vulgar tongue, had dared to make a clumsycopy of something peculiarly belonging to the twin tyrants who ruledall the dialects of the world with a pedant's rod. 

At last, just at the close of that great war which Western Europewaged against the genius and fortune of the first Napoleon; just asthe eagle--Prometheus and the eagle in one shape--was fast fetteredby sheer force and strength to his rock in the Atlantic, there arosea man in Central Germany, on the old Thuringian soil, to whom it wasgiven to assert the dignity of vernacular literature, to throw offthe yoke of classical tyranny, and to claim for all the dialects ofTeutonic speech a right of ancient inheritance and perfect freedombefore unsuspected and unknown. It is almost needless to mention thishonoured name. For the furtherance of the good work which he begannearly fifty years ago, he still lives and still labours. There is nospot on which an accent of Teutonic speech is uttered where the nameof Jacob Grimm is not a 'household word'. His General Grammar of allthe Teutonic Dialects from Iceland to England has proved the equalityof these tongues with their ancient classical oppressors. HisAntiquities of Teutonic Law have shown that the codes of theLombards, Franks, and Goths were not mere savage, brutal customaries, based, as had been supposed, on the absence of all law and right. Hisnumerous treatises on early German authors have shown that the Germanpoets of the Middle Age, Godfrey of Strasburg, Wolfram vonEschenbach, Hartman von der Aue, Walter von der Vogelweide, and therest, can hold their own against any contemporary writers in otherlands. And lastly, what rather concerns us here, his TeutonicMythology, his Reynard the Fox, and the collection of German PopularTales, which he and his brother William published, have thrown aflood of light on the early history of all the branches of our race, and have raised what had come to be looked on as mere nurseryfictions and old wives' fables--to a study fit for the energies ofgrown men, and to all the dignity of a science. 

In these pages, where we have to run over a vast tract of space, thereader who wishes to learn and not to cavil--and for such alone thisintroduction is intended--must be content with results rather thanprocesses and steps. To use a homely likeness, he must be satisfiedwith the soup that is set before him, and not desire to see the bonesof the ox out of which it has been boiled. When we say, therefore, that in these latter days the philology and mythology of the East andWest have met and kissed each other; that they now go hand and hand;that they lend one another mutual support; that one cannot beunderstood without the other, --we look to be believed. We do notexpect to be put to the proof, how the labours of Grimm and hisdisciples on this side were first rendered possible by the linguisticdiscoveries of Anquetil du Perron and others in India and France, atthe end of the last century; then materially assisted and furtheredby the researches of Sir William Jones, Colebrooke, and others, inIndia and England during the early part of this century, and finallyhave become identical with those of Wilson, Bopp, Lassen, and MaxMüller, at the present day. The affinity which exists in amythological and philological point of view between the Aryan orIndo-European languages on the one hand, and the Sanscrit on theother, is now the first article of a literary creed, and the man whodenies it puts himself as much beyond the pale of argument as he who, in a religious discussion, should meet a grave divine of the Churchof England with the strict contradictory of her first article, andloudly declare his conviction, that there was no God. In a generalway, then, we may be permitted to dogmatize, and to lay it down as alaw which is always in force, that the first authentic history of anation is the history of its tongue. We can form no notion of theliterature of a country apart from its language, and theconsideration of its language necessarily involves the considerationof its history. Here is England, for instance, with a language, andtherefore a literature, composed of Celtic, Roman, Saxon, Norse, andRomance elements. Is not this simple fact suggestive of, nay, does itnot challenge us to, an inquiry into the origin and history of theraces who have passed over our island, and left their mark not onlyon the soil, but on our speech? Again, to take a wider view, and torise from archaeology to science, what problem has interested theworld in a greater degree than the origin of man, and what toil hasnot been spent in tracing all races back to their common stock? Thescience of comparative philology--the inquiry, not into one isolatedlanguage--for nowadays it may fairly be said of a man who knows onlyone language that he knows none--but into all the languages of onefamily, and thus to reduce them to one common centre, from which theyspread like the rays of the sun--if it has not solved, is in a fairway of solving, this problem. When we have done for the variousmembers of each family what has been done of late years for the Indo-European tongues, its solution will be complete. In such an inquirythe history of a race is, in fact, the history of its language, andcan be nothing else; for we have to deal with times antecedent to allhistory, properly so called, and the stream which in later ages maybe divided into many branches, now flows in a single channel. 

From the East, then, came our ancestors, in days of immemorialantiquity, in that gray dawn of time of which all early songs andlays can tell, but of which it is as impossible as it is useless toattempt to fix the date. Impossible, because no means exist forascertaining it; useless, because it is in reality a matter of utterindifference, when, as this tell-tale crust of earth informs us, wehave an infinity of ages and periods to fall back on whether thisgreat movement, this mighty lust to change their seats, seized on theAryan race one hundred or one thousand years sooner or later. [1] Butfrom the East we came, and from that central plain of Asia, nowcommonly called Iran. Iran, the habitation of the tillers and_earers_ [2] of the earth, as opposed to Turan, the abode ofrestless horse-riding nomads; of Turks, in short, for in their namethe root survives, and still distinguishes the great Turanian orMongolian family, from the Aryan, Iranian, or Indo-European race. Itis scarce worth while to inquire--even if inquiry could lead to anyresult--what cause set them in motion from their ancient seats. Whether impelled by famine or internal strife, starved out like othernationalities in recent times, or led on by adventurous chiefs, whosespirit chafed at the narrowness of home, certain it is that they leftthat home and began a wandering westwards, which only ceased when itreached the Atlantic and the Northern Ocean. Nor was the fate ofthose they left behind less strange. At some period almost as remoteas, but after, that at which the wanderers for Europe started, theremaining portion of the stock, or a considerable offshoot from it, turned their faces east, and passing the Indian Caucasus, pouredthrough the defiles of Affghanistan, crossed the plain of the FiveRivers, and descended on the fruitful plains of India. The differentdestiny of these stocks has been wonderful indeed. Of those who wentwest, we have only to enumerate the names under which they appear inhistory--Celts, Greeks, Romans, Teutons, Slavonians--to see and toknow at once that the stream of this migration has borne on its wavesall that has become most precious to man. To use the words of MaxMüller: 'They have been the prominent actors in the great drama ofhistory, and have carried to their fullest growth all the elements ofactive life with which our nature is endowed. They have perfectedsociety and morals, and we learn from their literature and works ofart the elements of science, the laws of art, and the principles ofphilosophy. In continual struggle with each other and with Semiticand Mongolian races, these Aryan nations have become the rulers ofhistory, and it seems to be their mission to link all parts of theworld together by the chains of civilization, commerce, andreligion. ' We may add, that though by nature tough and enduring, theyhave not been obstinate and self-willed; they have been distinguishedfrom all other nations, and particularly from their elder brotherswhom they left behind, by their common sense, by their power ofadapting themselves to all circumstances, and by making the best oftheir position; above all, they have been teachable, ready to receiveimpressions from without, and, when received, to develop them. Toshow the truth of this, we need only observe, that they adoptedChristianity from another race, the most obstinate and stiff-neckedthe world has ever seen, who, trained under the Old Dispensation topreserve the worship of the one true God, were too proud to acceptthe further revelation of God under the New, and, rejecting theirbirth-right, suffered their inheritance to pass into other hands. 

Such, then, has been the lot of the Western branch, of the youngerbrother, who, like the younger brother whom we shall meet so often inthese Popular Tales, went out into the world, with nothing but hisgood heart and God's blessing to guide him; and now has come to allhonour and fortune, and to be a king, ruling over the world. He wentout and _did_. Let us see now what became of the elder brother, who stayed at home some time after his brother went out, and thenonly made a short journey. Having driven out the few aboriginalinhabitants of India with little effort, and following the course ofthe great rivers, the Eastern Aryans gradually established themselvesall over the peninsula; and then, in calm possession of a world oftheir own, undisturbed by conquest from without, and accepting withapathy any change of dynasty among their rulers, ignorant of the pastand careless of the future, they sat down once for all and_thought_--thought not of what they had to do here, that sternlesson of every-day life which neither men nor nations can escape ifthey are to live with their fellows, but how they could abstractthemselves entirely from their present existence, and immersethemselves wholly in dreamy speculations on the future. Whatever theymay have been during their short migration and subsequent settlement, it is certain that they appear in the Vedas--perhaps the earliestcollection which the world possesses--as a nation of philosophers. Well may Professor Müller compare the Indian mind to a plant rearedin a hot-house, gorgeous in colour, rich in perfume, precocious andabundant in fruit; it may be all this, 'but will never be like theoak, growing in wind and weather, striking its roots into real earth, and stretching its branches into real air, beneath the stars and sunof Heaven'; and well does he also remark, that a people of thispeculiar stamp was never destined to act a prominent part in thehistory of the world; nay, the exhausting atmosphere oftranscendental ideas could not but exercise a detrimental influenceon the active and moral character of the Hindoos. [3]

In this passive, abstract, unprogressive state, they have remainedever since. Stiffened into castes, and tongue-tied and hand-tied byabsurd rites and ceremonies, they were heard of in dim legends byHerodotus; they were seen by Alexander when that bold spirit pushedhis phalanx beyond the limits of the known world; they traffickedwith imperial Rome, and the later empire; they were again almost lostsight of, and became fabulous in the Middle Age; they wererediscovered by the Portuguese; they have been alternately peacefulsubjects and desperate rebels to us English; but they have been stillthe same immovable and unprogressive philosophers, though akin toEurope all the while; and though the Highlander, who drives hisbayonet through the heart of a high-caste Sepoy mutineer, littleknows that his pale features and sandy hair, and that dusk face withits raven locks, both come from a common ancestor away in CentralAsia, many, many centuries ago. 

But here arises the question, what interest can we, the descendantsof the practical brother, heirs to so much historical renown, possibly take in the records of a race so historically characterless, and so sunk in reveries and mysticism? The answer is easy. Thoserecords are written in a language closely allied to the primaevalcommon tongue of those two branches before they parted, anddescending from a period anterior to their separation. It may, or itmay not, be the very tongue itself, but it certainly is not furtherremoved than a few steps. The speech of the emigrants to the westrapidly changed with the changing circumstances and various fortuneof each of its waves, and in their intercourse with the aboriginalpopulation they often adopted foreign elements into their language. One of these waves, it is probable, passing by way of Persia and AsiaMinor, crossed the Hellespont, and following the coast, threw off amighty rill, known in after times as Greeks; while the main stream, striking through Macedonia, either crossed the Adriatic, or, stillhugging the coast, came down on Italy, to be known as Latins. Another, passing between the Caspian and the Black Sea, filled thesteppes round the Crimea, and; passing on over the Balkan and theCarpathians towards the west, became that great Teutonic nationalitywhich, under various names, but all closely akin, filled, when wefirst hear of them in historical times, the space between the BlackSea and the Baltic, and was then slowly but surely driving beforethem the great wave of the Celts which had preceded them in theirwandering, and which had probably followed the same line of march asthe ancestors of the Greeks and Latins. A movement which lasted untilall that was left of Celtic nationality was either absorbed by theintruders, or forced aside and driven to take refuge in mountainfastnesses and outlying islands. Besides all these, there was stillanother wave, which is supposed to have passed between the Sea ofAral and the Caspian, and, keeping still further to the north andeast, to have passed between its kindred Teutons and the Mongoliantribes, and so to have lain in the background until we find themappearing as Slavonians on the scene of history. Into so many greatstocks did the Western Aryans pass, each possessing strongly-markednationalities and languages, and these seemingly so distinct thateach often asserted that the other spoke a barbarous tongue. But, forall that, each of those tongues bears about with it still, and inearlier times no doubt bore still more plainly about with it, infallible evidence of common origin, so that each dialect can betraced up to that primaeval form of speech still in the mainpreserved in the Sanscrit by the Southern Aryan branch, who, carelessof practical life, and immersed in speculation, have clung to theirancient traditions and tongue with wonderful tenacity. It is thiswhich has given such value to Sanscrit, a tongue of which it may besaid, that if it had perished the sun would never have risen on thescience of comparative philology. Before the discoveries in Sanscritof Sir William Jones, Wilkins, Wilson, and others, the world hadstriven to find the common ancestor of European languages, sometimesin the classical, and sometimes in the Semitic tongues. In the onecase the result was a tyranny of Greek and Latin over the non-classical tongues, and in the other the most uncritical andunphilosophical waste of learning. No doubt some striking analogiesexist between the Indo-European family and the Semitic stock, just asthere are remarkable analogies between the Mongolian and Indo-European families; but the ravings of Vallancy, in his effort toconnect the Erse with Phoenician, are an awful warning of whatunscientific inquiry, based upon casual analogy, may bring itself tobelieve, and even to fancy it has proved. 

These general observations, then, and this rapid bird's eye view, maysuffice to show the common affinity which exists between the Easternand Western Aryans; between the Hindoo on the one hand, and thenations of Western Europe on the other. That is the fact to keepsteadily before our eyes. We all came, Greek, Latin, Celt, Teuton, Slavonian, from the East, as kith and kin, leaving kith and kinbehind us; and after thousands of years the language and traditionsof those who went East, and those who went West, bear such anaffinity to each other, as to have established, beyond discussion ordispute, the fact of their descent from a common stock. 

DIFFUSION

This general affinity established, we proceed to narrow our subjectto its proper limits, and to confine it to the consideration, _first_, of Popular Tales in general, and _secondly_, ofthose Norse Tales in particular, which form the bulk of this volume. 

In the first place, then, the fact which we remarked on setting out, that the groundwork or plot of many of these tales is common to allthe nations of Europe, is more important, and of greater scientificinterest, than might at first appear. They form, in fact, anotherlink in the chain of evidence of a common origin between the East andWest, and even the obstinate adherents of the old classical theory, according to which all resemblances were set down to sheer copyingfrom Greek or Latin patterns, are now forced to confess, not onlythat there was no such wholesale copying at all, but that, in manycases, the despised vernacular tongues have preserved the commontraditions far more faithfully than the writers of Greece and Rome. The sooner, in short, that this theory of copying, which some, evenbesides the classicists, have maintained, is abandoned, the better, not only for the truth, but for the literary reputation of those whoput it forth. No one can, of course, imagine that during that longsuccession of ages when this mighty wedge of Aryan migration wasdriving its way through that prehistoric race, that namelessnationality, the traces of which we everywhere find underlying theintruders in their monuments and implements of bone and stone--a raceakin, in all probability, to the Mongolian family, and whosemiserable remnants we see pushed aside, and huddled up in the holesand corners of Europe, as Lapps, and Finns, and Basques--No one, wesay, can suppose for a moment, that in that long process of contactand absorption, some traditions of either race should not have beencaught up and adopted by the other. We know it to be a fact withregard to their language, from the evidence of philology, whichcannot lie; and the witness borne by such a word as the Gothic Attafor _father_, where a Mongolian has been adopted in preferenceto an Aryan word, is irresistible on this point; but that, apart fromsuch natural assimilation, all the thousand shades of resemblance andaffinity which gleam and flicker through the whole body of populartradition in the Aryan race, as the Aurora plays and flashes incountless rays athwart the Northern heaven, should be the result ofmere servile copying of one tribe's traditions by another, is asupposition as absurd as that of those good country-folk, who, whenthey see an Aurora, fancy it must be a great fire, the work of someincendiary, and send off the parish engine to put it out. No! when wefind in such a story as the Master-thief traits, which are to befound in the Sanscrit _Hitopadesa_ [4], and which reminds us atonce of the story of Rhampsinitus in Herodotus; which are also to befound in German, Italian, and Flemish popular tales, but told in allwith such variations of character and detail, and such adaptations totime and place, as evidently show the original working of thenational consciousness upon a stock of tradition common to all therace, but belonging to no tribe of that race in particular; and whenwe find this occurring not in one tale but in twenty, we are forcedto abandon the theory of such universal copying, for fear lest weshould fall into a greater difficulty than that for which we werestriving to account. 

To set this question in a plainer light, let us take a well-knowninstance; let us take the story of William Tell and his daring shot, which is said to have been made in the year 1307. It is just possiblethat the feat might be historical, and, no doubt, thousands believeit for the sake of the Swiss patriot, as firmly as they believe inanything; but, unfortunately, this story of the bold archer who saveshis life by shooting an apple from the head of his child at thecommand of a tyrant, is common to the whole Aryan race. It appears inSaxo Grammaticus, who flourished in the twelfth century, where it istold of Palnatoki, King Harold Gormson's thane and assassin. In thethirteenth century the _Wilkina Saga_ relates it of Egill, Völundr's--our Wayland Smith's--younger brother. So also in the NorseSaga of _Saint Olof_, king and martyr; the king, who died in1030, eager for the conversion of one of his heathen chiefs Eindridi, competes with him in various athletic exercises, first in swimmingand then in archery. After several famous shots on either side, theking challenges Eindridi to shoot a tablet off his son's head withouthurting the child. Eindridi is ready, but declares he will revengehimself if the child is hurt. The king has the first shot, and hisarrow strikes close to the tablet. Then Eindridi is to shoot, but atthe prayers of his mother and sister, refuses the shot, and has toyield and be converted [_Fornm. Sog. _, 2, 272]. So, also, KingHarold Sigurdarson, who died 1066, backed himself against a famousmarksman, Hemingr, and ordered him to shoot a hazel nut off the headof his brother Björn, and Hemingr performed the feat [Müller's _SagaBibl. _, 3, 359]. In the middle of the fourteenth century, the_Malleus Maleficarum_ refers it to Puncher, a magician of theUpper Rhine. Here in England, we have it in the old Englishballad of _Adam Bell, Clym of the Clough_, and _William ofCloudesly_, where William performs the feat [see the ballad inPercy's _Reliques_]. It is not at all of Tell in Switzerlandbefore the year 1499, and the earlier Swiss chronicles omit italtogether. It is common to the Turks and Mongolians; and a legend ofthe wild Samoyeds, who never heard of Tell or saw a book in theirlives, relates it, chapter and verse, of one of their famousmarksmen. What shall we say then, but that the story of this boldmaster-shot was primaeval amongst many tribes and races, and that itonly crystallized itself round the great name of Tell by that processof attraction which invariably leads a grateful people to throw suchmythic wreaths, such garlands of bold deeds of precious memory, roundthe brow of its darling champion [5]. 

Nor let any pious Welshman be shocked if we venture to assert thatGellert, that famous hound upon whose last resting-place thetraveller comes as he passes down the lovely vale of Gwynant, is amythical dog, and never snuffed the fresh breeze in the forest ofSnowdon, nor saved his master's child from ravening wolf. This, too, is a primaeval story, told with many variations. Sometimes the foe isa wolf, sometimes a bear, sometimes a snake. Sometimes the faithfulguardian of the child is an otter, a weasel, or a dog. It, too, camefrom the East. It is found in the _Pantcha-Tantra_, in the_Hitopadesa_, in Bidpai's _Fables_, in the Arabic original of_The Seven Wise Masters_, that famous collection of storieswhich illustrate a stepdame's calumny and hate, and in many mediaevalversions of those originals [6]. Thence it passed into the Latin_Gesta Romanorum_, where, as well as in the Old English versionpublished by Sir Frederick Madden, it may be read as a servicerendered by a faithful hound against a snake. This, too, like Tell'smaster-shot, is as the lightning which shineth over the whole heavenat once, and can be claimed by no one tribe of the Aryan race, to theexclusion of the rest. 'The Dog of Montargis' is in like mannermythic, though perhaps not so widely spread. It first occurs inFrance, as told of Sybilla, a fabulous wife of Charlemagne; but it isat any rate as old as the time of Plutarch, who relates it as ananecdote of brute sagacity in the days of Pyrrhus. 

There can be no doubt, with regard to the question of the origin ofthese tales, that they were common in germ at least to the Aryantribes before their migration. We find those germs developed in thepopular traditions of the Eastern Aryans, and we find them developedin a hundred forms and shapes in every one of the nations into whichthe Western Aryans have shaped themselves in the course of ages. Weare led, therefore, irresistibly to the conclusion, that thesetraditions are as much a portion of the common inheritance of ourancestors, as their language unquestionably is; and that they form, along with that language, a double chain of evidence, which provestheir Eastern origin. If we are to seek for a simile, or an analogy, as to the relative positions of these tales and traditions, and tothe mutual resemblances which exist between them as the severalbranches of our race have developed them from the common stock, wemay find it in one which will come home to every reader as he looksround the domestic hearth, if he should be so happy as to have one. They are like as sisters of one house are like. They have what wouldbe called a strong family likeness; but besides this likeness, whichthey owe to father or mother, as the case may be, they have eachtheir peculiarities of form, and eye, and face, and still more, theirdifferences of intellect and mind. This may be dark, that fair; thismay have gray eyes, that black; this may be open and graceful, thatreserved and close; this you may love, that you can take no interestin. One may be bashful, another winning, a third worth knowing andyet hard to know. They are so like and so unlike. At first it may be, as an old English writer beautifully expresses it, 'their father hathwrit them as his own little story', but as they grow up they throwoff the copy, educate themselves for good or ill, and finally assumenew forms of feeling and feature under an original development oftheir own. 

Or shall we take another likeness, and say they are national dreams;that they are like the sleeping thoughts of many men upon one and thesame thing. Suppose a hundred men to have been eye-witnesses of someevent on the same day, and then to have slept and dreamt of it; weshould have as many distinct representations of that event, allturning upon it and bound up with it in some way, but each preservingthe personality of the sleeper, and working up the common stuff in ahigher or lower degree, just as the fancy and the intellect of thesleeper was at a higher or lower level of perfection. There is, indeed, greater truth in this likeness than may at first sightappear. In the popular tale, properly so called, the national minddreams all its history over again; in its half conscious state ittakes this trait and that trait, this feature and that feature, oftimes and ages long past. It snatches up bits of its old beliefs, andfears, and griefs, and glory, and pieces them together with somethingthat happened yesterday, and then holds up the distorted reflectionin all its inconsequence, just as it has passed before that magicglass, as though it were genuine history, and matter for pure belief. And here it may be as well to say, that besides that old classicalfoe of vernacular tradition, there is another hardly less dangerous, which returns to the charge of copying, but changes what lawyers callthe _venue_ of the trial from classical to Eastern lands. According to this theory, which came up when its classicalpredecessor was no longer tenable, the traditions and tales ofWestern Europe came from the East, but they were still all copies. They were supposed to have proceeded entirely from two sources; onethe _Directorium Humanae Vitae_ of John of Capua, translatedbetween 1262-78 from a Hebrew version, which again came from anArabic version of the 8th century, which came from a Pehlvi versionmade by one Barzouyeh, at the command of Chosrou Noushirvan, King ofPersia, in the 6th century, which again came from the _PantchaTantra_, a Sanscrit original of unknown antiquity. This is thatfamous book of _Calila and Dimna_, as the Persian version iscalled, attributed to Bidpai, and which was thus run to earth inIndia. The second source of Western tradition was held to be thatstill more famous collection of stories commonly known by the name ofthe 'Story of the Seven Sages, ' but which, under many names--KaiserOctavianus, Diocletianus, Dolopathos, Erastus, etc. --plays a mostimportant part in mediaeval romance. This, too, by a similar process, has been traced to India, appearing first in Europe at the beginningof the thirteenth century in the Latin _Historia Septem SapientumRomae_, by Dame Jehans, monk in the Abbey of Haute Selve. Here, too, we have a Hebrew, an Arabic, and a Persian version; which lastcame avowedly from a Sanscrit original, though that original has notyet been discovered. From these two sources of fable and tradition, according to the new copying theory, our Western fables and tales hadcome by direct translation from the East. Now it will be at onceevident that this theory hangs on what may be called a single thread. Let us say, then, that all that can be found in _Calila andDimna_, or the later Persian version, made A. D. 1494, of HosseinVaez, called the _Anvari Sohaïli_, 'the Canopic Lights'--fromwhich, when published in Paris by David Sahid of Ispahan, in the year1644, La Fontaine drew the substance of many of his best fables. --Letus say, too, that all can be found in the _Life of the SevenSages_, or the Book of Sendabad as it was called in Persia, afteran apocryphal Indian sage--came by translation--that is to say, through the cells of Brahmins, Magians, and monks, and the labours ofthe learned--into the popular literature of the West. Let us give upall that, and then see where we stand. What are we to say of the manytales and fables which are to be found in neither of those famouscollections, and not tales alone, but traits and features of oldtradition, broken bits of fable, roots and germs of mighty growths ofsong and story, nay, even the very words, which exist in Westernpopular literature, and which modern philology has found obstinatelysticking in Sanscrit, and of which fresh proofs and instances arediscovered every day? What are we to say of such a remarkableresemblance as this?

 The noble King Putraka fled into the Vindhya mountains in order to live apart from his unkind kinsfolk; and as he wandered about there he met two men who wrestled and fought with one another. 'Who are you?' he asked. 'We are the sons of Mayâsara, and here lie our riches; this bowl, this staff, and these shoes; these are what we are fighting for, and whichever is stronger is to have them for his own. '

 So when Putraka had heard that, he asked them with a laugh: 'Why, what's the good of owning these things?' Then they answered 'Whoever puts on these shoes gets the power to fly; whatever is pointed at with this staff rises up at once; and whatever food one wishes for in this bowl, it comes at once. ' So when Putraka had heard that he said 'Why fight about it? Let this be the prize; whoever beats the other in a race, let him have them all'. 

 'So be it', said the two fools, and set off running, but Putraka put on the shoes at once, and flew away with the staff and bowl up into the clouds'. 

Well, this is a story neither in the _Pantcha Tantra_ nor the_Hitopadesa_, the Sanscrit originals of _Calila and Dimna_. It is not in the _Directorium Humanae Vitae_, and has not passedwest by that way. Nor is it in the _Book of Sendabad_, andthence come west in the _History of the Seven Sages_. Both thesepaths are stopped. It comes from the _Katha Sarit Sagara_, the'Sea of Streams of Story' of Somadeva Bhatta of Cashmere, who, in themiddle of the twelfth century of our era, worked up the tales foundin an earlier collection, called the _Vrihat Katha_, 'thelengthened story', in order to amuse his mistress, the Queen ofCashmere. Somadeva's collection has only been recently known andtranslated. But west the story certainly came long before, and in theextreme north-west we still find it in these Norse Tales in 'TheThree Princesses of Whiteland', No. Xxvi. 

 'Well!' said the man, 'as this is so, I'll give you a bit of advice. Hereabouts, on a moor, stand three brothers, and there they have stood these hundred years, fighting about a hat, a cloak, and a pair of boots. If any one has these three things, he can make himself invisible, and wish himself anywhere he pleases. You can tell them you wish to try the things, and after that, you'll pass judgment between them, whose they shall be'. 

 Yes! the king thanked the man, and went and did as he told him. 

 'What's all this?' he said to the brothers. 'Why do you stand here fighting for ever and a day? Just let me try these things, and I'll give judgment whose they shall be. '

 They were very willing to do this; but as soon as he had got the hat; cloak, and boots, he said: 'When we meet next time I'll tell you my judgment'; and with these words he wished himself away. 

Nor in the Norse tales alone. Other collections shew how thoroughlyat home this story was in the East. In the Relations of _SsidiKur_, a Tartar tale, a Chan's son first gets possession of a cloakwhich two children stand and fight for, which has the gift of makingthe wearer invisible, and afterwards of a pair of boots, with whichone can wish one's self to whatever place one chooses. Again, in aWallachian tale, we read of three devils who fight for theirinheritance--a club which turns everything to stone, a hat whichmakes the wearer invisible, and a cloak by help of which one can wishone's self whithersoever one pleases. Again, in a Mongolian tale, theChan's son comes upon a group of children who fight for a hood whichmakes the wearer invisible; he is to be judge between them, makesthem run a race for it, but meanwhile puts it on and vanishes fromtheir sight. A little further on he meets another group, who arequarrelling for a pair of boots, the wearer of which can wish himselfwhithersoever he pleases, and gains possession of them in the sameway. 

Nor in one Norse tale alone, but in many, we find traces of thesethree wonderful things, or of things like them. They are very likethe cloth, the ram, and the stick, which the lad got from the NorthWind instead of his meal. Very like, too, the cloth, the scissors, and the tap, which will be found in No. Xxxvi, 'The Best Wish'. If wedrop the number three, we find the Boots again in 'Soria MoriaCastle', No. Lvi. [Moe, Introd. , xxxii-iii] Leaving the Norse Tales, we see at once that they are the seven-leagued boots of Jack theGiant Killer. In the _Nibelungen Lied_, when Siegfried findsSchilbung and Niblung, the wierd heirs of the famous 'Hoard', striving for the possession of that heap of red gold and gleamingstones; when they beg him to share it for them, promising him, as hismeed, Balmung, best of swords; when he shares it, when they arediscontent, and when in the struggle which ensues he gets possessionof the 'Tarnhut', the 'cloak of darkness', which gave its wearer thestrength of twelve men, and enabled him to go where he would beunseen, and which was the great prize among the treasures of thedwarfs[7]; who is there that does not see the broken fragments ofthat old Eastern story of the heirs struggling for their inheritance, and calling in the aid of some one of better wit or strength who endsby making the very prize for which they fight his own?

And now to return for a moment to _Calila and Dimna_ and _TheSeven Sages_. Since we have seen that there are other stories, andmany of them, for this is by no means the only resemblance to befound in Somadeva's book [8] which are common to the Eastern andWestern Aryans, but which did not travel to Europe by translation;let us go on to say that it is by no means certain, even when someWestern story or fable is found in these Sanscrit originals and theirtranslations, that that was the only way by which they came toEurope. A single question will prove this. How did the fables andapologues which are found in _Aesop_, and which are alsofound in the _Pantcha Tantya_ and the _Hitopadesa_ come West?That they came from the East is certain; but by what way, certainlynot by translations or copying, for they had travelled west longbefore translations were thought of. How was it that Themistius, aGreek orator of the fourth century [J. Grimm, _Reinhart Fuchs_, cclxiii, Intr. ] had heard of that fable of the lion, fox, and bull, which is in substance the same as that of the lion, the bull, andthe two jackals in the _Pantcha Tantya_ and the _Hitopadesa_?How, but along the path of that primaeval Aryan migration, and bythat deep-ground tone of tradition by which man speaks to man, nationto nation, and age to age; along which comparative philology has, inthese last days, travelled back thither, listened to the accentsspoken, and so found in the East the cradle of a common language andcommon belief. 

And now, having, as we hope, finally established this Indianaffinity, and disposed of mere Indian copying, let us lift our eyesand see if something more is not to be discerned on the wide horizonnow open on our view. The most interesting problem for man to solveis the origin of his race. Of late years comparative philology, having accomplished her task in proving the affinity of languagebetween Europe and the East, and so taken a mighty step towardsfixing the first seat of the greatest--greatest in wit and wisdom, ifnot in actual numbers--portion of the human race, has pursued herinquiries into the languages of the Turanian, the Semitic, and theChamitic or African races, with more or less successful results. In afew more years, when the African languages are better known, and theroots of Egyptian and Chinese words are more accurately detected, Science will be better able to speak as to the common affinity of allthe tribes that throng the earth. In the meantime, let the testimonyof tradition and popular tales be heard, which in this case haveoutstripped comparative philology, and lead instead of following her. It is beyond the scope of this essay, which aims at being popular andreadable rather than learned and lengthy, to go over a prolongedscientific investigation step by step. We repeat it. The reader musthave faith in the writer, and believe the words now written are theresults of an inquiry, and not ask for the inquiry itself. In allmythologies and traditions, then, there are what may be callednatural resemblances, parallelisms suggested to the senses of eachrace by natural objects and every-day events, and these might springup spontaneously all over the earth as home growths, neither derivedby imitation from other tribes, nor from seeds of common traditionshed from a common stock. Such resemblances have been wellcompared by William Grimm, [_Kinder and Hausmärchen_, vol. 3, _3d_edition (Göttingen, 1856) a volume worthy of the utmost attention. ]to those words which are found in all languages derived from theimitation of natural sounds, or, we may add, from the first lispingaccents of infancy. But the case is very different when this or thatobject which strikes the senses is accounted for in a way soextraordinary and peculiar, as to stamp the tradition with acharacter of its own. Then arises a like impression on the mind, ifwe find the same tradition in two tribes at the opposite ends of theearth, as is produced by meeting twin brothers, one in Africa and theother in Asia; we say at once 'I know you are so and so's brother, you are so like him'. Take an instance: In these Norse Tales, No. Xxiii, we are told how it was the bear came to have a stumpy tail, and in an African tale, [9] we find how it was the hyaena becametailless and earless. Now, the tailless condition both of the bearand the hyaena could scarcely fail to attract attention in a race ofhunters, and we might expect that popular tradition would attempt toaccount for both, but how are we to explain the fact, that bothNorseman and African account for it in the same way--that both owetheir loss to the superior cunning of another animal. In Europe thefox bears away the palm for wit from all other animals, so he it isthat persuades the bear in the Norse Tales to sit with his tail in ahole in the ice till it is fast frozen in, and snaps short off whenhe tries to tug it out. In Bornou, in the heart of Africa, it is theweasel who is the wisest of beasts, and who, having got some meat incommon with the hyaena, put it into a hole, and said:

 'Behold two men came out of the forest, took the meat, and put it into a hole: stop, I will go into the hole, and then thou mayst stretch out thy tail to me, and I will tie the meat to thy tail for thee to draw it out'. So the weasel went into the hole, the hyaena stretched its tail out to it, but the weasel took the hyaena's tail, fastened a stick, and tied the hyaena's tail to the stick, and then said to the hyaena 'I have tied the meat to thy tail; draw, and pull it out'. The hyaena was a fool, it did not know the weasel surpassed it in subtlety; it thought the meat was tied; but when it tried to draw out its tail, it was fast. When the weasel said again to it 'Pull', it pulled, but could not draw it out; so it became vexed, and on pulling with force, its tail broke. The tail being torn out, the weasel was no more seen by the hyaena: the weasel was hidden in the hole with its meat, and the hyaena saw it not. [_Kanuri Proverbs_, p. 167. ]

Here we have a fact in natural history accounted for, but accountedfor in such a peculiar way as shows that the races among which theyare current must have derived them from some common tradition. Themode by which the tail is lost is different indeed; but the manner inwhich the common ground-work is suited in one case to the cold of theNorth, and the way in which fish are commonly caught at holes in theice as they rise to breathe; and in the other to Africa and herpitfalls for wild beasts, is only another proof of the oldness of thetradition, and that it is not merely a copy. 

Take another instance. Every one knows the story in the ArabianNights, where the man who knows the speech of beasts laughs atsomething said by an ox to an ass. His wife wants to know why helaughs, and persists, though he tells her it will cost him his lifeif he tells her. As he doubts what to do, he hears the cock say tothe house-dog 'Our master is not wise; I have fifty hens who obey me;if he followed my advice, he'd just take a good stick, shut up hiswife in a room with him, and give her a good cudgelling. ' The samestory is told in Straparola [10] with so many variations as to showit is no copy; it is also told in a Servian popular tale, withvariations of its own; and now here we find it in Bornou, as told byKölle. 

 There was a servant of God who had one wife and one horse; but his wife was one-eyed, and they lived in their house. Now this servant of God understood the language of the beasts of the forest when they spoke, and of the birds of the air when they talked as they flew by. This servant of God also understood the cry of the hyaena when it arose at night in the forest, and came to the houses and cried near them; so, likewise, when his horse was hungry and neighed, he understood why it neighed, rose up, brought the horse grass, and then returned and sat down. It happened one day that birds had their talk as they were flying by above and the servant of God understood what they talked. This caused him to laugh, whereupon his wife said to him 'What dost thou hear that thou laughest?' He replied to his wife 'I shall not tell thee what I hear, and why I laugh'. The woman said to her husband 'I know why thou laughest; thou laughest at me because I am one-eyed'. The man then said to his wife 'I saw that thou wast one-eyed before I loved thee, and before we married and sat down in our house'. When the woman heard her husband's word she was quiet. 

 But once at night, as they were lying on their bed, and it was past midnight, it happened that a rat played with his wife on the top of the house and that both fell to the ground. Then the wife of the rat said to her husband 'Thy sport is bad; thou saidst to me that thou wouldst play, but when we came together we fell to the ground, so that I broke my back'. 

 When the servant of God heard the talk of the rat's wife, as he was lying on his bed, he laughed. Now, as soon as he laughed his wife arose, seized him, and said to him as she held him fast: 'Now this time I will not let thee go out of this house except thou tell me what thou hearest and why thou laughest'. The man begged the woman, saying 'Let me go'; but the woman would not listen to her husband's entreaty. 

The husband then tells his wife that he knows the language of beastsand birds, and she is content; but when he wakes in the morning hefinds he has lost his wonderful gift; and the moral of the tale isadded most ungallantly: 'If a man shews and tells his thoughts to awoman, God will punish him for it'. Though, perhaps, it is better, for the sake of the gentler sex, that the tale should be pointed withthis unfair moral, than that the African story should proceed likeall the other variations, and save the husband's gift at the cost ofthe wife's skin. 

Take other African instances. How is it that the wandering Bechuanasgot their story of 'The Two Brothers', the ground-work of which isthe same as 'The Machandelboom' and the 'Milk-white Doo', and wherethe incidents and even the words are almost the same? How is it thatin some of its traits that Bechuana story embodies those of thatearliest of all popular tales, recently published from an EgyptianPapyrus, coeval with the abode of the Israelites in Egypt? and how isit that that same Egyptian tale has other traits which reminds us ofthe Dun Bull in 'Katie Woodencloak', as well as incidents which arethe germ of stories long since reduced to writing in Norse Sagas ofthe twelfth and thirteenth centuries? [11] How is it that we stillfind among the Negroes in the West Indies [12] a rich store ofpopular tales, and the Beast Epic in full bloom, brought with themfrom Africa to the islands of the West; and among those tales andtraditions, how is it that we find a 'Wishing Tree', the counter-partof that in a German popular tale, and 'a little dirty scrub of achild', whom his sisters despise, but who is own brother to Boots inthe Norse Tales, and like him outwits the Troll, spoils hissubstance, and saves his sisters? How is it that we find the goodwoman who washes the loathsome head rewarded, while the bad man whorefuses to do that dirty work is punished for his pride; the verygroundwork, nay the very words, that we meet in Bushy-bride, anotherNorse Tale? How is it that we find a Mongolian tale, which cameconfessedly from India, made up of two of our Norse tales, 'RichPeter the Pedlar' and 'The Giant that had no heart in hisbody' [_The Deeds of Bogda Gesser Chan_, by I. J. Schmidt(Petersburg and Leipzig, 1839). ]? How should all these things be, andhow could they possibly be, except on that theory which day by daybecomes more and more a matter of fact; this, that the whole humanrace sprung from one stock, planted in the East, which has stretchedout its boughs and branches laden with the fruit of language, andbright with the bloom of song and story, by successive offshoots tothe utmost parts of the earth. 

NORSE MYTHOLOGY

And now, in the second place, for that particular branch of the Aryanrace, in which this peculiar development of the common tradition hasarisen, which we are to consider as 'Norse Popular Tales'. 

Whatever disputes may have existed as to the mythology of otherbranches of the Teutonic subdivision of the Aryan race--whateverdiscussions may have arisen as to the position of this or thatdivinity among the Franks, the Anglo-Saxons, or the Goths--about theNorsemen there can be no dispute or doubt. From a variety ofcircumstances, but two before all the rest--the one their settlementin Iceland, which preserved their language and its literary treasuresincorrupt; the other their late conversion to Christianity--theircosmogony and mythology stands before us in full flower, and we havenot, as elsewhere, to pick up and piece together the wretchedfragments of a faith, the articles of which its own priests hadforgotten to commit to writing, and which those of another creed haddashed to pieces and destroyed, wherever their zealous hands couldreach. In the two Eddas, therefore, in the early Sagas, in Saxo'sstilted Latin, which barely conceals the popular songs and legendsfrom which the historian drew his materials, we are enabled to form aperfect conception of the creed of the heathen Norsemen. We areenabled to trace, as has been traced by the same hand in anotherplace [_Oxford Essays for_ 1898: 'The Norsemen in Iceland'. ], the natural and rational development of that creed from a simpleworship of nature and her powers, first to monotheism, and then to apolytheistic system. The tertiary system of Polytheism is the soilout of which the mythology of the Eddas sprang, though through iteach of the older formations crops out in huge masses which admit ofno mistake as to its origin. In the Eddas the natural powers havebeen partly subdued, partly thrust on one side, for a time, by Odinand the Aesir, by the Great Father and his children, by One Supremeand twelve subordinate gods, who rule for an appointed time, and overwhom hangs an impending fate, which imparts a charm of melancholy tothis creed, which has clung to the race who once believed in it longafter the creed itself has vanished before the light of Christianity. According to this creed, the Aesir and Odin had their abode inAsgard, a lofty hill in the centre of the habitable earth, in themidst of Midgard, that _middle earth_ which we hear of in earlyEnglish poetry, the abode of gods and men. Round that earth, whichwas fenced in against the attacks of ancient and inveterate foes by anatural fortification of hills, flowed the great sea in a ring, andbeyond that sea was Utgard, the outlying world, the abode of FrostGiants, and Monsters, those old-natural powers who had beendispossessed by Odin and the Aesir when the new order of the universearose, and between whom and the new gods a feud as inveterate as thatcherished by the Titans against Jupiter was necessarily kept alive. It is true indeed that this feud was broken by intervals of truceduring which the Aesir and the Giants visit each other, and appear onmore or less friendly terms, but the true relation between them waswar; pretty much as the Norseman was at war with all the rest of theworld. Nor was this struggle between two rival races or powersconfined to the gods in Asgard alone. Just as their ancient foes werethe Giants of Frost and Snow, so between the race of men and the raceof Trolls was there a perpetual feud. As the gods were men magnifiedand exaggerated, so were the Trolls diminished Frost Giants; farsuperior to man in strength and stature, but inferior to man in witand invention. Like the Frost Giants, they inhabit the rough andrugged places of the earth, and, historically speaking, in allprobability represent the old aboriginal races who retired into themountainous fastnesses of the land, and whose strength wasexaggerated, because the intercourse between the races was small. Inalmost every respect they stand in the same relations to men as theFrost Giants stand to the Gods. 

There is nothing, perhaps, more characteristic of a true, as comparedwith a false religion, than the restlessness of the one when broughtface to face with the quiet dignity and majesty of the other. Underthe Christian dispensation, our blessed Lord, his awful sacrificeonce performed, 'ascended up on high', having 'led captivitycaptive', and expects the hour that shall make his foes 'hisfootstool'; but false gods, Jupiter, Vishnu, Odin, Thor, mustconstantly keep themselves, as it were, before the eyes of men, lestthey should lose respect. Such gods being invariably what thephilosophers call _subjective_, that is to say, having noexistence except in the minds of those who believe in them; havingbeen created by man in his own image, with his own desires andpassions, stand in constant need of being recreated. They change asthe habits and temper of the race which adores them alter; they areever bound to do something fresh, lest man should forget them, andnew divinities usurp their place. Hence came endless avatars inHindoo mythology, reproducing all the dreamy monstrosities of thatpassive Indian mind. Hence came Jove's adventures, tinged with allthe lust and guile which the wickedness of the natural man planted ona hot-bed of iniquity is capable of conceiving. Hence bloody Moloch, and the foul abominations of Chemosh and Milcom. Hence, too, Odin'scountless adventures, his journeys into all parts of the world, hisconstant trials of wit and strength, with his ancient foes the FrostGiants, his hair-breadth escapes. Hence Thor's labours and toils, hispassages beyond the sea, girt with his strength-belt, wearing hisiron gloves, and grasping his hammer which split the skulls of somany of the Giant's kith and kin. In the Norse gods, then, we see theNorseman himself, sublimed and elevated beyond man's nature, butbearing about with him all his bravery and endurance, all his dashand spirit of adventure, all his fortitude and resolution to struggleagainst a certainty of doom which, sooner or later, must overtake himon that dread day, the 'twilight of the gods', when the wolf was tobreak loose, when the great snake that lay coiled round the worldshould lash himself into wrath, and the whole race of the Aesirs andtheir antagonists were to perish in internecine strife. 

Such were the gods in whom the Norseman believed--exaggerations ofhimself, of all his good and all his bad qualities. Their might andtheir adventures, their domestic quarrels and certain doom, were sungin venerable lays, now collected in what we call the Elder, or PoeticEdda; simple majestic songs, whose mellow accents go straight to theheart through the ear, and whose simple severity never suffers us tomistake their meaning. But, besides these gods, there were heroes ofthe race whose fame and glory were in every man's memory, and whosemighty deeds were in every minstrel's mouth. Helgi, Sigmund, Sinfjötli, Sigurd, Signy, Brynhildr, Gudrun; champions and shield-maidens, henchmen and corse-choosers, now dead and gone, who satround Odin's board in Valhalla. Women whose beauty, woes, andsufferings were beyond those of all women; men whose prowess hadnever found an equal. Between these, love and hate; all that canfoster passion or beget revenge. Ill assorted marriages; the rightman to the wrong woman, and the wrong man to the right woman;envyings, jealousies, hatred, murders, all the works of the naturalman, combine together to form that marvellous story which begins witha curse--the curse of ill-gotten gold--and ends with a curse, awidow's curse, which drags down all on whom it falls, and even herown flesh and blood, to certain doom. Such was the theme of thewondrous Volsung Tale, the far older, simpler and grander original ofthat Nibelungen Need of the thirteenth century, a tale which beginswith the slaughter of Fafnir by Sigurd, and ends with Hermanaric, 'that fierce faith-breaker', as the Anglo-Saxon minstrel calls him, when he is describing, in rapid touches, the mythic glories of theTeutonic race. 

This was the story of the Volsungs. They traced themselves back, likeall heroes, to Odin, the great father of gods and men. From himsprung Sigi, from him Rerir, from him Volsung, ripped from hismother's womb after a six years' bearing, to become the Eponymus ofthat famous race. In the centre of his hall grew an oak, the talltrunk of which passed through the roof, and its boughs spread far andwide in upper air. Into that hall, on a high feast day, when Signy, Volsung's daughter, was to be given away to Siggeir, King ofGothland, strode an old one-eyed guest. His feet were bare, his hosewere of knitted linen, he wore a great striped cloak, and a broadflapping hat. In his hand he bore a sword, which, at one stroke, hedrove up to the hilt in the oak trunk. 'There', said he, 'let him ofall this company bear this sword who is man enough to pull it out. Igive it him, and none shall say he ever bore a better blade. ' Withthese words he passed out of the hall, and was seen no more. Manytried, for that sword was plainly a thing of price, but none couldstir it, till Sigmund, the best and bravest of Volsung's sons, triedhis hand, and, lo! the weapon yielded itself at once. This was thatfamous blade _Gram_, of which we shall hear again. Sigmund boreit in battle against his brother-in-law, who quarrelled with himabout this very sword, when Volsung fell, and Sigmund and his tenbrothers were taken and bound. All perished but Sigmund, who wassaved by his sister Signy, and hidden in a wood till he could revengehis father and brethren. Here with Sinfjötli, who was at once his sonand nephew, he ran as a werewolf through the forest, and wrought manywild deeds. When Sinfjötli was of age to help him, they proceed tovengeance, and burn the treacherous brother-in-law alive, with allhis followers. Sigmund then regains his father's kingdom, and inextreme old age dies in battle against the sons of King Hunding. Justas he was about to turn the fight, a warrior of more than mortalmight, a one-eyed man in a blue cloak, with a flapping hat, rose upagainst him spear in hand. At that outstretched spear Sigmund smiteswith his trusty sword. It snaps in twain. Then he knows that his luckis gone; he sees in his foe Odin the giver of the sword, sinks downon the gory battle-field, and dies in the arms of Hjordis, his youngwife, refusing all leechcraft, and bowing his head to Odin's will. Bythe fortune of war, Hjordis, bearing a babe under her girdle, cameinto the hands of King Hialprek of Denmark, there she bore a son toSigmund, Sigurd, the darling of Teutonic song and story. Regin, theking's smith, was his foster-father, and as the boy grew up thefairest and stoutest of all the Volsungs, Regin, who was of the dwarfrace, urged him day by day to do a doughty deed, and slay Fafnir theDragon. For Fafnir, Regin, and Otter had been brothers, sons ofReidmar. In one of their many wanderings, Odin, Loki, and Haenir cameto a river and a forge. There, on the bank under the forge, they sawan otter with a salmon in its mouth, which it ate greedily with itseyes shut. Loki took a stone, threw it, and killed the beast, andboasted how he had got both fish and flesh at one throw. Then theAesir passed on and came at night to Reidmar's house, asked alodging, got it, and showed their spoil. 'Seize and bind them lads', cried Reidmar; 'for they have slain your brother Otter'. So they wereseized and bound by Regin and Fafnir, and offered an atonement to buyoff the feud, and Reidmar was to name the sum. Then Otter was flayed, and the Aesir were to fill the skin with red gold, and cover itwithout, that not a hair could be seen. To fetch the gold Odin sentLoki down to the abodes of the Black Elves; there in a stream hecaught Andvari the Dwarf, and made him give up all the gold which hehad hoarded up in the stony rock. In vain the Dwarf begged and prayedthat he might keep one ring, for it was the source of all his wealth, and ring after ring dropped from it. 'No; not a penny should he have'said Loki. Then the dwarf laid a curse on the ring, and said itshould be every man's bane who owned it. 'So much the better' saidLoki; and when he got back, Odin saw the ring how fair it was, andkept it to himself, but gave the gold to Reidmar. So Reidmar filledthe skin with gold as full as he could, and set it up on end, andOdin poured gold over it, and covered it up. But when Reidmar lookedat it he saw still one grey hair, and bade them cover that too, elsethe atonement was at an end. Then Odin drew forth the ring and laidit over the grey hair. So the Aesir was set free, but before theywent, Loki repeated the curse which Andvari had laid upon the ringand gold. It soon began to work. First, Regin asked for some of thegold, but not a penny would Reidmar give. So the two brothers laidtheir heads together and slew their sire. Then Regin begged Fafnir toshare the gold with him. But 'no', Fafnir was stronger, and said heshould keep it all himself, and Regin had best be off, unless hewished to fare the same way as Reidmar. So Regin had to fly, butFafnir took a dragon's shape; 'and there', said Regin, 'he lies onthe "Glistening Heath", coiled round his store of gold and preciousthings, and that's why I wish you to kill him. ' Sigurd, told Reginwho was the best of smiths, to forge him a sword. Two are made, butboth snap asunder at the first stroke. 'Untrue are they like you andall your race' cries Sigurd. Then he went to his mother and beggedthe broken bits of _Gram_, and out of them Regin forged a newblade, that clove the anvil in the smithy, and cut a lock of woolborne down upon it by a running stream. 'Now, slay me Fafnir', saidRegin; but Sigurd must first find out King Hunding's sons, and avengehis father Sigmund's death. King Hialprek lends him force; by Odin'sguidance he finds them out, routs their army, and slays all thosebrothers. On his return, his foster-father still eggs him on to slaythe Dragon, and thus to shew that there was still a Volsung left. So, armed with Gram, and mounted on Gran, his good steed, whom Odin hadtaught him how to choose, Sigurd rode to the 'Glistening Heath', duga pit in the Dragon's path, and slew him as he passed over him downto drink at the river. Then Regin came up, and the old feeling ofvengeance for a brother's blood grew strong, and as an atonement, Sigurd was to roast Fafnir's heart, and carry it to Regin, whoswilled his fill of the Dragon's blood, and lay down to sleep. But asSigurd roasted the heart, and wondered if it would soon be done, hetried it with his finger to see if it were soft. The hot roast burnedhis finger, and he put it into his mouth, and tasted the life-bloodof the Dragon. Then in a moment he understood the song of birds, andheard how the swallows over his head said one to the other, 'Therethou sittest, Sigurd, roasting Fafnir's heart. Eat it thyself andbecome the wisest of men. ' Then another said 'There lies Regin, andmeans to cheat him who trusts him. ' Then a third said 'Let Sigurd cutoff his head then, and so own all the gold himself. ' Then Sigurd wentto Regin and slew him, and ate the heart, and rode on Gran toFafnir's lair, and took the spoil and loaded his good steed with it, and rode away. 

And now Sigurd was the most famous of men. All the songs and storiesof the North made him the darling of that age. They dwell on his softhair, which fell in great locks of golden brown, on his bushy beardof auburn hue, his straight features, his ruddy cheeks, his broadbrow, his bright and piercing eye, of which few dared to meet thegaze, his taper limbs and well knit joints, his broad shoulders, andtowering height. 'So tall he was, that as he strode through the full-grown rye, girt with Gram, the tip of the scabbard just touched theears of corn. ' Ready of tongue too, and full of forethought. Hisgreat pleasure was to help other men, and to do daring deeds; tospoil his foes, and give largely to his friends. The bravest manalive, and one that never knew fear. On and on he rode, till on alone fell he saw a flickering flame, and when he reached it, there itflamed and blazed all round a house. No horse but Gran could ridethat flame; no man alive but Sigurd sit him while he leaped throughit. Inside the house lay a fair maiden, armed from head to foot, in adeep sleep. Brynhildr, Atli's sister, was her name, a Valkyrie, acorse-chooser; but out of wilfulness she had given the victory to thewrong side, and Odin in his wrath had thrust the horn of sleep intoher cloak, and laid her under a curse to slumber there till a manbold enough to ride through that flame came to set her free, and winher for his bride. So then she woke up, and taught him all runes andwisdom, and they swore to love each other with a mighty oath, andthen Sigurd left her and rode on. 

So on he rode to King Giuki's hall, Giuki the Niflung, King ofFrankland, whose wife was Grimhildr, whose sons were Gunnar andHogni, whose stepson was Guttorm, and whose daughter was the fairGudrun. Here at first he was full of Brynhildr, and all for goingback to fetch his lovely bride from the lone fell. But Grimhildr wasgiven to dark arts; she longed for the brave Volsung for her owndaughter, she brewed him the philtre of forgetfulness, he drained itoff, forgot Brynhildr, swore a brother's friendship with Gunnar andHogni, and wedded the fair Gudrun. But now Giuki wanted a wife forGunnar, and so off set the brothers and their bosom friend to woo, but whom should they choose but Brynhildr, Atli's sister, who satthere still upon the fell, waiting for the man who was bold enough toride through the flickering flame. She knew but one could do it, andwaited for that one to come back. So she had given out whoever couldride that flame should have her to wife. So when Gunnar and Hognireached it, Gunnar rode at it, but his horse, good though it was, swerved from the fierce flame. Then by Grimhild's magic arts, Sigurdand Gunnar changed shapes and arms, and Sigurd leapt up on Gran'sback, and the good steed bore him bravely through the flame. SoBrynhildr the proud maiden was won and forced to yield. That eveningwas their wedding; but when they lay down to rest, Sigurd unsheathedhis keen sword _Gram_, and laid it naked between them. Nextmorning when he arose, he took the ring which Andvari had laid underthe curse, and which was among Fafnir's treasures, and gave it toBrynhildr as a 'morning gift', and she gave him another ring as apledge. Then Sigurd rode back to his companions and took his ownshape again, and then Gunnar went and claimed Brynhildr, and carriedher home as his bride. But no sooner was Gunnar wedded, than Sigurd'seyes were opened, and the power of the philtre passed away, heremembered all that had passed, and the oath he had sworn toBrynhildr. All this came back upon him when it was too late, but hewas wise and said nothing about it. Well, so things went on, till oneday Brynhildr and Gudrun went down to the river to wash their hair. Then Brynhildr waded out into the stream as far as she could, andsaid she wouldn't have on her head the water that streamed fromGudrun's; for hers was the braver husband. So Gudrun waded out afterher, and said the water ought to come on her hair first, because herhusband bore away the palm from Gunnar, and every other man alive, for he slew Fafnir and Regin and took their inheritance. 'Aye', saidBrynhildr, 'but it was a worthier deed when Gunnar rode through theflame, but Sigurd dared not try!' Then Gudrun laughed, and said'Thinkst thou that Gunnar really rode the flame? I trow _he_went to bed with thee that night, who gave me this gold ring. And asfor that ring yonder which you have on your finger, and which you gotas your "morning-gift"; its name is Andvari's-spoil, and _that_I don't think Gunnar sought on the "Glistening Heath"'. ThenBrynhildr held her peace and went home, and her love for Sigurd cameback, but it was turned to hate, for she felt herself betrayed. Thenshe egged on Gunnar to revenge her wrong. At last the brothersyielded to her entreaties, but they were sworn brothers to Sigurd, and to break that oath by deed was a thing unheard of. Still theybroke it in spirit; by charms and prayers they set on Guttorm theirhalf-brother, and so at dead of night, while Gudrun held the bravestman alive fast locked in her white arms, the murderer stole to thebedside and drove a sword through the hero. Then Sigurd turned andwrithed, and as Guttorm fled he hurled Gram after him, and the keenblade took him asunder at the waist, and his head fell out of theroom and his heels in, and that was the end of Guttorm. But withrevenge Brynhildr's love returned, and when Sigurd was laid upon thepile her heart broke; she burst forth into a prophetic song of thewoes that were still to come, made them lay her by his side with Grambetween them, and so went to Valhalla with her old lover. ThusAndvari's curse was fulfilled. 

Gudrun, the weary widow, wandered away. After a while, she acceptsatonement from her brothers for her husband's loss, and marries Atli, the Hun King, Brynhildr's brother. He cherished a grudge againstGiuki's sons for the guile they had practised against their brother-in-law, which had broken his sister's heart, and besides he claimed, in right of Gudrun, all the gold which Sigurd won from the Dragon, but which the Niflung Princes had seized when he was slain. It was invain to attack them in fair fight, so he sent them a friendlymessage, and invited them to a banquet; they go, and are overpowered. Hogni's heart is cut out of him alive, but he still smiles; Gunnar iscast into a pit full of snakes, but even then charms them to sleepwith his harp, all but one, that flies at his heart and stings him todeath. With them perished the secret of the Dragon's hoard, whichthey had thrown into the Rhine as they crossed it on the way toHunland. Now comes horror on horror. Revenge for her brothers nowbelongs to Gudrun; she slays with her own hand her two sons by Atli, makes him eat their flesh, and drink their blood out of their skulls, and, while the king slept sound, slew him in his bed by the help ofher brother Hogni's son. Then she set the hall a-blaze, and burnt allthat were in it. After that she went to the sea-shore, and threwherself in to drown. But the deep will not have her, the billows bearher over to King Jonakr's land. He marries her, and has three sons byher, Saurli, Hamdir, and Erp, black-haired as ravens, like all theNiflungs. Svanhild, her daughter by Sigurd, who had her father'sbright and terrible eyes, she has still with her, now grown up to bethe fairest of women. So when Hermanaric the mighty, the great Gothicking, heard of Svanhild's beauty, he sent his son Randver to woo herfor him, but Bikki the False said to the youth: 'Better far were thismaiden for thee than for thy old father'; and the maiden and theprince thought it good advice. Then Bikki went and told the king, andHermanaric bade them take and hang Randver at once. So on his way tothe gallows, the prince took his hawk and plucked off all itsfeathers, and sent it to his father. But when his sire saw it, heknew at once that, as the hawk was featherless and unable to fly, sowas his realm defenceless under an old and sonless king. Too late hesent to stop the hanging; his son was already dead. So one dayas he rode back from hunting, he saw fair Svanhild washing her goldenlocks, and it came into his heart how there she sat, the cause of allhis woe; and he and his men rode at her and over her, and theirsteeds trampled her to death. But when Gudrun heard this, she set onher three Niflung sons to avenge their sister. Byrnies and helms shegave them so true that no sword would bite on them. They were tosteal on Hermanaric as he slept; Saurli was to cut off his hands, Hamdir his feet, and Erp his head. So as the three went along, thetwo asked Erp what help he would give them when they got toHermanaric. 'Such as hand lends to foot' he said. 'No help at all'they cried; and passing from words to blows, and because their motherloved Erp best, they slew him. A little further on Saurli stumbledand fell forward, but saved himself with one hand, and said 'Herehand helps foot: better were it that Erp lived. ' So they came onHermanaric as he slept, and Saurli hewed off his hands, and Hamdirhis feet, but he awoke and called for his men. Then said Hamdir:'Were Erp alive, the head would be off, and he couldn't call out. 'Then Hermanaric's men arose and took the twain, and when they foundthat no steel would touch them, an old one-eyed man gave them adviceto stone them to death. Thus fell Saurli and Hamdir, and soon afterGudrun died too, and with her ends the Volsung and the Niflung tale. 

And here it is worth while to say, since some minds are so narrowlymoulded as to be incapable of containing more than one idea, thatbecause it has seemed a duty to describe in its true light the oldfaith of our forefathers, it by no means follows that the same eyesare blind to the glorious beauty of Greek Mythology. That had therare advantage of running its course free and unfettered until itfell rather by natural decay than before the weapon of a new belief. The Greeks were Atheists before they became Christian. Their faithhad passed through every stage. We can contemplate it as it springsout of the dim misshapen symbol, during that phase when men's eyesare fixed more on meaning and reality than on beauty and form, we canmark how it gradually looks more to symmetry and shape, how it istransfigured in the Arts, until, under that pure air and bright sky, the glowing radiant figures of Apollo and Aphrodite, of Zeus andAthene--of perfect man-worship and woman-worship, stand out clear andround in the foreground against the misty distance of ancient times. Out of that misty distance the Norseman's faith never emerged. Whatthat early phase of faith might have become, had it been once weddedto the Muses, and learnt to cultivate the Arts, it is impossible tosay. As it is, its career was cut short in mid-course. It carriedabout with it that melancholy presentiment of dissolution which hascome to be so characteristic of modern life, but of which scarce atrace exists in ancient times, and this feeling would always havemade it different from that cheerful carelessness which so attractsus in the Greeks; but even that downcast brooding heart was capableof conceiving great and heroic thoughts, which it might have clothedin noble shapes and forms, had not the axe of Providence cut down thestately sapling in the North before it grew to be a tree, while itspared the pines of Delphi and Dodona's sacred oaks, until they hadattained a green old age. And so this faith remained rude and rough;but even rudeness has a simplicity of its own, and it is better to berough and true-hearted than polished and false. In all the feelingsof natural affection, that faith need fear no comparison with anyother upon earth. In these respects it is firm and steadfast as arock, and pure and bright as a living spring. The highest God is afather, who protects his children; who gives them glory and victorywhile they live, and when they die, takes them to himself; to thosefatherly abodes Death was a happy return, a glorious going home. Bythe side of this great father stands a venerable goddess, dazzlingwith beauty, the great mother of gods and men. Hand in hand thisdivine pair traverse the land; he teaching the men the use of armsand all the arts of war, --for war was then as now a noble calling, and to handle arms an honourable, nay necessary, profession. To thewomen she teaches domestic duties and the arts of peace; from herthey learn to weave, and sew, and spin; from her, too, the husbandmanlearns to till his fields. From him springs poetry and song; from herlegend and tradition. Nor should it ever be forgotten that thefootsteps of Providence are always onward, even when they seem takenin the dark, and that their rude faith was the first in which thatveneration for woman arose, which the Western nations may well claimas the brightest jewel in their crown of civilization; that while shewas a slave in the East, a toy to the Greeks, and a housewife to theRomans, she was a helpmeet to the Teuton, and that those sternwarriors recognized something divine in her nature, and bowed beforeher clearer insight into heavenly mysteries. The worship of theVirgin Mary was gradually developed out of this conception of woman'scharacter, and would have been a thing absurd and impossible, hadChristianity clung for ever to Eastern soil. And now to proceed, after thus turning aside to compare the mythology of the Greek withthe faith of the Norseman. The mistake is to favour one or the otherexclusively instead of respecting and admiring both; but it is amistake which those only can fall into, whose souls are narrow andconfined, who would say this thing and this person you shall love, and none other; this form and feature you shall worship and adore, and this alone; when in fact the whole promised land of thought andlife lies before us at our feet, our nature encourages us to go inand possess it, and every step we make in this new world of knowledgebrings us to fresh prospects of beauty, and to new pastures ofdelight. 

Such were the gods, and such the heroes of the Norseman; who, likehis own gods, went smiling to death under the weight of an inevitabledestiny. But that fate never fell on their gods. Before thissubjective mythological dream of the Norsemen could be fulfilled, thereligious mist in which they walked was scattered by the sunbeams ofChristianity. A new state and condition of society arose, and thecreed which had satisfied a race of heathen warriors, who externallywere at war with all the world, became in time an object of horrorand aversion to the converted Christian. This is not the place todescribe the long struggle between the new and the old faith in theNorth; how kings and queens became the foster-fathers and nursing-mothers of the Church; how the great chiefs, each a little king inhimself, scorned and derided the whole scheme as altogether weak andeffeminate; how the bulk of the people were sullen and suspicious, and often broke out into heathen mutiny; how kings rose and kingsfell, just as they took one or the other side; and how, finally, after a contest which had lasted altogether more than threecenturies, Denmark, Norway, Iceland, and Sweden--we run them over inthe order of conversion--became faithful to Christianity, as preachedby the missionaries of the Church of Rome. One fact, however, we mustinsist on, which might be inferred, indeed, both from the nature ofthe struggle itself, and the character of Rome; and that is, thatthroughout there was something in the process of conversion of thenature of a compromise--of what we may call the great principle of'give and take'. In all Christian churches, indeed, and in none somuch as the Church of Rome, nothing is so austere, so elevating, andso grand, as the uncompromising tone in which the great dogmas of theFaith are enunciated and proclaimed. Nothing is more magnificent, inshort, than the theory of Christianity; but nothing is more mean andmiserable than the time-serving way in which those dogmas are draggeddown to the dull level of daily life, and that sublime theory reducedto ordinary practice. At Rome, it was true that the Pope couldcongratulate the faithful that whole nations in the barbarous andfrozen North had been added to the true fold, and that Odin's grimchampions now universally believed in the gospel of peace and love. It is so easy to dispose of a doubtful struggle in a single sentence, and so tempting to believe it when once written. But in the North, the state of things, and the manner of proceeding, were entirelydifferent. There the dogma was proclaimed, indeed; but the manner ofpreaching it was not in that mild spirit with which the Saviourrebuked the disciple when he said 'Put up again thy sword into hisplace: for all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword. 'There the sword was used to bring converts to the font, and thebaptism was often one rather of blood than of water. There the newconverts perpetually relapsed, chased away the missionaries and thekings who sheltered them, and only yielded at last to theoverwhelming weight of Christian opinion in the Western world. StOlof, king and martyr, martyred in pitched battle by his mutinousallodial freemen, because he tried to drive rather than to lead themto the cross; and another Olof, greater than he, Olof Tryggvason, whofell in battle against the heathen Swedes, were men of blood ratherthan peace; but to them the introduction of the new faith into Norwayis mainly owing. So also Charlemagne, at an earlier period, had dealtwith the Saxons at the Main Bridge, when his ultimatum was'Christianity or death'. So also the first missionary to Iceland--whomet, indeed, with a sorry reception--was followed about by a stoutchampion named Thangbrand, who, whenever there was what we should nowcall a missionary meeting, challenged any impugner of the newdoctrines to mortal combat on the spot. No wonder that, after havingkilled several opponents in the little tour which he made with hismissionary friend through the island, it became too hot to hold him, and he, and the missionary, and the new creed, were forced to takeship and sail back to Norway. 

'Precept upon precept, line upon line, here a little and there alittle', was the motto of Rome in her dealings with the heathenNorsemen, and if she suited herself at first rather to their habitsand temper than to those of more enlightened nations, she had anexcuse in St Paul's maxim of making herself 'all things to all men. 'Thus, when a second attempt to Christianize Iceland proved moresuccessful--for in the meantime, King Olof Tryggvason, a zealousChristian, had seized as hostages all the Icelanders of family andfame who happened to be in Norway, and thus worked on the feelings ofthe chiefs of those families at home, who in their turn bribed thelawman who presided over the Great Assembly to pronounce in favour ofthe new Faith--even then the adherents of the old religion wereallowed to perform its rites in secret, and two old heathen practicesonly were expressly prohibited, the exposure of infants and theeating of horseflesh, for horses were sacred animals, and the heathenate their flesh after they had been solemnly sacrificed to the gods. As a matter of fact, it is far easier to change a form of religionthan to extirpate a faith. The first indeed is no easy matter, asthose students of history well know who are acquainted with thetenacity with which a large proportion of the English nation clung tothe Church of Rome, long after the State had declared for theReformation. But to change the faith of a whole nation in block andbulk on the instant, was a thing contrary to the ordinary working ofProvidence and unknown even in the days of miracles, though the daysof miracles had long ceased when Rome advanced against the North. There it was more politic to raise a cross in the grove where theSacred Tree had once stood, and to point to the sacred emblem whichhad supplanted the old object of national adoration, when thepopulace came at certain seasons with songs and dances to performtheir heathen rites. Near the cross soon rose a church; and both weregirt by a cemetery, the soil of which was doubly sacred as a heathenfane and a Christian sanctuary, and where alone the bodies of thefaithful could repose in peace. But the songs and dances, andprocessions in the church-yard round the cross, continued long afterChristianity had become dominant. So also the worship of wells andsprings was christianized when it was found impossible to prevent it. Great churches arose over or near them, as at Walsingham, where anabbey, the holiest place in England, after the shrine of St Thomas atCanterbury, threw its majestic shade over the heathen wishing-well, and the worshippers of Odin and the Nornir were gradually convertedinto votaries of the Virgin Mary. Such practices form a subject ofconstant remonstrance and reproof in the treatises and penitentialepistles of medieval divines, and in some few places and churches, even in England, such rites are still yearly celebrated. [13]

So, too, again with the ancient gods. They were cast down fromhonour, but not from power. They lost their genial kindly influenceas the protectors of men and the origin of all things good; but theirexistence was tolerated; they became powerful for ill, anddegenerated into malignant demons. Thus the worshippers of Odin hadsupposed that at certain times and rare intervals the good powersshewed themselves in bodily shape to mortal eye, passing through theland in divine progress, bringing blessings in their train, andreceiving in return the offerings and homage of their gratefulvotaries. But these were naturally only exceptional instances; onordinary occasions the pious heathen recognized his gods sweepingthrough the air in cloud and storm, riding on the wings of the wind, and speaking in awful accents, as the tempest howled and roared, andthe sea shook his white mane and crest. Nor did he fail to see themin the dust and din of battle, when Odin appeared with his terriblehelm, succouring his own, striking fear into their foes, and turningthe day in many a doubtful fight; or in the hurry and uproar of thechase, where the mighty huntsman on his swift steed, seen in glimpsesamong the trees, took up the hunt where weary mortals laid it down, outstripped them all, and brought the noble quarry to the ground. Looking up to the stars and heaven, they saw the footsteps of thegods marked out in the bright path of the Milky Way; and in the Bearthey hailed the war-chariot of the warrior's god. The greatgoddesses, too, Frigga and Freyja, were thoroughly old-fashioneddomestic divinities. They help women in their greatest need, theyspin themselves, they teach the maids to spin, and punish them if thewool remains upon their spindle. They are kind, and good, andbright, for _Holda_, _Bertha_, are the epithets given to them. Andso, too, this mythology which, in its aspect to the stranger and theexternal world, was so ruthless and terrible, when looked at fromwithin and at home, was genial, and kindly, and hearty, and affordsanother proof that men, in all ages and climes, are not so bad asthey seem; that after all, peace and not war is the proper state forman, and that a nation may make war on others and exist; but thatunless it has peace within, and industry at home, it must perish fromthe face of the earth. But when Christianity came, the wholecharacter of this goodly array of divinities was soured and spoilt. Instead of the stately procession of the God, which the intenselysensuous eye of man in that early time connected with all thephenomena of nature, the people were led to believe in a ghastlygrisly band of ghosts, who followed an infernal warrior or huntsmanin hideous tumult through the midnight air. No doubt, as Grimmrightly remarks [D. M. , p. 900: _Wütendes Heer_], the heathenhad fondly fancied that the spirits of those who had gone to Odinfollowed him in his triumphant progress either visibly or invisibly;that they rode with him in the whirlwind, just as they followed himto battle, and feasted with him in Valhalla; but now the Christianbelief, when it had degraded the mighty god into a demon huntsman, who pursued his nightly round in chase of human souls, saw in thetrain of the infernal master of the hunt only the spectres ofsuicides, drunkards, and ruffians; and, with all the uncharitablenessof a dogmatic faith, the spirits of children who died unbaptized, whose hard fate had thrown them into such evil company. This was theway in which that wide-spread superstition arose, which sees in thephantoms of the clouds the shapes of the Wild Huntsman and hisaccursed crew, and hears, in spring and autumn nights, when sea-fowltake the wing to fly either south or north, the strange accents anduncouth yells with which the chase is pressed on in upper air. Thus, in Sweden it is still Odin who passes by; in Denmark it isKing Waldemar's Hunt; in Norway it is _Aaskereida_, that is_Asgard's Car_; in Germany, it is Wode, Woden, or Hackelberend, or Dieterich of Bern; in France it is Hellequin, or King Hugo, orCharles the Fifth, or, dropping a name altogether, it is _Le GrandVeneur_ who ranges at night through the Forest of Fontainebleau. Nor was England without her Wild Huntsman and his ghastly following. Gervase of Tilbury, in the twelfth century, could tell it of KingArthur, round whose mighty name the superstition settled itself, forhe had heard from the foresters how, 'on alternate days, about thefull of the moon, one day at noon, the next at midnight when the moonshone bright, a mighty train of hunters on horses was seen, withbaying hounds and blast of horns; and when those hunters were askedof whose company and household they were, they replied "ofArthur's". ' We hear of him again in _The Complaynt of Scotland_, that curious composition attributed by some to Sir David Lyndsay ofthe Mount in Fife, and of Gilmerton in East Lothian, pp. 97, 98, where he says:

 Arthur knycht, he raid on nycht, With gyldin spur and candil lycht. 

Nor should we forget, when considering this legend, that story ofHerne the Hunter, who

 Sometime a keeper here in Windsor Forest, Doth all the winter time, at still midnight, Walk round about an oak, with great ragg'd horns; And there he blasts the trees, and takes the cattle, And makes milch-kine yield blood, and shakes a chain In a most hideous and dreadful manner. _Merry Wives of Windsor_, act. Iv, sc. 4. 

And even yet, in various parts of England, the story of some greatman, generally a member of one of the county families, who drivesabout the country at night, is common. Thus, in Warwickshire, it isthe 'One-handed Boughton', who drives about in his coach and six, andmakes the benighted traveller hold gates open for him; or it is 'LadySkipwith', who passes through the country at night in the samemanner. This subject might be pursued to much greater length, forpopular tradition is full of such stories; but enough has been saidto show how the awful presence of a glorious God can be convertedinto a gloomy superstition; and, at the same time, how the majesty ofthe old belief strives to rescue itself by clinging, in the popularconsciousness, to some king or hero, as Arthur or Waldemar, or, failing that, to some squire's family, as Hackelberend, or the 'one-handed Boughton', or even to the Keeper Herne. 

Odin and the Aesir then were dispossessed and degraded by our Saviourand his Apostles, just as they had of old thrown out the FrostGiants, and the two are mingled together, in medieval Norsetradition, as Trolls and Giants, hostile alike to Christianity andman. Christianity had taken possession indeed, but it was beyond herpower to kill. To this half-result the swift corruption of the Churchof Rome lent no small aid. Her doctrines, as taught by Augustine andBoniface, by Anschar and Sigfrid, were comparatively mild and pure;but she had scarce swallowed the heathendom of the North, much in thesame way as the Wolf was to swallow Odin at the 'Twilight of theGods', than she fell into a deadly lethargy of faith, which put itout of her power to digest her meal. Gregory the Seventh, electedpope in 1073, tore the clergy from the ties of domestic life with agrasp that wounded every fibre of natural affection, and made itbleed to the very root. With the celibacy of the clergy heestablished the hierarchy of the church, but her labours as amissionary church were over. Henceforth she worked not bymissionaries and apostles, but by crusades and bulls. Now she raisedmighty armaments to recover the barren soil of the Holy Sepulchre, orto annihilate heretic Albigenses. Now she established great orders, Templars and Hospitallers, whose pride and luxury, and pomp, broughtswift destruction on one at least of those fraternities. Now shebecame feudal, --she owned land instead of hearts, and forgot that thetrue patrimony of St Peter was the souls of men. No wonder that, withthe barbarism of the times, she soon fulfilled the Apostle's words, 'She that liveth in luxury is dead while she liveth', and becamefilled with idle superstitions and vain beliefs. No wonder, then, that instead of completing her conquest over the heathen, andcarrying out their conversion, she became half heathen herself; thatshe adopted the tales and traditions of the old mythology, which shehad never been able to extirpate, and related them of our Lord andhis Apostles. No wonder, then, that having abandoned her mission ofbeing the first power of intelligence on earth, she fell like Luciferwhen the mist of medieval feudalism rolled away, and the light oflearning and education returned--fell before the indignation ofenlightened men, working upon popular opinion. Since which day, though she has changed her plans, and remodelled her superstitions tosuit the times, she has never regained the supremacy which, if shehad been wise in a true sense, she seemed destined to hold for ever. 

NORSE POPULAR TALES

The preceding observations will have given a sufficient account ofthe mythology of the Norsemen, and of the way in which it fell. Theycame from the East, and brought that common stock of tradition withthem. Settled in the Scandinavian peninsula, they developedthemselves through Heathenism, Romanism, and Lutheranism, in alocality little exposed to foreign influence, so that even now theDaleman in Norway or Sweden may be reckoned among the most primitiveexamples left of peasant life. We should expect, then, that thesePopular Tales, which, for the sake of those ignorant in such matters, it may be remarked, had never been collected or reduced to writingtill within the last few years, would present a faithful picture ofthe national consciousness, or, perhaps, to speak more correctly, ofthat half consciousness out of which the heart of any people speaksin its abundance. Besides those world-old affinities and primaevalparallelisms, besides those dreamy recollections of its old home inthe East, which we have already pointed out, we should expect to findits later history, after the great migration, still more distinctlyreflected; to discover heathen gods masked in the garb of Christiansaints; and thus to see a proof of our assertion above, that a nationmore easily changes the form than the essence of its faith, andclings with a toughness which endures for centuries to what it hasonce learned to believe. 

In all mythologies, the trait of all others which most commonlyoccurs, is that of the descent of the Gods to earth, where, in humanform, they mix among mortals, and occupy themselves with theiraffairs, either out of a spirit of adventure, or to try the hearts ofmen. Such a conception is shocking to the Christian notion of theomnipotence and omnipresence of God, but we question if there be nottimes when the most pious and perfect Christian may not find comfortand relief from a fallacy which was a matter of faith in lessenlightened creeds, and over which the apostle, writing to theHebrews, throws the sanction of his authority, so far as angels areconcerned. [Heb. , xiii, 1: 'Let brotherly love continue. Be notforgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertainedangels unawares. ']

Nor could he have forgotten those words of the men of Lystra, 'TheGods are come down to us in the likeness of men'; and how they called'Barnabas Jupiter', and himself Mercury, 'because he was the chiefspeaker. ' Classical mythology is full of such stories. Thesewanderings of the Gods are mentioned in the Odyssey, and the sanctityof the rites of hospitality, and the dread of turning a stranger fromthe door, took its origin from a fear lest the wayfaring man shouldbe a Divinity in disguise. According to the Greek story, Orion owedhis birth to the fact that the childless Hyrieus, his reputed father, had once received unawares Zeus, Poseidon, and Hermes, or, to callthem by their Latin names, Jupiter, Neptune, and Mercury. In thebeautiful story of Philemon and Baucis, Jupiter and Mercury rewardthe aged couple who had so hospitably received them by warning themof the approaching deluge. The fables of Phaedrus and Aesop representMercury and Demeter as wandering and enjoying the hospitality of men. In India it is Brahma and Vishnu who generally wander. In the Edda, Odin, Loki, and Hoenir thus roam about, or Thor, Thialfi, and Loki. Sometimes Odin appears alone as a horseman, who turns in at night tothe smith's house, and gets him to shoe his horse, a legend whichreminds us at once of the Master-smith. [14] Sometimes it is Thorwith his great hammer who wanders thus alone. 

Now, let us turn from heathen to Christian times, and look at some ofthese old legends of wandering gods in a new dress. Throughout theMiddle Age, it is our blessed Lord and St Peter that thus wander, andhere we see that half-digested heathendom to which we have alluded. Those who may be shocked at such tales in this collection as 'theMaster-Smith' and 'Gertrude's Bird', must just remember that theseare almost purely heathen traditions, in which the names alone areChristian; and if it be any consolation to any to know the fact, wemay as well state at once that this adaptation of new names to oldbeliefs is not peculiar to the Norsemen, but is found in all thepopular tales of Europe. Germany was full of them, and there St Peteroften appears in a snappish ludicrous guise, which reminds the readerversed in Norse mythology of the tricks and pranks of the shiftyLoki. In the Norse tales he thoroughly preserves his saintlycharacter. 

Nor was it only gods that walked among men. In the Norse mythology, Frigga, Odin's wife, who knew beforehand all that was to happen, andFreyja, the goddess of love and plenty, were prominent figures, andoften trod the earth; the three Norns or Fates, who sway the wierdsof men, and spin their destinies at Mimirs' well of knowledge, wereawful venerable powers, to whom the heathen world looked up with loveand adoration and awe. To that love and adoration and awe, throughoutthe middle age, one woman, transfigured into a divine shape, succeeded by a sort of natural right, and round the Virgin Mary'sblessed head a halo of lovely tales of divine help, beams with softradiance as a crown bequeathed to her by the ancient goddesses. Sheappears as divine mother, spinner, and helpful virgin (viergesécourable). Flowers and plants bear her name. In England one of ourcommonest and prettiest insects is still called after her, but whichbelonged to Freyja, the heathen 'Lady', long before the westernnations had learned to adore the name of the mother of Jesus. [15][15] Footnote: So also Orion's Belt was called by the Norsemen, Frigga's spindle or _rock, Friggjar rock_. In modern Swedish, _Friggerock_, where the old goddess holds her own; but inDanish, _Mariaerock_, Our Lady's rock or spindle. Thus, too, _Karlavagn_, the 'car of men', or heroes, who rode with Odin, which we call 'Charles' Wain', thus keeping something, at least, ofthe old name, though none of its meaning, became in Scotland'Peter's-pleugh', from the Christian saint, just as Orion's swordbecame 'Peter's-staff'. But what do 'Lady Landers' and 'Lady Ellison'mean, as applied to the 'Lady-Bird' in Scotland?

The reader of these Tales will meet, in that of 'the Lassie and herGodmother', No. Xxvii, with the Virgin Mary in a truly mythiccharacter, as the majestic guardian of sun, moon and stars, combinedwith that of a helpful, kindly woman, who, while she knows how topunish a fault, knows also how to reconcile and forgive. 

The Norseman's god was a god of battles, and victory his greatestgift to men; but this was not the only aspect under which the GreatFather was revered. Not victory in the fight alone, but every othergood gift came down from him and the Aesir. Odin's supreme will wasthat treasure-house of bounty towards which, in one shape or theother, all mortal desires turned, and out of its abundance showers ofmercy and streams of divine favour constantly poured down to refreshthe weary race of men. All these blessings and mercies, nay, theirvery source itself, the ancient language bound up in a single word, which, however expressive it may still be, has lost much of thefulness of its meaning in its descent to these later times. This wordwas 'Wish', which originally meant the perfect ideal, the actualfruition of all joy and desire, and not, as now, the empty longingfor the object of our desires. From this original abstract meaning, it was but a step to pass to the concrete, to personify the idea, tomake it an immortal essence, an attribute of the divinity, anothername for the greatest of all Gods himself. And so we find a host ofpassages in early writers, [_D. M. _, p. 126 fol. , where they arecited at length. ] in every one of which 'God' or 'Odin' might besubstituted for 'Wish' with perfect propriety. Here we read how 'TheWish' has hands, feet, power, sight, toil, and art. How he works andlabours, shapes and masters, inclines his ear, thinks, swears, curses, and rejoices, adopts children, and takes men into his house;behaves, in short, as a being of boundless power and infinite free-will. Still more, he rejoices in his own works as in a child, andthus appears in a thoroughly patriarchal point of view, as the Lordof creation, glorying in his handiwork, as the father of a family inearly times was glad at heart when he reckoned his children as arrowsin his quiver, and beheld his house full of a long line of retainersand dependants. For this attribute of the Great Father, for Odin asthe God of Wish, the Edda uses the word 'Oski' which literallyexpresses the masculine personification of 'Wish', and it passed onand added the _works_ wish, as a prefix to a number of others, to signify that they stood in a peculiar relation to the great giverof all good. Thus we have _oska-steinn_, wishing-stone, i. E. Astone which plays the part of a divining rod, and reveals secrets andhidden treasure; _oska-byrr_, a fair wind, a wind as fair asman's heart could wish it; _osk-barn_ and _oska-barn_, a childafter one's own heart, an adopted child, as when the youngerEdda tells us that all those who die in battle are Odin's _choice-bairns_, his adopted children, those on whom he has set his heart, an expression which, in their turn, was taken by the IcelandicChristian writers to express the relation existing between God andthe baptized; and, though last, not least, _oska-maer_, wish-maidens, another name for the Valkyries--Odin's corse-choosers--whopicked out the dead for him on the field of battle, and waited on theheroes in Valhalla. Again, the Edda is filled with 'choice things', possessing some mysterious power of their own, some 'virtue', as ourolder English would express it, which belong to this or that god, andare occasionally lent or lost. Thus, Odin himself had a spear whichgave victory to those on whose side it was hurled; Thor, a hammerwhich destroyed the Giants, hallowed vows, and returned of itself tohis hand. He had a strength-belt, too, which, when he girded it on, his god-strength waxed one-half; Freyr had a sword which wieldeditself; Freyja a necklace which, like the cestus of Venus, inspiredall hearts with love; Freyr, again, had a ship called _Skithblathnir_. 

 She is so great, that all the Aesir, with their weapons and war gear, may find room on board her; and as soon as the sail is set, she has a fair wind whither she shall go; and when there is no need of faring on the sea in her, she is made of so many things, and with so much craft, that Freyr may fold her together like a cloth, and keep her in his bag. [Snorro's _Edda_, Stockholm, 1842, translated by the writer. ]

Of this kind, too, was the ring 'Dropper' which Odin had, and fromwhich twelve other rings dropped every night; the apples which Idun, one of the goddesses, had, and of which, so soon as the Aesir ate, they became young again; the helm which Oegir, the sea giant had, which struck terror into all antagonists like the Aegis of Athene;and that wonderful mill which the mythical Frodi owned, of which weshall shortly speak. 

Now, let us see what traces of this great god 'Wish' and his choice-bairns and wishing-things we can find in these Tales, faint echoes ofa mighty heathen voice, which once proclaimed the goodness of thegreat Father in the blessings which he bestowed on his chosen sons. We shall not have long to seek. In tale No. Xx, when Shortshanksmeets those three old crookbacked hags who have only one eye, whichhe snaps up, and gets first a sword 'that puts a whole army toflight, be it ever so great', we have the 'one-eyed Odin', degenerated into an old hag, or rather--by no uncommon process--wehave an old witch fused by popular tradition into a mixture of Odinand the three Nornir. Again, when he gets that wondrous ship 'whichcan sail over fresh water and salt water, and over high hills anddeep dales, ' and which is so small that he can put it into hispocket, and yet, when he came to use it, could hold five hundred men, we have plainly the Skith-blathnir of the Edda to the very life. Soalso in the Best Wish, No. Xxxvi, the whole groundwork of this storyrests on this old belief; and when we meet that pair of old scissorswhich cuts all manner of fine clothes out of the air, that tableclothwhich covers itself with the best dishes you could think of, as soonas it was spread out, and that tap which, as soon as it was turned, poured out the best of mead and wine, we have plainly another form ofFrodi's wishing-quern--another recollection of those things of choiceabout which the old mythology has so much to tell. Of the same kindare the tablecloth, the ram, and the stick in 'the Lad who went tothe North Wind', No. Xxxiv, and the rings in 'the Three Princesses ofWhiteland', No. Xxvi, and in 'Soria Moria Castle', No. Lvi. In thefirst of those stories, too, we find those 'three brothers' who havestood on a moor 'these hundred years fighting about a hat, a cloak, and a pair of boots', which had the virtue of making him who worethem invisible; choice things which will again remind the reader ofthe _Nibelungen Lied_, of the way in which Siegfried becamepossessed of the famous hoard of gold, and how he got that 'cap ofdarkness' which was so useful to him in his remaining exploits. Soagain in 'the Blue Belt', No. Xxii, what is that belt which, when theboy girded it on, 'he felt as strong as if he could lift the wholehill', but Thor's 'choice-belt'; and what is the daring boy himself, who overcomes the Troll, but Thor himself, as engaged in one of hisadventures with the Giants? So, too, in 'Little Annie the Goose-girl', No. Lix, the stone which tells the Prince all the secrets ofhis brides is plainly the old Oskastein, or 'wishing-stone'. Theseinstances will suffice to show the prolonged faith in 'Wish', and hischoice things; a belief which, though so deeply rooted in the North, we have already traced to its home in the East, whence it stretchesitself from pole to pole, and reappears in every race. We recognizeit in the wishing-cap of Fortunatus, which is a Celtic legend; in thecornucopia of the Romans; in the goat Amalthea among the Greeks; inthe wishing-cow and wishing-tree of the Hindoos; in the pumpkin-treeof the West Indian Ananzi stories; in the cow of the Servian legends, who spins yarn out of her ear; in the Sampo of the Finns; and in allthose stories of cups, and glasses, and horns, and rings, and swords, seized by some bold spirit in the midst of a fairy revel, or earnedby some kind deed rendered by mortal hand to one of the 'good folk'in her hour of need, and with which the '_luck_' [See the well-known story of 'The Luck of Eden Hall'. ] of that mortal's house wasever afterwards bound up; stories with which the local traditions ofall lands are full, but which all pay unconscious homage to theworship of that great God, to whom so many heathen hearts so oftenturned as the divine realizer of their prayers, and the giver of allgood things, until they come at last to make an idol out of theirhopes and prayers, and to immortalize the very 'Wish' itself. 

Again, of all beliefs, that in which man has, at all times of hishistory, been most prone to set faith, is that of a golden age ofpeace and plenty, which had passed away, but which might be expectedto return. Such a period was looked for when Augustus closed thetemple of Janus, and peace, though perhaps not plenty, reigned overwhat the proud Roman called the habitable world. Such a period theearly Christian expected when the Saviour was born, in the reign ofthat very Augustus; and such a period some, whose thoughts are moreset on earth than heaven, have hoped for ever since, with a hopewhich, though deferred for eighteen centuries, has not made theirhearts sick. Such a period of peace and plenty, such a golden time, the Norseman could tell of in his mythic Frodi's reign, when gold or_Frodi's meal_, as it was called, was so plentiful that goldenarmlets lay untouched from year's end to year's end on the king'shighway, and the fields bore crops unsown. Here, in England, theAnglo-Saxon Bede [Hist. , ii, 16. ] knew how to tell the same story ofEdwin, the Northumbrian King, and when Alfred came to be mythic, thesame legend was passed on from Edwin to the West Saxon monarch. Theremembrance of 'the bountiful Frodi' echoed in the songs of Germanpoets long after the story which made him so bountiful had beenforgotten; but the Norse Skalds could tell not only the story ofFrodi's wealth and bounty, but also of his downfall and ruin. InFrodi's house were two maidens of that old giant race, Fenja andMenja. These daughters of the giant he had bought as slaves, and hemade them grind his quern or hand-mill, Grotti, out of which he usedto grind peace and gold. Even in that golden age one sees there wereslaves, and Frodi, however bountiful to his thanes and people, was ahard task-master to his giant hand-maidens. He kept them to the mill, nor gave them longer rest than the cuckoo's note lasted, or theycould sing a song. But that quern was such that it ground anythingthat the grinder chose, though until then it had ground nothing butgold and peace. So the maidens ground and ground, and one sang theirpiteous tale in a strain worthy of Aeschylus as the other worked--they prayed for rest and pity, but Frodi was deaf. Then they turnedin giant mood, and ground no longer peace and plenty, but fire andwar. Then the quern went fast and furious, and that very night cameMysing the Sea-rover, and slew Frodi and all his men, and carried offthe quern; and so Frodi's peace ended. The maidens the sea-rover tookwith him, and when he got on the high seas he bade them grind salt. So they ground; and at midnight they asked if he had not salt enough, but he bade them still grind on. So they ground till the ship wasfull and sank, Mysing, maids, and mill, and all, and that's why thesea is salt [nor. _Ed. Skaldsk. _, ch. 43. ]. Perhaps of all thetales in this volume, none could be selected as better proving thetoughness of a traditional belief than No. Ii, which tells 'Why theSea is Salt'. 

The notion of the Arch-enemy of God and man, of a fallen angel, towhom power was permitted at certain times for an all-wise purpose bythe Great Ruler of the universe, was as foreign to the heathendom ofour ancestors as his name was outlandish and strange to their tongue. This notion Christianity brought with it from the East; and though itis a plant which has struck deep roots, grown distorted and awry, andborne a bitter crop of superstition, it required all the authority ofthe Church to prepare the soil at first for its reception. To thenotion of good necessarily follows that of evil. The Eastern mind, with its Ormuzd and Ahriman, is full of such dualism, and from thathour, when a more than mortal eye saw Satan falling like lightningfrom heaven [St Luke, x, 18. ], the kingdom of darkness, the abode ofSatan and his bad spirits, was established in direct opposition tothe kingdom of the Saviour and his angels. The North had its ownnotion on this point. Its mythology was not without its own darkpowers; but though they too were ejected and dispossessed, they, according to that mythology, had rights of their own. To thembelonged all the universe that had not been seized and reclaimed bythe younger race of Odin and Aesir; and though this upstart dynasty, as the Frost Giants in Promethean phrase would have called it, wellknew that Hel, one of this giant progeny, was fated to do them allmischief, and to outlive them, they took her and made her queen ofNiflheim, and mistress over nine worlds. There, in a bitterly coldplace, she received the souls of all who died of sickness or old age;care was her bed, hunger her dish, starvation her knife. Her wallswere high and strong, and her bolts and bars huge; 'Half blue was herskin, and half the colour of human flesh. A goddess easy to know, andin all things very stern and grim. ' [Snor. _Edda, _ ch. 34, Engl. Transl. ]

But though severe, she was not an evil spirit. She only receivedthose who died as no Norseman wished to die. For those who fell onthe gory battle-field, or sank beneath the waves, Valhalla wasprepared, and endless mirth and bliss with Odin. Those went to Hel, who were rather unfortunate than wicked, who died before they couldbe killed. But when Christianity came in and ejected Odin and hiscrew of false divinities, declaring them to be lying gods and demons, then Hel fell with the rest; but fulfilling her fate, outlived them. From a person she became a place, and all the Northern nations, fromthe Goth to the Norseman, agreed in believing Hell to be the abode ofthe devil and his wicked spirits, the place prepared from thebeginning for the everlasting torments of the damned. One curiousfact connected with this explanation of Hell's origin will not escapethe reader's attention. The Christian notion of Hell is that of aplace of heat, for in the East, whence Christianity came, heat isoften an intolerable torment, and cold, on the other hand, everythingthat is pleasant and delightful. But to the dweller in the North, heat brings with it sensations of joy and comfort, and life withoutfire has a dreary outlook; so their Hel ruled in a cold region overthose who were cowards by implication, while the mead-cup went round, and huge logs blazed and crackled in Valhalla, for the brave andbeautiful who had dared to die on the field of battle. But underChristianity the extremes of heat and cold have met, and Hel, thecold uncomfortable goddess, is now our Hell, where flames and fireabound, and where the devils abide in everlasting flame. 

Still, popular tradition is tough, and even after centuries ofChristian teaching, the Norse peasant, in his popular tales, canstill tell of Hell as a place where fire-wood is wanted at Christmas, and over which a certain air of comfort breathes, though, as in thegoddess Hel's halls, meat is scarce. The following passage from 'Whythe Sea is Salt', No. Ii, will sufficiently prove this:

 'Well, here is the flitch', said the rich brother, 'and now go straight to Hell. '

 'What I have given my word to do, I must stick to' said the other; so he took the flitch and set off. He walked the whole day, and at dusk he came to a place where he saw a very bright light. 

 'Maybe this is the place' said the man to himself. So he turned aside, and the first thing he saw was an old, old man, with a long white beard, who stood in an outhouse, hewing wood for the Christmas fire. 

 'Good even, ' said the man with the flitch. 

 'The same to you; whither are you going so late?' said the man. 

 'Oh! I'm going to Hell, if I only knew the right way, ' answered the poor man. 

 'Well, you're not far wrong, for this is Hell, ' said the old man; 'When you get inside they will be all for buying your flitch, for meat is scarce in Hell; but mind you don't sell it unless you get the hand-quern which stands behind the door for it. When you come out, I'll teach you how to handle the quern, for it's good to grind almost anything. '

This, too, is the proper place to explain the conclusion of thatintensely heathen tale, 'the Master-Smith', No. Xvi. We have alreadyseen how the Saviour and St Peter supply, in its beginning, the placeof Odin and some other heathen god. But when the Smith sets out withthe feeling that he has done a silly thing in quarrelling with theDevil, having already lost his hope of heaven, this tale assumes astill more heathen shape. According to the old notion, those who werenot Odin's guests went either to Thor's house, who had all thethralls, or to Freyja, who even claimed a third part of the slain onevery battle-field with Odin, or to Hel, the cold comfortless goddessalready mentioned, who was still no tormentor, though she ruled overnine worlds, and though her walls were high, and her bolts and barshuge; traits which come out in 'the Master-Smith', No. Xvi, when theDevil, who here assumes Hel's place, orders the watch to go back andlock up _all the nine locks on the gates of Hell_--a lock foreach of the goddesses _nine_ worlds--and to put a padlock onbesides. In the twilight between heathendom and Christianity, in thathalf Christian half heathen consciousness, which this tale reveals, heaven is the preferable abode, as Valhalla was of yore, but ratherthan be without a house to one's head after death, Hell was not to bedespised; though, having behaved ill to the ruler of one, andactually quarrelled with the master of the other, the Smith wasnaturally anxious on the matter. This notion of different abodes inanother world, not necessarily places of torment, comes out too in'Not a Pin to choose between them', No. Xxiv, where Peter, the secondhusband of the silly Goody, goes about begging from house to house inParadise. 

For the rest, whenever the Devil appears in these tales, it is not atall as the Arch-enemy, as the subtle spirit of the Christian's faith, but rather as one of the old Giants, supernatural and hostile indeedto man, but simple and easily deceived by a cunning reprobate, whosesuperior intelligence he learns to dread, for whom he feels himselfno match, and whom, finally, he will receive in Hell at no price. Weshall have to notice some other characteristics of this race ofgiants a little further on, but certainly no greater proof can begiven of the small hold which the Christian Devil has taken of theNorse mind, than the heathen aspect under which he constantlyappears, and the ludicrous way in which he is always outwitted. 

We have seen how our Lord and the saints succeeded to Odin and hischildren in the stories which told of their wanderings on earth, towarn the wicked, or to help the good; we have seen how the kindlinessand helpfulness of the ancient goddesses fell like a royal mantleround the form of the Virgin Mary. We have seen, too, on the otherhand, how the procession of the Almighty God degenerated into theinfernal midnight hunt. We have now to see what became of the rest ofthe power of the goddesses, of all that might which was not absorbedinto the glory of the blessed Virgin. We shall not have far to seek. No reader of early medieval chronicles and sermons, can fail to havebeen struck with many passages which ascribe majesty and power tobeings of woman's sex. Now it is a heathen goddess as _Diana_;now some half-historical character as _Bertha_; now a mythicalbeing as _Holda_; now _Herodias_; now _Satia_; now _Domina Abundia_, or _Dame Habonde_ [16]. 

A very short investigation will serve to identify the two ancientgoddesses Frigga and Freyja with all these leaders of a midnighthost. Just as Odin was banished from day to darkness, so the twogreat heathen goddesses, fused into one 'uncanny' shape, weresupposed to ride the air at night. Medieval chroniclers, writing inbastard Latin, and following the example of classical authors, whenthey had to find a name for this demon-goddess, chose, of course, _Diana_ the heathen huntress, the moon-goddess, and the ruler ofthe night. In the same way, when they threw Odin's name into a Latinshape, he, the god of wit and will, as well as power and victory, became Mercury. As for Herodias--not the mother, but the daughter whodanced--she must have made a deep impression on the mind of the earlyMiddle Age, for she was supposed to have been cursed after thebeheading of John the Baptist, and to have gone on dancing for ever. When heathendom fell, she became confounded with the ancientGoddesses, and thus we find her, sometimes among the crew of theWild Huntsman, sometimes, as we see in the passages below, incompany with, or in the place of _Diana, Holda, Satia_, and_Abundia_, at the head of a bevy of women, who met at certainplaces to celebrate unholy rites and mysteries. As for _Holda, Satia_, and _Abundia_, 'the kind', 'the satisfying', and 'theabundant', they are plainly names of good rather than evil powers;they are ancient epithets drawn from the bounty of the 'Good Lady', and attest the feeling of respect which still clung to them in thepopular mind. As was the case whenever Christianity was brought in, the country folk, always averse to change, as compared with the morelively and intelligent dwellers in towns, still remained more or lessheathen, [17] and to this day they preserve unconsciously manysuperstitions which can be traced up in lineal descent to their oldbelief. In many ways does the old divinity peep out under the newsuperstition--the long train, the midnight feast, 'the good lady' whopresides, the bounty and abundance which her votaries fancied wouldfollow in her footsteps, all belong to the ancient Goddess. Mostcurious of all is the way in which all these traditions fromdifferent countries insist on the third part of the earth, the thirdchild born, the third soul as belonging to the 'good lady', who leadsthe revel; for this right of a third, or even of a half, was onewhich Freyja possessed. 'But Freyja is most famous of the Asynjor. She has that bower in heaven hight Fólkvángr, and 'whithersoever sherideth to the battle, there hath she one half of the slain; but Odinthe other half. ' Again 'when she fares abroad, she drives two catsand sits in a car, and she lends an easy ear to the prayers of men. '[Snorro's _Edda_, Dasent's Translation, pp. 29 (Stockholm1842). ]

We have got then the ancient goddesses identified as evil influences, and as the leader of a midnight band of women, who practised secretand unholy rites. This leads us at once to witchcraft. In all agesand in all races this belief in sorcery has existed. Men and womenpractised it alike, but in all times female sorcerers havepredominated. [18] This was natural enough. In those days women werepriestesses; they collected drugs and simples; women alone knew thevirtues of plants. Those soft hands spun linen, made lint, and boundwounds. Women in the earliest times with which we are acquainted withour forefathers, alone knew how to read and write, they only couldcarve the mystic runes, they only could chant the charms so potent toallay the wounded warrior's smart and pain. The men were busy out ofdoors with ploughing, hunting, barter, and war. In such an age thesex which possessed by natural right book-learning, physic, soothsaying, and incantation, even when they used these mysteries forgood purposes, were but a step from sin. The same soft white handthat bound the wound and scraped the lint; the same gentle voice thatsung the mystic rune, that helped the child-bearing woman, or drewthe arrow-head from the dying champion's breast; the same bright eyethat gazed up to heaven in ecstacy through the sacred grove and readthe will of the Gods when the mystic tablets and rune-carved lotswere cast--all these, if the will were bad, if the soothsayer passedinto the false prophetess, the leech into a poisoner, and thepriestess into a witch, were as potent and terrible for ill as theyhad once been powerful for good. In all the Indo-European tribes, therefore, women, and especially old women, have practised witchcraftfrom the earliest times, and Christianity found them wherever itadvanced. But Christianity, as it placed mankind upon a higherplatform of civilization, increased the evil which it found, and whenit expelled the ancient goddesses, and confounded them as demons withDiana and Herodias, it added them and their votaries to the old classof malevolent sorcerers. There was but one step, but a simple act ofthe will, between the Norn and the hag, even before Christianity camein. As soon as it came, down went Goddess, Valkyrie, Norn, priestess, and soothsayer, into that unholy deep where the heathen hags andwitches had their being; and, as Christianity gathered strength, developed its dogmas, and worked out its faith; fancy, tradition, leechcraft, poverty, and idleness, produced that unhappy class, themedieval witch, the persecution of which is one of the darkest pagesin religious history. 

It is curious indeed to trace the belief in witches through theMiddle Age, and to mark how it increases in intensity and absurdity. At first, as we have seen in the passages quoted, the superstitionseemed comparatively harmless, and though the witches themselves mayhave believed in their unholy power, there were not wanting divineswho took a common-sense view of the matter, and put the absurdity oftheir pretensions to a practical proof. Such was that good parishpriest who asked, when an old woman of his flock insisted that shehad been in his house with the company of 'the Good Lady', and hadseen him naked and covered him up, 'How, then, did you get in whenall the doors were locked?' 'We can get in, ' she said, 'even if thedoors are locked. ' Then the priest took her into the chancel of thechurch, locked the door, and gave her a sound thrashing with thepastoral staff, calling out 'Out with you, lady witch. ' But as shecould not, he sent her home, saying 'See now how foolish you are tobelieve in such empty dreams'. [19]

But as the Church increased in strength, as heresies arose, andconsequent persecution, then the secret meetings of these sectarians, as we should now call them, were identified by the hierarchy with therites of sorcery and magic, and with the relics of the worship of theold gods. By the time, too, that the hierarchy was established, thatbelief in the fallen angel, the Arch-Fiend, the Devil, originally soforeign to the nations of the West, had become thoroughly ingraftedon the popular mind, and a new element of wickedness and superstitionwas introduced at those unholy festivals. About the middle of thethirteenth century, we find the mania for persecuting hereticsinvading the tribes of Teutonic race from France and Italy, backed byall the power of the Pope. Like jealousy, persecution too often makesthe meat it feeds on, and many silly, if not harmless, superstitionswere rapidly put under the ban of the Church. Now the 'Good Lady' andher train begin to recede, they only fill up the background while thePrince of Darkness steps, dark and terrible, in front, and soon drawsafter him the following of the ancient goddess. Now we hear storiesof demoniac possession; now the witches adore a demon of the othersex. With the male element, and its harsher, sterner nature, thesinfulness of these unholy assemblies is infinitely increased; follybecomes guilt, and guilt crime. [20]

From the middle of the fourteenth to the middle of the seventeenthcentury the history of Europe teems with processes against witchesand sorcerers. Before the Reformation it reached its height, in theCatholic world, with the famous bull of Innocent the Eighth in 1484, the infamous _Malleus Maleficarum_, the first of the long listof witch-finding books, and the zeal with which the State lent allthe terrors of the law to assist the ecclesiastical inquisitors. Before the tribunals of those inquisitors, in the fifteenth century, innumerable victims were arraigned on the double charge of heresy andsorcery--for the crimes ran in couples, both being children and swornservants of the Devil. Would that the historian could say that withthe era of the Reformation these abominations ceased. The RomanHierarchy, with her bulls and inquisitors, had sown a bitter crop, which both she and the Protestant Churches were destined to reap; butin no part of the world were the labourers more eager and willing, when the fields were 'black' to harvest, than in those very reformedcommunities which had just shaken off the yoke of Rome, and which hadsprung in many cases from the very heretics whom she had persecutedand burnt, accusing them at the same time, of the most malignantsorceries. [21]

Their excuse is, that no one is before his age. The intensepersonality given to the Devil in the Middle Age had possessed thewhole mind of Europe. We must take them as we find them, with theirbright fancy, their earnest faith, their stern fanaticism, theirrevolting superstition, just as when we look upon a picture we knowthat those brilliant hues and tones, that spirit which informs thewhole, could never be, were it not for the vulgar earths and oil outof which the glorious work of art is mixed and made. Strangelymonotonous are all the witch trials of which Europe has so many toshow. At first the accused denies, then under torture she confesses, then relapses and denies; tortured again she confesses again, amplifies her story, and accuses others. When given to the stake, shenot seldom asserts all her confessions to be false, which is ascribedto the power which the fiend still has over her. Then she is burntand her ashes given to the winds. Those who wish to read oneunexampled, perhaps for barbarity and superstition, and more curiousthan the rest from the prominence given in it to a man, may find itin the trial of Dr. Fian, the Scotch wizard, "which doctor wasregister to the Devil, that sundry times preached at North Baricke(North Berwick, in East Lothian) Kirke, to a number of notoriouswitches. " [22] But we advise no one to venture on a perusal of thistract who is not prepared to meet with the most unutterableaccusations and crimes, the most cruel tortures, and the most absurdconfessions, followed as usual by the stoutest denial of all that hadbeen confessed; when torture had done her worst on poor human nature, and the soul re-asserted at the last her supremacy over the body. [23] One characteristic of all these witch trials, is the fact, thatin spite of their unholy connection and intrigues with the Evil One, no witch ever attained to wealth and station by the aid of the Princeof Darkness. The pleasure to do ill, is all the pleasure they feel. This fact alone might have opened the eyes of their persecutors, forif the Devil had the worldly power which they represented him tohave, he might at least have raised some of his votaries to temporalrank, and to the pomps and the vanities of this world. An old Germanproverb expresses this notorious fact, by saying, that 'every sevenyears, a witch is three halfpence richer'; and so with all the unholymeans of Hell at their command, they dragged out their lives, alongwith their black cats, in poverty and wretchedness. To this fate atlast, came the worshippers of the great goddess Freyja, whom ourforefathers adored as the goddess of love and plenty; and whose carwas drawn by those animals which popular superstition has ever sinceassigned to the 'old witch' of our English villages. 

The North was not free, any more than the rest of the Protestantworld, from this direful superstition, which ran over Europe like apestilence in the sixteenth century. In Sweden especially, thewitches and their midnight ridings to _Blokulla_, the blackhill, gave occasion to processes as absurd and abominable as thetrial of Dr. Fian and the witch-findings of Hopkins. In Denmark, thesorceresses were supposed to meet at Tromsoe high up in Finmark, oreven on Heckla in Iceland. The Norse witches met at a Blokolle oftheir own, or on the Dovrefell, or at other places in Norway orFinmark. As might be expected, we find many traces of witchcraft inthese Tales, but it may be doubted whether these may not be referredrather to the old heathen belief in such arts still lingering in thepopular mind than to the processes of the fifteenth and sixteenthcenturies, which were far more a craze and mania of the educatedclasses acting under a mistaken religious fanaticism against popularsuperstitions than a movement arising from the mass of the community. Still, in 'the Mastermaid', No. Xi, the witch of a sister-in-law, whohad rolled the apple over to the Prince, and so charmed him, was tornto pieces between twenty-four horses. The old queen in 'The Lassieand her Godmother', No. Xxvii, tries to persuade her son to have theyoung queen burnt alive for a wicked witch, who was dumb, and hadeaten her own babes. In 'East o' the Sun and West o' the Moon', No. Iv, it is a wicked stepmother who has bewitched the prince. In 'BushyBride', No. Xlv, the ugly bride charms the king to sleep, and is atlast thrown, with her wicked mother, into a pit full of snakes. Inthe 'Twelve Wild Ducks', No. Viii, the wicked stepmother persuadesthe king that Snow-white and Rosy-red is a witch, and almostpersuades him to burn her alive. In 'Tatterhood', No. Xlvii, a wholetroop of witches come to keep their revels on Christmas eve in theQueen's Palace, and snap off the young Princess's head. It is hard, indeed, in tales where Trolls play so great a part, to keep witch andTroll separate; but the above instances will show that the belief inthe one, as distinct from the other, exists in the popularsuperstitions of the North. 

The frequent transformation of men into beasts, in these tales, isanother striking feature. This power the gods of the Norsemanpossessed in common with those of all other mythologies. Europa andher Bull, Leda and her Swan, will occur at once to the reader's mind;and to come to closer resemblances, just as Athene appears in theOdyssey as an eagle or a swallow perched on the roof of the hall[Od. , iii, 372; and xxii, 239], so Odin flies off as a falcon, andLoki takes the form of a horse or bird. This was only part of thatomnipotence which all gods enjoy. But the belief that men, undercertain conditions, could also take the shape of animals, isprimaeval, and the traditions of every race can tell of suchtransformations. Herodotus had heard how the Neurians, a Slavonicrace, passed for wizards amongst the Scythians and the Greeks settledround the Black Sea, because each of them, once in the year, became awolf for a few days, and then returned to his natural shape. Pliny, Pomponius Mela, and St. Augustin, in his great treatise, _DeCivitate Dei_, tell the same story, and Virgil, in his Eclogues, has sung the same belief [24]. The Latins called such a man, a_turnskin--versipellis_, an expression which exactly agrees withthe Icelandic expression for the same thing, and which is probablythe true original of our _turncoat_. In Petronius the superstitionappears in its full shape, and is worth repeating. At the banquet ofTrimalchion, Nicoros gives the following account of the turn-skinsof Nero's time:

 It happened that my master was gone to Capua to dispose of some second-hand goods. I took the opportunity and persuaded our guest to walk with me to the fifth milestone. He was a valiant soldier, and a sort of grim water-drinking Pluto. About cock-crow, when the moon was shining as bright as mid-day, we came among the monuments. My friend began addressing himself to the stars, but I was rather in a mood to sing or to count them; and when I turned to look at him, lo! he had already stripped himself and laid down his clothes near him. My heart was in my nostrils, and I stood like a dead man; but he '_circumminxit vestimenta_', and on a sudden became a wolf. Do not think I jest; I would not lie for any man's estate. But to return to what I was saying. When he became a wolf, he began howling, and fled into the woods. At first I hardly knew where I was, and afterwards, when I went to take up his clothes, they were turned into stone. Who then died with fear but I? Yet I drew my sword, and went cutting the air right and left, till I reached the villa of my sweetheart. I entered the court-yard. I almost breathed my last, the sweat ran down my neck, my eyes were dim, and I thought I should never recover myself. My Melissa wondered why I was out so late, and said to me: 'Had you come sooner you might at least have helped us, for a wolf has entered the farm, and worried all our cattle; but he had not the best of the joke, for all he escaped, for our slave ran a lance through his neck. ' When I heard this, I could not doubt how it was, and, as it was clear daylight, ran home as fast as a robbed innkeeper. When I came to the spot where the clothes had been turned into stone, I could find nothing except blood. But when I got home, I found my friend the soldier in bed, bleeding at the neck like an ox, and a doctor dressing his wound. I then knew he was a turn-skin, nor would I ever have brokebread with him again; No, not if you had killed me. [25]

A man who had such a gift or greed was also called lycanthropus, a man-wolf or wolf-man, which term the Anglo-Saxons translatedliterally in Canute's Laws _verevulf_, and the early English_werewolf_. In old French he was _loupgarou_, which means thesame thing; except that _garou_ means man-wolf in itself withoutthe antecedent _loup_, so that, as Madden observes, the wholeword is one of those reduplications of which we have an examplein _lukewarm_. In Brittany he was _bleizgarou_ and _denvleiz_, formed respectively from _bleiz_, wolf, and _den_, man; _garou_ ismerely a distorted form of _wer_ or _vere_, man and _loup_. Inlater French the word became _waroul_, whence the Scotch _wrout_, _wurl_, and _worlin_. [26]

It was not likely that a belief so widely spread should not haveextended itself to the North; and the grave assertions of OlausMagnus in the sixteenth century, in his Treatise _De GentibusSeptentrionalibus_, show how common the belief in were-wolves wasin Sweden so late as the time of Gustavus Vasa. In mythical timesthe _Volsunga Saga_ [_Fornald Sog_, i, 130, 131. ] expresslystates of Sigmund and Sinfjötli that they became were-wolves--which, we may remark, were Odin's sacred beasts--just in the same way asBrynhildr and the Valkyries, or corse-choosers, who followed the godof battles to the field, and chose the dead for Valhalla when thefight was done, became swan-maidens, and took the shape of swans. Ineither case, the wolf's skin or the swan's feathery covering wasassumed and laid aside at pleasure, though the _Völundr Quidr_, in the _Edda_, and the stories of 'The Fair Melusina', and othermedieval swan-maidens, show that any one who seized that shape whilethus laid aside, had power over its wearer. In later times, when thisold heroic belief degenerated into the notion of sorcery, it wassupposed that a girdle of wolfskin thrown over the body, or even aslap on the face with a wolfskin glove, would transform the personupon whom the sorcerer practised into the shape of a ravening wolf, which fled at once to the woods, where he remained in that shape fora period which varied in popular belief for nine days, three, seven, or nine years. While in this state he was especially ravenous afteryoung children, whom he carried off as the were-wolf carried offWilliam in the old romance, though all were-wolves did not treattheir prey with the same tenderness as that were-wolf treatedWilliam. 

But the favourite beast for Norse transformations in historic times, if we may judge from the evidence afforded by the Sagas, was thebear, the king of all their beasts, whose strength and sagacity madehim an object of great respect [See Landnama in many places. _Egil's Sag. , Hrolf Krak. Sag. _]. 

This old belief, then, might be expected to be found in these NorseTales, and accordingly we find men transformed in them into variousbeasts. Of old these transformations, as we have already stated, wereactive, if we may use the expression, as well as passive. A man whopossessed the gift, frequently assumed the shape of a beast at hisown will and pleasure, like the soldier in Petronius. Even now inNorway, it is matter of popular belief that Finns and Lapps, who fromtime immemorial have passed for the most skilful witches and wizardsin the world, can at will assume the shape of bears; and it is acommon thing to say of one of those beasts, when he gets unusuallysavage and daring, 'that can be no Christian bear'. On such a bear, in the parish of Oföden, after he had worried to death more thansixty horses and six men, it is said that a girdle of bearskin, theinfallible mark of a man thus transformed, was found when he was atlast tracked and slain. The tale called 'Farmer Weathersky', No. Xliin this collection, shows that the belief of these spontaneoustransformations still exists in popular tradition, where it is easyto see that Farmer Weathersky is only one of the ancient godsdegraded into a demon's shape. His sudden departure through the air, horse, sledge, and lad, and all, and his answer 'I'm at home, alikenorth, and south, and east, and west'; his name itself, and hisdistant abode, surrounded with the corpses of the slain, sufficientlybetray the divinity in disguise. His transformation, too, into a hawkanswers exactly to that of Odin when he flew away from the FrostGiant in the shape of that bird. But in these tales suchtransformations are for the most part passive; they occur not at thewill of the person transformed, but through sorcery practised on themby some one else. Thus the White Bear in the beautiful story of 'Easto' the Sun and West o' the Moon', No. Iv, is a Prince transformed byhis stepmother, just as it is the stepmother who plays the same partin the romance of William and the Were-wolf. So the horse in 'theWidow's Son', No. Xliv, is a Prince over whom a king has cast thatshape. [27] So also in 'Lord Peter', No. Xlii, which is the fullstory of what we have only hitherto known in part as 'Puss in Boots', the cat is a princess bewitched by the Troll who had robbed her ofher lands; so also in 'The Seven Foals', No. Xliii, and 'The TwelveWild Ducks', No. Viii, the Foals and the Ducks are Princes over whomthat fate has come by the power of a witch or a Troll, to whom anunwary promise had been given. Thoroughly mythic is the trait in 'TheTwelve Wild Ducks', where the youngest brother reappears with a wildduck's wing instead of his left arm, because his sister had no timeto finish that portion of the shirt, upon the completion of which hisretransformation depended. 

But we should ill understand the spirit of the Norsemen, if wesupposed that these transformations into beasts were all that thenational heart has to tell of beasts and their doings, or that, whenthey appear, they do so merely as men-beasts, without any power orvirtue of their own. From the earliest times, side by side with thoseproductions of the human mind which speak of the dealings of men withmen, there has grown up a stock of traditions about animals and theirrelations with one another, which forms a true Beast Epic, and isfull of the liveliest traits of nature. Here, too, it was reservedfor Grimm to restore these traditions to their true place in thehistory of the human mind, and show that the poetry which treats ofthem is neither satirical nor didactic, though it may contain touchesof both these artificial kinds of composition, but, on the contrary, purely and intensely natural. It is Epic, in short, springing out ofthat deep love of nature and close observation of the habits ofanimals which is only possible in an early and simple stage ofsociety. It used to be the fashion, when these Beast traditions werenoticed, to point to Aesop as their original, but Grimm hassufficiently proved [Reinhart Fuchs, Introduction] that what we seein Aesop is only the remains of a great world-old cycle of suchtraditions which had already, in Aesop's day, been subjected by theGreek mind to that critical process which a late state of societybrings to bear on popular traditions; that they were then alreadyworn and washed out and moralized. He had also shown how the sameprocess went on till in Phaedrus nothing but the dry bones of thetraditions, with a drier moral, are served up to the reader; and hehas done justice on La Fontaine, who wrote with all the wantonlicentiousness of his day, and frittered away the whole nature of hisfables by the frivolity of his allusions to the artificial society ofhis time. Nor has he spared Lessing, who, though he saw through thepoverty of Phaedrus as compared with Aesop, and was alive to theweakness of La Fontaine, still wandered about in the classical mistwhich hung heavy over the learning of the eighteenth century, and sawin the Greek form the perfection of all fable, when in Aesop itreally appears in a state of degeneracy and decay. Here too, as in somany other things, we have a proof that the world is older than wethink it. The Beast-Fables in the _Pantcha Tantra_ and the_Hitopadesa_, the Indian parallels to Aesop, reveal, in theconnection in which they occur, and in the moral use to which theyare put, a state of society long past that simple early time in whichsuch fictions arise. They must have sprung up in the East in the verydawn of time; and thence travelling in all directions, we find themafter many centuries in various shapes, which admit of no mistake asto their first origin, at the very ends of the earth, in countries asopposite as the Poles to each other; in New Zealand and Norway, inCentral Africa and Servia, in the West Indies and in Mongolia; allseparated by immense tracts of land or sea from their common centre. To the earnest inquirer, to one who believes that many dark thingsmay yet be solved, it is very satisfactory to see that even Grimm, inhis _Reynard the Fox_, is at a loss to understand why the North, properly so called, had none of the traditions which the Middle Agemoulded into that famous Beast-Epic. But since then the North, as theGreat Master himself confesses in his later works, has amply avengedherself for the slight thus cast upon her by mistake. In the year1834, when Grimm thus expressed his surprise on this point, the Northhad no such traditions to show in books indeed, but she kept themstored up in her heart in an abundance with which no other landperhaps can vie. This book at least shows how natural it seems to theNorse mind now, and how much more natural of course it seemed inearlier times, when sense went for as much and reflection for solittle, that beasts should talk; and how truly and faithfully it haslistened and looked for the accents and character of each. The Bearis still the King of Beasts, in which character he appears in 'Trueand Untrue', No. I, but here, as in Germany, he is no match for theFox in wit. Thus Reynard plays him a trick which condemns him forever to a stumpy tail in No. Xxiii. He cheats him out of his share ofa firkin of butter in No. Lvii. He is preferred as Herdsman, in No. X, before either Bear or Wolf, by the old wife who wants some one totend her flock. Yet all the while he professes immense respect forthe Bear, and calls him 'Lord', even when in the very act ofoutwitting him. In the tale called 'Well Done and Ill Paid', No. Xxxviii, the crafty fox puts a finish to his misbehaviour to his'Lord Bruin', by handing him over, bound hand and foot, to thepeasant, and by causing his death outright. Here, too, we have anexample, which we shall see repeated in the case of the giants, thatstrength and stature are not always wise, and that wit and wisdomnever fail to carry the day against mere brute force. Another tale, however, restores the bear to his true place as the king of beasts, endowed not only with strength, but with something divine andterrible about him which the Trolls cannot withstand. This is 'TheCat on the Dovrefell', No. Xii. In connection with which, it shouldbe remembered that the same tradition existed in the thirteenthcentury in Germany, [Grimm, _Irisch. Elfenm. _, 114-9, and _D. M. _, 447. ] that the bear is called familiarly grandfather in theNorth, and that the Lapps reckon him rather as akin to men thanbeasts; that they say he has the strength of ten and the wit oftwelve men. If they slay him, they formally beg his pardon, as doalso the Ostjaks, a tribe akin to the Lapps, and bring him to theirhuts with great formalities and mystic songs. To the Wolf, whosenickname is 'Graylegs', [28] these tales are more complimentary. Heis not the spiteful, stupid, greedy Isengrim of Germany and France. Not that Isengrim, of whom old English fables of the thirteenthcentury tell us that he became a monk, but when the brethren wishedto teach him his letters that he might learn the paternoster, allthey could get out of him was _lamb, lamb_; nor could they everget him to look to the cross, for his eyes, with his thoughts, 'wereever to the woodward'. [Douce, _Illust. To Shakspeare_, ii, 33, 344, quoted in _Reinhart Fuchs_, ccxxi. ] He appears, on thecontrary, in 'The Giant who had no Heart in his body', No. Ix, as akindly grateful beast, who repays tenfold out of the hidden store ofhis supernatural sagacity the gift of the old jade, which Boots hadmade over to him. 

The horse was a sacred animal among the Teutonic tribes from thefirst moment of their appearance in history, and Tacitus[_Germania_, 9, 10. ] has related, how in the shade of thosewoods and groves which served them for temples, white horses were fedat the public cost, whose backs no mortal man crossed, whoseneighings and snortings were carefully watched as auguries and omens, and who were thought to be conscious of divine mysteries. In Persia, too, the classical reader will remember how the neighing of a horsedecided the choice for the crown. Here, in England, at any rate, wehave only to think of Hengist and Horsa, the twin-heroes of theAnglo-Saxon migration, as the legend ran--heroes whose name meant'horse'--and of the vale of the White Horse in Berks. , where thesacred form still gleams along the down, to be reminded of thesacredness of the horse to our forefathers. The Eddas are filled withthe names of famous horses, and the Sagas contain many stories ofgood steeds, in whom their owners trusted and believed as sacred tothis or that particular god. Such a horse is Dapplegrim in No. Xl, ofthese tales, who saves his master out of all his perils, and bringshim to all fortune, and is another example of that mysteriousconnection with the higher powers which animals in all ages have beensupposed to possess. 

Such a friend, too, to the helpless lassie is the Dun Bull in 'KatieWoodencloak', No. 1, out of whose ear comes the 'Wishing Cloth', which serves up the choicest dishes. The story is probably imperfect, as we should expect to see him again in human shape after his headwas cut off, and his skin flayed; but, after being the chiefcharacter up to that point, he remains from that time forth in thebackground, and we only see him darkly in the man who comes out ofthe face of the rock and supplies the lassie's wants when she knockson it. Dun, or blue, or mouse-colour, is the favourite colour forfairy kine. Thus the cow which Guy of Warwick killed was _dun_. The _Huldror_ in Norway have large flocks of blue kine. InScotland runs the story of the mouse-coloured Elfin Bull. In Icelandthe colour of such kine is _apalgrár_, dapple grey. This animalhas been an object of adoration and respect from the earliest times, and we need only remind our readers of the sanctity of cows and bullsamong the Indians and Egyptians, of 'the Golden Calf' in the Bible;of Io and her wanderings from land to land; and, though last, notleast, of Audhumla, the Mythic Cow in the Edda, who had so large apart in the creation of the first Giant in human forms. [Snorro's_Edda_, ch. Vi, English translation. ]

The dog, to which, with all his sagacity and faithfulness somethingunclean and impure clings, as Grimm well observes, plays no veryprominent part in these Tales. [29] We find him, however, in 'Not aPin to choose between them', No. Xxiv, where his sagacity fails todetect his mistress; and, as 'the foe of his own house', the half-bred foxy hound, who chases away the cunning Fox in 'Well Done andIll Paid', No. Xxxviii. Still he, too, in popular superstition, isgifted with a sense of the supernatural; he howls when death impends, and in 'Buttercup', No. Xviii, it is Goldtooth, their dog, who warnsButtercup and his mother of the approach of the old hag. In 'BushyBride', No. Xlv, he appears only as the lassie's lap-dog, is thrownaway as one of her sacrifices, and at last goes to the wedding in hercoach; yet in that tale he has something weird about him, and he issent out by his mistress three times to see if the dawn is coming. 

In one Tale, No. Xxxvii, the Goat appears in full force, and dashesout the brains of the Troll, who lived under the bridge over theburn. In another, 'Tatterhood', No. Xlviii, he helps the lassie inher onslaught on the witches. He, too, was sacred to Thor in the oldmythology, and drew his thundering car. Here something of the divinenature of his former lord, who was the great foe of all Trolls, seemsto have been passed on in popular tradition to the animal who hadseen so many adventures with the great God who swayed the thunder. This feud between the Goat and the Trolls comes out curiously in 'TheOld Dame and her Hen', No. Iii, where a goat falls down the trapdoorto the Troll's house, 'Who sent for you, I should like to know, youlong-bearded beast' said the Man o' the Hill, who was in an awfulrage; and with that he whipped up the Goat, wrung his head off, andthrew him down into the cellar. Still he belonged to one of theheathen gods, and so in later Middle-Age superstition he is assignedto the Devil, who even takes his shape when he presides at theWitches' Sabbath. 

Nor in this list must the little birds be forgotten which taught theman's daughter, in the tale of 'The Two Stepsisters', No. Xvii, howto act in her trials. So, too, in 'Katie Woodencloak', No. L, thelittle bird tells the Prince, 'who understood the song of birds verywell, ' that blood is gushing out of the golden shoe. The belief thatsome persons had the gift of understanding what the birds said, isprimaeval. We pay homage to it in our proverbial expression, 'alittle bird told me'. Popular traditions and rhymes protect theirnests, as in the case of the wren, the robin, and the swallow. Occasionally this gift seems to have been acquired by eating ortasting the flesh of a snake or dragon, as Sigurd, in the Volsungtale, first became aware of Regin's designs against his life, when heaccidentally tasted the heart-blood of Fafnir, whom he had slain indragon shape, and then all at once the swallow's song, perched abovehim, became as intelligible as human speech. 

We now come to a class of beings which plays a large part, and alwaysfor ill, in these Tales. These are the Giants or Trolls. In modernNorse tradition there is little difference between the names, butoriginally Troll was a more general expression for a supernaturalbeing than Giant, [30] which was rather confined to a race more dullthan wicked. In the Giants we have the wantonness of boundless bodilystrength and size, which, trusting entirely to these qualities, fallsat last by its own weight. At first, it is true that proverbialwisdom, all the stores of traditional lore, all that could be learntby what may be called rule of thumb, was ascribed to them. Onesympathises too with them, and almost pities them as therepresentatives of a simple primitive race, whose day is past andgone, but who still possessed something of the innocence and virtueof ancient times, together with a stock of old experience, which, however useful it might be as an example to others, was quite uselessto help themselves. They are the old Tories of mythology, as opposedto the Aesir, the advanced liberals. They can look back and say whathas been, but to look forward to say what will be and shall be, andto mould the future, is beyond their ken. True as gold to thetraditional and received, and worthless as dross for the new andprogressive. Such a nature, when unprovoked, is easy and simple; butrouse it, and its exuberant strength rises in a paroxysm of rage, though its clumsy awkward blows, guided by mere cunning, fail tostrike the slight and lissom foe who waits for and eludes the stroke, until his reason gives him the mastery over sheer brute force whichhas wearied itself out by its own exertions. [31]

This race, and that of the upstart Aesir, though almost always atfeud, still had their intervals of common intercourse, and evensocial enjoyment. Marriages take place between them, visits are paid, feasts are given, ale is breached, and mirth is fast and furious. Thor was the worst foe the giants ever had, and yet he met themsometimes on good terms. They were destined to meet once for all onthat awful day, 'the twilight of the gods', but till then, theyentertained for each other some sense of mutual respect. 

The Trolls, on the other hand, with whom mankind had more to do, weresupposed to be less easy tempered, and more systematically malignant, than the Giants, and with the term were bound up notions of sorceryand unholy power. But mythology is a woof of many colours, in whichthe hues are shot and blended, so that the various races ofsupernatural beings are shaded off, and fade away almostimperceptibly into each other; and thus, even in heathen times, itmust have been hard to say exactly where the Giant ended and theTroll began. But when Christianity came in, and heathendom fell; whenthe godlike race of the Aesir became evil demons instead of goodgenial powers, then all the objects of the old popular belief, whether Aesir, Giants, or Trolls, were mingled together in onesuperstition, as 'no canny'. They were all Trolls, all malignant; andthus it is that, in these tales, the traditions about Odin and hisunderlings, about the Frost Giants, and about sorcerers and wizards, are confused and garbled; and all supernatural agency that plotsman's ill is the work of Trolls, whether the agent be the arch enemyhimself, or giant, or witch, or wizard. 

In tales such as 'The Old Dame and her Hen', No. Iii, 'The Giant whohad no Heart in his Body', No. Ix, 'Shortshanks', No. Xx, 'Boots andthe Troll', No. Xxxii, 'Boots who ate a match with the Troll', No. V, the easy temper of the old Frost Giants predominates, and we almostpity them as we read. In another, 'The Big Bird Dan', No. Lv, we havea Troll Prince, who appears as a generous benefactor to the youngPrince, and lends him a sword by help of which he slays the King ofthe Trolls, just as we sometimes find in the Edda friendly meetingsbetween the Aesir and this or the Frost Giant. In 'Tatterhood', No. Xlviii, the Trolls are very near akin to the witches of the MiddleAge. In other tales, as 'The Mastermaid', No. Xi, 'The Blue Belt', No. Xxii, 'Farmer Weathersky', No. Xli, a sort of settled malignityagainst man appears as the direct working and result of a bad andevil spirit. In 'Buttercup', No. Xviii, and 'The Cat on theDovrefell', we have the Troll proper, --the supernatural dwellers ofthe woods and hills, who go to church, and eat men, and porridge, andsausages indifferently, not from malignity, but because they know nobetter, because it is their nature, and because they have always doneso. In one point they all agree--in their place of abode. The wildpine forest that clothes the spurs of the fells, but more than all, the interior recesses of the rocky fell itself, is where the Trollslive. Thither they carry off the children of men, and to them belongsall the untold riches of the mineral world. There, in caves andclefts in the steep face of the rock, sits the Troll, as therepresentative of the old giants, among heaps of gold and silver andprecious things. They stride off into the dark forest by day, whitherno rays of the sun can pierce; they return home at nightfall, feastthemselves full, and snore out the night. One thing was fatal tothem--the sight of the sun. If they looked him full in the face, hisglory was too great for them, and they burst, as in 'Lord Peter', No. Xlii, and in 'The Old Dame and her Hen', No. Iii. This, too, is adeeply mythic trait. The old religion of the North was a bright andlively faith; it lived in the light of joy and gladness; its godswere the 'blithe powers'; opposed to them were the dark powers ofmist and gloom, who could not bear the glorious face of the Sun, ofBaldr's beaming visage, or the bright flash of Thor's levin bolt. 

In one aspect, the whole race of Giants and Trolls stands out instrong historical light. There can be little doubt that, in theircontinued existence amongst the woods, and rocks, and hills, we havea memory of the gradual suppression and extinction of some hostilerace, who gradually retired into the natural fastnesses of the land, and speedily became mythic. Nor, if we bear in mind their naturalposition, and remember how constantly the infamy of sorcery has clungto the Finns and Lapps, shall we have far to go to seek this ancientrace, even at the present day. Between this outcast nomad race, whichwandered from forest to forest, and from fell to fell, without afixed place of abode, and the old natural powers and Frost Giants, the minds of the race which adored Odin and the Aesir soon engendereda monstrous man-eating cross-breed of supernatural beings, who fledfrom contact with the intruders as soon as the first great strugglewas over, abhorred the light of day, and looked upon agriculture andtillage as a dangerous innovation which destroyed their huntingfields, and was destined finally to root them out from off the faceof the earth. This fact appears in countless stories all over theglobe, for man is true to himself in all climes, and the savage inAfrica or across the Rocky Mountains, dreads tillage and detests theplough as much as any Lapp or Samoyed. 'See what pretty playthings, mother!' cries the Giants' daughter as she unties her apron, andshows her a plough, and horses, and peasants. 'Back with them thisinstant', cries the mother in wrath, 'and put them down as carefullyas you can, for these playthings can do our race great harm, and whenthese come we must budge. ' 'What sort of an earthworm is this?' saidone Giant to another, when they met a man as they walked. 'These arethe earthworms that will one day eat us up, brother, ' answered theother; and soon both Giants left that part of Germany. Nor does thistrait appear less strongly in these Norse Tales. The Giants or Trollscan neither brew nor wash properly, as we see in Shortshanks, No. Xx, where the Ogre has to get Shortshanks to brew his ale for him; and in'East o' the Sun and West o' the Moon', No. Iv, where none of theTrolls are able to wash out the spot of tallow. So also in the 'TwoStep-sisters', No. Xvii, the old witch is forced to get human maidsto do her household-work; and, lastly, the best example of all, in'Lord Peter', No. Xlii, where agriculture is plainly a secret ofmankind, which the Giants were eager to learn, but which was a branchof knowledge beyond their power to attain. 

 'Stop a bit', said the Cat, 'and I'll tell you how the farmer sets to work to get in his winter rye. '

 And so she told him such a long story about the winter rye. 

 'First of all, you see, he ploughs the field, and then he dungs it, and then he ploughs it again, and then he harrows it, ' and so she went on till the sun rose. 

Before we leave these gigantic natural powers, let us linger a momentto point out how heartily the Winds are sketched in these Tales asfour brothers; of whom, of course, the North wind is the oldest, andstrongest, and roughest. But though rough in form and tongue, he is agenial, kind-hearted fellow after all. He carries the lassie to thecastle, 'East o' the Sun and West o' the Moon', whither none of hisbrothers had strength to blow. All he asks is that she won't beafraid, and then he takes a good rest, and puffs himself up with asmuch breath as ever he can hold, begins to blow a storm, and off theygo. So, too, in 'The Lad who went to the North Wind', No. Xxxiv, though he can't restore the meal he carried off, he gives the ladthree things which make his fortune, and amply repay him. He, too, like the Grecian Boreas, is divine, and lineally descended fromHraesvelgr, that great giant in the Edda, who sits 'at the end of theworld in eagle's shape, and when he flaps his wings, all the windscome that blow upon men. '

Enough surely has now been said to shew that the old religion andmythology of the Norseman still lives disguised in these populartales. Besides this internal evidence, we find here and there, in thewritten literature of earlier days, hints that the same stories wereeven then current, and current then as now, among the lower classes. Thus, in _King Sverri's Saga_ we read: 'And so it was just likewhat is said to have happened in old stories of what the king'schildren suffered from their stepmother's ill-will. ' And again, in_Olof Tryggvason's Saga_ by the monk Odd: 'And better is it tohear such things with mirth than stepmother's stories which shepherdstell, where no one can tell whether anything is true, and where theking is always made the least in their narrative. ' But, in truth, nosuch positive evidence is needed. Any one who has read the Volsungtale as we have given it, will be at no loss to see where the 'littlebirds' who speak to the Prince and the lassie, in these tales, comefrom; nor when they read in the 'Big Bird Dan', No. Lv, about 'thenaked sword' which the Princess lays by her side every night, willthey fail to recognize Sigurd's sword _Gram_, which he laidbetween himself and Brynhildr when he rode through the flame and wonher for Gunnar. These mythical deep-rooted groves, throwing out freshshoots from age to age in the popular literature of the race, are farmore convincing proofs of the early existence of these traditionsthan any mere external evidence'. [32]

CONCLUSION

We have now only to consider the men and women of these Tales, andthen our task is done. It will be sooner done, because they may beleft to speak for themselves, and must stand or fall by their ownwords and actions. The tales of all races have a character and mannerof their own. Among the Hindoos the straight stem of the story isoverhung with a network of imagery which reminds one of the parasiticgrowth of a tropical forest. Among the Arabs the tale is moreelegant, pointed with a moral, and adorned with tropes and episodes. Among the Italians it is bright, light, dazzling, and swift. Amongthe French we have passed from the woods, and fields, and hills, tomy lady's _boudoir_--rose-pink is the prevailing colour, and theair is loaded with patchouli and _mille fleurs_. We miss thesong of birds, the modest odour of wild-flowers, and the balmyfragrance of the pine forest. The Swedes are more stiff, and theirstyle is more like that of a chronicle than a tale. The Germans aresimple, hearty, and rather comic than humorous; and M. Moe [33] haswell said, that as we read them it is as if we sat and listened tosome elderly woman of the middle class, who recites them with aclear, full, deep voice. In Scotland the few that have been collectedby Mr Robert Chambers [_Popular Rhymes of Scotland_ (Ed. 1847). ]are as good in tone and keeping as anything of the kind in the wholerange of such popular collections. [34] The wonderful likeness whichis shown between such tales as the 'Red Bull of Norway' in MrChambers' collection, and Katie Woodencloak in these Norse Tales, isto be accounted for by no theory of the importation of this or thatparticular tale in later times from Norway, but by the fact that theLowland Scots, among whom these tales were told, were linealdescendants of Norsemen, who had either seized the country in theViking times, or had been driven into it across the Border after theNorman Conquest. 

These Norse Tales we may characterize as bold, out-spoken, andhumorous, in the true sense of humour. In the midst of everydifficulty and danger arises that old Norse feeling of making thebest of everything, and keeping a good face to the foe. The languageand tone are perhaps rather lower than in some other collections, butit must be remembered that these are the tales of 'hempen homespuns', of Norse yeomen, of _Norske Bonder_, who call a spade a spade, and who burn tallow, not wax; and yet in no collection of tales isthe general tone so chaste, are the great principles of moralitybetter worked out, and right and wrong kept so steadily in sight. Thegeneral view of human nature is good and kindly. The happiness ofmarried life was never more prettily told than in 'Gudbrand on theHillside', No. Xxi, where the tenderness of the wife for her husbandweighs down all other considerations; and we all agree with M. Moethat it would be well if there were many wives like Gudbrand's. Thebalance too, is very evenly kept between the sexes; for if any wifeshould point with indignation at such a tale as 'Not a Pin to choosebetween them', No. Xxiv, where wives suffer; she will be amplyavenged when she reads 'The Husband who was to mind the House', No. Xxxix, where the husband has decidedly the worst of the bargain, andis punished as he deserves. 

Of particular characters, one occurs repeatedly. This is that whichwe have ventured, for want of a better word, to call 'Boots', fromthat widely-spread tradition in English families, that the youngestbrother is bound to do all the hard work his brothers set him, andwhich has also dignified him with the term here used. In Norse heis called '_Askefis_', or '_Espen Askefjis_'. By M. Moe he iscalled '_Askepot_', [35] a word which the Danes got from Germany, and which the readers of Grimm's Tales will see at once is ownbrother to _Aschenpüttel_. The meaning of the word is 'one whopokes about the ashes and blows up the fire'; one who does dirty workin short; and in Norway, according to M. Moe, the term is almostuniversally applied to the youngest son of the family. He isCinderella's brother in fact; and just as she had all the dirty workput upon her by her sisters, he meets with the same fate from hisbrothers. He is generally the youngest of three, whose names areoften Peter and Paul, as in No. Xlii, and who despise, cry down, andmock him. But he has in him that deep strength of character andnatural power upon which the good powers always smile. He is the manwhom Heaven helps, because he can help himself; and so, after hisbrothers try and fail, he alone can watch in the barn, and tame thesteed, and ride up the glass hill, and gain the Princess and half thekingdom. The Norse 'Boots' shares these qualities in common with the'Pinkel' of the Swedes, and the _Dummling_ of the Germans, aswell as with our 'Jack the Giant Killer', but he starts lower thanthese--he starts from the dust-bin and the coal-hole. There he sitsidle whilst all work; there he lies with that deep irony of consciouspower, which knows its time must one day come, and meantime canafford to wait. When that time comes, he girds himself to the feat, amidst the scoffs and scorn of his flesh and blood; but even then, after he has done some great deed, he conceals it, returns to hisashes, and again sits idly by the kitchen-fire, dirty, lazy, anddespised, until the time for final recognition comes, and then hisdirt and rags fall off--he stands out in all the majesty of his royalrobes, and is acknowledged once for all, a king. In this way does theconsciousness of a nation, and the mirror of its thought, reflect theimage and personification of a great moral truth, that modesty, endurance, and ability will sooner or later reap their reward, however much they maybe degraded, scoffed at, and despised by theproud, the worthless, and the overbearing [36]

As a general rule, the women are less strongly marked than the men;for these tales, as is well said, are uttered 'with a manlymouth';[Moe, _Introd. Norsk. Event. _] and none of the femalecharacters, except perhaps 'The Mastermaid', and 'Tatterhood', cancompare in strength with 'The Master-Smith', 'The Master-Thief, ''Shortshanks' or 'Boots'. Still the true womanly type comes out infull play in such tales as 'The Two Step-Sisters', No. Xvii; 'East o'the Sun and West o' the Moon', No. Iv; 'Bushy Bride', No. Xlv, and'The Twelve Wild Ducks', No. Viii. In all these the lassie is bright, and good, and helpful; she forgets herself in her eagerness to helpothers. When she goes down the well after the unequal match againsther step-sister in spinning bristles against flax; she steps tenderlyover the hedge, milks the cow, shears the sheep, relieves the boughsof the apple-tree--all out of the natural goodness of her heart. Whenshe is sent to fetch water from the well, she washes and brushes, andeven kisses, the loathsome head; she believes what her enemies say, even to her own wrong and injury; she sacrifices all that she holdsmost dear, and at last even herself, because she is made to believethat it is her brother's wish. And so on her, too, the good powerssmile. She can understand and profit by what the little birds say;she knows how to choose the right casket. And at last, after manytrials, all at once the scene changes, and she receives a gloriousreward, while the wicked stepmother and her ugly daughter meet with ajust fate. Nor is another female character less tenderly drawn inHacon Grizzlebeard, No. Vi, where we see the proud, haughty princesssubdued and tamed by natural affection into a faithful, loving wife. We sympathise with her more than with the 'Patient Grizzel' of thepoets, who is in reality too good, for her story has no relief; whilein Hacon Grizzlebeard we begin by being angry at the princess'spride; we are glad at the retribution which overtakes her, but we aregradually melted at her sufferings and hardships when she gives upall for the Beggar and follows him; we burst into tears with her whenshe exclaims 'Oh! the Beggar, and the babe, and the cabin!'--and werejoice with her when the Prince says 'Here is the Beggar, and thereis the babe, and so let the cabin burn away. '

Nor is it unprofitable here to remark how the professions fare whenthey appear in these tales. The Church cannot be said to be treatedwith respect, for 'Father Lawrence' is ludicrously deceived andscurvily treated by the Master-Thief, No. Xxxv; nor does the priestcome off any better in Goosey Grizzel, No. Xxxiii, where he is thrownby the Farmer into the wet moss. Indeed, it seems as if the popularmind were determined to revenge itself when left to itself, for thesuperstition of Rome on the one hand, and the severity of strictLutheranism on the other. It has little to say of either of them, butwhen it does speak, its accents are not those of reverence and love. The Law, too, as represented by those awful personages the Constable, the Attorney, and the Sheriff in 'The Mastermaid', No. Xi, is held upto ridicule, and treated with anything but tenderness. But there isone profession for which a good word is said, a single word, butenough to show the feeling of the people. In the 'Twelve Wild Ducks'No. Viii, the king is 'as soft and kind' to Snow-white and Rosy-red'as a doctor'--a doctor, alas! not of laws, but of medicine; and thusthis profession, so often despised, but in reality the noblest, hashomage paid to it in that single sentence, which neither the Churchwith all its dignity, nor the Law with all its cunning, have beenable to extort from the popular mind. Yet even this profession has ahard word uttered against it in 'Katie Woodencloak', No. L, where thedoctor takes a great fee from the wicked queen to say she will neverbe well unless she has some of the Dun Bull's flesh to eat. 

And now it is time to bring this introduction to an end, lest itshould play the Wolf's part to Odin, and swallow up the Talesthemselves. Enough has been said, at least, to prove that evennursery tales may have a science of their own, and to show how theold Nornir and divine spinners can revenge themselves if their oldwives' tales are insulted and attacked. The inquiry itself might bealmost indefinitely prolonged, for this is a journey where each turnof the road brings out a new point of view, and the longer we lingeron our path, the longer we find something fresh to see. Popularmythology is a virgin mine, and its ore, so far from being exhaustedor worked out, has here, in England at least, been scarcely touched. It may, indeed, be dreaded lest the time for collecting such Englishtraditions is not past and gone; whether the steam-engine andprinting-press have not played their great work of enlightenment toowell; and whether the popular tales, of which, no doubt, the land wasonce full, have not faded away before those great inventions, as therace of Giants waned before the might of Odin and the Aesir. Stillthe example of this very Norway, which at one time was thought, evenby her own sons, to have few tales of her own, and now has been foundto have them so fresh and full, may serve as a warning not to abandona search, which, indeed, can scarcely be said to have been everbegun; and to suggest a doubt whether the ill success which may haveattended this or that particular attempt, may not have been from thefault rather of the seekers after traditions, than from the want ofthe traditions themselves. In point of fact, it is a matter of theutmost difficulty to gather such tales in any country, as those whohave collected them most successfully will be the first to confess. It is hard to make old and feeble women, who generally are thedepositaries of these national treasures, believe that the inquirercan have any real interest in the matter. They fear that the questionis only put to turn them into ridicule; for the popular mind is asensitive plant; it becomes coy, and closes its leaves at the firstrude touch; and when once shut, it is hard to make these aged lipsreveal the secrets of the memory. There they remain, however, formingpart of an under-current of tradition, of which the educated classes, through whose minds flows the bright upper-current of faith, are aptto forget the very existence. Things out of sight, and therefore outof mind. Now and then a wave of chance tosses them to the surfacefrom those hidden depths, and all Her Majesty's inspectors of schoolsare shocked at the wild shapes which still haunt the minds of thegreat mass of the community. It cannot be said that the English arenot a superstitious people. Here we have gone on for more than ahundred years proclaiming our opinion that the belief in witches, andwizards, and ghosts, and fetches, was extinct throughout the land. Ministers of all denominations have preached them down, andphilosophers convinced all the world of the absurdity of such vainsuperstitions; and yet it has been reserved for another learnedprofession, the Law, to produce in one trial at the Staffordshireassizes, a year or two ago, such a host of witnesses, who firmlybelieved in witchcraft, and swore to their belief in spectre dogs andwizards, as to show that, in the Midland counties at least, suchtraditions are anything but extinct. If so much of the bad has beenspared by steam, by natural philosophy, and by the Church, let ushope that some of the good may still linger along with it, and thatan English Grimm may yet arise who may carry out what Mr. Chambershas so well begun in Scotland, and discover in the mouth of an Anglo-Saxon Gammer Grethel, some, at least, of those popular tales whichEngland once had in common with all the Aryan race. 

For these Norse Tales one may say that nothing can equal thetenderness and skill with which MM. Asbjörnsen and Moe have collectedthem. Some of that tenderness and beauty may, it is hoped, be foundin this English translation; but to those who have never been in thecountry where they are current, and who are not familiar with thathearty simple people, no words can tell the freshness and truth ofthe originals. It is not that the idioms of the two languages aredifferent, for they are more nearly allied, both in vocabulary andconstruction, than any other two tongues, but it is the face ofnature herself, and the character of the race that looks up to her, that fail to the mind's eye. The West Coast of Scotland is somethinglike that nature in a general way, except that it is infinitelysmaller and less grand; but that constant, bright blue sky, thosedeeply-indented, sinuous, gleaming friths, those headstrong riversand headlong falls, those steep hillsides, those long ridges offells, those peaks and needles rising sharp above them, those hangingglaciers and wreaths of everlasting snow, those towering endless pineforests, relieved by slender stems of silver birch, those green spotsin the midst of the forest, those winding dales and upland lakes, those various shapes of birds and beasts, the mighty crashing elk, the fleet reindeer, the fearless bear, the nimble lynx, the shy wolf, those eagles and swans, and seabirds, those many tones and notes ofNature's voice making distant music through the twilight summernight, those brilliant, flashing, northern lights when days growshort, those dazzling, blinding storms of autumn snow, that cheerfulwinter frost and cold, that joy of sledging over the smooth ice, whenthe sharp-shod horse careers at full speed with the light sledge, orrushes down the steep pitches over the crackling snow through thegreen spruce wood--all these form a Nature of their own. Theseparticular features belong in their fulness and combination to noother land. When in the midst of all this natural scenery, we find anhonest manly race, not the race of the towns and cities, but of thedales and fells, free and unsubdued, holding its own in a countrywhere there are neither lords nor ladies, but simple men and women. Brave men and fair women, who cling to the traditions of theirforefathers, and whose memory reflects as from the faithful mirror oftheir native steel the whole history and progress of their race--whenall these natural features, and such a manly race meet; then we havethe stuff out of which these tales are made, the living rocks out ofwhich these sharp-cut national forms are hewn. Then, too, our task ofintroducing them is over, we may lay aside our pen, and leave thereader and the tales to themselves. 

TALES FROM THE NORSE

TRUE AND UNTRUE

Once on a time there were two brothers; one was called True, and theother Untrue. True was always upright and good towards all, butUntrue was bad and full of lies, so that no one could believe what hesaid. Their mother was a widow, and hadn't much to live on; so whenher sons had grown up, she was forced to send them away, that theymight earn their bread in the world. Each got a little scrip withsome food in it, and then they went their way. 

Now, when they had walked till evening, they sat down on a windfallin the wood, and took out their scraps, for they were hungry afterwalking the whole day, and thought a morsel of food would be sweetenough. 

'If you're of my mind', said Untrue, 'I think we had better eat outof your scrip, so long as there is anything in it, and after that wecan take to mine. '

Yes! True was well pleased with this, so they fell to eating, butUntrue got all the best bits, and stuffed himself with them, whileTrue got only the burnt crusts and scraps. 

Next morning they broke their fast off True's food, and they dinedoff it too, and then there was nothing left in his scrip. So whenthey had walked till late at night, and were ready to eats again, True wanted to eat out of his brother's scrip, but Untrue said 'No', the food was his, and he had only enough for himself. 

'Nay! but you know you ate out of my scrip so long as there wasanything in it', said True. 

'All very fine, I daresay', answered Untrue; 'but if you are such afool as to let others eat up your food before your face, you mustmake the best of it; for now all you have to do is to sit here andstarve. '

'Very well!' said True, 'you're Untrue by name and untrue by nature;so you have been, and so you will be all your life long. '

Now when Untrue heard this, he flew into a rage, and rushed at hisbrother, and plucked out both his eyes. 'Now, try if you can seewhether folk are untrue or not, you blind buzzard!' and so saying, heran away and left him. 

Poor True! there he went walking along and feeling his way throughthe thick wood. Blind and alone, he scarce knew which way to turn, when all at once he caught hold of the trunk of a great bushy lime-tree, so he thought he would climb up into it, and sit there till thenight was over for fear of the wild beasts. 

'When the birds begin to sing', he said to himself, 'then I shallknow it is day, and I can try to grope my way farther on. ' So heclimbed up into the lime-tree. After he had sat there a little time, he heard how some one came and began to make a stir and clatterunder the tree, and soon after others came; and when they began togreet one another, he found out it was Bruin the bear, and Greylegsthe wolf, and Slyboots the fox, and Longears the hare who had cometo keep St. John's eve under the tree. So they began to eat and drink, and be merry; and when they had done eating, they fell to gossippingtogether. At last the Fox said:

'Shan't we, each of us, tell a little story while we sit here?' Well!the others had nothing against that. It would be good fun, they said, and the Bear began; for you may fancy he was king of the company. 

'The king of England', said Bruin, 'has such bad eyesight, he canscarce see a yard before him; but if he only came to this lime-treein the morning, while the dew is still on the leaves, and took andrubbed his eyes with the dew, he would get back his sight as good asever. '

'Very true!' said Greylegs. 'The king of England has a deaf and dumbdaughter too; but if he only knew what I know, he would soon cureher. Last year she went to the communion. She let a crumb of thebread fall out of her mouth, and a great toad came and swallowed itdown; but if they only dug up the chancel floor, they would find thetoad sitting right under the altar rails, with the bread stillsticking in his throat. If they were to cut the toad open and takeand give the bread to the princess, she would be like other folkagain as to her speech and hearing. '

'That's all very well', said the Fox; 'but if the king of Englandknew what I know, he would not be so badly off for water in hispalace; for under the great stone, in his palace-yard, is a spring ofthe clearest water one could wish for, if he only knew to dig for itthere. '

'Ah!' said the Hare in a small voice; 'the king of England has thefinest orchard in the whole land, but it does not bear so much as acrab, for there lies a heavy gold chain in three turns round theorchard. If he got that dug up, there would not be a garden like itfor bearing in all his kingdom. '

'Very true, I dare say', said the Fox; 'but now it's getting verylate, and we may as well go home. '

So they all went away together. 

After they were gone, True fell asleep as he sat up in the tree; butwhen the birds began to sing at dawn, he woke up, and took the dewfrom the leaves, and rubbed his eyes with it, and so got his sightback as good as it was before Untrue plucked his eyes out. 

Then he went straight to the king of England's palace, and begged forwork, and got it on the spot. So one day the king came out into thepalace-yard, and when he had walked about a bit, he wanted to drinkout of his pump; for you must know the day was hot, and the king verythirsty; but when they poured him out a glass, it was so muddy, andnasty, and foul, that the king got quite vexed. 

'I don't think there's ever a man in my whole kingdom who has suchbad water in his yard as I, and yet I bring it in pipes from far, over hill and dale', cried out the king. 'Like enough, your Majesty', said True; 'but if you would let me have some men to help me to digup this great stone which lies here in the middle of your yard, youwould soon see good water, and plenty of it. '

Well! the king was willing enough; and they had scarcely got thestone well out, and dug under it a while, before a jet of watersprang out high up into the air, as clear and full as if it came outof a conduit, and clearer water was not to be found in all England. 

A little while after the king was out in his palace-yard again, andthere came a great hawk flying after his chicken, and all the king'smen began to clap their hands and bawl out, 'There he flies!' 'Therehe flies!' The king caught up his gun and tried to shoot the hawk, but he couldn't see so far, so he fell into great grief. 

'Would to Heaven', he said, 'there was any one who could tell me acure for my eyes; for I think I shall soon go quite blind!'

'I can tell you one soon enough', said True; and then he told theking what he had done to cure his own eyes, and the king set off thatvery afternoon to the lime-tree, as you may fancy, and his eyes werequite cured as soon as he rubbed them with the dew which was on theleaves in the morning. From that time forth there was no one whom theking held so dear as True, and he had to be with him wherever hewent, both at home and abroad. 

So one day, as they were walking together in the orchard, the kingsaid, 'I can't tell how it is _that_ I can't! there isn't a, man inEngland who spends so much on his orchard as I, and yet I can't getone of the trees to bear so much as a crab. '

'Well! well!' said True; 'if I may have what lies three times twistedround your orchard, and men to dig it up, your orchard will bear wellenough. '

Yes! the king was quite willing, so True got men and began to dig, and at last he dug up the whole gold chain. Now True was a rich man;far richer indeed than the king himself, but still the king was wellpleased, for his orchard bore so that the boughs of the trees hungdown to the ground, and such sweet apples and pears nobody had evertasted. 

Another day too the king and True were walking about, and talkingtogether, when the princess passed them, and the king was quitedowncast when he saw her. 

'Isn't it a pity, now, that so lovely a princess as mine should wantspeech and hearing', he said to True. 

'Ay, but there is a cure for that', said True. 

When the king heard that, he was so glad that he promised him theprincess to wife, and half his kingdom into the bargain, if he couldget her right again. So True took a few men, and went into thechurch, and dug up the toad which sat under the altar-rails. Then hecut open the toad, and took out the bread and gave it to the king'sdaughter; and from that hour she got back her speech, and could talklike other people. 

Now True was to have the princess, and they got ready for the bridalfeast, and such a feast had never been seen before; it was the talkof the whole land. Just as they were in the midst of dancing thebridal-dance in came a beggar lad, and begged for a morsel of food, and he was so ragged and wretched that every one crossed themselveswhen they looked at him; but True knew him at once, and saw that itwas Untrue, his brother. 

'Do you know me again?' said True. 

'Oh! where should such a one as I ever have seen so great a lord', said Untrue. 

'Still you _have_ seen me before', said True. 'It was I whose eyesyou plucked out a year ago this very day. Untrue by name, and untrueby nature; so I said before, and so I say now; but you are still mybrother, and so you shall have some food. After that, you may go tothe lime-tree where I sat last year; if you hear anything that can doyou good, you will be lucky. '

So Untrue did not wait to be told twice. 'If True has got so muchgood by sitting in the lime-tree, that in one year he has come to beking over half England, what good may not I get', he thought. So heset off and climbed up into the lime-tree. He had not sat there long, before all the beasts came as before, and ate and drank, and kept St. John's eve under the tree. When they had left off eating, the Foxwished that they should begin to tell stories, and Untrue got readyto listen with all his might, till his ears were almost fit to falloff. But Bruin the bear was surly, and growled and said:

'Some one has been chattering about what we said last year, and sonow we will hold our tongues about what we know'; and with that thebeasts bade one another 'Good-night', and parted, and Untrue was justas wise as he was before, and the reason was, that his name wasUntrue, and his nature untrue too. 

WHY THE SEA IS SALT

Once on a time, but it was a long, long time ago, there were twobrothers, one rich and one poor. Now, one Christmas eve, the poor onehadn't so much as a crumb in the house, either of meat or bread, sohe went to his brother to ask him for something to keep Christmaswith, in God's name. It was not the first time his brother had beenforced to help him, and you may fancy he wasn't very glad to see hisface, but he said:

'If you will do what I ask you to do, I'll give you a whole flitch ofbacon. '

So the poor brother said he would do anything, and was full ofthanks. 

'Well, here is the flitch', said the rich brother, 'and now gostraight to Hell. '

'What I have given my word to do, I must stick to', said the other;so he took the flitch and set off. He walked the whole day, and atdusk he came to a place where he saw a very bright light. 

'Maybe this is the place', said the man to himself. So he turnedaside, and the first thing he saw was an old, old man, with a longwhite beard, who stood in an outhouse, hewing wood for the Christmasfire. 

'Good even', said the man with the flitch. 

'The same to you; whither are you going so late?' said the man. 

'Oh! I'm going to Hell, if I only knew the right way', answered thepoor man. 

'Well, you're not far wrong, for this is Hell', said the old man;'when you get inside they will be all for buying your flitch, formeat is scarce in Hell; but mind, you don't sell it unless you getthe hand-quern which stands behind the door for it. When you comeout, I'll teach you how to handle the quern, for it's good to grindalmost anything. '

So the man with the flitch thanked the other for his good advice, andgave a great knock at the Devil's door. 

When he got in, everything went just as the old man had said. All thedevils, great and small, came swarming up to him like ants round ananthill, and each tried to outbid the other for the flitch. 

'Well!' said the man, 'by rights my old dame and I ought to have thisflitch for our Christmas dinner; but since you have all set yourhearts on it, I suppose I must give it up to you; but if I sell it atall, I'll have for it that quern behind the door yonder. '

At first the Devil wouldn't hear of such a bargain, and chaffered andhaggled with the man; but he stuck to what he said, and at last theDevil had to part with his quern. When the man got out into the yard, he asked the old woodcutter how he was to handle the quern; and afterhe had learned how to use it, he thanked the old man and went offhome as fast as he could, but still the clock had struck twelve onChristmas eve before he reached his own door. 

'Wherever in the world have you been?' said his old dame, 'here haveI sat hour after hour waiting and watching, without so much as twosticks to lay together under the Christmas brose. '

'Oh!' said the man, 'I couldn't get back before, for I had to go along way first for one thing, and then for another; but now you shallsee what you shall see. '

So he put the quern on the table, and bade it first of all grindlights, then a table-cloth, then meat, then ale, and so on till theyhad got everything that was nice for Christmas fare. He had only tospeak the word, and the quern ground out what he wanted. The old damestood by blessing her stars, and kept on asking where he had got thiswonderful quern, but he wouldn't tell her. 

'It's all one where I got it from; you see the quern is a good one, and the mill-stream never freezes, that's enough. '

So he ground meat and drink and dainties enough to last out tillTwelfth Day, and on the third day he asked all his friends and kin tohis house, and gave a great feast. Now, when his rich brother saw allthat was on the table, and all that was behind in the larder, he grewquite spiteful and wild, for he couldn't bear that his brother shouldhave anything. 

''Twas only on Christmas eve', he said to the rest, 'he was in suchstraits, that he came and asked for a morsel of food in God's name, and now he gives a feast as if he were count or king'; and he turnedto his brother and said:

'But whence, in Hell's name, have you got all this wealth?'

'From behind the door', answered the owner of the quern, for hedidn't care to let the cat out of the bag. But later on the evening, when he had got a drop too much, he could keep his secret no longer, and brought out the quern and said:

'There, you see what has gotten me all this wealth'; and so he madethe quern grind all kind of things. When his brother saw it, he sethis heart on having the quern, and, after a deal of coaxing, he gotit; but he had to pay three hundred dollars for it, and his brotherbargained to keep it till hay-harvest, for he thought, if I keep ittill then, I can make it grind meat and drink that will last foryears. So you may fancy the quern didn't grow rusty for want of work, and when hay-harvest came, the rich brother got it, but the othertook care not to teach him how to handle it. 

It was evening when the rich brother got the quern home, and nextmorning he told his wife to go out into the hay-field and toss, whilethe mowers cut the grass, and he would stay at home and get thedinner ready. So, when dinner-time drew near, he put the quern on thekitchen table and said:

'Grind herrings and broth, and grind them good and fast. '

So the quern began to grind herrings and broth; first of all, all thedishes full, then all the tubs full, and so on till the kitchen floorwas quite covered. Then the man twisted and twirled at the quern toget it to stop, but for all his twisting and fingering the quern wenton grinding, and in a little while the broth rose so high that theman was like to drown. So he threw open the kitchen door and ran intothe parlour, but it wasn't long before the quern had ground theparlour full too, and it was only at the risk of his life that theman could get hold of the latch of the house door through the streamof broth. When he got the door open, he ran out and set off down theroad, with the stream of herrings and broth at his heels, roaringlike a waterfall over the whole farm. Now, his old dame, who was inthe field tossing hay, thought it a long time to dinner, and at lastshe said:

'Well! though the master doesn't call us home, we may as well go. Maybe he finds it hard work to boil the broth, and will be glad of myhelp. '

The men were willing enough, so they sauntered homewards; but just asthey had got a little way up the hill, what should they meet butherrings, and broth, and bread, all running and dashing, andsplashing together in a stream, and the master himself running beforethem for his life, and as he passed them he bawled out:

'Would to heaven each of you had a hundred throats! but take careyou're not drowned in the broth. '

Away he went, as though the Evil One were at his heels, to hisbrother's house, and begged him for God's sake to take back the quernthat instant; for, said he:

'If it grinds only one hour more, the whole parish will be swallowedup by herrings and broth. '

But his brother wouldn't hear of taking it back till the other paidhim down three hundred dollars more. 

So the poor brother got both the money and the quern, and it wasn'tlong before he set up a farm-house far finer than the one in whichhis brother lived, and with the quern he ground so much gold that hecovered it with plates of gold; and as the farm lay by the sea-side, the golden house gleamed and glistened far away over the sea. All whosailed by put ashore to see the rich man in the golden house, and tosee the wonderful quern, the fame of which spread far and wide, tillthere was nobody who hadn't heard tell of it. 

So one day there came a skipper who wanted to see the quern; and thefirst thing he asked was if it could grind salt. 

'Grind salt!' said the owner; 'I should just think it could. It cangrind anything. '

When the skipper heard that, he said he must have the quern, costwhat it would; for if he only had it, he thought he should be rid ofhis long voyages across stormy seas for a lading of salt. Well, atfirst the man wouldn't hear of parting with the quern; but theskipper begged and prayed so hard, that at last he let him have it, but he had to pay many, many thousand dollars for it. Now, when theskipper had got the quern on his back, he soon made off with it, forhe was afraid lest the man should change his mind; so he had no timeto ask how to handle the quern, but got on board his ship as fast ashe could, and set sail. When he had sailed a good way off, he broughtthe quern on deck and said:

'Grind salt, and grind both good and fast. '

Well, the quern began to grind salt so that it poured out like water;and when the skipper had got the ship full, he wished to stop thequern, but whichever way he turned it, and however much he tried, itwas no good; the quern kept grinding on, and the heap of salt grewhigher and higher, and at last down sank the ship. 

There lies the quern at the bottom of the sea, and grinds away atthis very day, and that's why the sea is salt. 

THE OLD DAME AND HER HEN

Once on a time there was an old widow who lived far away from therest of the world, up under a hillside, with her three daughters. Shewas so poor that she had no stock but one single hen, which sheprized as the apple of her eye; in short, it was always cackling ather heels, and she was always running to look after it. Well! oneday, all at once, the hen was missing. The old wife went out, andround and round the cottage, looking and calling for her hen, but itwas gone, and there was no getting it back. 

So the woman said to her eldest daughter, 'You must just go out andsee if you can find our hen, for have it back we must, even if wehave to fetch it out of the hill. '

Well! the daughter was ready enough to go, so she set off and walkedup and down, and looked and called, but no hen could she find. Butall at once, just as she was about to give up the hunt, she heardsome one calling out in a cleft in the rock:

 Your hen trips inside the hill! Your hen trips inside the hill!

So she went into the cleft to see what it was, but she had scarce sether foot inside the cleft, before she fell through a trap-door, deep, deep down, into a vault under ground. When she got to the bottom shewent through many rooms, each finer than the other; but in theinnermost room of all, a great ugly man of the hill-folk came up toher and asked, 'Will you be my sweetheart?'

'No! I will not', she said. She wouldn't have him at any price! notshe; all she wanted was to get above ground again as fast as ever shecould, and to look after her hen which was lost. Then the Man o' theHill got so angry that he took her up and wrung her head off, andthrew both head and trunk down into the cellar. 

While this was going on, her mother sat at home waiting and waiting, but no daughter came. So after she had waited a bit longer, andneither heard nor saw anything of her daughter, she said to hermidmost daughter, that she must go out and see after her sister, andshe added:

'You can just give our hen a call at the same time. '

Well! the second sister had to get off, and the very same thingbefell her; she went about looking and calling, and all at once shetoo heard a voice away in the cleft of the rock saying:

 Your hen trips inside the hill! Your hen trips inside the hill!

She thought this strange, and went to see what it could be; and soshe too fell through the trap-door, deep, deep down, into the vault. There she went from room to room, and in the innermost one the Man o'the Hill came to her and asked if she would be his sweetheart? No!that she wouldn't; all she wanted was to get above ground again, andhunt for her hen which was lost. So the Man o' the Hill got angry, and took her up and wrung her head off, and threw both head and trunkdown into the cellar. 

Now, when the old dame had sat and waited seven lengths and sevenbreadths for her second daughter, and could neither see nor hearanything of her, she said to the youngest:

'Now, you really must set off and see after your sisters. 'Twas sillyto lose the hen, but 'twill be sillier still if we lose both yoursisters; and you can give the hen a call at the same time'--for theold dame's heart was still set on her hen. 

Yes! the youngest was ready enough to go; so she walked up and down, Wanting for her sisters and calling the hen, but she could neithersee nor hear anything of them. So at last she too came up to thecleft in the rock, and heard how something said:

 Your hen trips inside the hill! Your hen trips inside the hill!

She thought this strange, so she too went to see what it was, andfell through the trap-door too, deep, deep down, into a vault. Whenshe reached the bottom she went from one room to another, eachgrander than the other; but she wasn't at all afraid, and took goodtime to look about her. So, as she was peeping into this and that, she cast her eye on the trap-door into the cellar, and looked downit, and what should she see there but her sisters, who lay dead. Shehad scarce time to slam to the trap-door before the Man o' the Hillcame to her and asked:

'Will you be my sweetheart?'

'With all my heart', answered the girl, for she saw very well how ithad gone with her sisters. So, when the Man o' the Hill heard that, he got her the finest clothes in the world; she had only to ask forthem, or for anything else she had a mind to, and she got what shewanted, so glad was the Man o' the Hill that any one would be hissweetheart. 

But when she had been there a little while, she was one day even moredoleful and downcast than was her wont. So the Man o' the Hill askedher what was the matter, and why she was in such dumps. 

'Ah!' said the girl, 'it's because I can't get home to my mother. She's hard pinched, I know, for meat and drink, and has no one withher. '

'Well!' said the Man o' the Hill, 'I can't let you go to see her; butjust stuff some meat and drink into a sack, and I'll carry it toher. '

Yes! she would do so, she said, with many thanks; but at the bottomof the sack she stuffed a lot of gold and silver, and afterwards shelaid a little food on the top of the gold and silver. Then she toldthe ogre the sack was ready, but he must be sure not to look into it. So he gave his word he wouldn't, and set off. Now, as the Man o' theHill walked off, she peeped out after him through a chink in thetrap-door; but when he had gone a bit on the way, he said:

'This sack is so heavy, I'll just see what there is inside it. '

And so he was about to untie the mouth of the sack, but the girlcalled out to him:

 I see what you're at! I see what you're at!

'The deuce you do!' said the Man o' the Hill; 'then you must haveplaguy sharp eyes in your head, that's all!'

So he threw the sack over his shoulder, and dared not try to lookinto it again. When he reached the widow's cottage, he threw the sackin through the cottage door, and said:

'Here you have meat and drink from your daughter; she doesn't wantfor anything. '

So, when the girl had been in the hill a good bit longer, one day abilly-goat fell down the trap-door. 

'Who sent for you, I should like to know? you long-bearded beast!'said the Man o' the Hill, who was in an awful rage, and with that hewhipped up the goat, and wrung his head off, and threw him down intothe cellar. 

'Oh!' said the girl, 'why did you do that? I might have had the goatto play with down here. '

'Well!' said the Man o' the Hill, 'you needn't be so down in themouth about it, I should think, for I can soon put life into thebilly-goat again. '

So saying, he took a flask which hung up against the wall, put thebilly-goat's head on his body again, and smeared it with someointment out of the flask, and he was as well and as lively as everagain. 

'Ho! ho!' said the girl to herself; 'that flask is worth something--that it is. '

So when she had been some time longer in the hill, she watched for aday when the Man o' the Hill was away, took her eldest sister, andputting her head on her shoulders, smeared her with some of theointment out of the flask, just as she had seen the Man o' the Hilldo with the billy-goat, and in a trice her sister came to life again. Then the girl stuffed her into a sack, laid a little food over her, and as soon as the Man o' the Hill came home, she said to him:

'Dear friend! Now do go home to my mother with a morsel of foodagain; poor thing! she's both hungry and thirsty, I'll be bound; andbesides that, she's all alone in the world. But you must mind and notlook into the sack. '

Well! he said he would carry the sack; and he said, too, that hewould not look into it; but when he had gone a little way, he thoughtthe sack got awfully heavy; and when he had gone a bit farther hesaid to himself:

'Come what will, I must see what's inside this sack, for howeversharp her eyes may be, she can't see me all this way off'

But just as he was about to untie the sack, the girl who sat insidethe sack called out:

 I see what you're at! I see what you're at!

'The deuce you do!' said the ogre; 'then you must have plaguey sharpeyes'; for he thought all the while it was the girl inside the hillwho was speaking. So he didn't care so much as to peep into the sackagain, but carried it straight to her mother as fast as he could, andwhen he got to the cottage door he threw it in through the door, andbawled out:

'Here you have meat and drink from your daughter; she wants fornothing. '

Now, when the girl had been in the hill a while longer, she did thevery same thing with her other sister. She put her head on hershoulders, smeared her with ointment out of the flask, brought her tolife, and stuffed her into the sack; but this time she crammed inalso as much gold and silver as the sack would hold, and over alllaid a very little food. 

'Dear friend', she said to the Man o' the Hill, 'you really must runhome to my mother with a little food again; and mind you don't lookinto the sack. '

Yes! the Man o' the Hill was ready enough to do as she wished, and hegave his word too that he wouldn't look into the sack; but when hehad gone a bit of the way he began to think the sack got awfullyheavy, and when he had gone a bit further, he could scarce staggeralong under it, so he set it down, and was just about to untie thestring and look into it, when the girl inside the sack bawled out:

 I see what you're at! I see what you're at!

'The deuce you do', said the Man o' the Hill, 'then you must haveplaguey sharp eyes of your own. '

Well, he dared not try to look into the sack, but made all the hastehe could, and carried the sack straight to the girl's mother. When hegot to the cottage door he threw the sack in through the door, androared out:

'Here you have food from your daughter; she wants for nothing. '

So when the girl had been there a good while longer, the Man o' theHill made up his mind to go out for the day; then the girl shammed tobe sick and sorry, and pouted and fretted. 

'It's no use your coming home before twelve o'clock at night', shesaid, 'for I shan't be able to have supper ready before--I'm so sickand poorly. '

But when the Man o' the Hill was well out of the house, she stuffedsome of her clothes with straw, and stuck up this lass of straw inthe corner by the chimney, with a besom in her hand, so that itlooked just as if she herself were standing there. After that shestole off home, and got a sharp-shooter to stay in the cottage withher mother. 

So when the clock struck twelve, or just about it, home came the Mano' the Hill, and the first thing he said to the straw-girl was, 'Giveme something to eat. '

But she answered him never a word. 

'Give me something to eat, I say!' called out the Man o' the Hill, 'for I am almost starved. '

No! she hadn't a word to throw at him. 

'Give me something to eat!' roared out the ogre the third time. ' Ithink you'd better open your ears and hear what I say, or else I'llwake you up, that I will!'

No! the girl stood just as still as ever; so he flew into a rage, andgave her such a slap in the face, that the straw flew all about theroom; but when he saw that, he knew he had been tricked, and began tohunt everywhere; and at last, when he came to the cellar, and foundboth the girl's sisters missing, he soon saw how the cat jumped, andran off to the cottage, saying, 'I'll soon pay her off!'

But when he reached the cottage, the sharp-shooter fired off hispiece, and then the Man o' the Hill dared not go into the house, forhe thought it was thunder. So he set off home again as fast as hecould lay legs to the ground; but what do you think, just as he gotto the trap-door, the sun rose and the Man o' the Hill burst. 

Oh! if one only knew where the trap-door was, I'll be bound there's awhole heap of gold and silver down there still!

EAST O' THE SUN AND WEST O' THE MOON

Once on a time there was a poor husbandman who had so many childrenthat he hadn't much of either food or clothing to give them. Prettychildren they all were, but the prettiest was the youngest daughter, who was so lovely there was no end to her loveliness. 

So one day, 'twas on a Thursday evening late at the fall of the year, the weather was so wild and rough outside, and it was so cruellydark, and rain fell and wind blew, till the walls of the cottageshook again. There they all sat round the fire busy with this thingand that. But just then, all at once something gave three taps on thewindow-pane. Then the father went out to see what was the matter;and, when he got out of doors, what should he see but a great bigWhite Bear. 

'Good evening to you!' said the White Bear. 

'The same to you', said the man. 

'Will you give me your youngest daughter? If you will, I'll make youas rich as you are now poor', said the Bear. 

Well, the man would not be at all sorry to be so rich; but still hethought he must have a bit of a talk with his daughter first; so hewent in and told them how there was a great White Bear waitingoutside, who had given his word to make them so rich if he could onlyhave the youngest daughter. 

The lassie said 'No!' outright. Nothing could get her to say anythingelse; so the man went out and settled it with the White Bear, that heshould come again the next Thursday evening and get an answer. Meantime he talked his daughter over, and kept on telling her of allthe riches they would get, and how well off she would be herself; andso at last she thought better of it, and washed and mended her rags, made herself as smart as she could, and was ready to start. I can'tsay her packing gave her much trouble. 

Next Thursday evening came the White Bear to fetch her, and she gotupon his back with her bundle, and off they went. So, when they hadgone a bit of the way, the White Bear said:

'Are you afraid?'

'No! she wasn't. '

'Well! mind and hold tight by my shaggy coat, and then there'snothing to fear', said the Bear. 

So she rode a long, long way, till they came to a great steep hill. There, on the face of it, the White Bear gave a knock, and a dooropened, and they came into a castle, where there were many rooms alllit up; rooms gleaming with silver and gold; and there too was atable ready laid, and it was all as grand as grand could be. Then theWhite Bear gave her a silver bell; and when she wanted anything, shewas only to ring it, and she would get it at once. 

Well, after she had eaten and drunk, and evening wore on, she gotsleepy after her journey, and thought she would like to go to bed, soshe rang the bell; and she had scarce taken hold of it before shecame into a chamber, where there was a bed made, as fair and white asany one would wish to sleep in, with silken pillows and curtains, andgold fringe. All that was in the room was gold or silver; but whenshe had gone to bed, and put out the light, a man came and laidhimself alongside her. That was the White Bear, who threw off hisbeast shape at night; but she never saw him, for he always came aftershe had put out the light, and before the day dawned he was up andoff again. So things went on happily for a while, but at last shebegan to get silent and sorrowful; for there she went about all dayalone, and she longed to go home to see her father and mother andbrothers and sisters. So one day, when the White Bear asked what itwas that she lacked, she said it was so dull and lonely there, andhow she longed to go home to see her father and mother, and brothersand sisters, and that was why she was so sad and sorrowful, becauseshe couldn't get to them. 

'Well, well!' said the Bear, 'perhaps there's a cure for all this;but you must promise me one thing, not to talk alone with yourmother, but only when the rest are by to hear; for she'll take you bythe hand and try to lead you into a room alone to talk; but you mustmind and not do that, else you'll bring bad luck on both of us. '

So one Sunday the White Bear came and said now they could set off tosee her father and mother. Well, off they started, she sitting on hisback; and they went far and long. At last they came to a grand house, and there her brothers and sisters were running about out of doors atplay, and everything was so pretty, 'twas a joy to see. 

'This is where your father and mother live now', said the White Bear;'but don't forget what I told you, else you'll make us both unlucky. '

'No! bless her, she'd not forget'; and when she had reached thehouse, the White Bear turned right about and left her. 

Then when she went in to see her father and mother, there was suchjoy, there was no end to it. None of them thought they could thankher enough for all she had done for them. Now, they had everythingthey wished, as good as good could be, and they all wanted to knowhow she got on where she lived. 

Well, she said, it was very good to live where she did; she had allshe wished. What she said beside I don't know; but I don't think anyof them had the right end of the stick, or that they got much out ofher. But so in the afternoon, after they had done dinner, allhappened as the White Bear had said. Her mother wanted to talk withher alone in her bed-room; but she minded what the White Bear hadsaid, and wouldn't go upstairs. 

'Oh! what we have to talk about, will keep', she said, and put hermother off. But some how or other, her mother got round her at last, and she had to tell her the whole story. So she said, how everynight, when she had gone to bed, a man came and lay down beside heras soon as she had put out the light, and how she never saw him, because he was always up and away before the morning dawned; and howshe went about woeful and sorrowing, for she thought she should solike to see him, and how all day long she walked about there alone, and how dull, and dreary, and lonesome it was. 

'My!' said her mother; 'it may well be a Troll you slept with! Butnow I'll teach you a lesson how to set eyes on him. I'll give you abit of candle, which you can carry home in your bosom; just lightthat while he is asleep, but take care not to drop the tallow onhim. '

Yes! she took the candle, and hid it in her bosom, and as night drewon, the White Bear came and fetched her away. 

But when they had gone a bit of the way, the White Bear asked if allhadn't happened as he had said?

'Well, she couldn't say it hadn't. '

'Now, mind', said he, 'if you have listened to your mother's advice, you have brought bad luck on us both, and then, all that has passedbetween us will be as nothing. '

'No', she said, 'she hadn't listened to her mother's advice. '

So when she reached home, and had gone to bed, it was the old storyover again. There came a man and lay down beside her; but at dead ofnight, when she heard he slept, she got up and struck a light, litthe candle, and let the light shine on him, and so she saw that hewas the loveliest Prince one ever set eyes on, and she fell so deepin love with him on the spot, that she thought she couldn't live ifshe didn't give him a kiss there and then. And so she did, but as shekissed him, she dropped three hot drops of tallow on his shirt, andhe woke up. 

'What have you done?' he cried; 'now you have made us both unlucky, for had you held out only this one year, I had been freed. For I havea stepmother who has bewitched me, so that I am a White Bear by day, and a Man by night. But now all ties are snapt between us; now I mustset off from you to her. She lives in a Castle which stands EAST O'THE SUN AND WEST O' THE MOON, and there, too, is a Princess, with anose three ells long, and she's the wife I must have now. '

She wept and took it ill, but there was no help for it; go he must. 

Then she asked if she mightn't go with him?

No, she mightn't. 

'Tell me the way, then', she said, 'and I'll search you out;_that_ surely I may get leave to do. '

'Yes, she might do that', he said; 'but there was no way to thatplace. It lay EAST O' THE SUN AND WEST O' THE MOON, and thither she'dnever find her way. '

So next morning, when she woke up, both Prince and castle were gone, and then she lay on a little green patch, in the midst of the gloomythick wood, and by her side lay the same bundle of rags she hadbrought with her from her old home. 

So when she had rubbed the sleep out of her eyes, and wept till shewas tired, she set out on her way, and walked many, many days, tillshe came to a lofty crag. Under it sat an old hag, and played with agold apple which she tossed about. Her the lassie asked if she knewthe way to the Prince, who lived with his step-mother in the Castle, that lay EAST O' THE SUN AND WEST O' THE MOON, and who was to marrythe Princess with a nose three ells long. 

'How did you come to know about him?' asked the old hag; 'but maybeyou are the lassie who ought to have had him?'

Yes, she was. 

'So, so; it's you, is it?' said the old hag. 'Well, all I know abouthim is, that he lives in the castle that lies EAST O' THE SUN ANDWEST O' THE MOON, and thither you'll come, late or never; but stillyou may have the loan of my horse, and on him you can ride to my nextneighbour. Maybe she'll be able to tell you; and when you get there, just give the horse a switch under the left ear, and beg him to be offhome; and, stay, this gold apple you may take with you. '

So she got upon the horse, and rode a long long time, till she cameto another crag, under which sat another old hag, with a goldcarding-comb. Her the lassie asked if she knew the way to the castlethat lay EAST O' THE SUN AND WEST O' THE MOON, and she answered, likethe first old hag, that she knew nothing about it, except it was easto' the sun and west o' the moon. 

'And thither you'll come, late or never, but you shall have the loanof my horse to my next neighbour; maybe she'll tell you all about it;and when you get there, just switch the horse under the left ear, andbeg him to be off home. '

And this old hag gave her the golden carding-comb; it might be she'dfind some use for it, she said. So the lassie got up on the horse, and rode a far far way, and a weary time; and so at last she came toanother great crag, under which sat another old hag, spinning with agolden spinning-wheel. Her, too, she asked if she knew the way to thePrince, and where the castle was that lay EAST O' THE SUN AND WEST O'THE MOON. So it was the same thing over again. 

'Maybe it's you who ought to have had the Prince?' said the old hag. 

Yes, it was. 

But she, too, didn't know the way a bit better than the other two. 'East o' the sun and west o' the moon it was', she knew--that wasall. 

'And thither you'll come, late or never; but I'll lend you my horse, and then I think you'd best ride to the East Wind and ask him; maybe, he knows those parts, and can blow you thither. But when you get tohim, you need only give the horse a switch under the left ear, andhe'll trot home of himself. '

And so, too, she gave her the gold spinning-wheel. 'Maybe you'll finda use for it', said the old hag. 

Then on she rode many many days, a weary time, before she got to theEast Wind's house, but at last she did reach it, and then she askedthe East Wind if he could tell her the way to the Prince who dwelteast o' the sun and west o' the moon. Yes, the East Wind had oftenheard tell of it, the Prince and the castle, but he couldn't tell theway, for he had never blown so far. 

'But, if you will, I'll go with you to my brother the West Wind, maybe he knows, for he's much stronger. So, if you will just get onmy back, I'll carry you thither. '

Yes, she got on his back, and I should just think they went brisklyalong. 

So when they got there, they went into the West Wind's house, and theEast Wind said the lassie he had brought was the one who ought tohave had the Prince who lived in the castle EAST O' THE SUN AND WESTO' THE MOON; and so she had set out to seek him, and how he had comewith her, and would be glad to know if the West Wind knew how to getto the castle. 

'Nay', said the West Wind, 'so far I've never blown; but if you will, I'll go with you to our brother the South Wind, for he's muchstronger than either of us, and he has flapped his wings far andwide. Maybe he'll tell you. You can get on my back, and I'll carryyou to him. '

Yes! she got on his back, and so they travelled to the South Wind, and weren't so very long on the way, I should think. 

When they got there, the West Wind asked him if he could tell her theway to the castle that lay EAST O' THE SUN AND WEST O' THE MOON, forit was she who ought to have had the prince who lived there. 

'You don't say so! That's she, is it?' said the South Wind. 

'Well, I have blustered about in most places in my time, but so farhave I never blown; but if you will, I'll take you to my brother theNorth Wind; he is the oldest and strongest of the whole lot of us, and if he don't know where it is, you'll never find any one in theworld to tell you. You can get on my back, and I'll carry youthither. '

Yes! she got on his back, and away he went from his house at a finerate. And this time, too, she wasn't long on her way. 

So when they got to the North Wind's house, he was so wild and cross, cold puffs came from him a long way off. 

'BLAST YOU BOTH, WHAT DO YOU WANT?' he roared out to them ever so faroff, so that it struck them with an icy shiver. 

'Well', said the South Wind, 'you needn't be so foul-mouthed, forhere I am, your brother, the South Wind, and here is the lassie whoought to have had the Prince who dwells in the castle that lies EASTO' THE SUN AND WEST O' THE MOON, and now she wants to ask you if youever were there, and can tell her the way, for she would be so gladto find him again. '

'YES, I KNOW WELL ENOUGH WHERE IT IS', said the North Wind; 'once inmy life I blew an aspen-leaf thither, but I was so tired I couldn'tblow a puff for ever so many days after. But if you really wish to gothither, and aren't afraid to come along with me, I'll take you on myback and see if I can blow you thither. '

Yes! with all her heart; she must and would get thither if it werepossible in any way; and as for fear, however madly he went, shewouldn't be at all afraid. 

'Very well, then', said the North Wind, 'but you must sleep here to-night, for we must have the whole day before us, if we're to getthither at all. '

Early next morning the North Wind woke her, and puffed himself up, and blew himself out, and made himself so stout and big, 'twasgruesome to look at him; and so off they went high up through theair, as if they would never stop till they got to the world's end. 

Down here below there was such a storm; it threw down long tracts ofwood and many houses, and when it swept over the great sea, shipsfoundered by hundreds. 

So they tore on and on--no one can believe how far they went--and allthe while they still went over the sea, and the North Wind got moreand more weary, and so out of breath he could scarce bring out apuff, and his wings drooped and drooped, till at last he sunk so lowthat the crests of the waves dashed over his heels. 

'Are you afraid?' said the North Wind. 

'No!' she wasn't. 

But they weren't very far from land; and the North Wind had still somuch strength left in him that he managed to throw her up on theshore under the windows of the castle which lay EAST O' THE SUN ANDWEST O' THE MOON; but then he was so weak and worn out, he had tostay there and rest many days before he could get home again. 

Next morning the lassie sat down under the castle window, and beganto play with the gold apple; and the first person she saw was theLong-nose who was to have the Prince. 

'What do you want for your gold apple, you lassie?' said the Long-nose, and threw up the window. 

'It's not for sale, for gold or money', said the lassie. 

'If it's not for sale for gold or money, what is it that you willsell it for? You may name your own price', said the Princess. 

'Well! if I may get to the Prince, who lives here, and be with himto-night, you shall have it', said the lassie whom the North Wind hadbrought. 

Yes! she might; that could be done. So the Princess got the goldapple; but when the lassie came up to the Prince's bed-room at nighthe was fast asleep; she called him and shook him, and between whilesshe wept sore; but all she could do she couldn't wake him up. Nextmorning as soon as day broke, came the Princess with the long nose, and drove her out again. 

So in the daytime she sat down under the castle windows and began tocard with her carding-comb, and the same thing happened. The Princessasked what she wanted for it; and she said it wasn't for sale forgold or money, but if she might get leave to go up to the Prince andbe with him that night, the Princess should have it. But when shewent up she found him fast asleep again, and all she called, and allshe shook, and wept, and prayed, she couldn't get life into him; andas soon as the first gray peep of day came, then came the Princesswith the long nose, and chased her out again. 

So, in the day time, the lassie sat down outside under the castlewindow, and began to spin with her golden spinning-wheel, and that, too, the Princess with the long nose wanted to have. So she threw upthe window and asked what she wanted for it. The lassie said, as shehad said twice before, it wasn't for sale for gold or money; but ifshe might go up to the Prince who was there, and be with him alonethat night, she might have it. 

Yes! she might do that and welcome. But now you must know there weresome Christian folk who had been carried off thither, and as they satin their room, which was next the Prince, they had heard how a womanhad been in there, and wept and prayed, and called to him two nightsrunning, and they told that to the Prince. 

That evening, when the Princess came with her sleepy drink, thePrince made as if he drank, but threw it over his shoulder, for hecould guess it was a sleepy drink. So, when the lassie came in, shefound the Prince wide awake; and then she told him the whole storyhow she had come thither. 

'Ah', said the Prince, 'you've just come in the very nick of time, for to-morrow is to be our wedding-day; but now I won't have theLong-nose, and you are the only woman in the world who can set mefree. I'll say I want to see what my wife is fit for, and beg her towash the shirt which has the three spots of tallow on it; she'll sayyes, for she doesn't know 'tis you who put them there; but that's awork only for Christian folk, and not for such a pack of Trolls, andso I'll say that I won't have any other for my bride than the womanwho can wash them out, and ask you to do it. '

So there was great joy and love between them all that night. But nextday, when the wedding was to be, the Prince said:

'First of all, I'd like to see what my bride is fit for. '

'Yes!' said the step-mother, with all her heart. 

'Well', said the Prince, 'I've got a fine shirt which I'd like for mywedding shirt, but some how or other it has got three spots of tallowon it, which I must have washed out; and I have sworn never to takeany other bride than the woman who's able to do that. If she can't, she's not worth having. '

Well, that was no great thing they said, so they agreed, and she withthe long-nose began to wash away as hard as she could, but the moreshe rubbed and scrubbed, the bigger the spots grew. 

'Ah!' said the old hag, her mother, 'you can't wash; let me try. '

But she hadn't long taken the shirt in hand, before it got far worsethan ever, and with all her rubbing, and wringing, and scrubbing, thespots grew bigger and blacker, and the darker and uglier was theshirt. 

Then all the other Trolls began to wash, but the longer it lasted, the blacker and uglier the shirt grew, till at last it was as blackall over as if it had been up the chimney. 

'Ah!' said the Prince, 'you're none of you worth a straw you can'twash. Why there, outside, sits a beggar lassie, I'll be bound sheknows how to wash better than the whole lot of you. COME IN LASSIE!'he shouted. 

Well, in she came. 

'Can you wash this shirt clean, lassie, you?' said he. 

'I don't know', she said, 'but I think I can. '

And almost before she had taken it and dipped it in the water, it wasas white as driven snow, and whiter still. 

'Yes; you are the lassie for me', said the Prince. 

At that the old hag flew into such a rage, she burst on the spot, andthe Princess with the long nose after her, and the whole pack ofTrolls after her--at least I've never heard a word about them since. 

As for the Prince and Princess, they set free all the poor Christianfolk who had been carried off and shut up there; and they took withthem all the silver and gold, and flitted away as far as they couldfrom the Castle that lay EAST O' THE SUN AND WEST O' THE MOON. 

BOOTS WHO ATE A MATCH WITH THE TROLL

Once on a time there was a farmer who had three sons; his means weresmall, and he was old and weak, and his sons would take to nothing. Afine large wood belonged to the farm, and one day the father told hissons to go and hew wood, and try to pay off some of his debts. 

Well, after a long talk he got them to set off, and the eldest was togo first. But when he had got well into the wood, and began to hew ata mossy old fir, what should he see coming up to him but a greatsturdy Troll. 

'If you hew in this wood of mine', said the Troll, 'I'll kill you!'

When the lad heard that, he threw the axe down, and ran off home asfast as he could lay legs to the ground; so he came in quite out ofbreath, and told them what had happened, but his father called him'hare-heart'--no Troll would ever have scared him from hewing when hewas young, he said. 

Next day the second son's turn came, and he fared just the same. Hehad scarce hewn three strokes at the fir, before the Troll came tohim too, and said:

'If you hew in this wood of mine, I'll kill you. '

The lad dared not so much as look at him, but threw down the axe, took to his heels, and came scampering home just like his brother. Sowhen he got home, his father was angry again, and said no Troll hadever scared him when he was young. 

The third day Boots wanted to set off. 

'You, indeed!' said the two elder brothers; 'you'll do it bravely, nodoubt! you, who have scarce ever set your foot out of the door. '

Boots said nothing to this, but only begged them to give him a goodstore of food. His mother had no cheese, so she set the pot on thefire to make him a little, and he put it into a scrip and set off. Sowhen he had hewn a bit, the Troll came to him too, and said:

'If you hew in this wood of mine, I'll kill you. '

But the lad was not slow; he pulled his cheese out of the scrip in atrice, and squeezed it till the whey spurted out. 

'Hold your tongue!' he cried to the Troll, 'or I'll squeeze you as Isqueeze the water out of this white stone. '

'Nay, dear friend!' said the Troll, 'only spare me, and I'll help youto hew. '

Well, on those terms the lad was willing to spare him, and the Trollhewed so bravely, that they felled and cut up many, many fathoms inthe day. 

But when even drew near, the Troll said:

'Now you'd better come home with me, for my house is nearer thanyours. '

So the lad was willing enough; and when they reached the Troll'shouse, the Troll was to make up the fire, while the lad went to fetchwater for their porridge, and there stood two iron pails so big andheavy, that he couldn't so much as lift them from the ground. 

'Pooh!' said the lad, 'it isn't worth while to touch these finer-basins: I'll just go and fetch the spring itself. '

'Nay, nay, dear friend!' said the Troll; 'I can't afford to lose myspring; just you make up the fire, and I'll go and fetch the water. '

So when he came back with the water, they set to and boiled up agreat pot of porridge. 

'It's all the same to me', said the lad; 'but if you're of my mind, we'll eat a match!'

'With all my heart', said the Troll, for he thought he could surelyhold his own in eating. So they sat down; but the lad took his scripunawares to the Troll, and hung it before him, and so he spooned moreinto the scrip than he ate himself; and when the scrip was full, hetook up his knife and made a slit in the scrip. The Troll looked onall the while, but said never a word. So when they had eaten a goodbit longer, the Troll laid down his spoon, saying, 'Nay! but I can'teat a morsel more. '

'But you shall eat', said the youth; 'I'm only half done; why don'tyou do as I did, and cut a hole in your paunch? You'll be able to eatthen as much as you please. '

'But doesn't it hurt one cruelly?' asked the Troll. 

'Oh', said the youth, 'nothing to speak of. '

So the Troll did as the lad said, and then you must know very wellthat he lost his life; but the lad took all the silver and gold thathe found in the hill-side, and went home with it, and you may fancyit went a great way to pay off the debt. 

HACON GRIZZLEBEARD

Once on a time there was a princess who was so proud and pert that nosuitor was good enough for her. She made game of them all, and sentthem about their business, one after the other; but though she was soproud, still new suitors kept on coming to the palace, for she wasa beauty, the wicked hussey!

So one day there came a prince to woo her, and his name was HaconGrizzlebeard; but the first night he was there, the Princess bade theking's fool cut off the ears of one of the prince's horses, and slitthe jaws of the other up to the ears. When the prince went out todrive next day, the Princess stood in the porch and looked at him. 

'Well!' she cried, 'I never saw the like of this in all my life; thekeen north wind that blows here has taken the ears off one of yourhorses, and the other has stood by and gaped at what was going ontill his jaws have split right up to his ears. '

And with that she burst out into a roar of laughter, ran in, slammedto the door, and let him drive off. 

So he drove home; but as he went, he thought to himself that he wouldpay her off one day. After a bit, he put on a great beard of moss, threw a great fur cloak over his clothes, and dressed himself up justlike any beggar. He went to a goldsmith and bought a golden spinningwheel, and sat down with it under the Princess' window, and began tofile away at his spinning wheel, and to turn it this way and that, for it wasn't quite in order, and, besides, it wanted a stand. 

So when the Princess rose up in the morning, she came to the windowand threw it up, and called out to the beggar if he would sell hisgolden spinning-wheel?

'No; it isn't for sale', said Hacon Grizzlebeard; 'but if I may haveleave to sleep outside your bedroom door to-night, I'll give it you. '

Well, the Princess thought it a good bargain; there could be nodanger in letting him sleep outside her door. 

So she got the wheel, and at night Hacon Grizzlebeard lay downoutside her bedroom. But as the night wore on he began to freeze. 

'Hutetutetutetu! it is _so_ cold; do let me in', he cried. 

'You've lost your wits outright, I think', said the Princess. 

'Oh, hutetutetutetu! it is so bitter cold, pray do let me in', saidHacon Grizzlebeard again. 

'Hush! hush! hold your tongue!' said the Princess; 'if my father wereto know that there was a man in the house, I should be in a finescrape. '

'Oh, hutetutetutetu! I'm almost frozen to death; only let me comeinside and lie on the floor', said Hacon Grizzlebeard. 

Yes! there was no help for it. She had to let him in, and when hewas, he lay on the ground and slept like a top. 

Some time after, Hacon came again with the stand to the spinning-wheel, and sat down under the Princess' window, and began to file atit, for it was not quite fit for use. When she heard him filing, shethrew up the window and began to talk to him, and to ask what he hadthere. 

'Oh! only the stand to that spinning-wheel which your royal highnessbought; for I thought, as you had the wheel, you might like to havethe stand too. '

'What do you want for it?' asked the Princess; but it was not forsale any more than the wheel, but she might have them if she wouldgive him leave to sleep on the floor of her bedroom next night. 

Well! she gave him leave, only he was to be sure to lie still, andnot to shiver and call out 'hutetu', or any such stuff. HaconGrizzlebeard promised fair enough, but as the night wore on he beganto shiver and shake, and to ask whether he might not come nearer, andlie on the floor alongside the Princess' bed. 

There was no help for it; she had to give him leave, lest the kingshould hear the noise he made. So Hacon Grizzlebeard lay alongsidethe Princess' bed, and slept like a top. 

It was a long while before Hacon Grizzlebeard came again; but when hecame he had with him a golden wool-winder, and he sat down and beganto file away at it under the Princess' window. Then came the oldstory over again. When the Princess heard what was going on, she cameto the window, and asked him how he did, and whether he would sellthe golden wool-winder?

'It is not to be had for money; but if you'll give me leave to sleepto-night in your bedroom, with my head on your bedstead, you shallhave it for nothing', said Hacon Grizzlebeard. 

Well! she would give him leave, if he only gave his word to be quiet, and make no noise. So he said he would do his best to be still; butas the night wore on, he began to shiver and shake so, that his teethchattered again. 

'Hutetutetutetu! it is so bitter cold! Oh, do let me get into bed andwarm myself a little', said Hacon Grizzlebeard. 

'Get into bed!' said the Princess; 'why, you must have lost yourwits. '

'Hutetutetutetu!' said Hacon; 'do let me get into bed. Hutetutetutetu. '

'Hush! hush! be still for God's sake', said the Princess; 'if fatherknows there is a man in here, I shall be in a sad plight. I'm surehe'll kill me on the spot. '

'Hutetutetutetu! let me get into bed', said Hacon Grizzlebeard, whokept on shivering so that the whole room shook. 

Well! there was no help for it; she had to let him get into bed, where he slept both sound and soft; but a little while after thePrincess had a child, at which the king grew so wild with rage, thathe was near making an end of both mother and babe. Just after thishappened, came Hacon Grizzlebeard tramping that way once more, as ifby chance, and took his seat down in the kitchen, like any otherbeggar. 

So when the Princess came out and saw him, she cried, 'Ah, God havemercy on me, for the ill-luck you have brought on me; father is readyto burst with rage; do let me follow you to your home. '

'Oh! I'll be bound you're too well bred to follow me', said Hacon, 'for I have nothing but a log but to live in; and how I shall everget food for you I can't tell, for it's just as much as I can do toget food for myself. '

'Oh yes! it's all the same to me how you get it, or whether you getit at all', she said; 'only let me be with you, for if I stay hereany longer, my father will be sure to take my life. '

So she got leave to be with the beggar, as she called him, and theywalked a long, long way, though she was but a poor hand at tramping. When she passed out of her father's land into another, she askedwhose it was?

'Oh! this is Hacon Grizzlebeard's, if you must know', said he. 

'Indeed!' said the Princess; 'I might have married him if I chose, and then I should not have had to walk about like a beggar's wife. '

So, whenever they came to grand castles, and woods, and parks, andshe asked whose they were? the beggar's answer was still the same:'Oh: they are Hacon Grizzlebeard's. ' And the Princess was in a sadway that she had not chosen the man who had such broad lands. Last ofall, they came to a palace, where he said he was known, and where hethought he could get her work, so that they might have something tolive on; so he built up a cabin by the woodside for them to dwell in;and every day he went to the king's palace, as he said, to hew woodand draw water for the cook, and when he came back he brought a fewscraps of meat; but they did not go very far. One day, when he camehome from the palace, he said: 'To-morrow I will stay at home andlook after the baby, but you must get ready to go to the palace, doyou hear! for the Prince said you were to come and try your hand atbaking. '

'I bake!' said the Princess; 'I can't bake, for I never did such athing in my life. '

'Well, you must go', said Hacon, 'since the Prince has said it. Ifyou can't bake, you can learn; you have only got to look how the restbake; and mind, when you leave, you must steal me some bread. '

'I can't steal', said the Princess. 

'You can learn that too', said Hacon; 'you know we live on shortcommons. But take care that the Prince doesn't see you, for he haseyes at the back of his head. '

So when she was well on her way, Hacon ran by a short cut and reachedthe palace long before her, and threw off his rags and beard, and puton his princely robes. 

The Princess took her turn in the bakehouse, and did as Hacon badeher, for she stole bread till her pockets were crammed full. So whenshe was about to go home at even, the Prince said:

'We don't know much of this old wife of Hacon Grizzlebeard's, I thinkwe'd best see if she has taken anything away with her. '

So he thrust his hand into all her pockets, and felt her all over, and when he found the bread, he was in a great rage, and led them alla sad life. She began to weep and bewail, and said:

'The beggar made me do it, and I couldn't help it. ' 'Well', said thePrince at last, 'it ought to have gone hard with you; but all thesame, for the sake of the beggar you shall be forgiven this once. '

When she was well on her way, he threw off his robes, put on his skincloak, and his false beard, and reached the cabin before her. Whenshe came home, he was busy nursing the baby. 

'Well, you have made me do what it went against my heart to do. Thisis the first time I ever stole, and this shall be the last'; and withthat she told him how it had gone with her, and what the Prince hadsaid. 

A few days after Hacon Grizzlebeard came home at even and said:

'To-morrow I must stay at home and mind the babe, for they are goingto kill a pig at the palace, and you must help to make the sausages. '

'I make sausages!' said the Princess; 'I can't do any such thing. Ihave eaten sausages often enough; but as to making them, I never madeone in my life. '

Well, there was no help for it; the Prince had said it, and go shemust. As for not knowing how, she was only to do what the others did, and at the same time Hacon bade her steal some sausages for him. 

'Nay, but I can't steal them', she said; 'you know how it went lasttime. '

'Well, you can learn to steal; who knows but you may have better lucknext time', said Hacon Grizzlebeard. 

When she was well on her way, Hacon ran by a short cut, reached thepalace long before her, threw off his skin cloak and false beard, andstood in the kitchen with his royal robes before she came in. So thePrincess stood by when the pig was killed, and made sausages with therest, and did as Hacon bade her, and stuffed her pockets full ofsausages. But when she was about to go home at even, the Prince said:

'This beggar's wife was long-fingered last time; we may as well justsee if she hasn't carried anything off. '

So he began to thrust his hands into her pockets, and when he foundthe sausages he was in a great rage again, and made a great to do, threatening to send for the constable and put her into the cage. 

'Oh, God bless your royal highness; do let me off! The beggar made medo it', she said, and wept bitterly. 

'Well', said Hacon, 'you ought to smart for it; but for the beggar'ssake you shall be forgiven. '

When she was gone, he changed his clothes again, ran by the shortcut, and when she reached the cabin, there he was before her. Thenshe told him the whole story, and swore, through thick and thin, itshould be the last time he got her to do such a thing. 

Now, it fell out a little time after, when the man came back from thepalace, he said:

'Our Prince is going to be married, but the bride is sick, so thetailor can't measure her for her wedding gown. And the Prince's willis, that you should go up to the palace and be measured instead ofthe bride; for he says you are just the same height and shape. Butafter you have been measured, mind you don't go away; you can standabout, you know, and when the tailor cuts out the gown, you can snapup the largest pieces, and bring them home for a waistcoat for me. '

'Nay, but I can't steal', she said; 'besides, you know how it wentlast time. '

'You can learn then', said Hacon, 'and you may have better luck, perhaps. '

She thought it bad, but still she went and did as she was told. Shestood by while the tailor was cutting out the gown, and she sweptdown all the biggest scraps, and stuffed them into her pockets; andwhen she was going away, the Prince said:

'We may as well see if this old girl has not been long-fingered thistime too. '

So he began to feel and search her pockets, and when he found thepieces he was in a rage, and began to stamp and scold at a greatrate, while she wept and said:

'Ah, pray forgive me; the beggar bade me do it, and I couldn't helpit. '

'Well, you ought to smart for it', said Hacon; 'but for the beggar'ssake it shall be forgiven you. '

So it went now just as it had gone before, and when she got back tothe cabin, the beggar was there before her. 

'Oh, Heaven help me', she said; 'you will be the death of me at last, by making me nothing but what is wicked. The Prince was in such atowering rage that he threatened me both with the constable andcage. '

Sometime after, Hacon came home to the cabin at even and said:

'Now, the Prince's will is, that you should go up to the palace andstand for the bride, old lass! for the bride is still sick, and keepsher bed; but he won't put off the wedding; and he says, you are solike her, that no one could tell one from the other; so to-morrow youmust get ready to go to the palace. '

'I think you've lost your wits, both the Prince and you', said she. 'Do you think I look fit to stand in the bride's place? look at me!Can any beggar's trull look worse than I?'

'Well, the Prince said you were to go, and so go you must', saidHacon Grizzlebeard. 

There was no help for it, go she must; and when she reached thepalace, they dressed her out so finely that no princess ever lookedso smart. 

The bridal train went to church, where she stood for the bride, andwhen they came back, there was dancing and merriment in the palace. But just as she was in the midst of dancing with the Prince, she sawa gleam of light through the window, and lo! the cabin by the wood-side was all one bright flame. 

'Oh! the beggar, and the babe, and the cabin', she screamed out, andwas just going to swoon away. 

'Here is the beggar, and there is the babe, and so let the cabin burnaway', said Hacon Grizzlebeard. 

Then she knew him again, and after that the mirth and merriment beganin right earnest; but since that I have never heard tell anythingmore about them. 

BOOTS, WHO MADE THE PRINCESS SAY, 'THAT'S A STORY'

Once on a time there was a king who had a daughter, and she was sucha dreadful story-teller that the like of her was not to be found faror near. So the king gave out, that if any one could tell such astring of lies, as would get her to say, 'That's a story', he shouldhave her to wife, and half the kingdom besides. Well, many came, asyou may fancy, to try their luck, for every one would have been veryglad to have the Princess, to say nothing of the kingdom; but theyall cut a sorry figure, for the Princess was so given to story-telling, that all their lies went in at one ear and out of the other. Among the rest came three brothers to try their luck, and the twoelder went first, but they fared no better than those who had gonebefore them. Last of all the third, Boots, set off and found thePrincess in the farm-yard. 

'Good-morning', he said, 'and thank you for nothing. '

'Good-morning', said she, 'and the same to you. '

Then she went on:

'You haven't such a fine farm-yard as ours, I'll be bound; for whentwo shepherds stand, one at each end of it, and blow their ram'shorns, the one can't hear the other. '

'Haven't we though!' answered Boots; 'ours is far bigger; for when acow begins to go with calf at one end of it, she doesn't get to theother end before the time to drop her calf is come. '

'I dare say!' said the Princess. 'Well, but you haven't such a bigox, after all, as ours yonder; for when two men sit one on each horn, they can't touch each other with a twenty-foot rule. '

'Stuff!' said Boots; 'is that all? why, we have an ox who is so big, that when two men sit, one on each horn, and each blows his greatmountain-trumpet, they can't hear one another. '

'I dare say!' said the Princess; 'but you haven't so much milk as we, I'll be bound; for we milk our kine into great pails, and carry themin-doors, and empty them into great tubs, and so we make great, greatcheeses. '

'Oh! you do, do you?' said Boots. 'Well, we milk ours into greattubs, and then we put them in carts and drive them in-doors, and thenwe turn them out into great brewing vats, and so we make cheeses asbig as a great house. We had, too a dun mare to tread the cheese welltogether when it was making; but once she tumbled down into thecheese, and we lost her; and after we had eaten at this cheese sevenyears, we came upon a great dun mare, alive and kicking. Well, onceafter that I was going to drive this mare to the mill, and her back-bone snapped in two; but I wasn't put out, not I, for I took a sprucesapling, and put it into her for a back-bone, and she had no otherback-bone all the while we had her. But the sapling grew up into sucha tall tree, that I climbed right up to heaven by it, and when I gotthere, I saw the Virgin Mary sitting and spinning the foam of the seainto pig's-bristle ropes; but just then the spruce-fir broke shortoff, and I couldn't get down again; so the Virgin Mary let me down byone of the ropes, and down I slipped straight into a fox's hole, andwho should sit there but my mother and your father cobbling shoes;and just as I stepped in, my mother gave your father such a box onthe ear, that it made his whiskers curl. '

'That's a story!' said the Princess; 'my father never did any suchthing in all his born days!'

So Boots got the Princess to wife, and half the kingdom besides. 

THE TWELVE WILD DUCKS

Once on a time there was a Queen who was out driving, when there hadbeen a new fall of snow in the winter; but when she had gone a littleway, she began to bleed at the nose, and had to get out of hersledge. And so, as she stood there, leaning against the fence, andsaw the red blood on the white snow, she fell a-thinking how she hadtwelve sons and no daughter, and she said to herself:

'If I only had a daughter as white as snow and as red as blood, Ishouldn't care what became of all my sons. '

But the words were scarce out of her mouth before an old witch of theTrolls came up to her. 

'A daughter you shall have', she said, 'and she shall be as white assnow, and as red as blood; and your sons shall be mine, but you maykeep them till the babe is christened. '

So when the time came the Queen had a daughter, and she was as whiteas snow, and as red as blood, just as the Troll had promised, and sothey called her 'Snow-white and Rosy-red. ' Well, there was great joyat the King's court, and the Queen was as glad as glad could be; butwhen what she had promised to the old witch came into her mind, shesent for a silversmith, and bade him make twelve silver spoons, onefor each prince, and after that she bade him make one more, and thatshe gave to Snow-white and Rosy-red. But as soon as ever the Princesswas christened, the Princes were turned into twelve wild ducks, andflew away. They never saw them again--away they went, and away theystayed. 

So the Princess grew up, and she was both tall and fair, but she wasoften so strange and sorrowful, and no one could understand what itwas that failed her. But one evening the Queen was also sorrowful, for she had many strange thoughts when she thought of her sons. Shesaid to Snow-white and Rosy-red, 'Why are you so sorrowful, my daughter? Is there anything you want?if so, only say the word, and you shall have it. '

'Oh, it seems so dull and lonely here', said Snow-white and Rosy-red;'every one else has brothers and sisters, but I am all alone; I havenone; and that's why I'm so sorrowful. '

'But you _had_ brothers, my daughter', said the Queen; 'I hadtwelve sons who were your brothers, but I gave them all away to getyou'; and so she told her the whole story. 

So when the Princess heard that, she had no rest; for, in spite ofall the Queen could say or do, and all she wept and prayed, thelassie would set off to seek her brothers, for she thought it was allher fault; and at last she got leave to go away from the palace. Onand on she walked into the wide world, so far, you would never havethought a young lady could have strength to walk so far. 

So, once, when she was walking through a great, great wood, one dayshe felt tired, and sat down on a mossy tuft and fell asleep. Thenshe dreamt that she went deeper and deeper into the wood, till shecame to a little wooden hut, and there she found her brothers; justthen she woke, and straight before her she saw a worn path in thegreen moss, and this path went deeper into the wood; so she followedit, and after a long time she came to just such a little wooden houseas that she had seen in her dream. 

Now, when she went into the room there was no one at home, but therestood twelve beds, and twelve chairs, and twelve spoons--a dozen ofeverything, in short. So when she saw that she was so glad, shehadn't been so glad for many a long year, for she could guess at oncethat her brothers lived here, and that they owned the beds, andchairs, and spoons. So she began to make up the fire, and sweep theroom, and make the beds, and cook the dinner, and to make the houseas tidy as she could; and when she had done all the cooking and work, she ate her own dinner, and crept under her youngest brother's bed, and lay down there, but she forgot her spoon upon the table. 

So she had scarcely laid herself down before she heard somethingflapping and whirring in the air, and so all the twelve wild duckscame sweeping in; but as soon as ever they crossed the threshold theybecame Princes. 

'Oh, how nice and warm it is in here', they said. 'Heaven bless himwho made up the fire, and cooked such a good dinner for us. '

And so each took up his silver spoon and was going to eat. But wheneach had taken his own, there was one still left lying on the table, and it was so like the rest that they couldn't tell it from them. 

'This is our sister's spoon', they said; 'and if her spoon be here, she can't be very far off herself. '

'If this be our sister's spoon, and she be here', said the eldest, 'she shall be killed, for she is to blame for all the ill we suffer. '

And this she lay under the bed and listened to. 

'No', said the youngest, ''twere a shame to kill her for that. Shehas nothing to do with our suffering ill; for if any one's to blame, it's our own mother. '

So they set to work hunting for her both high and low, and at lastthey looked under all the beds, and so when they came to the youngestPrince's bed, they found her, and dragged her out. Then the eldestPrince wished again to have her killed, but she begged and prayed soprettily for herself. 

'Oh! gracious goodness! don't kill me, for I've gone about seekingyou these three years, and if I could only set you free, I'dwillingly lose my life. '

'Well!' said they, 'if you will set us free, you may keep your life;for you can if you choose. '

'Yes; only tell me', said the Princess, 'how it can be done, and I'lldo it, whatever it be. '

'You must pick thistle-down', said the Princes, 'and you must cardit, and spin it, and weave it; and after you have done that, you mustcut out and make twelve coats, and twelve shirts, and twelveneckerchiefs, one for each of us, and while you do that, you mustneither talk, nor laugh, nor weep. If you can do that, we are free. '

'But where shall I ever get thistle-down enough for so manyneckerchiefs, and shirts, and coats?' asked Snow-white and Rosy-red. 

'We'll soon show you', said the Princes; and so they took her withthem to a great wide moor, where there stood such a crop of thistles, all nodding and nodding in the breeze, and the down all floating andglistening like gossamers through the air in the sunbeams. ThePrincess had never seen such a quantity of thistledown in her life, and she began to pluck and gather it as fast and as well as shecould; and when she got home at night she set to work carding andspinning yarn from the down. So she went on a long long time, picking, and carding, and spinning, and all the while keeping thePrinces' house, cooking, and making their beds. At evening home theycame, flapping and whirring like wild ducks, and all night they werePrinces, but in the morning off they flew again, and were wild ducksthe whole day. 

But now it happened once, when she was out on the moor to pickthistle-down--and if I don't mistake, it was the very last time shewas to go thither--it happened that the young King who ruled thatland was out hunting, and came riding across the moor, and saw her. So he stopped there and wondered who the lovely lady could be thatwalked along the moor picking thistle-down, and he asked her hername, and when he could get no answer, he was still more astonished;and at last he liked her so much, that nothing would do but he musttake her home to his castle and marry her. So he ordered his servantsto take her and put her up on his horse. Snow-white and Rosy-red, shewrung her hands, and made signs to them, and pointed to the bags inwhich her work was, and when the King saw she wished to have themwith her, he told his men to take up the bags behind them. When theyhad done that the Princess came to herself, little by little, for theKing was both a wise man and a handsome man too, and he was as softand kind to her as a doctor. But when they got home to the palace, and the old Queen, who was his stepmother, set eyes on Snow-white andRosy-red, she got so cross and jealous of her because she was solovely, that she said to the king:

'Can't you see now, that this thing whom you have picked up, and whomyou are going to marry, is a witch. Why? she can't either talk, orlaugh, or weep!'

But the King didn't care a pin for what she said, but held on withthe wedding, and married Snow-white and Rosy-red and they lived ingreat joy and glory; but she didn't forget to go on sewing at hershirts. 

So when the year was almost out, Snow-white and Rosy-red brought aPrince into the world; and then the old Queen was more spiteful andjealous than ever, and at dead of night, she stole in to Snow-whiteand Rosy-red, while she slept, and took away her babe, and threw itinto a pitful of snakes. After that she cut Snow-white and Rosy-redin her finger, and smeared the blood over her mouth, and wentstraight to the King. 

'Now come and see', she said, 'what sort of a thing you have takenfor your Queen; here she has eaten up her own babe. '

Then the King was so downcast, he almost burst into tears, and said:

'Yes, it must be true, since I see it with my own eyes; but she'llnot do it again, I'm sure, and so this time I'll spare her life. '

So before the next year was out she had another son, and the samething happened. The King's stepmother got more and more jealous andspiteful. She stole into the young Queen at night while she slept, took away the babe, and threw it into a pit full of snakes, cut theyoung Queen's finger, and smeared the blood over her mouth, and thenwent and told the King she had eaten up her own child. Then the Kingwas so sorrowful, you can't think how sorry he was, and he said:

'Yes, it must be true, since I see it with my own eyes; but she'llnot do it again, I'm sure, and so this time too I'll spare her life. '

Well, before the next year was out, Snow-white and Rosy-red brought adaughter into the world, and her, too, the old Queen took and threwinto the pit full of snakes, while the young Queen slept. Then shecut her finger, smeared the blood over her mouth, and went again tothe King and said, 'Now you may come and see if it isn't as I say; she's a wicked, wicked witch, for here she has gone and eaten up her third babe, too. '

Then the King was so sad, there was no end to it, for now he couldn'tspare her any longer, but had to order her to be burnt alive on apile of wood. But just when the pile was all a-blaze, and they weregoing to put her on it, she made signs to them to take twelve boardsand lay them round the pile, and on these she laid the neckerchiefs, and the shirts, and the coats for her brothers, but the youngestbrother's shirt wanted its left arm, for she hadn't had time tofinish it. And as soon as ever she had done that, they heard such aflapping and whirring in the air, and down came twelve wild ducksflying over the forest, and each of them snapped up his clothes inhis bill and flew off with them. 

'See now!' said the old Queen to the King, 'wasn't I right when Itold you she was a witch, but make haste and burn her before the pileburns low. '

'Oh!' said the King, 'we've wood enough and to spare, and so I'llwait a bit, for I have a mind to see what the end of all this willbe. '

As he spoke, up came the twelve princes riding along, as handsomewell-grown lads as you'd wish to see; but the youngest prince had awild duck's wing instead of his left arm. 

'What's all this about?' asked the Princes. 

'My Queen is to be burnt, ' said the King, 'because she's a witch, andbecause she has eaten up her own babes. '

'She hasn't eaten them at all', said the Princes. 'Speak now, sister;you have set us free and saved us, now save yourself. '

Then Snow-white and Rosy-red spoke, and told the whole story; howevery time she was brought to bed, the old Queen, the King'sstepmother, had stolen into her at night, had taken her babes away, and cut her little finger, and smeared the blood over her mouth; andthen the Princes took the King, and shewed him the snake-pit wherethree babes lay playing with adders and toads, and lovelier childrenyou never saw. 

So the King had them taken out at once, and went to his stepmother, and asked her what punishment she thought that woman deserved whocould find it in her heart to betray a guiltless Queen and three suchblessed little babes. 

'She deserves to be fast bound between twelve unbroken steeds, sothat each may take his share of her', said the old Queen. 

'You have spoken your own doom', said the King, 'and you shall sufferit at once. '

So the wicked old Queen was fast bound between twelve unbrokensteeds, and each got his share of her. But the King took Snow-whiteand Rosy-red, and their three children, and the twelve Princes; andso they all went home to their father and mother, and told all thathad befallen them, and there was joy and gladness over the wholekingdom, because the Princess was saved and set free, and because shehad set free her twelve brothers. 

THE GIANT WHO HAD NO HEART IN HIS BODY

Once on a time there was a king who had seven sons, and he loved themso much that he could never bear to be without them all at once, butone must always be with him. Now, when they were grown up, six wereto set off to woo, but as for the youngest, his father kept him athome, and the others were to bring back a princess for him to thepalace. So the king gave the six the finest clothes you ever set eyeson, so fine that the light gleamed from them a long way off, and eachhad his horse, which cost many, many hundred dollars, and so they setoff. Now, when they had been to many palaces, and seen manyprincesses, at last they came to a king who had six daughters; suchlovely king's daughters they had never seen, and so they fell towooing them, each one, and when they had got them for sweethearts, they set off home again, but they quite forgot that they were tobring back with them a sweetheart for Boots, their brother, whostayed at home, for they were over head and ears in love with theirown sweethearts. 

But when they had gone a good bit on their way, they passed close bya steep hill-side, like a wall, where the giant's house was, andthere the giant came out, and set his eyes upon them, and turned themall into stone, princes and princesses and all. Now the king waitedand waited for his six sons, but the more he waited, the longer theystayed away; so he fell into great trouble, and said he should neverknow what it was to be glad again. 

'And if I had not you left', he said to Boots, 'I would live nolonger, so full of sorrow am I for the loss of your brothers. '

'Well, but now I've been thinking to ask your leave to set out andfind them again; that's what I'm thinking of', said Boots. 

'Nay, nay!' said his father; 'that leave you shall never get, forthen you would stay away too. '

But Boots had set his heart upon it; go he would; and he begged andprayed so long that the king was forced to let him go. Now, you mustknow the king had no other horse to give Boots but an old broken-downjade, for his six other sons and their train had carried off all hishorses; but Boots did not care a pin for that, he sprang up on hissorry-old-steed. 

'Farewell, father', said he; 'I'll come back, never fear, and likeenough I shall bring my six brothers back with me'; and with that herode off. 

So, when he had ridden a while, he came to a Raven, which lay in theroad and flapped its wings, and was not able to get out of the way, it was so starved. 

'Oh, dear friend', said the Raven, 'give me a little food, and I'llhelp you again at your utmost need. '

'I haven't much food', said the Prince, 'and I don't see how you'llever be able to help me much; but still I can spare you a little. Isee you want it. '

So he gave the raven some of the food he had brought with him. 

Now, when he had gone a bit further, he came to a brook, and in thebrook lay a great Salmon, which had got upon a dry place and dasheditself about, and could not get into the water again. 

'Oh, dear friend', said the Salmon to the Prince; 'shove me out intothe water again, and I'll help you again at your utmost need. '

'Well!' said the Prince, 'the help you'll give me will not be great, I daresay, but it's a pity you should lie there and choke'; and withthat he shot the fish out into the stream again. 

After that he went a long, long way, and there met him a Wolf, whichwas so famished that it lay and crawled along the road on its belly. 

'Dear friend, do let me have your horse', said the Wolf; 'I'm sohungry the wind whistles through my ribs; I've had nothing to eatthese two years. '

'No', said Boots, 'this will never do; 'first I came to a raven, andI was forced to give him my food; next I came to a salmon, and him Ihad to help into the water again; and now you will have my horse. Itcan't be done, that it can't, for then I should have nothing to rideon. '

'Nay, dear friend, but you can help me', said Graylegs the wolf; 'youcan ride upon my back, and I'll help you again in your utmost need. '

'Well! the help I shall get from you will not be great, I'll bebound', said the Prince; 'but you may take my horse, since you are insuch need. '

So when the wolf had eaten the horse, Boots took the bit and put itinto the wolf's jaw, and laid the saddle on his back; and now thewolf was so strong, after what he had got inside, that he set offwith the Prince like nothing. So fast he had never ridden before. 

'When we have gone a bit farther', said Graylegs; 'I'll show you theGiant's house. '

So after a while they came to it. 

'See, here is the Giant's house', said the Wolf; 'and see, here areyour six brothers, whom the Giant has turned into stone; and see hereare their six brides, and away yonder is the door, and in at thatdoor you must go. '

'Nay, but I daren't go in', said the Prince; 'he'll take my life. '

'No! no!' said the Wolf; 'when you get in you'll find a Princess, andshe'll tell you what to do to make an end of the Giant. Only mind anddo as she bids you. '

Well! Boots went in, but, truth to say, he was very much afraid. Whenhe came in the Giant was away, but in one of the rooms sat thePrincess, just as the wolf had said, and so lovely a princess Bootshad never yet set eyes on. 

'Oh! heaven help you! whence have you come?' said the Princess, asshe saw him; 'it will surely be your death. No one can make an end ofthe Giant who lives here, for he has no heart in his body. '

'Well! well!' said Boots; 'but now that I am here, I may as well trywhat I can do with him; and I will see if I can't free my brothers, who are standing turned to stone out of doors; and you, too, I willtry to save, that I will. '

'Well, if you must, you must', said the Princess; 'and so let us seeif we can't hit on a plan. Just creep under the bed yonder, and mindand listen to what he and I talk about. But, pray, do lie as still asa mouse. '

So he crept under the bed, and he had scarce got well underneath it, before the Giant came. 

'Ha!' roared the Giant, 'what a smell of Christian blood there is inthe house!'

'Yes, I know there is', said the Princess, 'for there came a magpieflying with a man's bone, and let it fall down the chimney. I madeall the haste I could to get it out, but all one can do, the smelldoesn't go off so soon. '

So the Giant said no more about it, and when night came, they went tobed. After they had lain awhile, the Princess said:

'There is one thing I'd be so glad to ask you about, if I onlydared. '

'What thing is that?' asked the Giant. 

'Only where it is you keep your heart, since you don't carry it aboutyou', said the Princess. 

'Ah! that's a thing you've no business to ask about; but if you mustknow, it lies under the door-sill', said the Giant. 

'Ho! ho!' said Boots to himself under the bed, 'then we'll soon seeif we can't find it. '

Next morning the Giant got up cruelly early, and strode off to thewood; but he was hardly out of the house before Boots and thePrincess set to work to look under the door-sill for his heart; butthe more they dug, and the more they hunted, the more they couldn'tfind it. 

'He has baulked us this time', said the Princess, 'but we'll try himonce more. '

So she picked all the prettiest flowers she could find, and strewedthem over the door-sill, which they had laid in its right placeagain; and when the time came for the Giant to come home again, Bootscrept under the bed. Just as he was well under, back came the Giant. 

Snuff--snuff, went the Giant's nose. 'My eyes and limbs, what a smellof Christian blood there is in here', said he. 

'I know there is', said the Princess, 'for there came a magpie flyingwith a man's bone in his bill, and let it fall down the chimney. Imade as much haste as I could to get it out, but I daresay it's thatyou smell. '

So the Giant held his peace, and said no more about it. A littlewhile after, he asked who it was that had strewed flowers about thedoor-sill. 

'Oh, I, of course', said the Princess. 

'And, pray, what's the meaning of all this?' said the Giant. 

'Ah!' said the Princess, 'I'm so fond of you that I couldn't helpstrewing them, when I knew that your heart lay under there. '

'You don't say so', said the Giant; 'but after all it doesn't liethere at all. '

So when they went to bed again in the evening, the Princess asked theGiant again where his heart was, for she said she would so like toknow. 

'Well', said the Giant, 'if you must know, it lies away yonder in thecupboard against the wall. '

'So, so!' thought Boots and the Princess; 'then we'll soon try tofind it. '

Next morning the Giant was away early, and strode off to the wood, and so soon as he was gone Boots and the Princess were in thecupboard hunting for his heart, but the more they sought for it, theless they found it. 

'Well', said the Princess, 'we'll just try him once more. '

So she decked out the cupboard with flowers and garlands, and whenthe time came for the Giant to come home, Boots crept under the bedagain. 

Then back came the Giant. 

Snuff-snuff! 'My eyes and limbs, what a smell of Christian bloodthere is in here!'

'I know there is', said the Princess; 'for a little while since therecame a magpie flying with a man's bone in his bill, and let it falldown the chimney. I made all the haste I could to get it out of thehouse again; but after all my pains, I daresay it's that you smell. '

When the Giant heard that, he said no more about it; but a littlewhile after, he saw how the cupboard was all decked about withflowers and garlands; so he asked who it was that had done that? Whocould it be but the Princess. 

'And, pray, what's the meaning of all this tom-foolery?' asked theGiant. 

'Oh, I'm so fond of you, I couldn't help doing it when I knew thatyour heart lay there', said the Princess. 

'How can you be so silly as to believe any such thing?' said theGiant. 

'Oh yes; how can I help believing it, when you say it', said thePrincess. 

'You're a goose', said the Giant; 'where my heart is, you will nevercome. '

'Well', said the Princess;' but for all that, 'twould be such apleasure to know where it really lies. '

Then the poor Giant could hold out no longer, but was forced to say:

'Far, far away in a lake lies an island; on that island stands achurch; in that church is a well; in that well swims a duck; in thatduck there is an egg, and in that egg there lies my heart, --youdarling!'

In the morning early, while it was still grey dawn, the Giant strodeoff to the wood. 

'Yes! now I must set off too', said Boots; 'if I only knew how tofind the way. ' He took a long, long farewell of the Princess, andwhen he got out of the Giant's door, there stood the Wolf waiting forhim. So Boots told him all that had happened inside the house, andsaid now he wished to ride to the well in the church, if he only knewthe way. So the Wolf bade him jump on his back, he'd soon find theway; and away they went, till the wind whistled after them, overhedge and field, over hill and dale. After they had travelled many, many days, they came at last to the lake. Then the Prince did notknow how to get over it, but the Wolf bade him only not be afraid, but stick on, and so he jumped into the lake with the Prince on hisback, and swam over to the island. So they came to the church; butthe church keys hung high, high up on the top of the tower, and atfirst the Prince did not know how to get them down. 

'You must call on the raven', said the Wolf. 

So the Prince called on the raven, and in a trice the raven came, andflew up and fetched the keys, and so the Prince got into the church. But when he came to the well, there lay the duck, and swam aboutbackwards and forwards, just as the Giant had said. So the Princestood and coaxed it and coaxed it, till it came to him, and hegrasped it in his hand; but just as he lifted it up from the waterthe duck dropped the egg into the well, and then Boots was besidehimself to know how to get it out again. 

'Well, now you must call on the salmon to be sure', said the Wolf;and the king's son called on the salmon, and the salmon came andfetched up the egg from the bottom of the well. 

Then the Wolf told him to squeeze the egg, and as soon as ever hesqueezed it the Giant screamed out. 

'Squeeze it again', said the Wolf; and when the Prince did so, theGiant screamed still more piteously, and begged and prayed soprettily to be spared, saying he would do all that the Prince wishedif he would only not squeeze his heart in two. 

'Tell him, if he will restore to life again your six brothers andtheir brides, whom he has turned to stone, you will spare his life', said the Wolf. Yes, the Giant was ready to do that, and he turned thesix brothers into king's sons again, and their brides into king'sdaughters. 

'Now, squeeze the egg in two', said the Wolf. So Boots squeezed theegg to pieces, and the Giant burst at once. 

Now, when he had made an end of the Giant, Boots rode back again onthe wolf to the Giant's house, and there stood all his six brothersalive and merry, with their brides. Then Boots went into the hill-side after his bride, and so they all set off home again to theirfather's house. And you may fancy how glad the old king was when hesaw all his seven sons come back, each with his bride--'But theloveliest bride of all is the bride of Boots, after all', said theking, 'and he shall sit uppermost at the table, with her by hisside. '

So he sent out, and called a great wedding-feast, and the mirth wasboth loud and long, and if they have not done feasting, why, they arestill at it. 

THE FOX AS HERDSMAN

Once on a time there was a woman who went out to hire a herdsman, andshe met a bear. 

'Whither away, Goody?' said Bruin. 

'Oh, I'm going out to hire a herdsman', answered the woman. 

'Why not have me for a herdsman?' said Bruin. 

'Well, why not?' said the woman. 'If you only knew how to call theflock; just let me hear?'

'OW, OW!' growled the bear. 

'No, no! I won't have you', said the woman, as soon as she heard himsay that, and off she went on her way. 

So, when she had gone a bit further, she met a wolf. 

'Whither away, Goody?' asked the Wolf. 

'Oh!' said she, 'I'm going out to hire a herdsman. '

'Why not have me for a herdsman?' said the Wolf. 

'Well, why not? if you can only call the flock; let me hear?' saidshe. 

'UH, UH!' said the Wolf. 

'No, no!' said the woman; 'you'll never do for me. '

Well, after she had gone a while longer, she met a fox. 

'Whither away, Goody?' asked the Fox. 

'Oh, I'm just going out to hire a herdsman', said the woman. 

'Why not have me for your herdsman?' asked the Fox. 

'Well, why not?' said she; 'if you only knew how to call the flock;let me hear?'

'DIL-DAL-HOLOM', sung out the Fox, in such a fine clear voice. 

'Yes; I'll have you for my herdsman', said the woman; and so she setthe Fox to herd her flock. 

The first day the Fox was herdsman he ate up all the woman's goats;the next day he made an end of all her sheep; and the third day heate up all her kine. So, when he came home at even, the woman askedwhat he had done with all her flocks?

'Oh!' said the Fox, 'their skulls are in the stream, and their bodiesin the holt. '

Now, the Goody stood and churned when the fox said this, but shethought she might as well step out and see after her flock; and whileshe was away the Fox crept into the churn and ate up the cream. Sowhen the Goody came back and saw that, she fell into such a rage, that she snatched up the little morsel of the cream that was left, and threw it at the fox as he ran off, so that he got a dab of it onthe end of his tail, and that's the reason why the fox has a whitetip to his brush. 

THE MASTERMAID

Once on a time there was a king who had several sons--I don't knowhow many there were--but the youngest had no rest at home, fornothing else would please him but to go out into the world and tryhis luck, and after a long time the king was forced to give him leaveto go. Now, after he had travelled some days, he came one night to aGiant's house, and there he got a place in the Giant's service. Inthe morning the Giant went off to herd his goats, and as he left theyard, he told the Prince to clean out the stable; 'and after you havedone that, you needn't do anything else to-day; for you must know itis an easy master you have come to. But what is set you to do youmust do well, and you mustn't think of going into any of the roomswhich are beyond that in which you slept, for if you do, I'll takeyour life. '

'Sure enough, it is an easy master I have got', said the Prince tohimself, as he walked up and down the room, and carolled and sang, for he thought there was plenty of time to clean out the stable. 

'But still it would be good fun just to peep into his other rooms, for there must be something in them which he is afraid lest I shouldsee, since he won't give me leave to go in. '

So he went into the first room, and there was a pot boiling on a hookby the wall, but the Prince saw no fire underneath it. I wonder whatis inside it, he thought; and then he dipped a lock of his hair intoit, and the hair seemed as if it were all turned to copper. 

'What a dainty broth, ' he said; 'if one tasted it, he'd look grandinside his gullet'; and with that he went into the next room. There, too, was a pot hanging by a hook, which bubbled and boiled; but therewas no fire under that either. 

'I may as well try this too', said the Prince, as he put another lockinto the pot, and it came out all silvered. 

'They haven't such rich broth in my father's house', said the Prince;'but it all depends on how it tastes', and with that he went on intothe third room. There, too, hung a pot, and boiled just as he hadseen in the two other rooms, and the Prince had a mind to try thistoo, so he dipped a lock of hair into it, and it came out gilded, sothat the light gleamed from it. 

'"Worse and worse", said the old wife; but I say better and better', said the Prince; 'but if he boils gold here, I wonder what he boilsin yonder. '

He thought he might as well see; so he went through the door into thefourth room. Well, there was no pot in there, but there was aPrincess, seated on a bench, so lovely, that the Prince had neverseen anything like her in his born days. 

'Oh! in Heaven's name', she said, 'what do you want here?'

'I got a place here yesterday', said the Prince. 

'A place, indeed! Heaven help you out of it. '

'Well, after all, I think I've got an easy master; he hasn't set memuch to do to-day, for after I have cleaned out the stable, my day'swork is over. '

'Yes, but how will you do it', she said; 'for if you set to work toclean it like other folk, ten pitchforks full will come in for everyone you toss out. But I will teach you how to set to work; you mustturn the fork upside down, and toss with the handle, and then all thedung will fly out of itself. '

'Yes, he would be sure to do that', said the Prince; and so he satthere the whole day, for he and the Princess were soon great friends, and had made up their minds to have one another, and so the first dayof his service with the Giant was not long, you may fancy. But whenthe evening drew on, she said 'twould be as well if he got the stablecleaned out before the Giant came home; and when he went to thestable, he thought he would just see if what she had said were true, and so he began to work like the grooms in his father's stable; buthe soon had enough of that, for he hadn't worked a minute before thestable was so full of dung that he hadn't room to stand. Then he didas the Princess bade him, and turned up the fork and worked with thehandle, and lo! in a trice the stable was as clean as if it had beenscoured. And when he had done his work, he went back into the roomwhere the Giant had given him leave to be, and began to walk up anddown, and to carol and sing. So after a bit, home came the Giant withhis goats. 

'Have you cleaned the stable?' asked the Giant. 

'Yes, now it's all right and tight, master', answered the Prince. 

'I'll soon see if it is', growled the Giant, and strode off to thestable, where he found it just as the Prince had said. 

'You've been talking to my Mastermaid, I can see', said the Giant;'for you've not sucked this knowledge out of your own breast. '

'Mastermaid!' said the Prince, who looked as stupid as an owl, 'whatsort of thing is that, master? I'd be very glad to see it. '

'Well, well!' said the Giant; 'you'll see her soon enough'. 

Next day the Giant set off with his goats again, and before he wenthe told the Prince to fetch home his horse, which was out at grass onthe hill-side, and when he had done that he might rest all the day. 

'For you must know, it is an easy master you have come to', said theGiant; 'but if you go into any of the rooms I spoke of yesterday, I'll wring your head off. '

So off he went with his flock of goats. 

'An easy master you are indeed', said the Prince; 'but for all that, I'll just go in and have a chat with your Mastermaid; may be she'llbe as soon mine as yours. ' So he went in to her, and she asked himwhat he had to do that day. 

'Oh! nothing to be afraid of', said he; 'I've only to go up to thehill-side to fetch his horse. '

'Very well, and how will you set about it?'

'Well, for that matter, there's no great art in riding a horse home. I fancy I've ridden fresher horses before now', said the Prince. 

'Ah, but this isn't so easy a task as you think; but I'll teach youhow to do it. When you get near it, fire and flame will come out ofits nostrils, as out of a tar barrel; but look out, and take the bitwhich hangs behind the door yonder, and throw it right into his jaws, and he will grow so tame that you may do what you like with him. '

Yes! the Prince would mind and do that; and so he sat in there thewhole day, talking and chattering with the Mastermaid about one thingand another, but they always came back to how happy they would be ifthey could only have one another, and get well away from the Giant;and, to tell the truth, the Prince would have clean forgotten boththe horse and the hill-side, if the Mastermaid hadn't put him in mindof them when evening drew on, telling him he had better set out tofetch the horse before the Giant came home. So he set off, and tookthe bit which hung in the corner, ran up the hill, and it wasn't longbefore he met the horse, with fire and flame streaming out of itsnostrils. But he watched his time, and, as the horse came open-jawedup to him, he threw the bit into its mouth, and it stood as quiet asa lamb. After that, it was no great matter to ride it home and put itup, you may fancy; and then the Prince went into his room again, andbegan to carol and sing. 

So the Giant came home again at even with his goats; and the firstwords he said were:

'Have you brought my horse down from the hill?'

'Yes, master, that I have', said the Prince; 'and a better horse Inever bestrode; but for all that I rode him straight home, and puthim up safe and sound. '

'I'll soon see to that', said the Giant, and ran out to the stable, and there stood the horse just as the Prince had said. 

'You've talked to my Mastermaid, I'll be bound, for you haven'tsucked this out of your own breast', said the Giant again. 

'Yesterday master talked of this Mastermaid, and to-day it's the samestory', said the Prince, who pretended to be silly and stupid. 'Blessyou, master! why don't you show me the thing at once? I should solike to see it only once in my life. '

'Oh, if that's all', said the Giant, 'you'll see her soon enough. '

The third day, at dawn, the Giant went off to the wood again with hisgoats; but before he went he said to the Prince:

'To-day you must go to Hell and fetch my fire-tax. When you have donethat you can rest yourself all day, for you must know it is an easymaster you have come to'; and with that off he went. 

'Easy master, indeed!' said the Prince. 'You may be easy, but you setme hard tasks all the same. But I may as well see if I can find yourMastermaid, as you call her. I daresay she'll tell me what to do';and so in he went to her again. 

So when the Mastermaid asked what the Giant had set him to do thatday, he told her how he was to go to Hell and fetch the fire-tax. 

'And how will you set about it?' asked the Mastermaid. 

'Oh, that you must tell me', said the Prince. 'I have never been toHell in my life; and even if I knew the way, I don't know how much Iam to ask for. '

'Well, I'll soon tell you', said the Mastermaid; 'you must go to thesteep rock away yonder, under the hill-side, and take the club thatlies there, and knock on the face of the rock. Then there will comeout one all glistening with fire; to him you must tell your errand;and when he asks you how much you will have, mind you say, "As muchas I can carry. "'

Yes; he would be sure to say that; so he sat in there with theMastermaid all that day too; and though evening drew on, he wouldhave sat there till now, had not the Mastermaid put him in mind thatit was high time to be off to Hell to fetch the Giant's fire-taxbefore he came home. So he went on his way, and did just as theMastermaid had told him; and when he reached the rock, he took up theclub and gave a great thump. Then the rock opened, and out came onewhose face glistened, and out of whose eyes and nostrils flew sparksof fire. 

'What is your will?' said he. 

'Oh! I'm only come from the Giant to fetch his fire-tax', said thePrince. 

'How much will you have then?' said the other. 

'I never wish for more than I am able to carry', said the Prince. 

'Lucky for you that you did not ask for a whole horse-load', said hewho came out of the rock; 'but come now into the rock with me, andyou shall have it. '

So the Prince went in with him, and you may fancy what heaps andheaps of gold and silver he saw lying in there, just like stones in agravel pit; and he got a load just as big as he was able to carry, and set off home with it. Now, when the Giant came home with hisgoats at even, the Prince went into his room, and began to carol andsing as he had done the evenings before. 

'Have you been to Hell after my fire-tax?' roared the Giant. 

'Oh yes; that I have, master', answered the Prince. 

'Where have you put it?' said the Giant. 

'There stands the sack on the bench yonder', said the Prince. 

'I'll soon see to that', said the Giant, who strode off to the bench, and there he saw the sack so full that the gold and silver droppedout on the floor as soon as ever he untied the string. 

'You've been talking to my Mastermaid, that I can see', said theGiant; 'but if you have, I'll wring your head off. '

'Mastermaid!' said the Prince; 'yesterday master talked of thisMastermaid, and to-day he talks of her again, and the day beforeyesterday it was the same story. I only wish I could see what sort ofthing she is! that I do. '

'Well, well, wait till to-morrow', said the Giant, 'and then I'lltake you in to her myself. '

'Thank you kindly, master', said the Prince; 'but it's only a joke ofmaster's, I'll be bound. '

So next day the Giant took him in to the Mastermaid, and said to her:

'Now, you must cut his throat, and boil him in the great big pot youwot of; and when the broth is ready, just give me a call. '

After that, he laid him down on the bench to sleep, and began tosnore so, that it sounded like thunder on the hills. 

So the Mastermaid took a knife and cut the Prince in his littlefinger, and let three drops of blood fall on a three-legged stool;and after that she took all the old rags, and soles of shoes, and allthe rubbish she could lay hands on, and put them into the pot; andthen she filled a chest full of ground gold, and took a lump of salt, and a flask of water that hung behind the door, and she took, besides, a golden apple, and two golden chickens, and off she setwith the Prince from the Giant's house as fast as they could; andwhen they had gone a little way, they came to the sea, and after thatthey sailed over the sea; but where they got the ship from, I havenever heard tell. 

So when the Giant had slumbered a good bit, he began to stretchhimself as he lay on the bench and called out, 'Will it be soondone?'

'Only just begun', answered the first drop of blood on the stool. 

So the Giant lay down to sleep again, and slumbered a long, longtime. At last he began to toss about a little, and cried out:

'Do you hear what I say; will it be soon done?' but he did not lookup this time, any more than the first, for he was still half asleep. 

'Half done', said the second drop of blood. 

Then the Giant thought again it was the Mastermaid, so he turned overon his other side, and fell asleep again; and when he had gone onsleeping for many hours, he began to stir and stretch his old bones, and to call out, --

'Isn't it done yet?'

'Done to a turn', said the third drop of blood. 

Then the Giant rose up and began to rub his eyes, but he couldn't seewho it was that was talking to him, so he searched and called for theMastermaid, but no one answered. 

'Ah, well! I dare say she's just run out of doors for a bit', hethought, and took up a spoon and went up to the pot to taste thebroth; but he found nothing but shoe-soles, and rags, and such stuff;and it was all boiled up together, so that he couldn't tell which wasthick and which was thin. As soon as he saw this, he could tell howthings had gone, and he got so angry he scarce knew which leg tostand upon. Away he went after the Prince and the Mastermaid, tillthe wind whistled behind him; but before long, he came to the waterand couldn't cross it. 

'Never mind', he said; 'I know a cure for this. I've only got to callon my stream-sucker. '

So he called on his stream-sucker, and he came and stooped down, andtook one, two, three gulps; and then the water fell so much in thesea, that the Giant could see the Mastermaid and the Prince sailingin their ship. 

'Now, you must cast out the lump of salt', said the Mastermaid. 

So the Prince threw it overboard, and it grew up into a mountain sohigh, right across the sea, that the Giant couldn't pass it, and thestream-sucker couldn't help him by swilling any more water. 

'Never mind!' cried the Giant; 'there's a cure for this too. ' So hecalled on his hill-borer to come and bore through the mountain, thatthe stream-sucker might creep through and take another swill; butjust as they had made a hole through the hill, and the stream-suckerwas about to drink, the Mastermaid told the Prince to throw overboarda drop or two out of the flask, and then the sea was just as full asever, and before the stream-sucker could take another gulp, theyreached the land and were saved from the Giant. 

So they made up their minds to go home to the Prince's father, butthe Prince would not hear of the Mastermaid's walking, for he thoughtit seemly neither for her nor for him. 

'Just wait here ten minutes', he said, 'while I go home after theseven horses which stand in my father's stall. It's no great way off, and I shan't be long about it; but I will not hear of my sweetheartwalking to my father's palace. '

'Ah!' said the Mastermaid, 'pray don't leave me, for if you once gethome to the palace, you'll forget me outright; I know you will. '

'Oh!' said he, 'how can I forget you; you with whom I have gonethrough so much, and whom I love so dearly?'

There was no help for it, he must and would go home to fetch thecoach and seven horses, and she was to wait for him by the seaside. So at last the Mastermaid was forced to let him have his way; sheonly said:

'Now, when you get home, don't stop so much as to say good day to anyone, but go straight to the stable and put to the horses, and driveback as quick as you can; for they will all come about you; but do asthough you did not see them; and above all things, mind you do nottaste a morsel of food, for if you do, we shall both come to grief. '

All this the Prince promised; but he thought all the time there waslittle fear of his forgetting her. 

Now, just as he came home to the palace, one of his brothers wasthinking of holding his bridal feast, and the bride, and all her kithand kin, were just come to the palace. So they all thronged roundhim, and asked about this thing and that, and wanted him to go inwith them; but he made as though he did not see them, and wentstraight to the stall and got out the horses, and began to put themto. And when they saw they could not get him to go in, they came outto him with meat and drink, and the best of everything they had gotready for the feast; but the Prince would not taste so much as acrumb, and put to as fast as he could. At last the bride's sisterrolled an apple across the yard to him, saying:

'Well, if you won't eat anything else, you may as well take a bite ofthis, for you must be both hungry and thirsty after so long ajourney. '

So he took up the apple and bit a piece out of it; but he had scarcedone so, before he forgot the Mastermaid, and how he was to driveback for her. 

'Well, I think I must be mad', he said; 'what am I to do with thiscoach and horses?' So he put the horses up again, and went along withthe others into the palace, and it was soon settled that he shouldhave the bride's sister, who had rolled the apple over to him. 

There sat the Mastermaid by the seashore, and waited and waited forthe Prince, but no Prince came; so at last she went up from theshore, and after she had gone a bit she came to a little hut whichlay by itself in a copse close by the king's palace. She went in andasked if she might lodge there. It was an old dame that owned thehut, and a cross-grained scolding hag she was as ever you saw. Atfirst she would not hear of the Mastermaid's lodging in her house, but at last, for fair words and high rent, the Mastermaid got leaveto be there. Now the but was as dark and dirty as a pigsty, so theMastermaid said she would smarten it up a little, that their housemight look inside like other people's. The old hag did not like thiseither, and showed her teeth, and was cross; but the Mastermaid didnot mind her. She took her chest of gold, and threw a handful or sointo the fire, and lo! the gold melted, and bubbled and boiled overout of the grate, and spread itself over the whole hut, till it wasgilded both outside and in. But as soon as the gold began to bubbleand boil, the old hag got so afraid that she tried to run out as ifthe Evil One were at her heels; and as she ran out at the door, sheforgot to stoop, and gave her head such a knock against the lintel, that she broke her neck, and that was the end of her. 

Next morning the Constable passed that way, and you may fancy hecould scarce believe his eyes when he saw the golden hut shining andglistening away in the copse; but he was still more astonished whenhe went in and saw the lovely maiden who sat there. To make a longstory short, he fell over head and ears in love with her, and beggedand prayed her to become his wife. 

'Well, but have you much money?' asked the Mastermaid. 

Yes, for that matter, he said, he was not so badly off, and off hewent home to fetch the money, and when he came back at even hebrought a half-bushel sack, and set it down on the bench. So theMastermaid said she would have him, since he was so rich; but theywere scarce in bed before she said she must get up again:

'For I have forgotten to make up the fire. '

'Pray, don't stir out of bed', said the Constable; 'I'll see to it. '

So he jumped out of bed, and stood on the hearth in a trice. 

'As soon as you have got hold of the shovel, just tell me', said theMastermaid. 

'Well, I am holding it now', said the Constable. 

Then the Mastermaid said:

'God grant that you may hold the shovel, and the shovel you, and mayyou heap hot burning coals over yourself till morning breaks. '

So there stood the Constable all night long, shovelling hot burningcoals over himself; and though he begged, and prayed, and wept, thecoals were not a bit colder for that; but as soon as day broke, andhe had power to cast away the shovel, he did not stay long, as youmay fancy, but set off as if the Evil One or the bailiff were at hisheels; and all who met him stared their eyes out at him, for he cutcapers as though he were mad, and he could not have looked in worseplight if he had been flayed and tanned, and every one wondered whathad befallen him, but he told no one where he had been, for shame'ssake. 

Next day the Attorney passed by the place where the Mastermaid lived, and he too saw how it shone and glistened in the copse; so he turnedaside to find out who owned the hut; and when he came in and saw thelovely maiden, he fell more in love with her than the Constable, andbegan to woo her in hot haste. 

Well, the Mastermaid asked him, as she had asked the Constable, if hehad a good lot of money? and the Attorney said he wasn't so badlyoff; and as a proof he went home to fetch his money. So at even hecame back with a great fat sack of money--I think it was a wholebushel sack--and set it down on the bench; and the long and the shortof the matter was, that he was to have her, and they went to bed. Butall at once the Mastermaid had forgotten to shut the door of theporch, and she must get up and make it fast for the night. 

'What, you do that!' said the Attorney, 'while I lie here; that cannever be; lie still, while I go and do it. '

So up he jumped, like a pea on a drum-head, and ran out into theporch. 

'Tell me', said the Mastermaid, 'when you have hold of the door-latch. '

'I've got hold of it now', said the Attorney. 

'God grant, then', said the Mastermaid, 'that you may hold the door, and the door you, and that you may go from wall to wall till daydawns. '

So you may fancy what a dance the Attorney had all night long; such awaltz he never had before, and I don't think he would much care if henever had such a waltz again. Now he pulled the door forward, andthen the door pulled him back, and so he went on, now dashed into onecorner of the porch, and now into the other, till he was almostbattered to death. At first he began to curse and swear, and then tobeg and pray, but the door cared for nothing but holding its own tillbreak of day. As soon as it let go its hold, off set the Attorney, leaving behind him his money to pay for his night's lodging, andforgetting his courtship altogether, for to tell the truth, he wasafraid lest the house-door should come dancing after him. All who methim stared and gaped at him, for he too cut capers like a madman, andhe could not have looked in worse plight if he had spent the wholenight in butting against a flock of rams. 

The third day the Sheriff passed that way, and he too saw the goldenhut, and turned aside to find out who lived there; and he had scarceset eyes on the Mastermaid, before he began to woo her. So sheanswered him as she had answered the other two. If he had lots ofmoney she would have him, if not, he might go about his business. Well, the Sheriff said he wasn't so badly off, and he would go homeand fetch the money, and when he came again at even, he had a biggersack even than the Attorney--it must have been at least a bushel anda half, and put it down on the bench. So it was soon settled that hewas to have the Mastermaid, but they had scarce gone to bed beforethe Mastermaid said she had forgotten to bring home the calf from themeadow, so she must get up and drive him into the stall. Then theSheriff swore by all the powers that should never be, and, stout andfat as he was, up he jumped as nimbly as a kitten. 

'Well, only tell me when you've got hold of the calf's tail', saidthe Mastermaid. 

'Now I have hold of it', said the Sheriff. 

'God grant', said the Mastermaid, 'that you may hold the calf's tail, and the calf's tail you, and that you may make a tour of the worldtogether till day dawns'. 

Well you may just fancy how the Sheriff had to stretch his legs; awaythey went, the calf and he, over high and low, across hill and dale, and the more the Sheriff cursed and swore, the faster the calf ranand jumped. At dawn of day the poor Sheriff was well nigh broken-winded, and so glad was he to let go the calf's tail, that he forgothis sack of money and everything else. As he was a great man, he wenta little slower than the Attorney and the Constable, but the slowerhe went the more time people had to gape and stare at him; and I mustsay they made good use of their time, for he was terribly tatteredand torn, after his dance with the calf. 

Next day was fixed for the wedding at the palace, and the eldestbrother was to drive to church with his bride, and the younger, whohad lived with the Giant, with the bride's sister. But when they hadgot into the coach, and were just going to drive off, one of thetrace-pins snapped off; and though they made at least three in itsplace, they all broke, from whatever sort of wood they were made. Sotime went on and on, and they couldn't get to church, and every onegrew very downcast. But all at once the Constable said, for he toowas bidden to the wedding, that yonder away in the copse lived amaiden. 

'And if you can only get her to lend you the handle of her shovelwith which she makes up her fire, I know very well it will hold. '

Well! they sent a messenger on the spot, with such a pretty messageto the maiden, to know if they couldn't get the loan of her shovelwhich the Constable had spoken of; and the maiden said 'yes', theymight have it; so they got a trace-pin which wasn't likely to snap. 

But all at once, just as they were driving off, the bottom of thecoach tumbled to bits. So they set to work to make a new bottom asthey best might; but it mattered not how many nails they put into it, nor of what wood they made it, for as soon as ever they got thebottom well into the coach and were driving off, snap it went in twoagain, and they were even worse off than when they lost the trace-pin. Just then the Attorney said--for if the Constable was there, youmay fancy the Attorney was there too: 'Away yonder, in the copse, lives a maiden, and if you could only get her to lend you one-half ofher porch-door, I know it can hold together. '

Well! they sent another message to the copse, and asked so prettilyif they couldn't have the loan of the gilded porch-door which theAttorney had talked of; and they got it on the spot. So they werejust setting out; but now the horses were not strong enough to drawthe coach, though there were six of them; then they put on eight, andten, and twelve, but the more they put on, and the more the coachmanwhipped, the more the coach wouldn't stir an inch. By this time itwas far on in the day, and every one about the palace was in dolefuldumps; for to church they must go, and yet it looked as if theyshould never get there. So at last the Sheriff said, that yonder inthe gilded hut, in the copse, lived a maiden, and if they could onlyget the loan of her calf:

'I know it can drag the coach, though it were as heavy as amountain. '

Well they all thought it would look silly to be drawn to church by acalf, but there was no help for it, so they had to send a third time, and ask so prettily in the King's name, if he couldn't get the loanof the calf the Sheriff had spoken of, and the Mastermaid let themhave it on the spot, for she was not going to say 'no' this timeeither. So they put the calf on before the horses, and waited to seeif it would do any good, and away went the coach over high and low, and stock and stone, so that they could scarce draw their breath;sometimes they were on the ground, and sometimes up in the air, andwhen they reached the church, the calf began to run round and roundit like a spinning jenny, so that they had hard work to get out ofthe coach, and into the church. When they went back, it was the samestory, only they went faster, and they reached the palace almostbefore they knew they had set out. 

Now when they sat down to dinner, the Prince who had served with theGiant said he thought they ought to ask the maiden who had lent themher shovel-handle and porch-door, and calf, to come up to the palace. 

'For', said he, 'if we hadn't got these three things, we should havebeen sticking here still. '

Yes; the King thought that only fair and right, so he sent five ofhis best men down to the gilded but to greet the maiden from theKing, and to ask her if she wouldn't be so good as to came up anddine at the palace. 

'Greet the King from me', said the Mastermaid, 'and tell him, if he'stoo good to come to me, so am I too good to go to him. '

So the King had to go himself, and then the Mastermaid went up withhim without more ado; and as the King thought she was more than sheseemed to be, he sat her down in the highest seat by the side of theyoungest bridegroom. 

Now, when they had sat a little while at table, the Mastermaid tookout her golden apple, and the golden cock and hen, which she hadcarried off from the Giant, and put them down on the table beforeher, and the cock and hen began at once to peck at one another, andto fight for the golden apple. 

'Oh! only look', said the Prince; 'see how those two strive for theapple. '

'Yes!' said the Mastermaid; 'so we two strove to get away that timewhen we were together in the hillside. '

Then the spell was broken, and the Prince knew her again, and you mayfancy how glad he was. But as for the witch who had rolled the appleover to him, he had her torn to pieces between twenty-four horses, sothat there was not a bit of her left, and after that they held onwith the wedding in real earnest; and though they were still stiffand footsore, the Constable, the Attorney, and the Sheriff, kept itup with the best of them. 

THE CAT ON THE DOVREFELL

Once on a time there was a man up in Finnmark who had caught a greatwhite bear, which he was going to take to the king of Denmark. Now, it so fell out, that he came to the Dovrefell just about ChristmasEve, and there he turned into a cottage where a man lived, whose namewas Halvor, and asked the man if he could get house-room there, forhis bear and himself. 

'Heaven never help me, if what I say isn't true!' said the man; 'butwe can't give any one house-room just now, for every Christmas Evesuch a pack of Trolls come down upon us, that we are forced to flit, and haven't so much as a house over our own heads, to say nothing oflending one to any one else. '

'Oh?' said the man, 'if that's all, you can very well lend me yourhouse; my bear can lie under the stove yonder, and I can sleep in theside-room. '

Well, he begged so hard, that at last he got leave to stay there; sothe people of the house flitted out, and before they went, everythingwas got ready for the Trolls; the tables were laid, and there wasrice porridge, and fish boiled in lye, and sausages, and all elsethat was good, just as for any other grand feast. 

So, when everything was ready, down came the Trolls. Some were great, and some were small; some had long tails, and some had no tails atall; some, too, had long, long noses; and they ate and drank, andtasted everything. Just then one of the little Trolls caught sight ofthe white bear, who lay under the stove; so he took a piece ofsausage and stuck it on a fork, and went and poked it up against thebear's nose, screaming out:

'Pussy, will you have some sausage?'

Then the white bear rose up and growled, and hunted the whole pack ofthem out of doors, both great and small. 

Next year Halvor was out in the wood, on the afternoon of ChristmasEve, cutting wood before the holidays, for he thought the Trollswould come again; and just as he was hard at work, he heard a voicein the wood calling out:

'Halvor! Halvor!'

'Well', said Halvor, 'here I am. '

'Have you got your big cat with you still?'

'Yes, that I have', said Halvor; 'she's lying at home under thestove, and what's more, she has now got seven kittens, far bigger andfiercer than she is herself. '

'Oh, then, we'll never come to see you again', bawled out the Trollaway in the wood, and he kept his word; for since that time theTrolls have never eaten their Christmas brose with Halvor on theDovrefell. 

PRINCESS ON THE GLASS HILL

Once on a time there was a man who had a meadow, which lay high up onthe hill-side, and in the meadow was a barn, which he had built tokeep his hay in. Now, I must tell you, there hadn't been much in thebarn for the last year or two, for every St John's night, when thegrass stood greenest and deepest, the meadow was eaten down to thevery ground the next morning, just as if a whole drove of sheep hadbeen there feeding on it over night. This happened once, and ithappened twice; so at last the man grew weary of losing his crop ofhay, and said to his sons--for he had three of them, and the youngestwas nicknamed Boots, of course--that now one of them must just go andsleep in the barn in the outlying field when St John's night came, for it was too good a joke that his grass should be eaten, root andblade, this year, as it had been the last two years. So whichever ofthem went must keep a sharp look-out; that was what their fathersaid. 

Well, the eldest son was ready to go and watch the meadow; trust himfor looking after the grass! It shouldn't be his fault if man orbeast, or the fiend himself, got a blade of grass. So, when eveningcame, he set off to the barn, and lay down to sleep; but a little onin the night came such a clatter, and such an earthquake, that wallsand roof shook, and groaned, and creaked; then up jumped the lad, andtook to his heels as fast as ever he could; nor dared he once lookround till he reached home; and as for the hay, why it was eaten upthis year just as it had been twice before. 

The next St John's night, the man said again, it would never do tolose all the grass in the outlying field year after year in this way, so one of his sons must just trudge off to watch it, and watch itwell too. Well, the next oldest son was ready to try his luck, so heset off, and lay down to sleep in the barn as his brother had donebefore him; but as the night wore on, there came on a rumbling andquaking of the earth, worse even than on the last St John's night, and when the lad heard it, he got frightened, and took to his heelsas though he were running a race. 

Next year the turn came to Boots; but when he made ready to go, theother two began to laugh and to make game of him, saying, 'You're just the man to watch the hay, that you are; you, who havedone nothing all your life but sit in the ashes and toast yourself bythe fire. '

But Boots did not care a pin for their chattering, and stumped awayas evening drew on, up the hill-side to the outlying field. There hewent inside the barn and lay down; but in about an hour's time thebarn began to groan and creak, so that it was dreadful to hear. 

'Well', said Boots to himself, 'if it isn't worse than this, I canstand it well enough. '

A little while after came another creak and an earthquake, so thatthe litter in the barn flew about the lad's ears. 

'Oh!' said Boots to himself, 'if it isn't worse than this, I daresayI can stand it out. '

But just then came a third rumbling, and a third earthquake, so thatthe lad thought walls and roof were coming down on his head; but itpassed off, and all was still as death about him. 

'It'll come again, I'll be bound', thought Boots; but no, it didn'tcome again; still it was, and still it stayed; but after he had laina little while, he heard a noise as if a horse were standing justoutside the barn-door, and cropping the grass. He stole to the door, and peeped through a chink, and there stood a horse feeding away. Sobig, and fat, and grand a horse, Boots had never set eyes on; by hisside on the grass lay a saddle and bridle, and a full set of armourfor a knight, all of brass, so bright that the light gleamed from it. 

'Ho, ho!' thought the lad; 'it's you, is it, that eats up our hay?I'll soon put a spoke in your wheel, just see if I don't. '

So he lost no time, but took the steel out of his tinder-box, andthrew it over the horse; then it had no power to stir from the spot, and became so tame that the lad could do what he liked with it. So hegot on its back, and rode off with it to a place which no one knewof, and there he put up the horse. When he got home, his brotherslaughed and asked how he had fared?

'You didn't lie long in the barn, even if you had the heart to go sofar as the field. '

'Well', said Boots, 'all I can say is, I lay in the barn till the sunrose, and neither saw nor heard anything; I can't think what therewas in the barn to make you both so afraid. '

'A pretty story', said his brothers; 'but we'll soon see how you havewatched the meadow'; so they set off; but when they reached it, therestood the grass as deep and thick as it had been over night. 

Well, the next St John's eve it was the same story over again;neither of the elder brothers dared to go out to the outlying fieldto watch the crop; but Boots, he had the heart to go, and everythinghappened just as it had happened the year before. First a clatter andan earthquake, then a greater clatter and another earthquake, and soon a third time; only this year the earthquakes were far worse thanthe year before. Then all at once everything was as still as death, and the lad heard how something was cropping the grass outside thebarn-door, so he stole to the door, and peeped through a chink; andwhat do you think he saw? why, another horse standing right upagainst the wall, and chewing and champing with might and main. Itwas far finer and fatter than that which came the year before, and ithad a saddle on its back, and a bridle on its neck, and a full suitof mail for a knight lay by its side, all of silver, and as grand asyou would wish to see. 

'Ho ho!' said Boots to himself; 'it's you that gobbles up our hay, isit? I'll soon put a spoke in your wheel'; and with that he took thesteel out of his tinder-box, and threw it over the horse's crest, which stood as still as a lamb. Well, the lad rode this horse, too, to the hiding-place where he kept the other one, and after that hewent home. 

'I suppose you'll tell us', said one of his brothers, 'there's a finecrop this year too, up in the hayfield. '

'Well, so there is', said Boots; and off ran the others to see, andthere stood the grass thick and deep, as it was the year before; butthey didn't give Boots softer words for all that. 

Now, when the third St John's eve came, the two elder still hadn'tthe heart to lie out in the barn and watch the grass, for they hadgot so scared at heart the night they lay there before, that theycouldn't get over the fright; but Boots, he dared to go; and, to makea long story short, the very same thing happened this time as hadhappened twice before. Three earthquakes came, one after the other, each worse than the one which went before, and when the last came, the lad danced about with the shock from one barn wall to the other;and after that, all at once, it was still as death. Now when he hadlain a little while, he heard something tugging away at the grassoutside the barn, so he stole again to the door-chink, and peepedout, and there stood a horse close outside--far, far bigger andfatter than the two he had taken before. 

'Ho, ho!' said the lad to himself, 'it's you, is it, that comes hereeating up our hay? I'll soon stop that--I'll soon put a spoke in yourwheel. ' So he caught up his steel and threw it over the horse's neck, and in a trice it stood as if it were nailed to the ground, and Bootscould do as he pleased with it. Then he rode off with it to thehiding-place where he kept the other two, and then went home. When hegot home, his two brothers made game of him as they had done before, saying, they could see he had watched the grass well, for he lookedfor all the world as if he were walking in his sleep, and many otherspiteful things they said, but Boots gave no heed to them, only askingthem to go and see for themselves; and when they went, there stoodthe grass as fine and deep this time as it had been twice before. 

Now, you must know that the king of the country where Boots lived hada daughter, whom he would only give to the man who could ride up overthe hill of glass, for there was a high, high hill, all of glass, assmooth and slippery as ice, close by the king's palace. Upon the tiptop of the hill the king's daughter was to sit, with three goldenapples in her lap, and the man who could ride up and carry off thethree golden apples, was to have half the kingdom, and the Princessto wife. This the king had stuck up on all the church-doors in hisrealm, and had given it out in many other kingdoms besides. Now, thisPrincess was so lovely, that all who set eyes on her, fell over headand ears in love with her whether they would or no. So I needn't tellyou how all the princes and knights who heard of her were eager towin her to wife, and half the kingdom beside; and how they cameriding from all parts of the world on high prancing horses, and cladin the grandest clothes, for there wasn't one of them who hadn't madeup his mind that he, and he alone, was to win the Princess. 

So when the day of trial came, which the king had fixed, there wassuch a crowd of princes and knights under the glass hill, that itmade one's head whirl to look at them; and every one in the countrywho could even crawl along was off to the hill, for they all were eagerto see the man who was to win the Princess. So the two elder brothersset off with the rest; but as for Boots, they said outright he shouldn'tgo with them, for if they were seen with such a dirty, changeling, allbegrimed with smut from cleaning their shoes and sifting cinders inthe dust-hole, they said folk would make game of them. 

'Very well', said Boots, 'it's all one to me. I can go alone, andstand or fall by myself. '

Now when the two brothers came to the hill of glass, the knights andprinces were all hard at it, riding their horses till they were allin a foam; but it was no good, by my troth; for as soon as ever thehorses set foot on the hill, down they slipped, and there wasn't onewho could get a yard or two up; and no wonder, for the hill was assmooth as a sheet of glass, and as steep as a house-wall. But allwere eager to have the Princess and half the kingdom. So they rodeand slipped, and slipped and rode, and still it was the same storyover again. At last all their horses were so weary that they couldscarce lift a leg, and in such a sweat that the lather dripped fromthem, and so the knights had to give up trying any more. So the kingwas just thinking that he would proclaim a new trial for the nextday, to see if they would have better luck, when all at once a knightcame riding up on so brave a steed, that no one had ever seen thelike of it in his born days, and the knight had mail of brass, andthe horse a brass bit in his mouth, so bright that the sunbeams shonefrom it. Then all the others called out to him he might just as wellspare himself the trouble of riding at the hill, for it would lead tono good; but he gave no heed to them, and put his horse at the hill, and went up it like nothing for a good way, about a third of theheight; and when he had got so far, he turned his horse round androde down again. So lovely a knight the Princess thought she hadnever yet seen; and while he was riding, she sat and thought toherself: 'Would to heaven he might only come up and down theother side. '

And when she saw him turning back, she threw down one of the goldenapples after him, and it rolled down into his shoe. But when he gotto the bottom of the hill he rode off so fast that no one could tellwhat had become of him. That evening all the knights and princes wereto go before the king, that he who had ridden so far up the hillmight show the apple which the princess had thrown, but there was noone who had anything to show. One after the other they all came, butnot a man of them could show the apple. 

At even the brothers of Boots came home too, and had such a longstory to tell about the riding up the hill. 

'First of all', they said, 'there was not one of the whole lot whocould get so much as a stride up; but at last came one who had a suitof brass mail, and a brass bridle and saddle, all so bright that thesun shone from them a mile off. He was a chap to ride, just! He rodea third of the way up the hill of glass, and he could easily haveridden the whole way up, if he chose; but he turned round and rodedown, thinking, maybe, that was enough for once. '

'Oh! I should so like to have seen him, that I should', said Boots, who sat by the fireside, and stuck his feet into the cinders, as washis wont. 

'Oh!' said his brothers, 'you would, would you? You; look fit to keepcompany with such high lords, nasty beast that you are, sitting thereamongst the ashes. '

Next day the brothers were all for setting off again, and Bootsbegged them this time, too, to let him go with them and see theriding; but no, they wouldn't have him at any price, he was too uglyand nasty, they said. 

'Well, well!' said Boots;' if I go at all, I must go by myself. I'mnot afraid. '

So when the brothers got to the hill of glass, all the princes andknights began to ride again, and you may fancy they had taken care toshoe their horses sharp; but it was no good--they rode and slipped, and slipped and rode, just as they had done the day before, and therewas not one who could get so far as a yard up the hill. And when theyhad worn out their horses, so that they could not stir a leg, theywere all forced to give it up as a bad job. So the king thought hemight as well proclaim that the riding should take place the dayafter for the last time, just to give them one chance more; but allat once it came across his mind that he might as well wait a littlelonger, to see if the knight in brass mail would come this day too. Well! they saw nothing of him; but all at once came one riding on asteed, far, far, braver and finer than that on which the knight inbrass had ridden, and he had silver mail, and a silver saddle andbridle, all so bright that the sun-beams gleamed and glanced fromthem far away. Then the others shouted out to him again, saying, hemight as well hold hard, and not try to ride up the hill, for all histrouble would be thrown away; but the knight paid no heed to them, and rode straight at the hill, and right up it, till he had gone two-thirds of the way, and then he wheeled his horse round and rode downagain. To tell the truth, the Princess liked him still better thanthe knight in brass, and she sat and wished he might only be able tocome right up to the top, and down the other side; but when she sawhim turning back, she threw the second apple after him, and it rolleddown and fell into his shoe. But, as soon as ever he had come downfrom the hill of glass, he rode off so fast that no one could seewhat became of him. 

At even, when all were to go in before the king and the Princess, that he who had the golden apple might show it, in they went, oneafter the other, but there was no one who had any apple to show, andthe two brothers, as they had done on the former day, went home andtold how things had gone, and how all had ridden at the hill, andnone got up. 

'But, last of all', they said, 'came one in a silver suit, and hishorse had a silver saddle and a silver bridle. He was just a chap toride; and he got two-thirds up the hill, and then turned back. He wasa fine fellow, and no mistake; and the Princess threw the second goldapple to him. '

'Oh!' said Boots, 'I should so like to have seen him too, that Ishould. '

'A pretty story', they said. 'Perhaps you think his coat of mail wasas bright as the ashes you are always poking about, and sifting, younasty dirty beast. '

The third day everything happened as it had happened the two daysbefore. Boots begged to go and see the sight, but the two wouldn'thear of his going with them. When they got to the hill there was noone who could get so much as a yard up it; and now all waited for theknight in silver mail, but they neither saw nor heard of him. At lastcame one riding on a steed, so brave that no one had ever seen hismatch; and the knight had a suit of golden mail, and a golden saddleand bridle, so wondrous bright that the sunbeams gleamed from them amile off. The other knights and princes could not find time to callout to him not to try his luck, for they were amazed to see how grandhe was. So he rode right at the hill, and tore up it like nothing, sothat the Princess hadn't even time to wish that he might get up thewhole way. As soon as ever he reached the top, he took the thirdgolden apple from the Princess' lap, and then turned his horse androde down again. As soon as he got down, he rode off at full speed, and was out of sight in no time. 

Now, when the brothers got home at even, you may fancy what longstories they told, how the riding had gone off that day; and amongstother things, they had a deal to say about the knight in golden mail. 

'He just was a chap to ride!' they said; 'so grand a knight isn't tobe found in the wide world. '

'Oh!' said Boots, 'I should so like to have seen him, that I should. '

'Ah! 'said his brothers, 'his mail shone a deal brighter than theglowing coals which you are always poking and digging at; nasty dirtybeast that you are. '

Next day all the knights and princes were to pass before the king andthe Princess--it was too late to do so the night before, I suppose--hat he who had the gold apple might bring it forth; but one cameafter another, first the princes, and then the knights, and still noone could show the gold apple. 

'Well', said the king, 'some one must have it, for it was somethingthat we all saw with our own eyes, how a man came and rode up andbore it off. '

So he commanded that every one who was in the kingdom should come upto the palace and see if they could show the apple. Well, they allcame one after another, but no one had the golden apple, and after along time the two brothers of Boots came. They were the last of all, so the king asked them if there was no one else in the kingdom whohadn't come. 

'Oh, yes', said they; 'we have a brother, but he never carried offthe golden apple. He hasn't stirred out of the dusthole on any of thethree days. '

'Never mind that', said the king; 'he may as well come up to thepalace like the rest. '

So Boots had to go up to the palace. 

'How, now', said the king; 'have you got the golden apple? Speakout!'

'Yes, I have', said Boots; 'here is the first, and here is thesecond, and here is the third too'; and with that he pulled all threegolden apples out of his pocket, and at the same time threw off hissooty rags, and stood before them in his gleaming golden mail. 

'Yes!' said the king; 'you shall have my daughter, and half mykingdom, for you well deserve both her and it. '

So they got ready for the wedding, and Boots got the Princess towife, and there was great merry-making at the bridal-feast, you mayfancy, for they could all be merry though they couldn't ride up thehill of glass; and all I can say is, if they haven't left off theirmerry-making yet, why, they're still at it. 

THE COCK AND HEN

(In this tale the notes of the Cock and Hen must be imitated. )

_Hen_--You promise me shoes year after year, year after year, and yet I get no shoes!

_Cock_--You shall have them, never fear! Henny penny!

_Hen_--I lay egg after egg, egg after egg, and yet I go aboutbarefoot!

_Cock_--Well, take your eggs, and be off to the tryst, and buyyourself shoes, and don't go any longer barefoot!

HOW ONE WENT OUT TO WOO

Once on a time there was a lad who went out to woo him a wife. Amongst other places, he came to a farm-house, where the householdwere little better than beggars; but when the wooer came in, theywanted to make out that they were well to do, as you may guess. Nowthe husband had got a new arm to his coat. 

'Pray, take a seat', he said to the wooer; 'but there's a shockingdust in the house. '

So he went about rubbing and wiping all the benches and tables withhis new arm, but he kept the other all the while behind his back. 

The wife she had got one new shoe, and she went stamping and slidingwith it up against the stools and chairs, saying, 'How untidy it ishere! Everything is out of its place!'

Then they called out to their daughter to come down and put things torights; but the daughter, she had got a new cap; so she put her headin at the door, and kept nodding and nodding, first to this side, andthen to that. 

'Well! for my part', she said, 'I can't be everywhere at once. '

Aye! aye! that was a well-to-do household the wooer had come to. 

THE MASTER-SMITH

Once on a time, in the days when our Lord and St Peter used to wanderon earth, they came to a smith's house. He had made a bargain withthe Devil, that the fiend should have him after seven years, butduring that time he was to be the master of all masters in his trade, and to this bargain both he and the Devil had signed their names. Sohe had stuck up in great letters over the door of his forge: _'Heredwells the Master over all Masters. '_

Now when our Lord passed by and saw that, he went in. 

'Who are you?' he said to the Smith. 

'Read what's written over the door', said the Smith; 'but maybe youcan't read writing. If so, you must wait till some one comes to helpyou. '

Before our Lord had time to answer him, a man came with his horse, which he begged the Smith to shoe. 

'Might I have leave to shoe it?' asked our Lord. 

'You may try, if you like', said the Smith; 'you can't do it so badlythat I shall not be able to make it right again. '

So our Lord went out and took one leg off the horse, and laid it inthe furnace, and made the shoe red-hot; after that, he turned up theends of the shoe, and filed down the heads of the nails, and clenchedthe points; and then he put back the leg safe and sound on the horseagain. And when he was done with that leg, he took the other fore-legand did the same with it; and when he was done with that, he took thehind-legs--first, the off, and then the near leg, and laid them inthe furnace, making the shoes red-hot, turning up the ends; filingthe heads of the nails, and clenching the points; and after all wasdone, putting the legs on the horse again. All the while, the Smithstood by and looked on. 

'You're not so bad a smith after all', said he. 

'Oh, you think so, do you?' said our Lord. 

A little while after came the Smith's mother to the forge, and calledhim to come home and eat his dinner; she was an old, old woman withan ugly crook on her back, and wrinkles in her face, and it was asmuch as she could do to crawl along. 

'Mark now, what you see', said our Lord. 

Then he took the woman and laid her in the furnace, and smithied alovely young maiden out of her. 

'Well', said the Smith, 'I say now, as I said before, you are notsuch a bad smith after all. There it stands over my door. _Heredwells the Master over all Masters_; but for all that, I say rightout, one learns as long as one lives'; and with that he walked off tohis house and ate his dinner. 

So after dinner, just after he had got back to his forge, a man cameriding up to have his horse shod. 

'It shall be done in the twinkling of an eye', said the Smith, 'for Ihave just learnt a new way to shoe; and a very good way it is whenthe days are short. '

So he began to cut and hack till he had got all the horse's legs off, for he said, I don't know why one should go pottering backwards andforwards--first, with one leg, and then with another. 

Then he laid the legs in the furnace, just as he had seen our Lordlay them, and threw on a great heap of coal, and made his mates workthe bellows bravely; but it went as one might suppose it would go. The legs were burnt to ashes, and the Smith had to pay for the horse. 

Well, he didn't care much about that, but just then an old beggar-woman came along the road, and he thought to himself, 'better lucknext time'; so he took the old dame and laid her in the furnace, andthough she begged and prayed hard for her life, it was no good. 

'You're so old, you don't know what is good for you', said the Smith;'now you shall be a lovely young maiden in half no time, and for allthat, I'll not charge you a penny for the job. '

But it went no better with the poor old woman than with the horse'slegs. 

'That was ill done, and I say it', said our Lord. 

'Oh! for that matter', said the Smith, 'there's not many who'll askafter her, I'll be bound; but it's a shame of the Devil, if this isthe way he holds to what is written up over the door. '

'If you might have three wishes from me', said our Lord, 'what wouldyou wish for?'

'Only try me', said the Smith, 'and you'll soon know. '

So our Lord gave him three wishes. 

'Well', said the Smith, 'first and foremost, I wish that any one whomI ask to climb up into the pear-tree that stands outside by the wallof my forge, may stay sitting there till I ask him to come downagain. The second wish I wish is, that any one whom I ask to sit downin my easy chair which stands inside the workshop yonder, may staysitting there till I ask him to get up. Last of all, I wish that anyone whom I ask to creep into the steel purse which I have in mypocket, may stay in it till I give him leave to creep out again. '

'You have wished as a wicked man', said St Peter; 'first andforemost, you should have wished for God's grace and goodwill. '

'I durstn't look so high as that', said the Smith; and after that ourLord and St Peter bade him 'good-bye', and went on their way. 

Well, the years went on and on, and when the time was up, the Devilcame to fetch the Smith, as it was written in their bargain. 

'Are you ready?' he said, as he stuck his nose in at the door of theforge. 

'Oh', said the Smith, 'I must just hammer the head of this tenpennynail first; meantime, you can just climb up into the pear-tree, andpluck yourself a pear to gnaw at; you must be, both hungry andthirsty after your journey. '

So the Devil thanked him for his kind offer, and climbed up into thepear-tree. 

'Very good', said the Smith; 'but now, on thinking the matter over, Ifind I shall never be able to have done hammering the head of thisnail till four years are out at least, this iron is so plaguey hard;down you can't come in all that time, but may sit up there and restyour bones. '

When the Devil heard this, he begged and prayed till his voice was asthin as a silver penny that he might have leave to come down; butthere was no help for it. There he was, and there he must stay. Atlast he had to give his word of honour not to come again till thefour years were out, which the Smith had spoken of, and then theSmith said, 'Very well, now you may come down. '

So when the time was up, the Devil came again to fetch the Smith. 

'You're ready now, of course', said he; 'you've had time enough tohammer the head of that nail, I should think. '

'Yes, the head is right enough now', said the Smith; 'but still youhave come a little tiny bit too soon, for I haven't quite donesharpening the point; such plaguey hard iron I never hammered in allmy born days. So while I work at the point, you may just as well sitdown in my easy chair and rest yourself; I'll be bound you're wearyafter coming so far. '

'Thank you kindly', said the Devil, and down he plumped into the easychair; but just as he had made himself comfortable, the Smith said, on second thoughts, he found he couldn't get the point sharp tillfour years were out. First of all, the Devil begged so prettily to belet out of the chair, and afterwards, waxing wroth, he began tothreaten and scold; but the Smith kept on, all the while excusinghimself, and saying it was all the iron's fault, it was so plaguyhard, and telling the Devil he was not so badly off to have to sitquietly in an easy chair, and that he would let him out to the minutewhen the four years were over. Well, at last there was no help forit, and the Devil had to give his word of honour not to fetch theSmith till the four years were out; and then the Smith said:

'Well now, you may get up and be off about your business', and awaywent the Devil as fast as he could lay legs to the ground. 

When the four years were over, the Devil came again to fetch theSmith, and he called out, as he stuck his nose in at the door of theforge:

'Now, I know you must be ready. '

'Ready, aye, ready', answered the Smith; 'we can go now as soon asyou please; but hark ye, there is one thing I have stood here andthought, and thought, I would ask you to tell me. Is it true whatpeople say, that the Devil can make himself as small as he pleases?'

'God knows, it is the very truth', said the Devil. 

'Oh!' said the Smith; 'it _is_ true, is it? then I wish youwould just be so good as to creep into this steel purse of mine, andsee whether it is sound at the bottom, for to tell you the truth, I'mafraid my travelling money will drop out. '

'With all my heart', said the Devil, who made himself small in atrice, and crept into the purse; but he was scarce in when the Smithsnapped to the clasp. 

'Yes', called out the Devil inside the purse; 'it's right and tighteverywhere. '

'Very good', said the Smith; 'I'm glad to hear you say so, but "morehaste the worse speed", says the old saw, and "forewarned isforearmed", says another; so I'll just weld these links a littletogether, just for safety's sake'; and with that he laid the purse inthe furnace, and made it red-hot. 

'AU! AU!' screamed the Devil, 'are you mad? don't you know I'm insidethe purse?'

'Yes, I do!' said the Smith; 'but I can't help you, for another oldsaw says, "one must strike while the iron is hot"'; and as he saidthis, he took up his sledge-hammer, laid the purse on the anvil, andlet fly at it as hard as he could. 

'AU! AU! AU!' bellowed the Devil, inside the purse. 'Dear friend, dolet me out, and I'll never come near you again. '

'Very well!' said the Smith; 'now, I think, the links are pretty wellwelded, and you may come out'; so he unclasped the purse, and awaywent the Devil in such a hurry that he didn't once look behind him. 

Now, some time after, it came across the Smith's mind that he haddone a silly thing in making the Devil his enemy, for, he said tohimself:

'If, as is like enough, they won't have me in the kingdom of Heaven, I shall be in danger of being houseless, since I've fallen out withhim who rules over Hell. '

So he made up his mind it would be best to try to get either intoHell or Heaven, and to try at once, rather than to put it off anylonger, so that he might know how things really stood. Then he threwhis sledge-hammer over his shoulder and set off; and when he had gonea good bit of the way, he came to a place where two roads met, andwhere the path to the kingdom of Heaven parts from the path thatleads to Hell, and here he overtook a tailor, who was pelting alongwith his goose in his hand. 

'Good day', said the Smith; 'whither are you off to?'

'To the kingdom of Heaven', said the Tailor, 'if I can only get intoit'--'but whither are you going yourself?'

'Oh, our ways don't run together', said the Smith; 'for I have madeup my mind to try first in Hell, as the Devil and I know something ofone another, from old times. '

So they bade one another 'Good-bye', and each went his way; but theSmith was a stout, strong man, and got over the ground far fasterthan the tailor, and so it wasn't long before he stood at the gatesof Hell. Then he called the watch, and bade him go and tell the Devilthere was some one outside who wished to speak a word with him. 

'Go out', said the Devil to the watch, 'and ask him who he is?' Sothat when the watch came and told him that, the Smith answered:

'Go and greet the Devil in my name, and say it is the Smith who ownsthe purse he wots of; and beg him prettily to let me in at once, forI worked at my forge till noon, and I have had a long walk since. '

But when the Devil heard who it was, he charged the watch to go backand lock up all the nine locks on the gates of Hell. 

'And, besides', he said, 'you may as well put on a padlock, for if heonly once gets in, he'll turn Hell topsy-turvy!'

'Well!' said the Smith to himself, when he saw them busy bolting upthe gates, 'there's no lodging to be got here, that's plain; so I mayas well try my luck in the kingdom of Heaven'; and with that heturned round and went back till he reached the cross-roads, and thenhe went along the path the tailor had taken. And now, as he was crossat having gone backwards and forwards so far for no good, he strodealong with all his might, and reached the gate of Heaven just as StPeter was opening it a very little, just enough to let the half-starved tailor slip in. The Smith was still six or seven strides offthe gate, so he thought to himself, 'Now there's no time to be lost';and, grasping his sledge-hammer, he hurled it into the opening of thedoor just as the tailor slunk in; and if the Smith didn't get inthen, when the door was ajar, why I don't know what has become ofhim. 

THE TWO STEP-SISTERS

Once on a time there was a couple, and each of them had a daughter bya former marriage. The woman's daughter was dull and lazy, and couldnever turn her hand to anything, and the man's daughter was brisk andready; but somehow or other she could never do anything to herstepmother's liking, and both the woman and her daughter would havebeen glad to be rid of her. 

So it fell one day the two girls were to go out and spin by the sideof the well, and the woman's daughter had flax to spin, but the man'sdaughter got nothing to spin but bristles. 

'I don't know how it is', said the woman's daughter, 'you're alwaysso quick and sharp, but still I'm not afraid to spin a match withyou. '

Well, they agreed that she whose thread first snapped, should go downthe well. So they span away; but just as they were hard at it, theman's daughter's thread broke, and she had to go down the well. Butwhen she got to the bottom she saw far and wide around her a fairgreen mead, and she hadn't hurt herself at all. 

So she walked on a bit, till she came to a hedge which she had tocross. 

'Ah! don't tread hard on me, pray don't, and I'll help you anothertime, that I will', said the Hedge. 

Then the lassie made herself as light as she could, and trode socarefully she scarce touched a twig. 

So she went on a bit further, till she came to a brindled cow, whichwalked there with a milking-pail on her horns. 'Twas a large prettycow, and her udder was so full and round. 

'Ah! be so good as to milk me, pray', said the Cow; 'I'm so full ofmilk. Drink as much as you please, and throw the rest over my hoofs, and see if I don't help you some day. '

So the man's daughter did as the cow begged. As soon as she touchedthe teats, the milk spouted out into the pail. Then she drank tillher thirst was slaked; and the rest she threw over the cow's hoofs, and the milking-pail she hung on her horns again. 

So when she had gone a bit further, a big wether met her, which hadsuch thick long wool, it hung down and draggled after him on theground, and on one of his horns hung a great pair of shears. 

'Ah, please clip off my wool', said the Sheep, 'for here I go aboutwith all this wool, and catch up everything I meet, and besides, it'sso warm, I'm almost choked. Take as much of the fleece as you please, and twist the rest round my neck, and see if I don't help you someday. '

Yes! she was willing enough, and the sheep lay down of himself on herlap, and kept quite still, and she clipped him so neatly, therewasn't a scratch on his skin. Then she took as much of the wool asshe chose, and the rest she twisted round the neck of the sheep. 

A little further on, she came to an apple tree, which was loaded withapples; all its branches were bowed to the ground, and leaningagainst the stem was a slender pole. 

'Ah! do be so good as to pluck my apples off me', said the Tree, 'sothat my branches may straighten themselves again, for it's bad workto stand so crooked; but when you beat them down, don't strike me toohard. Then eat as many as you please, lay the rest round my root, andsee if I don't help you some day or other. '

Yes, she plucked all she could reach with her hands, and then shetook the pole and knocked down the rest, and afterwards she ate herfill, and the rest she laid neatly round the root. 

So she walked on a long, long way, and then she came to a great farm-house, where an old hag of the Trolls lived with her daughter. Thereshe turned in to ask if she could get a place. 

'Oh!' said the old hag; 'it's no use your trying. We've had ever somany maids, but none of them was worth her salt. '

But she begged so prettily that they would just take her on trial, that at last they let her stay. So the old hag gave her a sieve, andbade her go and fetch water in it. She thought it strange to fetchwater in a sieve, but still she went, and when she came to the well, the little birds began to sing, Daub in clay, Stuff in straw! Daub in clay, Stuff in straw. 

Yes, she did so, and found she could carry water in a sieve wellenough; but when she got home with the water, and the old witch sawthe sieve, she cried out:

'THIS YOU HAVEN'T SUCKED OUT OF YOUR OWN BREAST. '

So the old witch said, now she might go into the byre to pitch outdung and milk kine; but when she got there, she found a pitchfork solong and heavy, she couldn't stir it, much less work with it. Shedidn't know at all what to do, or what to make of it; but the littlebirds sang again that she should take the broom-stick and toss out alittle with that, and all the rest of the dung would fly after it. Soshe did that, and as soon as ever she began with the broom-stick, thebyre was as clean as if it had been swept and washed. 

Now she had to milk the kine, but they were so restless that theykicked and frisked; there was no getting near them to milk them. 

But the little birds sang outside:

 A little drop, a tiny sup, For the little birds to drink it up. 

Yes, she did that; she just milked a tiny drop, 'twas as much as shecould, for the little birds outside; and then all the cows stoodstill and let her milk them. They neither kicked nor frisked; theydidn't even lift a leg. 

So when the old witch saw her coming in with the milk, she cried out:

'THIS YOU HAVEN'T SUCKED OUT OF YOUR OWN BREAST. BUT NOW JUST TAKETHIS BLACK WOOL AND WASH IT WHITE. '

This the lassie was at her wits' end to know how to do, for she hadnever seen or heard of any one who could wash black wool white. Stillshe said nothing, but took the wool and went down with it to thewell. There the little birds sang again and told her to take the wooland dip it into the great butt that stood there; and she did so, andout it came as white as snow. 

'Well! I never!' said the old witch, when she came in with the wool, 'it's no good keeping you. You can do everything, and at last you'llbe the plague of my life. We'd best part, so take your wages and beoff. '

Then the old hag drew out three caskets, one red, one green, and oneblue, and of these the lassie was to choose one as wages for herservice. Now she didn't know at all which to choose, but the littlebirds sang:

 Don't take the red, don't take the green, But take the blue, where may be seen Three little crosses all in a row; We saw the marks, and so we know. 

So she took the blue casket, as the birds sang. 

'Bad luck to you, then', said the old witch; 'see if I don't make youpay for this!'

So when the man's daughter was just setting off, the old witch shot ared-hot bar of iron after her, but she sprang behind the door and hidherself, so that it missed her, for her friends, the little birds, had told her beforehand how to behave. Then she walked on and on asfast as ever she could; but when she got to the apple tree, she heardan awful clatter behind her on the road, and that was the old witchand her daughter coming after her. 

So the lassie was so frightened and scared, she didn't know what todo. 

'Come hither to me, lassie, do you hear', said the Apple tree, 'I'llhelp you; get under my branches and hide, for if they catch you, they'll tear you to death, and take the casket from you. '

Yes! she did so, and she had hardly hidden herself before up came theold witch and her daughter. 

'Have you seen any lassie pass this way, you apple tree', said theold hag. 

'Yes, yes', said the Apple tree; 'one ran by here an hour ago; butnow she's got so far ahead, you'll never catch her up. '

So the old witch turned back and went home again. Then the lassiewalked on a bit, but when she came just about where the sheep was, she heard an awful clatter beginning on the road behind her, and shedidn't know what to do, she was so scared and frightened; for sheknew well enough it was the old witch, who had thought better of it. 

'Come hither to me, lassie', said the Wether, 'and I'll help you. Hide yourself under my fleece, and then they'll not see you; elsethey'll take away the casket, and tear you to death. '

Just then up came the old witch, tearing along. 

'Have you seen any lassie pass here, you sheep?' she cried to thewether. 

'Oh yes', said the Wether, 'I saw one an hour ago, but she ran sofast, you'll never catch her. '

So the old witch turned round and went home. 

But when the lassie had come to where she met the cow, she heardanother awful clatter behind her. 

'Come hither to me, lassie', said the Cow, 'and I'll help you to hideyourself under my udder, else the old hag will come and take awayyour casket, and tear you to death. '

True enough, it wasn't long before she came up. 

'Have you seen any lassie pass here, you cow?' said the old hag. 

'Yes, I saw one an hour ago', said the Cow, 'but she's far away now, for she ran so fast I don't think you'll ever catch her up!'

So the old hag turned round, and went back home again. 

When the lassie had walked a long, long way farther on, and was notfar from the hedge, she heard again that awful clatter on the roadbehind her, and she got scared and frightened, for she knew wellenough it was the old hag and her daughter, who had changed theirminds. 

'Come hither to me, lassie', said the Hedge, 'and I'll help you. Creep under my twigs, so that they can't see you; else they'll takethe casket from you, and tear you to death. '

Yes! she made all the haste she could to get under the twigs of thehedge. 

'Have you seen any lassie pass this way, you hedge?' said the old hagto the hedge. 

'No, I haven't seen any lassie', answered the Hedge, and was assmooth-tongued as if he had got melted butter in his mouth; but allthe while he spread himself out, and made himself so big and tall, one had to think twice before crossing him. And so the old witch hadno help for it but to turn round and go home again. 

So when the man's daughter got home, her step-mother and her step-sister were more spiteful against her than ever; for now she was muchneater, and so smart, it was a joy to look at her. Still she couldn'tget leave to live with them, but they drove her out into a pigsty. That was to be her house. So she scrubbed it out so neat and clean, and then she opened her casket, just to see what she had got for herwages. But as soon as ever she unlocked it, she saw inside so muchgold and silver, and lovely things, which came streaming out till allthe walls were hung with them, and at last the pigsty was far granderthan the grandest king's palace. And when the step-mother and herdaughter came to see this, they almost jumped out of their skin, andbegan to ask what kind of a place she had down there?

'Oh', said the lassie, 'can't you see, when I have got such goodwages. 'Twas such a family, and such a mistress to serve, youcouldn't find their like anywhere. '

Yes! the woman's daughter made up her mind to go out to serve too, that she might get just such another gold casket. So they sat down tospin again, and now the woman's daughter was to spin bristles, andthe man's daughter flax, and she whose thread first snapped, was togo down the well. It wasn't long, as you may fancy, before thewoman's daughter's thread snapped, and so they threw her down thewell. 

So the same thing happened. She fell to the bottom, but met with noharm, and found herself on a lovely green meadow. When she had walkeda bit she came to the hedge. 'Don't tread hard on me, pray, lassie, and I'll help you again', said the Hedge. 

'Oh!' said she, 'what should I care for a bundle of twigs?' andtramped and stamped over the hedge till it cracked and groaned again. 

A little farther on she came to the cow, which walked about ready toburst for want of milking. 

'Be so good as to milk me, lassie', said the Cow, 'and I'll help youagain. Drink as much as you please, but throw the rest over myhoofs. '

Yes! she did that; she milked the cow, and drank till she could drinkno more; but when she left off, there was none left to throw over thecow's hoofs, and as for the pail, she tossed it down the hill andwalked on. 

When she had gone a bit further, she came to the sheep which walkedalong with his wool dragging after him. 

'Oh, be so good as to clip me, lassie', said the Sheep, 'and I'llserve you again. Take as much of the wool as you will, but twist therest round my neck. '

Well! she did that; but she went so carelessly to work, that she cutgreat pieces out of the poor sheep, and as for the wool, she carriedit all away with her. 

A little while after she came to the apple tree, which stood therequite crooked with fruit again. 

'Be so good as to pluck the apples off me, that my limbs may growstraight, for it's weary work to stand all awry', said the Appletree. 'But please take care not to beat me too hard. Eat as many asyou will, but lay the rest neatly round my root, and I'll help youagain. '

Well, she plucked those nearest to her, and thrashed down those shecouldn't reach with the pole, but she didn't care how she did it, andbroke off and tore down great boughs, and ate till she was as full asfull could be, and then she threw down the rest under the tree. 

So when she had gone a good bit further, she came to the farm wherethe old witch lived. There she asked for a place, but the old hagsaid she wouldn't have any more maids, for they were either worthnothing, or were too clever, and cheated her out of her goods. Butthe woman's daughter was not to be put off, she _would_ have aplace, so the old witch said she'd give her a trial, if she was fitfor anything. 

The first thing she had to do was to fetch water in a sieve. Well, off she went to the well, and drew water in a sieve, but as fast asshe got it in it ran out again. So the little birds sung:

 Daub in clay, Put in straw! Daub in clay, Put in straw!

But she didn't care to listen to the birds' song, and pelted themwith clay, till they flew off far away. And so she had to go homewith the empty sieve, and got well scolded by the old witch. 

Then she was to go into the byre to clean it, and milk the kine. Butshe was too good for such dirty work, she thought. Still, she wentout into the byre, but when she got there, she couldn't get on at allwith the pitchfork, it was so big. The birds said the same to her asthey had said to her step-sister, and told her to take thebroomstick, and toss out a little dung, and then all the rest wouldfly after it; but all she did with the broomstick was to throw it atthe birds. When she came to milk, the kine were so unruly, theykicked and pushed, and every time she got a little milk in the pail, over they kicked it. Then the birds sang again:

 A little drop and a tiny sup For the little birds to drink it up. 

But she beat and banged the cows about, and threw and pelted at thebirds everything she could lay hold of, and made such a to do, 'twasawful to see. So she didn't make much either of her pitching, ormilking, and when she came indoors she got blows as well as hardwords from the old witch, who sent her off to wash the black woolwhite; but that, too, she did no better. 

Then the old witch thought this really too bad, so she set out thethree caskets, one red, one green, and one blue, and said she'd nolonger any need of her services, for she wasn't worth keeping, butfor wages she should have leave to choose whichever casket shepleased. 

Then sung the little birds:

 Don't take the red, don't take the green, But choose the blue, where may be seen Three little crosses all in a row; We saw the marks, and so we know. 

She didn't care a pin for what the birds sang, but took the red, which caught her eye most. And so she set out on her road home, andshe went along quietly and easily enough; there was no one who cameafter _her_. 

So when she got home, her mother was ready to jump with joy, and thetwo went at once into the ingle, and put the casket up there, forthey made up their minds there could be nothing in it but pure silverand gold, and they thought to have all the walls and roof gilded likethe pigsty. But lo! when they opened the casket there came tumblingout nothing but toads, and frogs, and snakes; and worse than that, whenever the woman's daughter opened her mouth, out popped a toad ora snake, and all the vermin one ever thought of, so that at lastthere was no living in the house with her. 

That was all the wages _she_ got for going out to service withthe old witch. 

BUTTERCUP

Once on a time there was an old wife who sat and baked. Now, you mustknow that this old wife had a little son, who was so plump and fat, and so fond of good things, that they called him Buttercup; she had adog, too, whose name was Goldtooth, and as she was baking, all atonce Goldtooth began to bark. 

'Run out, Buttercup, there's a dear!' said the old wife, 'and seewhat Goldtooth is barking at. '

So the boy ran out, and came back crying out:

'Oh, Heaven help us! here comes a great big witch, with her headunder her arm, and a bag at her back. '

'Jump under the kneading-trough and hide yourself', said his mother. 

So in came the old hag!

'Good day', said she!

'God bless you!' said Buttercup's mother. 

'Isn't your Buttercup at home to-day?' asked the hag. 

'No, that he isn't. He's out in the wood with his father, shootingptarmigan. '

'Plague take it', said the hag, 'for I had such a nice little silverknife I wanted to give him. '

'Pip, pip! here I am', said Buttercup under the kneading-trough, andout he came. 

'I'm so old, and stiff in the back', said the hag, 'you must creepinto the bag and fetch it out for yourself. '

But when Buttercup was well into the bag, the hag threw it over herback and strode off, and when they had gone a good bit of the way, the old hag got tired, and asked:

'How far is it off to Snoring?'

'Half a mile', answered Buttercup. 

So the hag put down the sack on the road, and went aside by herselfinto the wood, and lay down to sleep. Meantime Buttercup set to workand cut a hole in the sack with his knife; then he crept out and puta great root of a fir-tree into the sack, and ran home to his mother. 

When the hag got home and saw what there was in the sack, you mayfancy she was in a fine rage. 

Next day the old wife sat and baked again, and her dog began to barkjust as he did the day before. 

'Run out, Buttercup, my boy', said she, 'and see what Goldtooth isbarking at. '

'Well, I never!' cried Buttercup, as soon as he got out; 'if thereisn't that ugly old beast coming again with her head under her arm, and a great sack at her back. '

'Under the kneading-trough with you and hide', said his mother. 

'Good day!' said the hag, 'is your Buttercup at home to-day?'

'I'm sorry to say he isn't', said his mother; 'he's out in the woodwith his father, shooting ptarmigan. '

'What a bore', said the hag; 'here I have a beautiful little silverspoon I want to give him. '

'Pip, pip! here I am', said Buttercup, and crept out. 

'I'm so stiff in the back', said the old witch, 'you must creep intothe sack and fetch it out for yourself. '

So when Buttercup was well into the sack, the hag swung it over hershoulders and set off home as fast as her legs could carry her. Butwhen they had gone a good bit, she grew weary, and asked:

'How far is it off to Snoring?'

'A mile and a half', answered Buttercup. 

So the hag set down the sack, and went aside into the wood to sleep abit, but while she slept, Buttercup made a hole in the sack and gotout, and put a great stone into it. Now, when the old witch got home, she made a great fire on the hearth, and put a big pot on it, and goteverything ready to boil Buttercup; but when she took the sack, andthought she was going to turn out Buttercup into the pot, downplumped the stone and made a hole in the bottom of the pot, so thatthe water ran out and quenched the fire. Then the old hag was in adreadful rage, and said, 'If he makes himself ever so heavy nexttime, he shan't take me in again. ' The third day everything went justas it had gone twice before; Goldtooth began to bark, and Buttercup'smother said to him:

'Do run out and see what our dog is barking at. '

So out he went, but he soon came back crying out:

'Heaven save us! Here comes the old hag again with her head under herarm, and a sack at her back. '

'Jump under the kneading-trough and hide', said his mother. 

'Good day!' said the hag, as she came in at the door; 'is yourButtercup at home to-day?'

'You're very kind to ask after him', said his mother; 'but he's outin the wood with his father, shooting ptarmigan. '

'What a bore now', said the old hag; 'here have I got such abeautiful little silver fork for him. '

'Pip, pip! here I am', said Buttercup, as he came out from under thekneading-trough. 

'I'm so stiff in the back', said the hag, 'you must creep into thesack and fetch it out for yourself. '

But when Buttercup was well inside the sack, the old hag swung itacross her shoulders, and set off as fast as she could. This time shedid not turn aside to sleep by the way, but went straight home withButtercup in the sack, and when she reached her house it was Sunday. 

So the old hag said to her daughter:

'Now you must take Buttercup and kill him, and boil him nicely till Icome back, for I'm off to church to bid my guests to dinner. '

So, when all in the house were gone to church the daughter was totake Buttercup and kill him, but then she didn't know how to setabout it at all. 

'Stop a bit', said Buttercup; 'I'll soon show you how to do it; justlay your head on the chopping-block, and you'll soon see. '

So the poor silly thing laid her head down, and Buttercup took an axeand chopped her head off, just as if she had been a chicken. Then helaid her head in the bed, and popped her body into the pot, andboiled it so nicely; and when he had done that, he climbed up on theroof, and dragged up with him the fir-tree root and the stone, andput the one over the door, and the other at the top of the chimney. 

So when the household came back from church, and saw the head on thebed, they thought it was the daughter who lay there asleep; and thenthey thought they would just taste the broth. 

 Good, by my troth! Buttercup broth, said the old hag. 

 Good, by my troth! Daughter broth, said Buttercup down the chimney, but no one heeded him. So the oldhag's husband, who was every bit as bad as she, took the spoon tohave a taste. 

 Good, by my troth! Buttercup broth, said he. 

 Good, by my troth! Daughter broth, said Buttercup down the chimney pipe. 

Then they all began to wonder who it could be that chattered so, andran out to see. But when they came out at the door, Buttercup threwdown on them the fir-tree root and the stone, and broke all theirheads to bits. After that he took all the gold and silver that lay inthe house, and went home to his mother, and became a rich man. 

TAMING THE SHREW

Once on a time there was a king, and he had a daughter who was such ascold, and whose tongue went so fast, there was no stopping it. So hegave out that the man who could stop her tongue should have thePrincess to wife, and half his kingdom into the bargain. Now, threebrothers, who heard this, made up their minds to go and try theirluck; and first of all the two elder went, for they thought they werethe cleverest; but they couldn't cope with her at all, and got wellthrashed besides. 

Then Boots, the youngest, set off, and when he had gone a little wayhe found an ozier band lying on the road, and he picked it up. Whenhe had gone a little farther he found a piece of a broken plate, andhe picked that up too. A little farther on he found a dead magpie, and a little farther on still, a crooked ram's horn; so he went on abit and found the fellow to the horn; and at last, just as he wascrossing the fields by the king's palace, where they were pitchingout dung, he found a worn-out shoe-sole. All these things he tookwith him into the palace, and went before the Princess. 

'Good day', said he. 

'Good day', said she, and made a wry face. 

'Can I get my magpie cooked here?' he asked. 

'I'm afraid it will burst', answered the Princess. 

'Oh! never fear! for I'll just tie this ozier band round it', saidthe lad, as he pulled it out. 

'The fat will run out of it', said the Princess. 

'Then I'll hold this under it', said the lad, and showed her thepiece of broken plate. 

'You are so crooked in your words', said the Princess, 'there's noknowing where to have you. '

'No, I'm not crooked', said the lad; 'but this is', as he held up oneof the horns. 

'Well!' said the Princess, 'I never saw the match of this in all mydays. '

'Why, here you see the match to it', said the lad, as he pulled outthe other ram's horn. 

'I think', said the Princess, 'you must have come here to wear out mytongue with your nonsense. '

'No, I have not', said the lad; 'but this is worn out', as he pulledout the shoe-sole. 

To this the Princess hadn't a word to say, for she had fairly losther voice with rage. 

'Now you are mine', said the lad; and so he got the Princess to wife, and half the kingdom. 

SHORTSHANKS

Once on a time, there was a poor couple who lived in a tumble-downhut, in which there was nothing but black want, so that they hadn't amorsel to eat, nor a stick to burn. But though they had next tonothing of other things, they had God's blessing in the way ofchildren, and every year they had another babe. Now, when this storybegins, they were just looking out for a new child; and, to tell thetruth, the husband was rather cross, and he was always going aboutgrumbling and growling, and saying, 'For his part, he thought onemight have too many of these God's gifts. ' So when the time came thatthe babe was to be born, he went off into the wood to fetch fuel, saying, 'he didn't care to stop and see the young squaller; he'd besure to hear him soon enough, screaming for food. '

Now, when her husband was well out of the house, his wife gave birthto a beautiful boy, who began to look about the room as soon as everhe came into the world. 

'Oh! dear mother', he said, 'give me some of my brother's cast-offclothes, and a few days' food, and I'll go out into the world and trymy luck; you have children enough as it is, that I can see. '

'God help you, my son!' answered his mother; 'that can never be, youare far too young yet. '

But the tiny one stuck to what he said, and begged and prayed tillhis mother was forced to let him have a few old rags, and a littlefood tied up in a bundle, and off he went right merrily and manfullyinto the wide world. But he was scarce out of the house before hismother had another boy, and he too looked about him, and said:

'Oh, dear mother! give me some of my brother's old clothes and a fewdays' food, and I'll go out into the world to find my twin-brother;you have children enough already on your hands, that I can see. '

'God help you, my poor little fellow!' said his mother; 'you are fartoo little, this will never do. '

But it was no good; the tiny one begged and prayed so hard, till hegot some old tattered rags and a bundle of food; and so he wanderedout into the world like a man, to find his twin-brother. Now, whenthe younger had walked a while, he saw his brother a good bit onbefore him, so he called out to him to stop. 

'Holloa! can't you stop? why, you lay legs to the ground as if youwere running a race. But you might just as well have stayed to seeyour youngest, brother before you set off into the world in such ahurry. '

So the elder stopped and looked round; and when the younger had comeup to him and told him the whole story, and how he was his brother, he went on to say:

'But let's sit down here and see what our mother has given us forfood. ' So they sat down together, and were soon great friends. 

Now when they had gone a bit farther on their way, they came to abrook which ran through a green meadow, and the youngest said now thetime was come to give one another names, 'Since we set off in such ahurry that we hadn't time to do it at home, we may as well do ithere. '

'Well!' said the elder, 'and what shall your name be?'

'Oh!' said the younger, 'my name shall be Shortshanks; and yours, what shall it be?'

'I will be called King Sturdy', answered the eldest. 

So they christened each other in the brook, and went on; but whenthey had walked a while they came to a cross road, and agreed theyshould part there, and each take his own road. So they parted, butthey hadn't gone half a mile before their roads met again. So theyparted the second time, and took each a road; but in a little whilethe same thing happened, and they met again, they scarce knew how;and the same thing happened a third time also. Then they agreed thatthey should each choose a quarter of the heavens, and one was to goeast and the other west; but before they parted, the elder said:

'If you ever fall into misfortune or need, call three times on me, and I will come and help you; but mind you don't call on me till youare at the last pinch. '

'Well!' said Shortshanks, 'if that's to be the rule, I don't think weshall meet again very soon. '

After that they bade each other good-bye, and Shortshanks went east, and King Sturdy west. 

Now, you must know, when Shortshanks had gone a good bit alone, hemet an old, old crook-backed hag, who had only one eye, andShortshanks snapped it up. 

'Oh! oh!' screamed the hag, 'what has become of my eye?'

'What will you give me', asked Shortshanks, 'if you get your eyeback?'

'I'll give you a sword, and such a sword! It will put a whole army toflight, be it ever so great', answered the old woman. 

'Out with it, then!' said Shortshanks. 

So the old hag gave him the sword, and got her eye back again. Afterthat, Shortshanks wandered on a while, and another old, old crook-backed hag met him who had only one eye, which Shortshanks stolebefore she was aware of him. 

'Oh, oh! whatever has become of my eye', screamed the hag. 

'What will you give me to get your eye back?' asked Shortshanks. 

'I'll give you a ship', said the woman, 'which can sail over freshwater and salt water, and over high hills and deep dales. '

'Well! out with it', said Shortshanks. 

So the old woman gave him a little tiny ship, no bigger than he couldput in his pocket, and she got her eye back again, and they each wenttheir way. But when he had wandered on a long, long way, he met athird time an old, old crook-backed hag, with only one eye. This eye, too, Shortshanks stole; and when the hag screamed and made a greatto-do, bawling out what had become of her eye, Shortshanks said:

'What will you give me to get back your eye?'

Then she answered:

'I'll give you the art how to brew a hundred lasts of malt at onestrike. '

Well! for teaching that art the old hag got back her eye, and theyeach went their way. 

But when Shortshanks had walked a little way, he thought it might beworth while to try his ship; so he took it out of his pocket, and putfirst one foot into it, and then the other; and as soon as ever heset one foot into it, it began to grow bigger and bigger, and by thetime he set the other foot into it, it was as big as other ships thatsail on the sea. Then Shortshanks said:

'Off and away, over fresh water and salt water, over high hills anddeep dales, and don't stop till you come to the king's palace. '

And lo! away went the ship as swiftly as a bird through the air, tillit came down a little below the king's palace, and there it stopped. From the palace windows people had stood and seen Shortshanks comesailing along, and they were all so amazed that they ran down to seewho it could be that came sailing in a ship through the air. Butwhile they were running down, Shortshanks had stepped out of his shipand put it into his pocket again; for as soon as he stepped out ofit, it became as small as it was when he got it from the old woman. So those who had run down from the palace saw no one but a raggedlittle boy standing down there by the strand. Then the king askedwhence he came, but the boy said he didn't know, nor could he tellthem how he had got there. There he was, and that was all they couldget out of him; but he begged and prayed so prettily to get a placein the king's palace; saying, if there was nothing else for him todo, he could carry in wood and water for the kitchen-maid, that theirhearts were touched, and he got leave to stay there. 

Now when Shortshanks came up to the palace, he saw how it was allhung with black, both outside and in, wall and roof; so he asked thekitchen-maid what all that mourning meant?

'Don't you know?' said the kitchen-maid; 'I'll soon tell you: theking's daughter was promised away a long time ago to three ogres, andnext Thursday evening one of them is coming to fetch her. Ritter Red, it is true, has given out that he is man enough to set her free, butGod knows if he can do it; and now you know why we are all in griefand sorrow. '

So when Thursday evening came, Ritter Red led the Princess down tothe strand, for there it was she was to meet the Ogre, and he was tostay by her there and watch; but he wasn't likely to do the Ogre muchharm, I reckon, for as soon as ever the Princess had sat down on thestrand, Ritter Red climbed up into a great tree that stood there, andhid himself as well as he could among the boughs. The Princess beggedand prayed him not to leave her, but Ritter Red turned a deaf ear toher, and all he said was:

'Tis better for one to lose life than for two. '

That was what Ritter Red said. 

Meantime Shortshanks went to the kitchen-maid, and asked her soprettily if he mightn't go down to the strand for a bit?

'And what should take you down to the strand?' asked the kitchen-maid. 'You know you've no business there. '

'Oh, dear friend', said Shortshanks, 'do let me go? I should so liketo run down there and play a while with the other children; that Ishould. '

'Well, well!' said the kitchen-maid, 'off with you; but don't let mecatch you staying there a bit over the time when the brose for suppermust be set on the fire, and the roast put on the spit; and let mesee; when you come back, mind you bring a good armful of wood withyou. '

Yes! Shortshanks would mind all that; so off he ran down to thestrand. 

But just as he reached the spot where the Princess sat, what shouldcome but the Ogre tearing along in his ship, so that the wind roaredand howled after him. He was so tall and stout it was awful to lookon him, and he had five heads of his own. 

'Fire and flame!' screamed the Ogre. 

'Fire and flame yourself!' said Shortshanks. 

'Can you fight?' roared the Ogre. 

'If I can't, I can learn', said Shortshanks. 

So the Ogre struck at him with a great thick iron club which he hadin his fist, and the earth and stones flew up five yards into the airafter the stroke. 

'My!' said Shortshanks, 'that was something like a blow, but now youshall see a stroke of mine. '

Then he grasped the sword he had got from the old crook-backed hag, and cut at the Ogre; and away went all his five heads flying over thesand. So when the Princess saw she was saved, she was so glad thatshe scarce knew what to do, and she jumped and danced for joy. 'Come, lie down, and sleep a little in my lap', she said to Shortshanks, andas he slept she threw over him a tinsel robe. 

Now you must know, it wasn't long before Ritter Red crept down fromthe tree, as soon as he saw there was nothing to fear in the way, andhe went up to the Princess and threatened her until she promised tosay it was he who had saved her life; for if she wouldn't say so, hesaid he would kill her on the spot. After that he cut out the Ogre'slungs and tongue, and wrapped them up in his handkerchief, and so ledthe Princess back to the palace, and whatever honours he had notbefore, he got then, for the king did not know how to find honourenough for him, and made him sit every day on his right hand atdinner. 

As for Shortshanks, he went first of all on board the Ogre's ship, and took a whole heap of gold and silver rings, as large as hoops, and trotted off with them as hard as he could to the palace. When thekitchen-maid set her eyes on all that gold and silver, she was quitescared, and asked him:

'But dear, good, Shortshanks, wherever did you get all this from?'for she was rather afraid he hadn't come rightly by it. 

'Oh!' answered Shortshanks, 'I went home for a bit, and there I foundthese hoops, which had fallen off some old pails of ours, so I laidhands on them for you, if you must know. '

Well! when the kitchen-maid heard they were for her, she said nothingmore about the matter, but thanked Shortshanks, and they were goodfriends again. 

The next Thursday evening it was the same story over again; all werein grief and trouble, but Ritter Red said, as he had saved thePrincess from one Ogre, it was hard if he couldn't save her fromanother; and down he led her to the strand as brave as a lion. But hedidn't do this Ogre much harm either, for when the time came thatthey looked for the Ogre, he said, as he had said before:

''Tis better one should lose life than two', and crept up into histree again. But Shortshanks begged the kitchen-maid to let him godown to the strand for a little. 

'Oh!' asked the kitchen-maid, 'and what business have you downthere?'

'Dear friend', said Shortshanks. 'do pray let me go. I long so to rundown and play a while with the other children. '

Well! the kitchen-maid gave him leave to go, but he must promise tobe back by the time the roast was turned, and he was to mind andbring a big bundle of wood with him. So Shortshanks had scarce gotdown to the strand, when the Ogre came tearing along in his ship, sothat the wind howled and roared around him; he was twice as big asthe other Ogre, and he had ten heads on his shoulders. 

'Fire and flame!' screamed the Ogre. 

Fire and flame yourself!' answered Shortshanks. 

'Can you fight?' roared the Ogre. 

'If I can't, I can learn', said Shortshanks. 

Then the Ogre struck at him with his iron club; it was even biggerthan that which the first Ogre had, and the earth and stones flew upten yards into the air. 

My!' said Shortshanks, 'that was something like a blow now you shallsee a stroke of mine. ' Then he grasped his sword, and cut off all theOgre's ten heads at one blow, and sent them dancing away over thesand. 

Then the Princess said again to him, 'Lie down and sleep a littlewhile on my lap'; and while Shortshanks lay there, she threw over hima silver robe. But as soon as Ritter Red marked that there was nomore danger in the way, he crept down from the tree, and threatenedthe Princess, till she was forced to give her word, to say it was hewho had set her free; after that, he cut the lungs and tongue out ofthe Ogre, and wrapped them in his handkerchief, and led the Princessback to the palace. Then you may fancy what mirth and joy there was, and the king was at his wits' end to know how to show Ritter Redhonour and favour enough. 

This time, too, Shortshanks took a whole armful of gold and silverrings from the Ogre's ship, and when he came back to the palace thekitchen-maid clapped her hands in wonder, asking wherever he got allthat gold and silver from. But Shortshanks answered that he had beenhome a while, and that the hoops had fallen off some old pails, so hehad laid his hands on them for his friend the kitchen-maid. So whenthe third Thursday evening came, everything happened as it hadhappened twice before; the whole palace was hung with black, and allwent about mourning and weeping. But Ritter Red said he couldn't seewhat need they had to be so afraid; he had freed the Princess fromtwo Ogres, and he could very well free her from a third; so he ledher down to the strand, but when the time drew near for the Ogre tocome up, he crept into his tree again, and hid himself. The Princessbegged and prayed, but it was no good, for Ritter Red said again:

''Tis better that one should lose life than two. '

That evening, too, Shortshanks begged for leave to go down to thestrand. 

'Oh!' said the kitchen-maid, 'what should take you down there?'

But he begged and prayed so, that at last he got leave to go, only hehad to promise to be back in the kitchen again when the roast was tobe turned. So off he went, but he had scarce reached the strand whenthe Ogre came with the wind howling and roaring after him. He wasmuch, much bigger than either of the other two, and he had fifteenheads on his shoulders. 

'Fire and flame!' roared out the Ogre. 

'Fire and flame yourself!' said Shortshanks. 

'Can you fight?' screamed the Ogre. 

'If I can't, I can learn', said Shortshanks. 

'I'll soon teach you', screamed the Ogre, and struck at him with hisiron club, so that the earth and stones flew up fifteen yards intothe air. 

'My!' said Shortshanks, 'that was something like a blow; but now youshall see a stroke of mine. '

As he said that, he grasped his sword, and cut off all the Ogre'sfifteen heads at one blow, and sent them all dancing over the sand. 

So the Princess was freed from all the Ogres, and she both blessedand thanked Shortshanks for saving her life. 

'Sleep now a while on my lap', she said; and he laid his head on herlap, and while he slept, she threw over him a golden robe. 

'But how shall we let it be known that it is you that have saved me?'she asked, when he awoke. 

'Oh, I'll soon tell you', answered Shortshanks. 'When Ritter Red hasled you home again, and given himself out as the man who has savedyou, you know he is to have you to wife, and half the kingdom. Now, when they ask you, on your wedding-day, whom you will have to be yourcup-bearer, you must say, "I will have the ragged boy who does oddjobs in the kitchen, and carries in wood and water for the kitchen-maid. " So when I am filling your cups, I will spill a drop on hisplate, but none on yours; then he will be wroth, and give me a blow, and the same thing will happen three times. But the third time youmust mind and say, "Shame on you! to strike my heart's darling; he itis who set me free, and him will I have!"'

After that Shortshanks ran back to the palace, as he had done before;but he went first on board the Ogre's ship, and took a whole heap ofgold, silver, and precious stones, and out of them he gave thekitchen-maid another great armful of gold and silver rings. 

Well! as for Ritter Red, as soon as ever he saw that all risk wasover, he crept down from his tree, and threatened the Princess tillshe was forced to promise she would say it was he who had saved her. After that, he led her back to the palace, and all the honour shownhim before was nothing to what he got now, for the king thought ofnothing else than how he might best honour the man who had saved hisdaughter from the three Ogres. As for his marrying her, and havinghalf the kingdom, that was a settled thing, the king said. But-whenthe wedding-day came, the Princess begged she might have the raggedboy who carried in wood and water for the cook to be her cup-bearerat the bridal-feast. 

'I can't think why you should want to bring that filthy beggar boy inhere', said Ritter Red; but the Princess had a will of her own, andsaid she would have him, and no one else, to pour out her wine; soshe had her way at last. Now everything went as it had been agreedbetween Shortshanks and the Princess; he spilled a drop on RitterRed's plate, but none on hers, and each time Ritter Red got wroth andstruck him. At the first blow Shortshank's rags fell off which he hadworn in the kitchen; at the second the tinsel robe fell off; and atthe third the silver robe; and then he stood in his golden robe, allgleaming and glittering in the light. Then the Princess said:

'Shame on you! to strike my heart's darling! he has saved me, and himwill I have!'

Ritter Red cursed and swore it was he who had set her free; but theking put in his word, and said:

'The man who saved my daughter must have some token to show for it. '

Yes! Ritter Red had something to show, and he ran off at once afterhis handkerchief with the lungs and tongues in it, and Shortshanksfetched all the gold and silver, and precious things, he had takenout of the Ogres' ships. So each laid his tokens before the king, andthe king said:

'The man who has such precious stores of gold, and silver, anddiamonds, must have slain the Ogre, and spoiled his goods, for suchthings are not to be had elsewhere. '

So Ritter Red was thrown into a pit full of snakes, and Shortshankswas to have the Princess and half the kingdom. 

One day Shortshanks and the king were out walking, and Shortshanksasked the king if he hadn't any more children?

'Yes', said the king, 'I had another daughter; but the Ogre has takenher away, because there was no one who could save her. Now you aregoing to have one daughter, but if you can set the other free whomthe Ogre has carried off, you shall have her too with all my heart, and the other half of my kingdom. '

'Well', said Shortshanks, 'I may as well try; but I must have an ironcable, five hundred fathoms long, and five hundred men, and food forthem to last fifteen weeks, for I have a long voyage before me. '

Yes! the king said he should have them, but he was afraid therewasn't a ship in his kingdom big enough to carry such a freight. 

'Oh! if that's all', said Shortshanks, 'I have a ship of my own. '

With that he whipped out of his pocket the ship he had got from theold hag. 

The king laughed, and thought it was all a joke; but Shortshanksbegged him only to give him what he asked, and he should soon see ifit was a joke. So they got together what he wanted, and Shortshanksbade him put the cable on board the ship first of all; but there wasno one man who could lift it, and there wasn't room for more than oneat a time round the tiny ship. Then Shortshanks took hold of thecable by one end, and laid a link or two into the ship; and as hethrew in the links, the ship grew bigger and bigger, till at last itgot so big, that there was room enough and to spare in it for thecable, and the five hundred men, and their food, and Shortshanks, andall. Then he said to the ship:

'Off and away, over fresh water and salt water, over high hill anddeep dale, and don't stop till you come to where the king's daughteris. ' And away went the ship over land and sea, till the wind whistledafter it. 

So when they had sailed far, far away, the ship stood stock still inthe middle of the sea. 

'Ah!' said Shortshanks, 'now we have got so far; but how we are toget back is another story. '

Then he took the cable and tied one end of it round his waist, andsaid:

'Now, I must go to the bottom, but when I give the cable a good tug, and want to come up again, mind you all hoist away with a will, oryour lives will be lost as well as mine'; and with these wordsoverboard he leapt, and dived down, so that the yellow waves roseround him in an eddy. 

Well, he sank and sank, and at last he came to the bottom, and therehe saw a great rock rising up with a door in it, so he opened thedoor and went in. When he got inside, he saw another Princess, whosat and sewed, but when she saw Shortshanks, she clasped her handstogether and cried out:

'Now, God be thanked! you are the first Christian man I've set eyeson since I came here. '

'Very good', said Shortshanks; 'but do you know I've come to fetchyou?'

'Oh!' she cried, 'you'll never fetch me; you'll never have that luck, for if the Ogre sees you, he'll kill you on the spot. '

'I'm glad you spoke of the Ogre', said Shortshanks; ''twould be finefun to see him; whereabouts is he?'

Then the Princess told him the Ogre was out looking for some one whocould brew a hundred lasts of malt at one strike, for he was going togive a great feast, and less drink wouldn't do. 

'Well! I can do that', said Shortshanks. 

'Ah!' said the Princess, 'if only the Ogre wasn't so hasty, I mighttell him about you; but he's so cross; I'm afraid he'll tear you topieces as soon as he comes in, without waiting to hear my story. Letme see what is to be done. Oh! I have it; just hide yourself in theside-room yonder, and let us take our chance. '

Well! Shortshanks did as she told him, and he had scarce crept intothe side-room before the Ogre came in. 

'HUF!' said the Ogre; 'what a horrid smell of Christian man's blood!'

'Yes!' said the Princess, 'I know there is, for a bird flew over thehouse with a Christian man's bone in his bill, and let it fall downthe chimney. I made all the haste I could to get it out again, but Idare say it's that you smell. '

'Ah!' said the Ogre, 'like enough. '

Then the Princess asked the Ogre if he had laid hold of any one whocould brew a hundred lasts of malt at one strike?

'No', said the Ogre, 'I can't hear of any one who can do it. '

'Well', she said, 'a while ago, there was a chap in here who said hecould do it. '

'Just like you, with your wisdom!' said the Ogre; 'why did you lethim go away then, when you knew he was the very man I wanted?'

'Well then, I didn't let him go', said the Princess; 'but father'stemper is a little hot, so I hid him away in the side-room yonder;but if father hasn't hit upon any one, here he is. '

'Well', said the Ogre, 'let him come in then. '

So Shortshanks came in, and the Ogre asked him if it were true thathe could brew a hundred lasts of malt at a strike?

'Yes it is', said Shortshanks. 

'Twas good luck then to lay hands on you', said the Ogre, 'and nowfall to work this minute; but heaven help you if you don't brew theale strong enough. '

'Oh', said Shortshanks, 'never fear, it shall be stinging stuff'; andwith that he began to brew without more fuss, but all at once hecried out:

'I must have more of you Ogres to help in the brewing, for these Ihave got a'nt half strong enough. '

Well, he got more--so many, that there was a whole swarm of them, andthen the brewing went on bravely. Now when the sweet-wort was ready, they were all eager to taste it, you may guess; first of all theOgre, and then all his kith and kin. But Shortshanks had brewed thewort so strong that they all fell down dead, one after another, likeso many flies, as soon as they had tasted it. At last there wasn'tone of them left alive but one vile old hag, who lay bed-ridden inthe chimney-corner. 

'Oh you poor old wretch', said Shortshanks, 'you may just as welltaste the wort along with the rest. '

So, he went and scooped up a little from the bottom of the copper ina scoop, and gave her a drink, and so he was rid of the whole pack ofthem. 

As he stood there and looked about him, he cast his eye on a greatchest, so he took it and filled it with gold and silver; then he tiedthe cable round himself and the Princess and the chest, and gave it agood tug, and his men pulled them all up, safe and sound. As soon asever Shortshanks was well up, he said to the ship, 'Off and away, over fresh water and salt water, high hill and deepdale, and don't stop till you come to the king's palace'; andstraightway the ship held on her course, so that the yellow billowsfoamed round her. When the people in the palace saw the ship sailingup, they were not slow in meeting them with songs and music, welcoming Shortshanks with great joy; but the gladdest of all was theking, who had now got his other daughter back again. 

But now Shortshanks was rather down-hearted, for you must know thatboth the princesses wanted to have him, and he would have no otherthan the one he had first saved, and she was the youngest. So hewalked up and down, and thought and thought what he should do to gether, and yet do something to please her sister. Well, one day as hewas turning the thing over in his mind, it struck him if he only hadhis brother King Sturdy, who was so like him that no one could tellthe one from the other, he would give up to him the other princessand half the kingdom, for he thought one-half was quite enough. 

Well, as soon as ever this came into his mind, he went outside thepalace and called on King Sturdy, but no one came. So he called asecond time a little louder, but still no one came. Then he calledout the third time 'King Sturdy' with all his might, and there stoodhis brother before him. 'Didn't I say!' he said to Shortshanks, 'didn't I say you were not to call me except in your utmost need? andhere there is not so much as a gnat to do you any harm', and withthat he gave him such a box on the ear that Shortshanks tumbled headover heels on the grass. 

'Now shame on you to 'hit so hard!' said Shortshanks. 'First of all Iwon a princess and half the kingdom, and then I won another princessand the other half of the kingdom; and now I'm thinking to give youone of the princesses and half the kingdom. Is there any rhyme orreason in giving me such a box on the ear?'

When King Sturdy heard that, he begged his brother to forgive him, and they were soon as good friends as ever again. 

'Now', said Shortshanks, 'you know, we are so much alike, that no onecan tell the one from the other; so just change clothes with me andgo into the palace; then the princesses will think it is I that amcoming in, and the one that kisses you first you shall have for yourwife, and I will have the other for mine. '

And he said this because he knew well enough that the elder king'sdaughter was the stronger, and so he could very well guess how thingswould go. As for King Sturdy, he was willing enough, so he changedclothes with his brother and went into the palace. But when he cameinto the Princesses' bower they thought it was Shortshanks, and bothran up to him to kiss him; but the elder, who was stronger andbigger, pushed her sister on one side, and threw her arms round KingSturdy's neck, and gave him a kiss; and so he got her for his wife, and Shortshanks got the younger Princess. Then they made ready forthe wedding, and you may fancy what a grand one it was, when I tellyou, that the fame of it was noised abroad over seven kingdoms. 

GUDBRAND ON THE HILL-SIDE

Once on a time there was a man whose name was Gudbrand; he had a farmwhich lay far, far away upon a hill-side, and so they called himGudbrand on the Hill-side. 

Now, you must know this man and his goodwife lived so happilytogether, and understood one another so well, that all the husbanddid the wife thought so well done there was nothing like it in theworld, and she was always glad whatever he turned his hand to. Thefarm was their own land, and they had a hundred dollars lying at thebottom of their chest, and two cows tethered up in a stall in theirfarm-yard. 

So one day his wife said to Gudbrand:

'Do you know, dear, I think we ought to take one of our cows intotown, and sell it; that's what I think; for then we shall have somemoney in hand, and such well-to-do people as we ought to have readymoney like the rest of the world. As for the hundred dollars at thebottom of the chest yonder, we can't make a hole in them, and I'msure I don't know what we want with more than one cow. Besides, weshall gain a little in another way, for then I shall get off withonly looking after one cow, instead of having, as now, to feed andlitter and water two. '

Well, Gudbrand thought his wife talked right good sense, so he setoff at once with the cow on his way to town to sell her; but when hegot to the town, there was no one who would buy his cow. 

'Well! well! never mind', said Gudbrand, 'at the worst, I can only goback home again with my cow. I've both stable and tether for her, Ishould think, and the road is no farther out than in'; and with thathe began to toddle home with his cow. 

But when he had gone a bit of the way, a man met him who had a horseto sell, so Gudbrand thought 'twas better to have a horse than a cow, so he swopped with the man. A little farther on he met a man walkingalong and driving a fat pig before him, and he thought it better tohave a fat pig than a horse, so he swopped with the man. After thathe went a little farther, and a man met him with a goat; so hethought it better to have a goat than a pig, and he swopped with theman that owned the goat. Then he went on a good bit till he met a manwho had a sheep, and he swopped with him too, for he thought italways better to have a sheep than a goat. After a while he met a manwith a goose, and he swopped away the sheep for the goose; and whenhe had walked a long, long time, he met a man with a cock, and heswopped with him, for he thought in this wise, ''Tis surely better tohave a cock than a goose. ' Then he went on till the day was farspent, and he began to get very hungry, so he sold the cock for ashilling, and bought food with the money, for, thought Gudbrand onthe Hill-side, ''Tis always better to save one's life than to have acock. '

After that he went on home till he reached his nearest neighbour'shouse, where he turned in. 

'Well', said the owner of the house, 'how did things go with you intown?'

'Rather so so', said Gudbrand, 'I can't praise my luck, nor do Iblame it either', and with that he told the whole story from first tolast. 

'Ah!' said his friend, 'you'll get nicely called over the coals, thatone can see, when you get home to your wife. Heaven help you, Iwouldn't stand in your shoes for something. '

'Well!' said Gudbrand on the Hill-side, 'I think things might havegone much worse with me; but now, whether I have done wrong or not, Ihave so kind a goodwife, she never has a word to say against anythingthat I do. '

'Oh!' answered his neighbour, 'I hear what you say, but I don'tbelieve it for all that. '

'Shall we lay a bet upon it?' asked Gudbrand on the Hill-side. 'Ihave a hundred dollars at the bottom of my chest at home; will youlay as many against them?'

Yes! the friend was ready to bet; so Gudbrand stayed there tillevening, when it began to get dark, and then they went together tohis house, and the neighbour was to stand outside the door andlisten, while the man went in to see his wife. 

'Good evening!' said Gudbrand on the Hill-side. 

'Good evening!' said the goodwife. 'Oh! is that you? now God bepraised. '

Yes! it was he. So the wife asked how things had gone with him intown?

'Oh! only so so', answered Gudbrand; 'not much to brag of. When I gotto the town there was no one who would buy the cow, so you must knowI swopped it away for a horse. '

'For a horse', said his wife; 'well that is good of you; thanks withall my heart. We are so well to do that we may drive to church, justas well as other people; and if we choose to keep a horse we have aright to get one, I should think. So run out, child, and put up thehorse. '

'Ah!' said Gudbrand, 'but you see I've not got the horse after all;for when I got a bit farther on the road, I swopped it away for apig. '

'Think of that, now!' said the wife; 'you did just as I should havedone myself; a thousand thanks! Now I can have a bit of bacon in thehouse to set before people when they come to see me, that I can. Whatdo we want with a horse? People would only say we had got so proudthat we couldn't walk to church. Go out, child, and put up the pig inthe sty. '

'But I've not got the pig either', said Gudbrand; 'for when I got alittle farther on, I swopped it away for a milch goat. '

'Bless us!' cried his wife, 'how well you manage everything! Now Ithink it over, what should I do with a pig? People would only pointat us and say, "Yonder they eat up all they have got. " No! now I havegot a goat, and I shall have milk and cheese, and keep the goat too. Run out, child, and put up the goat. '

'Nay, but I haven't got the goat either', said Gudbrand, 'for alittle farther on I swopped it away, and got a fine sheep instead. '

'You don't say so!' cried his wife; 'why, you do everything to pleaseme, just as if I had been with you; what do we want with a goat? If Ihad it I should lose half my time in climbing up the hills to get itdown. No! if I have a sheep, I shall have both wool and clothing, andfresh meat in the house. Run out, child, and put up the sheep. '

'But I haven't got the sheep any more than the rest', said Gudbrand;'for when I had gone a bit farther, I swopped it away for a goose. '

'Thank you! thank you! with all my heart', cried his wife; 'whatshould I do with a sheep? I have no spinning-wheel, nor carding-comb, nor should I care to worry myself with cutting, and shaping, andsewing clothes. We can buy clothes now, as we have always done; andnow I shall have roast goose, which I have longed for so often; and, besides, down to stuff my little pillow with. Run out, child, and putup the goose. '

'Ah!' said Gudbrand, 'but I haven't the goose either; for when I hadgone a bit farther I swopped it away for a cock. '

'Dear me!' cried his wife, 'how you think of everything! just as Ishould have done myself. A cock! think of that! why it's as good asan eight-day clock, for every morning the cock crows at four o'clock, and we shall be able to stir our stumps in good time. What should wedo with a goose? I don't know how to cook it; and as for my pillow, Ican stuff it with cotton-grass. Run out, child, and put up the cock. '

'But, after all, I haven't got the cock', said Gudbrand; 'for when Ihad gone a bit farther, I got as hungry as a hunter, so I was forcedto sell the cock for a shilling, for fear I should starve. '

'Now, God be praised that you did so!' cried his wife; 'whatever youdo, you do it always just after my own heart. What should we do withthe cock? We are our own masters, I should think, and can lie a-bedin the morning as long as we like. Heaven be thanked that I have gotyou safe back again; you who do everything so well that I wantneither cock nor goose; neither pigs nor kine. '

Then Gudbrand opened the door and said; 'Well, what do you say now?Have I won the hundred dollars?' and his neighbour was forced toallow that he had. 

THE BLUE BELT

Once on a time there was an old beggar-woman, who had gone out tobeg. She had a little lad with her, and when she had got her bagfull, she struck across the hills towards her own home. So when theyhad gone a bit up the hill-side, they came upon a little blue belt, which lay where two paths met, and the lad asked his mother's leaveto pick it up. 

'No', said she, 'maybe there's witchcraft in it'; and so with threatsshe forced him to follow her. But when they had gone a bit further, the lad said he must turn aside a moment out of the road, andmeanwhile his mother sat down on a tree-stump. But the lad was a longtime gone, for as soon as he got so far into the wood, that the olddame could not see him, he ran off to where the belt lay, took it up, tied it round his waist, and lo! he felt as strong as if he couldlift the whole hill. When he got back, the old dame was in a greatrage, and wanted to know what he had been doing all that while. Youdon't care how much time you waste, and yet you know the night isdrawing on, and we must cross the hill before it is dark!' So on theytramped; but when they had got about half-way, the old dame grewweary, and said she must rest under a bush. 

'Dear mother', said the lad, 'mayn't I just go up to the top of thishigh crag while you rest, and try if I can't see some sign of folkhereabouts?'

Yes! he might do that; so when he had got to the top, he saw a lightshining from the north. So he ran down and told his mother. 

'We must get on, mother; we are near a house, for I see a brightlight shining quite close to us in the north. ' Then she rose andshouldered her bag, and set off to see; but they hadn't gone far, before there stood a steep spur of the hill, right across their path. 

'Just as I thought!' said the old dame; 'now we can't go a stepfarther; a pretty bed we shall have here!'

But the lad took the bag under one arm, and his mother under theother, and ran straight up the steep crag with them. 

'Now, don't you see! don't you see that we are close to a house!don't you see the bright light?'

But the old dame said those were no Christian folk, but Trolls, forshe was at home in all that forest far and near, and knew there wasnot a living soul in it, until you were well over the ridge, and hadcome down on the other side. But they went on, and in a little whilethey came to a great house which was all painted red. 

'What's the good?' said the old dame, 'we daren't go in, for here theTrolls live. '

'Don't say so; we must go in. There must be men where the lightsshine so', said the lad. So in he went, and his mother after him, buthe had scarce opened the door before she swooned away, for there shesaw a great stout man, at least twenty feet high, sitting on thebench. 

'Good evening, grandfather!' said the lad. 

'Well, here I've sat three hundred years', said the man who sat onthe bench, 'and no one has ever come and called me grandfatherbefore. ' Then the lad sat down by the man's side, and began to talkto him as if they had been old friends. 

'But what's come over your mother?' said the man, after they hadchattered a while. 'I think she swooned away; you had better lookafter her. '

So the lad went and took hold of the old dame; and dragged her up thehall along the floor. That brought her to herself, and she kicked, and scratched, and flung herself about, and at last sat down upon aheap of firewood in the corner; but she was so frightened that shescarce dared to look one in the face. 

After a while, the lad asked if they could spend the night there. 

'Yes, to be sure', said the man. 

So they went on talking again, but the lad soon got hungry, andwanted to know if they could get food as well as lodging. 

'Of course', said the man, 'that might be got too. ' And after he hadsat a while longer, he rose up and threw six loads of dry pitch-pineon the fire. This made the old hag still more afraid. 

'Oh! now he's going to roast us alive', she said, in the corner whereshe sat. 

And when the wood had burned down to glowing embers, up got the manand strode out of his house. 

'Heaven bless and help us! what a stout heart you have got', said theold dame; 'don't you see we have got amongst Trolls?'

'Stuff and nonsense!' said the lad; 'no harm if we have. '

In a little while back came the man with an ox so fat and big, thelad had never seen its like, and he gave it one blow with his fistunder the ear, and down it fell dead on the floor. When that wasdone, he took it up by all the four legs, and laid it on the glowingembers, and turned it and twisted it about till it was burnt brownoutside. After that, he went to a cupboard and took out a greatsilver dish, and laid the ox on it; and the dish was so big that noneof the ox hung over on any side. This he put on the table, and thenhe went down into the cellar, and fetched a cask of wine, knocked outthe head, and put the cask on the table, together with two knives, which were each six feet long. When this was done, he bade them goand sit down to supper and eat. So they went, the lad first and theold dame after, but she began to whimper and wail, and to wonder howshe should ever use such knives. But her son seized one, and began tocut slices out of the thigh of the ox, which he placed before hismother. And when they had eaten a bit, he took up the cask with bothhands, and lifted it down to the floor; then he told his mother tocome and drink, but it was still so high she couldn't reach up to it;so he caught her up, and held her up to the edge of the cask whileshe drank; as for himself, he clambered up and hung down like a catinside the cask while he drank. So when he had quenched his thirst, he took up the cask and put it back on the table, and thanked the manfor the good meal, and told his mother to come and thank him too, anda-feared though she was, she dared do nothing else but thank the man. Then the lad sat down again alongside the man and began to gossip, and after they had sat a while, the man said, 'Well! I must just go and get a bit of supper too'; and so he went tothe table and ate up the whole ox--hoofs, and horns, and all--anddrained the cask to the last drop, and then went back and sat on thebench. 

As for beds', he said, 'I don't know what's to be done. I've only gotone bed and a cradle; but we could get on pretty well if you wouldsleep in the cradle, and then your mother might lie in the bedyonder. '

'Thank you kindly, that'll do nicely', said the lad; and with that hepulled off his clothes and lay down in the cradle; but, to tell youthe truth; it was quite as big as a four-poster. As for the old dame, she had to follow the man who showed her to bed, though she was outof her wits for fear. 

'Well!' thought the lad to himself, ''twill never do to go to sleepyet. I'd best lie awake and listen how things go as the night wearson. '

So after a while the man began to talk to the old dame, and at lasthe said:

'We two might live here so happily together, could we only be rid ofthis son of yours. '

'But do you know how to settle him? Is that what you're thinkingof?' said she. 

'Nothing easier', said he; at any rate he would try. He would justsay he wished the old dame would stay and keep house for him a day ortwo, and then he would take the lad out with him up the hill toquarry corner-stones, and roll down a great rock on him. All this thelad lay and listened to. 

Next day the Troll--for it was a Troll as clear as day--asked if theold dame would stay and keep house for him a few days; and as the daywent on he took a great iron crowbar, and asked the lad if he had amind to go with him up the hill and quarry a few corner-stones. Withall his heart, he said, and went with him; and so, after they hadsplit a few stones, the Troll wanted him to go down below and lookafter cracks in the rock; and while he was doing this, the Trollworked away, and wearied himself with his crowbar till he moved awhole crag out of its bed, which came rolling right down on the placewhere the lad was; but he held it up till he could get on one side, and then let it roll on. 

'Oh!' said the lad to the Troll, 'now I see what you mean to do withme. You want to crush me to death; so just go down yourself and lookafter the cracks and refts in the rock, and I'll stand up above. '

The Troll did not dare to do otherwise than the lad bade him, and theend of it was that the lad rolled down a great rock, which fell uponthe Troll, and broke one of his thighs. 

'Well! you are in a sad plight', said the lad, as he strode down, lifted up the rock, and set the man free. After that he had to puthim on his back and carry him home; so he ran with him as fast as ahorse, and shook him so that the Troll screamed and screeched as if aknife were run into him. And when he got home, they had to put theTroll to bed, and there he lay in a sad pickle. 

When the night wore on the Troll began to talk to the old dame again, and to wonder how ever they could be rid of the lad. 

'Well', said the old dame, 'if you can't hit on a plan to get rid ofhim, I'm sure I can't. '

'Let me see', said the Troll; 'I've got twelve lions in a garden; ifthey could only get hold of the lad they'd soon tear him to pieces. '

So the old dame said it would be easy enough to get him there. Shewould sham sick, and say she felt so poorly, nothing would do her anygood but lion's milk. All that the lad lay and listened to; and whenhe got up in the morning his mother said she was worse than shelooked, and she thought she should never be right again unless shecould get some lion's milk. 

'Then I'm afraid you'll be poorly a long time, mother', said the lad, 'for I'm sure I don't know where any is to be got. '

'Oh! if that be all', said the Troll, 'there's no lack of lion'smilk, if we only had the man to fetch it'; and then he went on to sayhow his brother had a garden with twelve lions in it, and how the ladmight have the key if he had a mind to milk the lions. So the ladtook the key and a milking pail, and strode off; and when he unlockedthe gate and got into the garden, there stood all the twelve lions ontheir hind-paws, rampant and roaring at him. But the lad laid hold ofthe biggest, and led him about by the fore-paws, and dashed himagainst stocks and stones, till there wasn't a bit of him left butthe two paws. So when the rest saw that, they were so afraid thatthey crept up and lay at his feet like so many curs. After that theyfollowed him about wherever he went, and when he got home, they laydown outside the house, with their fore-paws on the door sill. 

'Now, mother, you'll soon be well', said the lad, when he went in, 'for here is the lion's milk. '

He had just milked a drop in the pail. 

But the Troll, as he lay in bed, swore it was all a lie. He was surethe lad was not the man to milk lions. 

When the lad heard that, he forced the Troll to get out of bed, threwopen the door, and all the lions rose up and seized the Troll, and atlast the lad had to make them leave their hold. 

That night the Troll began to talk to the old dame again. 

'I'm sure I can't tell how to put this lad out of the way--he is soawfully strong; can't you think of some way?

'No, ' said the old dame, 'if you can't tell, I'm sure I can't. '

'Well!' said the Troll, 'I have two brothers in a castle; they aretwelve times as strong as I am, and that's why I was turned out andhad to put up with this farm. They hold that castle, and round itthere is an orchard with apples in it, and whoever eats those applessleeps for three days and three nights. If we could only get the ladto go for the fruit, he wouldn't be able to keep from tasting theapples, and as soon as ever he fell asleep my brothers would tear himin pieces. '

The old dame said she would sham sick, and say she could never beherself again unless she tasted those apples; for she had set herheart on them. 

All this the lad lay and listened to. 

When the morning came the old dame was so poorly that she couldn'tutter a word but groans and sighs. She was sure she should never bewell again, unless she had some of those apples that grew in theorchard near the castle where the man's brothers lived; only she hadno one to send for them. 

Oh! the lad was ready to go that instant; but the eleven lions wentwith him. So when he came to the orchard, he climbed up into theapple tree and ate as many apples as he could, and he had scarce gotdown before he fell into a deep sleep; but the lions all lay roundhim in a ring. The third day came the Troll's brothers, but they didnot come in man's shape. They came snorting like man-eating steeds, and wondered who it was that dared to be there, and said they wouldtear him to pieces, so small that there should not be a bit of himleft. But up rose the lions and tore the Trolls into small pieces, sothat the place looked as if a dung heap had been tossed about it; andwhen they had finished the Trolls they lay down again. The lad didnot wake till late in the afternoon, and when he got on his knees andrubbed the sleep out of his eyes, he began to wonder what had beengoing on, when he saw the marks of hoofs. But when he went towardsthe castle, a maiden looked out of a window who had seen all that hadhappened, and she said:

'You may thank your stars you weren't in that tussle, else you musthave lost your life. '

'What! I lose my life! No fear of that, I think, ' said the lad. 

So she begged him to come in, that she might talk with him, for shehadn't seen a Christian soul ever since she came there. But when sheopened the door the lions wanted to go in too, but she got sofrightened that she began to scream, and so the lad let them lieoutside. Then the two talked and talked, and the lad asked how itcame that she, who was so lovely, could put up with those uglyTrolls. She never wished it, she said; 'twas quite against her will. They had seized her by force, and she was the King of Arabia'sdaughter. So they talked on, and at last she asked him what he woulddo; whether she should go back home, or whether he would have her towife. Of course he would have her, and she shouldn't go home. 

After that they went round the castle, and at last they came to agreat hall, where the Trolls' two great swords hung high up on thewall. 

'I wonder if you are man enough to wield one of these, ' said thePrincess. 

'Who?--I?' said the lad. ''Twould be a pretty thing if I couldn'twield one of these. '

With that he put two or three chairs one a-top of the other, jumpedup, and touched the biggest sword with his finger tips, tossed it upin the air, and caught it again by the hilt; leapt down, and at thesame time dealt such a blow with it on the floor that the whole hallshook. After he had thus got down, he thrust the sword under his armand carried it about with him. 

So, when they had lived a little while in the castle, the Princessthought she ought to go home to her parents, and let them know whathad become of her; so they loaded a ship, and she set sail from thecastle. 

After she had gone, and the lad had wandered about a little, hecalled to mind that he had been sent on an errand thither, and hadcome to fetch something for his mother's health; and though he saidto himself, 'After all, the old dame was not so bad but she's allright by this time'--still he thought he ought to go and just see howshe was. So he went and found both the man and his mother quite freshand hearty. 

'What wretches you are to live in this beggarly hut', said the lad. 'Come with me up to my castle, and you shall see what a fine fellow Iam. '

Well! they were both ready to go, and on the way his mother talked tohim, and asked, 'How it was he had got so strong?'

'If you must know, it came of that blue belt which lay on the hill-side that time when you and I were out begging', said the lad. 

'Have you got it still?' asked she. 

'Yes'--he had. It was tied round his waist. 

'Might she see it?'

'Yes, she might'; and with that he pulled open his waistcoat andshirt to show it her. 

Then she seized it with both hands, tore it off, and twisted it roundher fist. 

'Now', she cried, 'what shall I do with such a wretch as you? I'lljust give you one blow, and dash your brains out!'

'Far too good a death for such a scamp', said the Troll. 'No! let'sfirst burn out his eyes, and then turn him adrift in a little boat. '

So they burned out his eyes and turned him adrift, in spite of hisprayers and tears; but, as the boat drifted, the lions swam after, and at last they laid hold of it and dragged it ashore on an island, and placed the lad under a fir tree. They caught game for him, andthey plucked the birds and made him a bed of down; but he was forcedto eat his meat raw, and he was blind. At last, one day the biggestlion was chasing a hare which was blind, for it ran straight overstock and stone, and the end was, it ran right up against a fir-stumpand tumbled head over heels across the field right into a spring; butlo! when it came out of the spring it saw its way quite plain, and sosaved its life. 

'So, so!' thought the lion, and went and dragged the lad to thespring, and dipped him over head and ears in it. So, when he had gothis sight again, he went down to the shore and made signs to thelions that they should all lie close together like a raft; then hestood upon their backs while they swam with him to the mainland. Whenhe had reached the shore he went up into a birchen copse, and madethe lions lie quiet. Then he stole up to the castle, like a thief, tosee if he couldn't lay hands on his belt; and when he got to thedoor, he peeped through the keyhole, and there he saw his belthanging up over a door in the kitchen. So he crept softly in acrossthe floor, for there was no one there; but as soon as he had got holdof the belt, he began to kick and stamp about as though he were mad. Just then his mother came rushing out. 

'Dear heart, my darling little boy! do give me the belt again', shesaid. 

'Thank you kindly', said he. 'Now you shall have the doom you passedon me', and he fulfilled it on the spot. When the old Troll heardthat, he came in and begged and prayed so prettily that he might notbe smitten to death. 

'Well, you may live', said the lad, 'but you shall undergo the samepunishment you gave me'; and so he burned out the Troll's eyes, andturned him adrift on the sea in a little boat, but he had no lions tofollow him. 

Now the lad was all alone, and he went about longing and longing forthe Princess; at last he could bear it no longer; he must set out toseek her, his heart was so bent on having her. So he loadedfour ships and set sail for Arabia. For some time they had fair windand fine weather, but after that they lay wind-bound under a rockyisland. So the sailors went ashore and strolled about to spend thetime, and there they found a huge egg, almost as big as a littlehouse. So they began to knock it about with large stones, but, afterall, they couldn't crack the shell. Then the lad came up with hissword to see what all the noise was about, and when he saw the egg, he thought it a trifle to crack it; so he gave it one blow and the eggsplit, and out came a chicken as big as an elephant. 

'Now we have done wrong', said the lad; 'this can cost us all ourlives'; and then he asked his sailors if they were men enough to sailto Arabia in four-and-twenty hours if they got a fine breeze. Yes!they were good to do that, they said, so they set sail with a finebreeze, and got to Arabia in three-and-twenty hours. As soon as theylanded, the lad ordered all the sailors to go and bury themselves upto the eyes in a sandhill, so that they could barely see the ships. The lad and the captains climbed a high crag and sate down under afir. 

In a little while came a great bird flying with an island in itsclaws, and let it fall down on the fleet, and sunk every ship. Afterit had done that, it flew up to the sandhill and flapped its wings, so that the wind nearly took off the heads of the sailors, and itflew past the fir with such force that it turned the lad right about, but he was ready with his sword, and gave the bird one blow andbrought it down dead. 

After that he went to the town, where every one was glad because theking had got his daughter back; but now the king had hidden her awaysomewhere himself, and promised her hand as a reward to any one whocould find her, and this though she was betrothed before. Now as thelad went along he met a man who had white bear-skins for sale, so hebought one of the hides and put it on; and one of the captains was totake an iron chain and lead him about, and so he went into the townand began to play pranks. At last the news came to the king's ears, that there never had been such fun in the town before, for here was awhite bear that danced and cut capers just as it was bid. So amessenger came to say the bear must come to the castle at once, forthe king wanted to see its tricks. So when it got to the castle everyone was afraid, for such a beast they had never seen before; but thecaptain said there was no danger unless they laughed at it. Theymustn't do that, else it would tear them to pieces. When the kingheard that, he warned all the court not to laugh. But while the funwas going on, in came one of the king's maids, and began to laugh andmake game of the bear, and the bear flew at her and tore her, so thatthere was scarce a rag of her left. Then all the court began tobewail, and the captain most of all. 

'Stuff and nonsense', said the king; 'she's only a maid, besides it'smore my affair than yours. '

When the show was over, it was late at night. 'It's no good yourgoing away, when it's so late', said the king. 'The bear had bestsleep here. '

'Perhaps it might sleep in the ingle by the kitchen fire', said thecaptain. 

'Nay', said the king, 'it shall sleep up here, and it shall havepillows and cushions to sleep on. ' So a whole heap of pillows andcushions was brought, and the captain had a bed in a side-room. 

But at midnight the king came with a lamp in his hand and a big bunchof keys, and carried off the white bear. He passed along galleryafter gallery, through doors and rooms, up-stairs and down-stairs, till at last he came to a pier which ran out into the sea. Then theking began to pull and haul at posts and pins, this one up and thatone down, till at last a little house floated up to the water's edge. There he kept his daughter, for she was so dear to him that he hadhid her, so that no one could find her out. He left the white bearoutside while he went in and told her how it had danced and playedits pranks. She said she was afraid, and dared not look at it; but hetalked her over, saying there was no danger, if she only wouldn'tlaugh. So they brought the bear in, and locked the door, and itdanced and played its tricks; but just when the fun was at itsheight, the Princess's maid began to laugh. Then the lad flew at herand tore her to bits, and the Princess began to cry and sob. 

'Stuff and nonsense', cried the king; 'all this fuss about a maid!I'll get you just as good a one again. But now I think the bear hadbest stay here till morning, for I don't care to have to go and leadit along all those galleries and stairs at this time of night. '

'Well!' said the Princess, 'if it sleeps here, I'm sure I won't. '

But just then the bear curled himself up and lay down by the stove;and it was settled at last that the Princess should sleep there too, with a light burning. But as soon as the king was well gone, thewhite bear came and begged her to undo his collar. The Princess wasso scared she almost swooned away; but she felt about till she foundthe collar, and she had scarce undone it before the bear pulled hishead off. Then she knew him again, and was so glad there was no endto her joy, and she wanted to tell her father at once that herdeliverer was come. But the lad would not hear of it; he would earnher once more, he said. So in the morning when they heard the kingrattling at the posts outside, the lad drew on the hide, and lay downby the stove. 

'Well, has it lain still?' the king asked. 

'I should think so', said the Princess; 'it hasn't so much as turnedor stretched itself once. '

When they got up to the castle again, the captain took the bear andled it away, and then the lad threw off the hide, and went to atailor and ordered clothes fit for a prince; and when they werefitted on he went to the king, and said he wanted to find thePrincess. 

'You're not the first who has wished the same thing', said the king, 'but they have all lost their lives; for if any one who tries can'tfind her in four-and-twenty hours his life is forfeited. '

Yes; the lad knew all that. Still he wished to try, and if hecouldn't find her, 'twas his look-out. Now in the castle there was aband that played sweet tunes, and there were fair maids to dancewith, and so the lad danced away. When twelve hours were gone, theking said:

'I pity you with all my heart. You're so poor a hand at seeking; youwill surely lose your life. '

'Stuff!' said the lad; 'while there's life there's hope! So long asthere's breath in the body there's no fear; we have lots of time';and so he went on dancing till there was only one hour left. 

Then he said he would begin to search. 

'It's no use now', said the king; 'time's up. '

'Light your lamp; out with your big bunch of keys', said the lad, 'and follow me whither I wish to go. There is still a whole hourleft. '

So the lad went the same way which the king had led him the nightbefore, and he bade the king unlock door after door till they camedown to the pier which ran out into the sea. 

'It's all no use, I tell you', said the king; 'time's up, and thiswill only lead you right out into the sea. '

'Still five minutes more', said the lad, as he pulled and pushed atthe posts and pins, and the house floated up. 

'Now the time is up', bawled the king; 'come hither, headsman, andtake off his head. '

'Nay, nay!' said the lad; 'stop a bit, there are still three minutes!Out with the key, and let me get into this house. '

But there stood the king and fumbled with his keys, to draw out thetime. At last he said he hadn't any key. 

'Well, if you haven't, I _have_', said the lad, as he gave thedoor such a kick that it flew to splinters inwards on the floor. 

At the door the Princess met him, and told her father this was herdeliverer, on whom her heart was set. So she had him; and this washow the beggar boy came to marry the king's daughter of Arabia. 

WHY THE BEAR IS STUMPY-TAILED

One day the Bear met the Fox, who came slinking along with a stringof fish he had stolen. 

'Whence did you get those from?' asked the Bear. 

'Oh! my Lord Bruin, I've been out fishing and caught them', said theFox. 

So the Bear had a mind to learn to fish too, and bade the Fox tellhim how he was to set about it. 

'Oh! it's an easy craft for you', answered the Fox, 'and soon learnt. You've only got to go upon the ice, and cut a hole and stick yourtail down into it; and so you must go on holding it there as long asyou can. You're not to mind if your tail smarts a little; that's whenthe fish bite. The longer you hold it there the more fish you'll get;and then all at once out with it, with a cross pull sideways, andwith a strong pull too. '

Yes; the Bear did as the Fox had said, and held his tail a long, longtime down in the hole, till it was fast frozen in. Then he pulled itout with a cross pull, and it snapped short off. That's why Bruingoes about with a stumpy tail this very day. 

NOT A PIN TO CHOOSE BETWEEN THEM

Once on a time there was a man, and he had a wife. Now this couplewanted to sow their fields, but they had neither seed-corn nor moneyto buy it with. But they had a cow, and the man was to drive it intotown and sell it, to get money to buy corn for seed. But when it cameto the pinch, the wife dared not let her husband start for fear heshould spend the money in drink, so she set off herself with the cow, and took besides a hen with her. 

Close by the town she met a butcher, who asked:

'Will you sell that cow, Goody?'

'Yes, that I will', she answered. 

'Well, what do you want for her?'

'Oh! I must have five shillings for the cow, but you shall have thehen for ten pounds. '

'Very good!' said the man; 'I don't want the hen, and you'll soon getit off your hands in the town, but I'll give you five shillings forthe cow. '

Well, she sold her cow for five shillings, but there was no one inthe town who would give ten pounds for a lean tough old hen, so shewent back to the butcher, and said:

'Do all I can, I can't get rid of this hen, master! you must take ittoo, as you took the cow. '

'Well', said the butcher, 'come along and we'll see about it. ' Thenhe treated her both with meat and drink, and gave her so much brandythat she lost her head, and didn't know what she was about, and fellfast asleep. But while she slept, the butcher took and dipped herinto a tar-barrel, and then laid her down on a heap of feathers; andwhen she woke up, she was feathered all over, and began to wonderwhat had befallen her. 

'Is it me, or is it not me? No, it can never be me; it must be somegreat strange bird. But what shall I do to find out whether it is meor not. Oh! I know how I shall be able to tell whether it is me; ifthe calves come and lick me, and our dog Tray doesn't bark at me whenI get home, then it must be me, and no one else. '

Now, Tray, her dog, had scarce set his eyes on the strange monsterwhich came through the gate, than he set up such a barking, one wouldhave thought all the rogues and robbers in the world were in theyard. 

'Ah, deary me', said she, 'I thought so; it can't be me surely. ' Soshe went to the straw-yard, and the calves wouldn't lick her, whenthey snuffed in the strong smell of tar. 'No, no!' she said, 'itcan't be me; it must be some strange outlandish bird. '

So she crept up on the roof of the safe and began to flap her arms, as if they had been wings, and was just going to fly off. 

When her husband saw all this, out he came with his rifle, and beganto take aim at her. 

'Oh!' cried his wife, 'don't shoot, don't shoot! it is only me. '

'If it's you', said her husband, 'don't stand up there like a goat ona house-top, but come down and let me hear what you have to say foryourself. '

So she crawled down again, but she hadn't a shilling to shew, for thecrown she had got from the butcher she had thrown away in herdrunkenness. When her husband heard her story, he said, 'You're onlytwice as silly as you were before', and he got so angry that he madeup his mind to go away from her altogether, and never to come backtill he had found three other Goodies as silly as his own. 

So he toddled off, and when he had walked a little way he saw aGoody, who was running in and out of a newly-built wooden cottagewith an empty sieve, and every time she ran in, she threw her apronover the sieve just as if she had something in it, and when she gotin she turned it upside down on the floor. 

'Why, Goody!' he asked, 'what are you doing?'

'Oh', she answered, 'I'm only carrying in a little sun; but I don'tknow how it is, when I'm outside, I have the sun in my sieve, butwhen I get inside, somehow or other I've thrown it away. But in myold cottage I had plenty of sun, though I never carried in the leastbit. I only wish I knew some one who would bring the sun inside; I'dgive him three hundred dollars and welcome. '

'Have you got an axe?' asked the man. 'If you have, I'll soon bringthe sun inside. '

So he got an axe and cut windows in the cottage, for the carpentershad forgotten them; then the sun shone in, and he got his threehundred dollars. 

'That was one of them', said the man to himself, as he went on hisway. 

After a while he passed by a house, out of which came an awfulscreaming and bellowing; so he turned in and saw a Goody, who washard at work banging her husband across the head with a beetle, andover his head she had drawn a shirt without any slit for the neck. 

'Why, Goody!' he asked, 'will you beat your husband to death?'

'No', she said, 'I only must have a hole in this shirt for his neckto come through. '

All the while the husband kept on screaming and calling out:

'Heaven help and comfort all who try on new shirts. If anyone wouldteach my Goody another way of making a slit for the neck in my newshirts, I'd give him three hundred dollars down and welcome. '

'I'll do it in the twinkling of an eye', said the man, 'if you'llonly give me a pair of scissors. '

So he got a pair of scissors, and snipped a hole in the neck, andwent off with his three hundred dollars. 

'That was another of them', he said to himself, as he walked along. 

Last of all, he came to a farm, where he made up his mind to rest abit. So when he went in, the mistress asked him:

'Whence do you come, master?'

'Oh!' said he, 'I come from Paradise Place', for that was the name ofhis farm. 

'From Paradise Place!' she cried, 'you don't say so! Why, then, youmust know my second husband Peter, who is dead and gone, God rest hissoul. '

For you must know this Goody had been married three times, and as herfirst and last husbands had been bad, she had made up her mind thatthe second only was gone to heaven. 

'Oh yes', said the man; 'I know him very well. '

'Well', asked the Goody, 'how do things go with him, poor dear soul?'

'Only middling', was the answer; 'he goes about begging from house tohouse, and has neither food nor a rag to his back. As for money, hehasn't a sixpence to bless himself with. '

'Mercy on me', cried out the Goody; 'he never ought to go about sucha figure when he left so much behind him. Why, there's a wholecupboard full of old clothes up-stairs which belonged to him, besidesa great chest full of money yonder. Now, if you will take them withyou, you shall have a horse and cart to carry them. As for the horse, he can keep it, and sit on the cart, and drive about from house tohouse, and then he needn't trudge on foot. '

So the man got a whole cart-load of clothes, and a chest full ofshining dollars, and as much meat and drink as he would; and when hehad got all he wanted, he jumped into the cart and drove off. 

'That was the third', he said to himself, as he went along. Now thisGoody's third husband was a little way off in a field ploughing, andwhen he saw a strange man driving off from the farm with his horseand cart, he went home and asked his wife who that was that had juststarted with the black horse. 

'Oh, do you mean him?' said the Goody; 'why, that was a man fromParadise, who said that Peter, my dear second husband, who is deadand gone, is in a sad plight, and that he goes from house to housebegging, and has neither clothes nor money; so I just sent him allthose old clothes he left behind him, and the old money box with thedollars in it. ' The man saw how the land lay in a trice, so hesaddled his horse and rode off from the farm at full gallop. Itwasn't long before he was close behind the man who sat and drove thecart; but when the latter saw this he drove the cart into a thicketby the side of the road, pulled out a handful of hair from thehorse's tail, jumped up on a little rise in the wood, where he tiedthe hair fast to a birch, and then lay down under it, and began topeer and stare up at the sky. 

'Well, well, if I ever!' he said, as Peter the third came riding up. 'No! I never saw the like of this in all my born days!'

Then Peter stood and looked at him for some time, wondering what hadcome over him; but at last he asked:

'What do you lie there staring at?'

'No', kept on the man, 'I never did see anything like it!--here is aman going straight up to heaven on a black horse, and here you seehis horse's tail still hanging in this birch; and yonder up in thesky you see the black horse. '

Peter looked first at the man, and then at the sky, and said:

'I see nothing but the horse hair in the birch; that's all I see!'

'Of course you can't where you stand', said the man; 'but just comeand lie down here, and stare straight up, and mind you don't takeyour eyes off the sky; and then you shall see what you shall see. '

But while Peter the third lay and stared up at the sky till his eyesfilled with tears, the man from Paradise Place took his horse andjumped on its back and rode off both with it and the cart and horse. 

When the hoofs thundered along the road, Peter the third jumped up;but he was so taken aback when he found the man had gone off with hishorse that he hadn't the sense to run after him till it was too late. 

He was rather down in the mouth when he got home to his Goody; butwhen she asked him what he had done with the horse, he said, 'I gave it to the man too for Peter the second, for I thought itwasn't right he should sit in a cart, and scramble about from houseto house; so now he can sell the cart and buy himself a coach todrive about in. '

'Thank you heartily!' said his wife; 'I never thought you could be sokind. '

Well, when the man reached home, who had got the six hundred dollarsand the cart-load of clothes and money, he saw that all his fieldswere ploughed and sown, and the first thing he asked his wife was, where she had got the seed-corn from. 

'Oh', she said, 'I have always heard that what a man sows he shallreap, so I sowed the salt which our friends the north-country menlaid up here with us, and if we only have rain I fancy it will comeup nicely. '

'Silly you are', said her husband, 'and silly you will be so long asyou live; but that is all one now, for the rest are not a bit wiserthan you. There is not a pin to choose between you. '

ONE'S OWN CHILDREN ARE ALWAYS PRETTIEST

A sportsman went out once into a wood to shoot, and he met a Snipe. 

'Dear friend', said the Snipe, 'don't shoot my children!'

'How shall I know your children?' asked the Sportsman; 'what are theylike?'

'Oh!' said the Snipe, 'mine are the prettiest children in all thewood. '

'Very well', said the Sportsman, 'I'll not shoot them; don't beafraid. '

But for all that, when he came back, there he had a whole string ofyoung snipes in his hand which he had shot. 

'Oh, oh!' said the Snipe, 'why did you shoot my children after all?'

'What! these your children!' said the Sportsman; 'why, I shot theugliest I could find, that I did!'

'Woe is me!' said the Snipe; 'don't you know that each one thinks hisown children the prettiest in the world?'

THE THREE PRINCESSES OF WHITELAND

Once on a time there was a fisherman who lived close by a palace, andfished for the king's table. One day when he was out fishing he justcaught nothing. Do what he would--however he tried with bait andangle--there was never a sprat on his hook. But when the day was farspent a head bobbed up out of the water, and said:

'If I may have what your wife bears under her girdle, you shall catchfish enough. '

So the man answered boldly, 'Yes'; for he did not know that his wifewas going to have a child. After that, as was like enough, he caughtplenty of fish of all kinds. But when he got home at night and toldhis story, how he had got all that fish, his wife fell a-weeping andmoaning, and was beside herself for the promise which her husband hadmade, for she said, 'I bear a babe under my girdle. '

Well, the story soon spread, and came up to the castle; and when theking heard the woman's grief and its cause, he sent down to say hewould take care of the child, and see if he couldn't save it. 

So the months went on and on, and when her time came the fisher'swife had a boy; so the king took it at once, and brought it up as hisown son, until the lad grew up. Then he begged leave one day to goout fishing with his father; he had such a mind to go, he said. Atfirst the king wouldn't hear of it, but at last the lad had his way, and went. So he and his father were out the whole day, and all wentright and well till they landed at night. Then the lad remembered hehad left his handkerchief, and went to look for it; but as soon asever he got into the boat, it began to move off with him at suchspeed that the water roared under the bow, and all the lad could doin rowing against it with the oars was no use; so he went and wentthe whole night, and at last he came to a white strand, far far away. 

There he went ashore, and when he had walked about a bit, an old, oldman met him, with a long white beard. 

'What's the name of this land?' asked the lad. 

'Whiteland', said the man, who went on to ask the lad whence he came, and what he was going to do. So the lad told him all. 

'Aye, aye!' said the man; 'now when you have walked a little fartheralong the strand here, you'll come to three Princesses, whom you willsee standing in the earth up to their necks, with only their headsout. Then the first--she is the eldest--will call out and beg you soprettily to come and help her; and the second will do the same; toneither of these shall you go; make haste past them, as if youneither saw nor heard anything. But the third you shall go to, and dowhat she asks. If you do this, you'll have good luck--that's all. '

When the lad came to the first Princess, she called out to him, andbegged him so prettily to come to her, but he passed on as though hesaw her not. In the same way he passed by the second; but to thethird he went straight up. 

'If you'll do what I bid you', she said, 'you may have which of usyou please. '

'Yes'; he was willing enough; so she told him how three Trolls hadset them down in the earth there; but before they had lived in thecastle up among the trees. 

'Now', she said, 'you must go into that castle, and let the Trollswhip you each one night for each of us. If you can bear that, you'llset us free. '

Well, the lad said he was ready to try. 

'When you go in', the Princess went on to say, 'you'll see two lionsstanding at the gate; but if you'll only go right in the middlebetween them they'll do you no harm. Then go straight on into alittle dark room, and make your bed. Then the Troll will come to whipyou; but if you take the flask which hangs on the wall, and rubyourself with the ointment that's in it, wherever his lash falls, you'll be as sound as ever. Then grasp the sword that hangs by theside of the flask and strike the Troll dead. '

Yes, he did as the Princess told him; he passed in the midst betweenthe lions, as if he hadn't seen them, and went straight into thelittle room, and there he lay down to sleep. The first night therecame a Troll with three heads and three rods, and whipped the ladsoundly; but he stood it till the Troll was done; then he took theflask and rubbed himself, and grasped the sword and slew the Troll. 

So, when he went out next morning, the Princesses stood out of theearth up to their waists. 

The next night 'twas the same story over again, only this time theTroll had six heads and six rods, and he whipped him far worse thanthe first; but when he went out next morning, the Princesses stoodout of the earth as far as the knee. The third night there came aTroll that had nine heads and nine rods, and he whipped and floggedthe lad so long that he fainted away; then the Troll took him up anddashed him against the wall; but the shock brought down the flask, which fell on the lad, burst, and spilled the ointment all over him, and so he became as strong and sound as ever again. Then he wasn'tslow; he grasped the sword and slew the Troll; and next morning whenhe went out of the castle the Princesses stood before him with alltheir bodies out of the earth. So he took the youngest for his Queen, and lived well and happily with her for some time. 

At last he began to long to go home for a little to see his parents. His Queen did not like this; but at last his heart was so set on it, and he longed and longed so much, there was no holding him back, soshe said, 'One thing you must promise me. This--Only to do what your fatherbegs you to do, and not what your mother wishes'; and that hepromised. 

Then she gave him a ring, which was of that kind that any one whowore it might wish two wishes. So he wished himself home, and when hegot home his parents could not wonder enough what a grand man theirson had become. 

Now, when he had been at home some days, his mother wished him to goup to the palace and show the king what a fine fellow he had come tobe. But his father said:

'No! don't let him do that; if he does, we shan't have any more joyof him this time. '

But it was no good, the mother begged and prayed so long, that atlast he went. So when he got up to the palace, he was far braver, both in clothes and array, than the other king, who didn't quite likethis, and at last he said:

'All very fine; but here you can see my queen, what like she is, butI can't see yours, that I can't. Do you know, I scarce think she's sogood-looking as mine. '

'Would to Heaven', said the young king, 'she were standing here, thenyou'd see what she was like. ' And that instant there she stood beforethem. 

But she was very woeful, and said to him:

'Why did you not mind what I told you; and why did you not listen towhat your father said? Now, I must away home, and as for you, youhave had both your wishes. '

With that she knitted a ring among his hair with her name on it, andwished herself home, and was off. 

Then the young king was cut to the heart, and went, day out day in, thinking and thinking how he should get back to his queen. 'I'll justtry', he thought, 'if I can't learn where Whiteland lies'; and so hewent out into the world to ask. So when he had gone a good way, hecame to a high hill, and there he met one who was lord over all thebeasts of the wood, for they all came home to him when he blew hishorn; so the king asked if he knew where Whiteland was?

'No, I don't', said he, 'but I'll ask my beasts. ' Then he blew hishorn and called them, and asked if any of them knew where Whitelandlay? but there was no beast that knew. 

So the man gave him a pair of snow-shoes. 

'When you get on these', he said, 'you'll come to my brother, wholives hundreds of miles off; he is lord over all the birds of theair. Ask him. When you reach his house, just turn the shoes, so thatthe toes point this way, and they'll come home of themselves. ' Sowhen the king reached the house, he turned the shoes as the lord ofthe beasts had said, and away they went home of themselves. 

So he asked again after Whiteland, and the man called all the birdswith a blast of his horn, and asked if any of them knew whereWhiteland lay; but none of the birds knew. Now, long, long after therest of the birds, came an old eagle, which had been away ten roundyears, but he couldn't tell any more than the rest. 

'Well! well!' said the man, 'I'll lend you a pair of snow-shoes, andwhen you get them on, they'll carry you to my brother, who liveshundreds of miles off; he's lord of all the fish in the sea; you'dbetter ask him. But don't forget to turn the toes of the shoes thisway. '

The king was full of thanks, got on the shoes, and when he came tothe man who was lord over the fish of the sea, he turned the toesround, and so off they went home like the other pair. After that, heasked again after Whiteland. 

So the man called the fish with a blast, but no fish could tell whereit lay. At last came an old pike, which they had great work to callhome, he was such a way off. So when they asked him he said:

'Know it! I should think I did. I've been cook there ten years, andto-morrow I'm going there again; for now, the queen of Whiteland, whose king is away, is going to wed another husband. '

'Well!' said the man, 'as this is so, I'll give you a bit of advice. Hereabouts, on a moor, stand three brothers, and here they have stoodthese hundred years, fighting about a hat, a cloak, and a pair ofboots. If any one has these three things he can make himselfinvisible, and wish himself any where he pleases. You can tell themyou wish to try the things, and after that, you'll pass judgmentbetween them, whose they shall be. '

Yes! the king thanked the man, and went and did as he told him. 

'What's all this?' he said to the brothers. 'Why do you stand herefighting for ever and a day? Just let me try these things, and I'llgive judgment whose they shall be. '

They were very willing to do this; but as soon as he had got the hat, cloak, and boots, he said:

'When we meet next time, I'll tell you my judgment', and with thesewords he wished himself away. 

So as he went along up in the air, he came up with the North Wind. 

'Whither away?' roared the North Wind. 

'To Whiteland', said the king; and then he told him all that hadbefallen him. 

'Ah', said the North Wind, 'you go faster than I--you do; for you cango straight, while I have to puff and blow round every turn andcorner. But when you get there, just place yourself on the stairs bythe side of the door, and then I'll come storming in, as though Iwere going to blow down the whole castle. And then when the prince, who is to have your queen, comes out to see what's the matter, justyou take him by the collar and pitch him out of doors; then I'll lookafter him, and see if I can't carry him off. '

Well--the king did as the North Wind said. He took his stand on thestairs, and when the North Wind came, storming and roaring, and tookhold of the castle wall, so that it shook again, the prince came outto see what was the matter. But as soon as ever he came, the kingcaught him by the collar and pitched him out of doors, and then theNorth Wind caught him up and carried him off. So when there was anend of him, the king went into the castle, and at first his queendidn't know him, he was so wan and thin, through wandering so far andbeing so woeful; but when he shewed her the ring, she was as glad asglad could be; and so the rightful wedding was held, and the fame ofit spread far and wide. 

THE LASSIE AND HER GODMOTHER

Once on a time a poor couple lived far, far away in a great wood. Thewife was brought to bed, and had a pretty girl, but they were so poorthey did not know how to get the babe christened, for they had nomoney to pay the parson's fees. So one day the father went out to seeif he could find any one who was willing to stand for the child andpay the fees; but though he walked about the whole day from one houseto another, and though all said they were willing enough to stand, noone thought himself bound to pay the fees. Now, when he was goinghome again, a lovely lady met him, dressed so fine, and who looked sothoroughly good and kind; she offered to get the babe christened, butafter that, she said, she must keep it for her own. The husbandanswered, he must first ask his wife what she wished to do; but whenhe got home and told his story, the wife said, right out, 'No!'

Next day the man went out again, but no one would stand if they hadto pay the fees; and though he begged and prayed, he could get nohelp. And again as he went home, towards evening the same lovely ladymet him, who looked so sweet and good, and she made him the sameoffer. So he told his wife again how he had fared, and this time shesaid, if he couldn't get any one to stand for his babe next day, theymust just let the lady have her way, since she seemed so kind andgood. 

The third day, the man went about, but he couldn't get any one tostand; and so when, towards evening, he met the kind lady again, hegave his word she should have the babe if she would only get itchristened at the font. So next morning she came to the place wherethe man lived, followed by two men to stand godfathers, took the babeand carried it to church, and there it was christened. After that shetook it to her own house, and there the little girl lived with herseveral years, and her foster-mother was always kind and friendly toher. 

Now, when the lassie had grown to be big enough to know right andwrong, her foster-mother got ready to go on a journey. 'You have myleave', she said, 'to go all over the house, except those rooms whichI shew you'; and when she had said that, away she went. 

But the lassie could not forbear just to open one of the doors alittle bit, when--POP! out flew a Star. 

When her foster-mother came back, she was very vexed to find that thestar had flown out, and she got very angry with her foster-daughter, and threatened to send her away; but the child cried and begged sohard that she got leave to stay. 

Now, after a while, the foster-mother had to go on another journey;and, before she went, she forbade the lassie to go into those tworooms into which she had never been. She promised to beware; but whenshe was left alone, she began to think and to wonder what there couldbe in the second room, and at last she could not help setting thedoor a little ajar, just to peep in, when--POP! out flew the Moon. 

When her foster-mother came home and found the Moon let out, she wasvery downcast, and said to the lassie she must go away, she could notstay with her any longer. But the lassie wept so bitterly, and prayedso heartily for forgiveness, that this time, too, she got leave tostay. 

Some time after, the foster-mother had to go away again, and shecharged the lassie, who by this time was half grown up, mostearnestly that she mustn't try to go into, or to peep into, the thirdroom. But when her foster-mother had been gone some time, and thelassie was weary of walking about alone, all at once she thought, 'Dear me, what fun it would be just to peep a little into that thirdroom. ' Then she thought she mustn't do it for her foster-mother'ssake; but when the bad thought came the second time she could holdout no longer; come what might, she must and would look into theroom; so she just opened the door a tiny bit, when--POP! out flew theSun. 

But when her foster-mother came back and saw that the sun had flownaway, she was cut to the heart, and said, 'Now, there was no help forit, the lassie must and should go away; she couldn't hear of herstaying any longer. ' Now the lassie cried her eyes out, and beggedand prayed so prettily; but it was all no good. 

'Nay! but I must punish you!' said her foster-mother; 'but you mayhave your choice, either to be the loveliest woman in the world, andnot to be able to speak, or to keep your speech, and be the ugliestof all women; but away from me you must go. '

And the lassie said, 'I would sooner be lovely. ' So she became all atonce wondrous fair; but from that day forth she was dumb. 

So, when she went away from her foster-mother, she walked andwandered through a great, great wood; but the farther she went, thefarther off the end seemed to be. So, when the evening came on, sheclomb up into a tall tree, which grew over a spring, and there shemade herself up to sleep that night. Close by lay a castle, and fromthat castle came early every morning a maid to draw water to make thePrince's tea, from the spring over which the lassie was sitting. Sothe maid looked down into the spring, saw the lovely face in thewater, and thought it was her own; then she flung away the pitcher, and ran home; and, when she got there, she tossed up her head andsaid, 'If I'm so pretty, I'm far too good to go and fetch water. '

So another maid had to go for the water, but the same thing happenedto her; she went back and said she was far too pretty and too good tofetch water from the spring for the Prince. Then the Prince wenthimself, for he had a mind to see what all this could mean. So, whenhe reached the spring, he too saw the image in the water; but helooked up at once, and became aware of the lovely lassie who satethere up in the tree. Then he coaxed her down and took her home; andat last made up his mind to have her for his queen, because she wasso lovely; but his mother, who was still alive, was against it. 

'She can't speak', she said, 'and maybe she's a wicked witch. '

But the Prince could not be content till he got her. So after theyhad lived together a while, the lassie was to have a child, and whenthe child came to be born, the Prince set a strong watch round her;but at the birth one and all fell into a deep sleep, and her foster-mother came, cut the babe on its little finger, and smeared thequeen's mouth with the blood; and said:

'Now you shall be as grieved as I was when you let out the star'; andwith these words she carried off the babe. 

But when those who were on the watch woke, they thought the queen hadeaten her own child, and the old queen was all for burning her alive, but the Prince was so fond of her that at last he begged her off, buthe had hard work to set her free. 

So the next time the young queen was to have a child, twice as stronga watch was set as the first time, but the same thing happened overagain, only this time her foster-mother said:

'Now you shall be as grieved as I was when you let the moon out. '

And the queen begged and prayed, and wept; for when her foster-motherwas there, she could speak--but it was all no good. 

And now the old queen said she must be burnt, but the Prince foundmeans to beg her off. But when the third child was to be born, awatch was set three times as strong as the first, but just the samething happened. Her foster-mother came while the watch slept, tookthe babe, and cut its little finger, and smeared the queen's mouthwith the blood, telling her now she should be as grieved as she hadbeen when the lassie let out the sun. 

And now the Prince could not save her any longer. She must and shouldbe burnt. But just as they were leading her to the stake, all at oncethey saw her foster-mother, who came with all three children--two sheled by the hand, and the third she had on her arm; and so she went upto the young queen and said:

'Here are your children; now you shall have them again. I am theVirgin Mary, and so grieved as you have been, so grieved was I whenyou let out sun, and moon, and star. Now you have been punished forwhat you did, and henceforth you shall have your speech. '

How glad the Queen and Prince now were, all may easily think, but noone can tell. After that they were always happy; and from that dayeven the Prince's mother was very fond of the young queen. 

THE THREE AUNTS

Once on a time there was a poor man who lived in a hut far away inthe wood, and got his living by shooting. He had an only daughter whowas very pretty, and as she had lost her mother when she was a child, and was now half grown up, she said she would go out into the worldand earn her bread. 

'Well, lassie!' said the father, 'true enough you have learnt nothinghere but how to pluck birds and roast them, but still you may as welltry to earn your bread. '

So the girl went off to seek a place, and when she had gone a littlewhile, she came to a palace. There she stayed and got a place, andthe queen liked her so well, that all the other maids got envious ofher. So they made up their minds to tell the queen how the lassiesaid she was good to spin a pound of flax in four and twenty hours, for you must know the queen was a great housewife, and thought muchof good work. 

'Have you said this? then you shall do it', said the queen; 'but youmay have a little longer time if you choose. '

Now, the poor lassie dared not say she had never spun in all herlife, but she only begged for a room to herself. That she got, andthe wheel and the flax were brought up to her. There she sat sad andweeping, and knew not how to help herself. She pulled the wheel thisway and that, and twisted and turned it about, but she made a poorhand of it, for she had never even seen a spinning-wheel in her life. 

But all at once, as she sat there, in came an old woman to her. 

'What ails you, child?' she said. 

'Ah!' said the lassie, with a deep sigh, 'it's no good to tell you, for you'll never be able to help me. '

'Who knows?' said the old wife. 'May be I know how to help you afterall. '

Well, thought the lassie to herself, I may as well tell her, and soshe told her how her fellow-servants had given out that she was goodto spin a pound of flax in four and twenty hours. 

'And here am I, wretch that I am, shut up to spin all that heap in aday and a night, when I have never even seen a spinning-wheel in allmy born days. '

'Well, never mind, child', said the old woman. 'If you'll call meAunt on the happiest day of your life, I'll spin this flax for you, and so you may just go away and lie down to sleep. '

Yes, the lassie was willing enough, and off she went and lay down tosleep. 

Next morning when she awoke, there lay all the flax spun on thetable, and that so clean and fine, no one had ever seen such even andpretty yarn. The queen was very glad to get such nice yarn, and sheset greater store by the lassie than ever. But the rest were stillmore envious, and agreed to tell the queen how the lassie had saidshe was good to weave the yarn she had spun in four and twenty hours. So the queen said again, as she had said it she must do it; but ifshe couldn't quite finish it in four and twenty hours, she wouldn'tbe too hard upon her, she might have a little more time. This time, too, the lassie dared not say No, but begged for a room to herself, and then she would try. There she sat again, sobbing and crying, andnot knowing which way to turn, when another old woman came in andasked:

'What ails you, child?'

At first the lassie wouldn't say, but at last she told her the wholestory of her grief. 

'Well, well!' said the old wife, 'never mind. If you'll call me Aunton the happiest day of your life, I'll weave this yarn for you, andso you may just be off, and lie down to sleep. '

Yes, the lassie was willing enough; so she went away and lay down tosleep. When she awoke, there lay the piece of linen on the table, woven so neat and close, no woof could be better. So the lassie tookthe piece and ran down to the queen, who was very glad to get suchbeautiful linen, and set greater store than ever by the lassie. Butas for the others, they grew still more bitter against her, andthought of nothing but how to find out something to tell about her. 

At last they told the queen the lassie had said she was good to makeup the piece of linen into shirts in four and twenty hours. Well, allhappened as before; the lassie dared not say she couldn't sew; so shewas shut up again in a room by herself, and there she sat in tearsand grief. But then another old wife came, who said she would sew theshirts for her if she would call her Aunt on the happiest day of herlife. The lassie was only too glad to do this, and then she did asthe old wife told her, and went and lay down to sleep. 

Next morning when she woke she found the piece of linen made up intoshirts, which lay on the table--and such beautiful work no one hadever set eyes on; and more than that, the shirts were all marked andready for wear. So, when the queen saw the work, she was so glad atthe way in which it was sewn, that she clapped her hands, and said:

'Such sewing I never had, nor even saw in all my born days'; andafter that she was as fond of the lassie as of her own children; andshe said to her:

'Now, if you like to have the Prince for your husband, you shall havehim; for you will never need to hire work-women. You can sew, andspin, and weave all yourself. '

So as the lassie was pretty, and the Prince was glad to have her, thewedding soon came on. But just as the Prince was going to sit downwith the bride to the bridal feast, in came an ugly old hag with along nose--I'm sure it was three ells long. 

So up got the bride and made a curtsey, and said: 'Good-day, Auntie. '

'_That_ Auntie to my bride?' said the Prince. 

'Yes, she was!'

'Well, then, she'd better sit down with us to the feast', said thePrince; but, to tell you the truth, both he and the rest thought shewas a loathsome woman to have next you. 

But just then in came another ugly old hag. She had a back so humpedand broad, she had hard work to get through the door. Up jumpedthe bride in a trice, and greeted her with 'Good-day, Auntie!'

And the Prince asked again if that were his bride's aunt. They bothsaid Yes; so the Prince said, if that were so, she too had better sitdown with them to the feast. 

But they had scarce taken their seats before another ugly old hagcame in, with eyes as large as saucers, and so red and bleared, 'twasgruesome to look at her. But up jumped the bride again, with her'Good-day, Auntie', and her, too, the Prince asked to sit down; but Ican't say he was very glad, for he thought to himself: 'Heaven shieldme from such Aunties as my bride has!' So when he had sat awhile, he could not keep his thoughts to himself any longer, but asked, 'But how, in all the world, can my bride, who is such a lovelylassie, have such loathsome, misshapen Aunts?'

'I'll soon tell you how it is', said the first. 'I was just as good-looking when I was her age; but the reason why I've got this longnose is, because I was always kept sitting, and poking, and noddingover my spinning, and so my nose got stretched and stretched, untilit got as long as you now see it. '

'And I', said the second, 'ever since I was young, I have sat andscuttled backwards and forwards over my loom, and that's how my backhas got so broad and humped as you now see it. '

'And I', said the third, 'ever since I was little, I have sat, andstared, and sewn, and sewn and stared, night and day; and that's whymy eyes have got so ugly and red, and now there's no help for them. '

'So! so! 'said the Prince, ''twas lucky I came to know this; for iffolk can get so ugly and loathsome by all this, then my bride shallneither spin, nor weave, nor sew all her life long. '

THE COCK, THE CUCKOO, AND THE BLACK-COCK

[This is another of those tales in which the birds' notes must beimitated. ]

Once on a time the Cock, the Cuckoo, and the Black-cock bought a cowbetween them. But when they came to share it, and couldn't agreewhich should buy the others out, they settled that he who woke firstin the morning should have the cow. 

So the Cock woke first. 

 Now the cow's mine! Now the cow's mine! Hurrah! hurrah!

he crew, and as he crew, up awoke the Cuckoo. 

 Half cow! Half cow!

sang the Cuckoo, and woke up the Black-cock. 

 A like share, a like share; Dear friends, that's only fair! Saw see! See saw!

That's what the Black-cock said. 

And now, can you tell me which of them ought to have the cow?

RICH PETER THE PEDLAR

Once on a time there was a man whom they called Rich Peter thePedlar, because he used to travel about with a pack, and got so muchmoney, that he became quite rich. This Rich Peter had a daughter, whom he held so dear that all who came to woo her, were sent abouttheir business, for no one was good enough for her, he thought. Well, this went on and on, and at last no one came to woo her, and as yearsrolled on, Peter began to be afraid that she would die an old maid. 

'I wonder now', he said to his wife, 'why suitors no longer come towoo our lass, who is so rich. 'Twould be odd if no body cared to haveher, for money she has, and more she shall have. I think I'd betterjust go off to the Stargazers, and ask them whom she shall have, fornot a soul comes to us now. '

'But how', asked the wife, 'can the Stargazers answer that?'

'Can't they?' said Peter; 'why! they read all things in the stars. '

So he took with him a great bag of money, and set off to theStargazers, and asked them to be so good as to look at the stars, andtell him the husband his daughter was to have. Well! the Stargazerslooked and looked, but they said they could see nothing about it. ButPeter begged them to look better, and to tell him the truth; he wouldpay them well for it. So the Stargazers looked better, and at lastthey said that his daughter's husband was to be the miller's son, whowas only just born, down at the mill below Rich Peter's house. ThenPeter gave the Stargazers a hundred dollars, and went home with theanswer he had got. Now, he thought it too good a joke that hisdaughter should wed one so newly born, and of such poor estate. Hesaid this to his wife, and added:

'I wonder now if they would sell me the boy; then I'd soon put himout of the way?'

'I daresay they would', said his wife; 'you know they're very poor. '

So Peter went down to the mill, and asked the miller's wife whethershe would sell him her son; she should get a heap of money for him?

'No!' that she wouldn't. 

'Well!' said Peter, 'I'm sure I can't see why you shouldn't; you'vehard work enough as it is to keep hunger out of the house, and theboy won't make it easier, I think. '

But the mother was so proud of the boy, she couldn't part with him. So when the miller came home, Peter said the same thing to him, andgave his word to pay six hundred dollars for the boy, so that theymight buy themselves a farm of their own, and not have to grind otherfolks' corn, and to starve when they ran short of water. The millerthought it was a good bargain, and he talked over his wife; and theend was, that Rich Peter got the boy. The mother cried and sobbed, but Peter comforted her by saying the boy should be well cared for;only they had to promise never to ask after him, for he said he meantto send him far away to other lands, so that he might learn foreigntongues. 

So when Peter the Pedlar got home with the boy, he sent for acarpenter, and had a little chest made, which was so tidy and neat, 'twas a joy to see. This he made water-tight with pitch, put themiller's boy into it, locked it up, and threw it into the river, where the stream carried it away. 

'Now, I'm rid of him', thought Peter the Pedlar. 

But when the chest had floated ever so far down the stream, it cameinto the mill-head of another mill, and ran down and hampered theshaft of the wheel, and stopped it. Out came the miller to see whatstopped the mill, found the chest and took it up. So when he camehome to dinner to his wife, he said:

'I wonder now whatever there can be inside this chest which camefloating down the mill-head, and stopped our mill to-day?'

'That we'll soon know', said his wife; 'see, there's the key in thelock, just turn it. '

So they turned the key and opened the chest, and lo! there lay theprettiest child you ever set eyes on. So they were both glad, andwere ready to keep the child, for they had no children of their own, and were so old, they could now hope for none. 

Now, after a little while, Peter the Pedlar began to wonder how itwas no one came to woo his daughter, who was so rich in land, and hadso much ready money. At last, when no one came, off he went again tothe Stargazers, and offered them a heap of money if they could tellhim whom his daughter was to have for a husband. 

'Why! we have told you already, that she is to have the miller's sondown yonder', said the Stargazers. 

'All very true, I daresay', said Peter the Pedlar; 'but it so happenshe's dead; but if you can tell me whom she's to have, I'll give youtwo hundred dollars, and welcome. ' So the Stargazers looked at thestars again, but they got quite cross, and said, 'We told you before, and we tell you now, she is to have the miller'sson, whom you threw into the river, and wished to make an end of; forhe is alive, safe and sound, in such and such a mill, far down thestream. '

So Peter the Pedlar gave them two hundred dollars for this news, andthought how he could best be rid of the miller's son. The first thingPeter did when he got home, was to set off for the mill. By that timethe boy was so big that he had been confirmed, and went about themill and helped the miller. Such a pretty boy you never saw. 

'Can't you spare me that lad yonder?' said Peter the Pedlar to themiller. 

'No! that I can't', he answered; 'I've brought him up as my own son, and he has turned out so well, that now he's a great help and aid tome in the mill, for I'm getting old and past work. '

'It's just the same with me', said Peter the Pedlar; 'that's why I'dlike to have some one to learn my trade. Now, if you'll give him upto me, I'll give you six hundred dollars, and then you can buyyourself a farm, and live in peace and quiet the rest of your days. '

Yes! when the miller heard that, he let Peter the Pedlar have thelad. 

Then the two travelled about far and wide, with their packs andwares, till they came to an inn, which lay by the edge of a greatwood. From this Peter the Pedlar sent the lad home with a letter tohis wife, for the way was not so long if you took the short cutacross the wood, and told him to tell her she was to be sure and dowhat was written in the letter as quickly as she could. But it waswritten in the letter, that she was to have a great pile made thereand then, fire it, and cast the miller's son into it. If she didn'tdo that, he'd burn her alive himself when he came back. So the ladset off with the letter across the wood, and when evening came on hereached a house far, far away in the wood, into which he went; butinside he found no one. In one of the rooms was a bed ready made, sohe threw himself across it and fell asleep. The letter he had stuckinto his hat-band, and the hat he pulled over his face. So when therobbers came back--for in that house twelve robbers had their abode--and saw the lad lying on the bed, they began to wonder who he couldbe, and one of them took the letter and broke it open, and read it. 

'Ho! ho!' said he; 'this comes from Peter the Pedlar, does it? Nowwe'll play him a trick. It would be a pity if the old niggard made anend of such a pretty lad. '

So the robbers wrote another letter to Peter the Pedlar's wife, andfastened it under his hat-band while he slept; and in that theywrote, that as soon as ever she got it she was to make a wedding forher daughter and the miller's boy, and give them horses and cattle, and household stuff, and set them up for themselves in the farm whichhe had under the hill; and if he didn't find all this done by thetime he came back, she'd smart for it--that was all. 

Next day the robbers let the lad go, and when he came home anddelivered the letter, he said he was to greet her kindly from Peterthe Pedlar, and to say that she was to carry out what was written inthe letter as soon as ever she could. 

'You must have behaved very well then', said Peter, the Pedlar's wifeto the miller's boy, 'if he can write so about you now, for when youset off, he was so mad against you, he didn't know how to put you outof the way. ' So she married them on the spot, and set them up forthemselves, with horses, and cattle, and household stuff, in the farmup under the hill. 

No long time after Peter the Pedlar came home, and the first thing heasked was, if she had done what he had written in his letter. 

'Aye! aye!' she said; 'I thought it rather odd, but I dared not doanything else'; and so Peter asked where his daughter was. 

'Why, you know well enough where she is', said his wife. 'Whereshould she be but up at the farm under the hill, as you wrote in theletter. '

So when Peter the Pedlar came to hear the whole story, and came tosee the letter, he got so angry he was ready to burst with rage, andoff he ran up to the farm to the young couple. 

'It's all very well, my son, to say you have got my daughter', hesaid to the miller's lad; 'but if you wish to keep her, you must goto the Dragon of Deepferry, and get me three feathers out of histail; for he who has them may get anything he chooses. '

'But where shall I find him?' said his son-in-law. 

'I'm sure I can't tell', said Peter the Pedlar; 'that's your look-out, not mine. '

So the lad set off with a stout heart, and after he had walked someway, he came to a king's palace. 

'Here I'll just step in and ask', he said to himself; 'for such greatfolk know more about the world than others, and perhaps I may herelearn the way to the Dragon. '

Then the King asked him whence he came, and whither he was going?

'Oh!' said the lad, 'I'm going to the Dragon of Deepferry to pluckthree feathers out of his tail, if I only knew where to find him. '

'You must take luck with you, then', said the King, 'for I neverheard of any one who came back from that search. But if you find him, just ask him from me why I can't get clear water in my well; for I'vedug it out time after time, and still I can't get a drop of clearwater. '

'Yes, I'll be sure to ask him', said the lad. So he lived on the fatof the land at the palace, and got money and food when he left it. 

At even he came to another king's palace; and when he went into thekitchen, the King came out of the parlour, and asked whence he came, and on what errand he was bound?

'Oh!' said the lad, 'I'm going to the Dragon of Deepferry to pluckthree feathers out of his tail. '

'Then you must take luck with you', said the King, 'for I never yetheard that any one came back who went to look for him. But if youfind him, be so good as to ask him from me where my daughter is, whohas been lost so many years. I have hunted for her, and had her namegiven out in every church in the country, but no one can tell meanything about her. '

'Yes, I'll mind and do that', said the lad; and in that palace too helived on the best, and when he went away he got both money and food. 

So when evening drew on again he came at last to another king'spalace. Here who should come out into the kitchen but the Queen, andshe asked him whence he came, and on what errand he was bound?

'I'm going to the Dragon of Deepferry to pluck three feathers out ofhis tail', said the lad. 

'Then you'd better take a good piece of luck with you', said theQueen, 'for I never heard of any one that came back from him. But ifyou find him, just be good enough to ask him from me where I shallfind my gold keys which I have lost. '

'Yes! I'll be sure to ask him', said the lad. 

Well! when he left the palace he came to a great broad river; andwhile he stood there and wondered whether he should cross it, or godown along the bank, an old hunchbacked man came up, and askedwhither he was going?

'Oh, I'm going to the Dragon of Deepferry, if I could only find anyone to tell where I can find him. '

'I can tell you that', said the man; 'for here I go backwards andforwards, and carry those over who are going to see him. He livesjust across, and when you climb the hill you'll see his castle; butmind, if you come to talk with him, to ask him from me how long I'mto stop here and carry folk over. '

'I'll be sure to ask him', said the lad. 

So the man took him on his back and carried him over the river; andwhen he climbed the hill, he saw the castle, and went in. 

He found there a Princess who lived with the Dragon all alone; andshe said:

'But, dear friend, how can Christian folk dare to come hither? Nonehave been here since I came, and you'd best be off as fast as youcan; for as soon as the Dragon comes home, he'll smell you out, andgobble you up in a trice, and that'll make me so unhappy. '

'Nay! nay!' said the lad; 'I can't go before I've got three feathersout of his tail. '

'You'll never get them', said, the Princess; 'you'd best be off. '

But the lad wouldn't go; he would wait for the Dragon, and get thefeathers, and an answer to all his questions. 

'Well, since you're so steadfast I'll see what I can do to help you', said the Princess; 'just try to lift that sword that hangs on thewall yonder. '

No; the lad could not even stir it. 

'I thought so', said the Princess; 'but just take a drink out of thisflask. '

So when the lad had sat a while, he was to try again; and then hecould just stir it. 

'Well! you must take another drink', said the Princess, 'and then youmay as well tell me your errand hither. '

So he took another drink, and then he told her how one king hadbegged him to ask the Dragon, how it was he couldn't get clean waterin his well?--how another had bidden him ask, what had become of hisdaughter, who had been lost many years since?--and how a queen hadbegged him to ask the Dragon what had become of her gold keys?--and, last of all, how the ferryman had begged him to ask the Dragon, howlong he was to stop there and carry folk over?? When he had done hisstory, and took hold of the sword, he could lift it; and when he hadtaken another drink, he could brandish it. 

'Now', said the Princess, 'if you don't want the Dragon to make anend of you, you'd best creep under the bed, for night is drawing on, and he'll soon be home, and then you must lie as still as you can, lest he should find you out. And when we have gone to bed, I'll askhim, but you must keep your ears open, and snap up all that he says;and under the bed you must lie till all is still, and the Dragonfalls asleep; then creep out softly and seize the sword, and as soonas he rises, look out to hew off his head at one stroke, and at thesame time pluck out the three feathers, for else he'll tear them outhimself, that no one may get any good by them. '

So the lad crept under the bed, and the Dragon came home. 

'What a smell of Christian flesh', said the Dragon. 

'Oh, yes', said the Princess, 'a raven came flying with a man's bonein his bill, and perched on the roof. No doubt it's that you smell. '

'So it is, I daresay', said the Dragon. 

So the Princess served supper; and after they had eaten, they went tobed. But after they had lain a while, the Princess began to tossabout, and all at once she started up and said:

'Ah! ah!'

'What's the matter?' said the Dragon. 

'Oh', said the Princess, 'I can't rest at all, and I've had such astrange dream. '

'What did you dream about? Let's hear?' said the Dragon. 

'I thought a king came here, and asked you what he must do to getclear water in his well. '

'Oh', said the Dragon, 'he might just as well have found that out forhimself. If he dug the well out, and took out the old rotten stumpwhich lies at the bottom, he'd get clean water, fast enough. But bestill now, and don't dream any more. '

When the Princess had lain a while, she began to toss about, and atlast she started up with her

'Ah! ah!'

'What's the matter now?' said the Dragon. 

'Oh! I can't get any rest at all, and I've had such a strange dream', said the Princess. 

'Why, you seem full of dreams to-night', said the Dragon what wasyour dream now?'

'I thought a king came here, and asked you what had become of hisdaughter who had been lost many years since', said the Princess. 

'Why, you are she', said the Dragon; 'but he'll never set eyes on youagain. But now, do pray be still, and let me get some rest, and don'tlet's have any more dreams, else I'll break your ribs. '

Well, the Princess hadn't lain much longer before she began to tossabout again. At last she started up with her

'Ah! ah!'

'What! Are you at it again?' said the Dragon. 'What's the matternow?' for he was wild and sleep-surly, so that he was ready to fly topieces. 

'Oh, don't be angry', said the Princess; 'but I've had such a strangedream. '

'The deuce take your dreams', roared the Dragon; 'what did you dreamthis time?'

I thought a queen came here, who asked you to tell her where shewould find her gold keys, which she has lost. '

'Oh', said the Dragon, 'she'll find them soon enough if she looksamong the bushes where she lay that time she wots of. But do now letme have no more dreams, but sleep in peace. '

So they slept a while; but then the Princess was just as restless asever, and at last she screamed out:

'Ah! ah!'

'You'll never behave till I break your neck', said the Dragon, whowas now so wroth that sparks of fire flew out of his eyes. 'What'sthe matter now?'

'Oh, don't be so angry', said the Princess; 'I can't bear that; butI've had such a strange dream. '

'Bless me!' said the Dragon, 'if I ever heard the like of thesedreams--there's no end to them. And pray, what did you dream now?'

'I thought the ferryman down at the ferry came and asked how long hewas to stop there and carry folk over', said the Princess. 

'The dull fool!' said the Dragon; 'he'd soon be free, if he chose. When any one comes who wants to go across, he has only to take andthrow him into the river, and say, "Now, carry folk over yourselftill someone sets you free. " But now, pray let's have an end of thesedreams, else I'll lead you a pretty dance. '

So the Princess let him sleep on. But as soon as all was still, andthe miller's lad heard that the Dragon snored, he crept out. Beforeit was light the Dragon rose; but he had scarce set both his feet onthe floor before the lad cut off his head, and plucked three feathersout of his tail. Then came great joy, and both the lad and thePrincess took as much gold, and silver, and money, and preciousthings as they could carry; and when they came down to the ford, theyso puzzled the ferryman with all they had to tell, that he quiteforgot to ask what the Dragon had said about him till they had gotacross. 

'Halloa, you sir', he said, as they were going off, 'did you ask theDragon what I begged you to ask?'

'Yes I did', said the lad, 'and he said, "When any one comes andwants to go over, you must throw him into the midst of the river, andsay, 'Now, carry folk over yourself till some one comes to set youfree, '" and then you'll be free. '

'Ah, bad luck to you', said the ferryman; 'had you told me thatbefore, you might have set me free yourself. '

So, when they got to the first palace, the Queen asked if he hadspoken to the Dragon about her gold keys? 'Yes', said the lad, andwhispered in the Queen's ear, 'he said you must look among the busheswhere you lay the day you wot of. '

'Hush! hush! Don't say a word', said the Queen, and gave the lad ahundred dollars. 

When they came to the second palace, the King asked if he had spokento the Dragon of what he begged him?

'Yes', said the lad, 'I did; and see, here is your daughter. '

At that the King was so glad, he would gladly have given the Princessto the miller's lad to wife, and half the kingdom beside; but as hewas married already, he gave him two hundred dollars, and coaches andhorses, and as much gold and silver as he could carry away. 

When he came to the third King's palace, out came the King and askedif he had asked the Dragon of what he begged him?

'Yes', said the lad, 'and he said you must dig out the well, and takeout the rotten old stump which lies at the bottom, and then you'llget plenty of clear water. '

Then the King gave him three hundred dollars, and he set out home;but he was so loaded with gold and silver, and so grandly clothed, that it gleamed and glistened from him, and he was now far richerthan Peter the Pedlar. 

When Peter got the feathers he hadn't a word more to say against thewedding; but when he saw all that wealth, he asked if there was muchstill left at the Dragon's castle. 

'Yes, I should think so', said the lad; 'there was much more than Icould carry with me--so much, that you might load many horses withit; and if you choose to go, you may be sure there'll be enough foryou. '

So his son-in-law told him the way so clearly, that he hadn't to askit of any one. 

'But the horses', said the lad 'you'd best leave this side the river;for the old ferryman, he'll carry you over safe enough. '

So Peter set off, and took with him great store of food and manyhorses; but these he left behind him on the river's brink, as the ladhad said. And the old ferryman took him upon his back; but when theyhad come a bit out into the stream, he cast him into the midst of theriver, and said, 'Now you may go backwards and forwards here, and carry folk over tillyou are set free. '

And unless some one has set him free, there goes Rich Peter thePedlar backwards and forwards, and carries folk across this very day. 

GERTRUDE'S BIRD

In those days when our Lord and St Peter wandered upon earth, theycame once to an old wife's house, who sat baking. Her name wasGertrude, and she had a red mutch on her head. They had walked a longway, and were both hungry, and our Lord begged hard for a bannock tostay their hunger. Yes, they should have it. So she took a littletiny piece of dough and rolled it out, but as she rolled it, it grewand grew till it covered the whole griddle. 

Nay, that was too big; they couldn't have that. So she took a tinierbit still; but when that was rolled out, it covered the whole griddlejust the same, and that bannock was too big, she said; they couldn'thave that either. 

The third time she took a still tinier bit--so tiny you could scarcesee it; but it was the same story over again--the bannock was toobig. 

'Well', said Gertrude, 'I can't give you anything; you must just gowithout, for all these bannocks are too big. '

Then our Lord waxed wroth, and said:

'Since you loved me so little as to grudge me a morsel of food, youshall have this punishment: you shall become a bird, and seek yourfood between bark and bole; and never get a drop to drink save whenit rains. '

He had scarce said the last word before she was turned into a greatblack woodpecker, or Gertrude's bird, and flew from her kneading-trough right up the chimney; and till this very day you may see herflying about, with her red mutch on her head, and her body all black, because of the soot in the chimney; and so she hacks and taps away atthe trees for her food, and whistles when rain is coming, for she isever athirst, and then she looks for a drop to cool her tongue. 

BOOTS AND THE TROLL

Once on a time there was a poor man who had three sons. When he died, the two elder set off into the world to try their luck, but theyoungest they wouldn't have with them at any price. 

'As for you', they said, 'you're fit for nothing but to sit and pokeabout in the ashes. '

So the two went off and got places at a palace--the one under thecoachman, and the other under the gardener. But Boots, he set offtoo, and took with him a great kneading-trough, which was the onlything his parents left behind them, but which the other two would notbother themselves with. It was heavy to carry, but he did not like toleave it behind, and so, after he had trudged a bit, he too came tothe palace, and asked for a place. So they told him they did not wanthim, but he begged so prettily that at last he got leave to be in thekitchen, and carry in wood and water for the kitchen maid. He wasquick and ready, and in a little while every one liked him; but thetwo others were dull, and so they got more kicks than halfpence, andgrew quite envious of Boots, when they saw how much better he got on. 

Just opposite the palace, across a lake, lived a Troll, who had sevensilver ducks which swam on the lake, so that they could be seen fromthe palace. These the king had often longed for; and so the two elderbrothers told the coachman:

'If our brother only chose, he has said he could easily get the kingthose seven silver ducks. '

You may fancy it wasn't long before the coachman told this to theking; and the king called Boots before him, and said:

'Your brothers say you can get me the silver ducks; so now go andfetch them. '

'I'm sure I never thought or said anything of the kind, ' said thelad. 

'You did say so, and you shall fetch them', said the king, who wouldhold his own. 

'Well! well!' said the lad; 'needs must, I suppose; but give me abushel of rye, and a bushel of wheat, and I'll try what I can do. '

So he got the rye and the wheat, and put them into the kneading-trough he had brought with him from home, got in, and rowed acrossthe lake. When he reached the other side he began to walk along theshore, and to sprinkle and strew the grain, and at last he coaxed theducks into his kneading-trough, and rowed back as fast as ever hecould. 

When he got half over, the Troll came out of his house, and set eyeson him. 

'HALLOA!' roared out the Troll; 'is it you that has gone off with myseven silver ducks. '

'AYE! AYE!' said the lad. 

'Shall you be back soon?' asked the Troll. 

'Very likely', said the lad. 

So when he got back to the king, with the seven silver ducks, he wasmore liked than ever, and even the king was pleased to say, 'Welldone!' But at this his brothers grew more and more spiteful andenvious; and so they went and told the coachman that their brotherhad said, if he chose, he was man enough to get the king the Troll'sbed-quilt, which had a gold patch and a silver patch, and a silverpatch and a gold patch; and this time, too, the coachman was not slowin telling all this to the king. So the king said to the lad, how hisbrothers had said he was good to steal the Troll's bed-quilt, withgold and silver patches; so now he must go and do it, or lose hislife. 

Boots answered, he had never thought or said any such thing; but whenhe found there was no help for it, he begged for three days to thinkover the matter. 

So when the three days were gone, he rowed over in his kneading-trough, and went spying about. At last he saw those in the Troll'scave come out and hang the quilt out to air, and as soon as ever theyhad gone back into the face of the rock, Boots pulled the quilt down, and rowed away with it as fast as he could. 

And when he was half across, out came the Troll and set eyes on him, and roared out:

'HALLOA! Is it you who took my seven silver ducks?'

'AYE! AYE!' said the lad. 

'And now, have you taken my bed-quilt, with silver patches and goldpatches, and gold patches and silver patches?'

'Aye! aye!' said the lad. 

'Shall you come back again?'

'Very likely', said the lad. 

But when he got back with the gold and silver patchwork quilt, everyone was fonder of him than ever, and he was made the king's body-servant. 

At this, the other two were still more vexed, and, to be revenged, they went and told the coachman:

'Now, our brother has said, he is man enough to get the king the goldharp which the Troll has, and that harp is of such a kind, that allwho listen when it is played grow glad, however sad they may be. '

Yes! the coachman went and told the king, and he said to the lad:

'If you have said this, you shall do it. If you do it, you shall havethe Princess and half the kingdom. If you don't, you shall lose yourlife. '

'I'm sure I never thought or said anything of the kind', said thelad; 'but if there's no help for it, I may as well try; but I musthave six days to think about it. '

Yes! he might have six days, but when they were over, he must setout. 

Then he took a tenpenny nail, a birch-pin, and a waxen taper-end inhis pocket, and rowed across, and walked up and down before theTroll's cave, looking stealthily about him. So when the Troll cameout, he saw him at once. 

'HO, HO!' roared the Troll; 'is it you who took my seven silverducks?'

'AYE! AYE!' said the lad. 

'And it is you who took my bed-quilt, with the gold and silverpatches?' asked the Troll. 

'Aye! aye!' said the lad. 

So the Troll caught hold of him at once, and took him off into thecave in the face of the rock. 

'Now, daughter dear', said the Troll, 'I've caught the fellow whostole the silver ducks and my bed-quilt, with gold and silverpatches; put him into the fattening coop, and when he's fat, we'llkill him, and make a feast for our friends. '

She was willing enough, and put him at once into the fattening coop, and there he stayed eight days, fed on the best, both in meat anddrink, and as much as he could cram. So, when the eight days wereover, the Troll said to his daughter to go down and cut him in hislittle finger, that they might see if he were fat. Down she came tothe coop. 

'Out with your little finger!' she said. 

But Boots stuck out his tenpenny nail, and she cut at it. 

'Nay! nay! he's as hard as iron still', said the Troll's daughter, when she got back to her father; 'we can't take him yet. '

After another eight days the same thing happened, and this time Bootsstuck out his birchen pin. 

'Well, he's a little better', she said, when she got back to theTroll; 'but still he'll be as hard as wood to chew. '

But when another eight days were gone, the Troll told his daughter togo down and see if he wasn't fat now. 

'Out with your little finger', said the Troll's daughter, when shereached the coop, and this time Boots stuck out the taper end. 

'Now he'll do nicely', she said. 

'Will he?' said the Troll. 'Well, then, I'll just set off and ask theguests; meantime you must kill him, and roast half and boil half. '

So when the Troll had been gone a little while, the daughter began tosharpen a great long knife. 

'Is that what you're going to kill me with?' asked the lad. 

'Yes it is, ' said she. 

'But it isn't sharp', said the lad. 'Just let me sharpen it for you, and then you'll find it easier work to kill me. '

So she let him have the knife, and he began to rub and sharpen it onthe whetstone. 

'Just let me try it on one of your hair plaits; I think it's aboutright now. '

So he got leave to do that; but at the same time that he grasped theplait of hair, he pulled back her head, and at one gash, cut off theTroll's daughter's head; and half of her he roasted and half of herhe boiled, and served it all up. 

After that he dressed himself in her clothes, and sat away in thecorner. 

So when the Troll came home with his guests, he called out to hisdaughter--for he thought all the time it was his daughter--to comeand take a snack. 

'No, thank you', said the lad, 'I don't care for food, I'm so sad anddowncast. '

'Oh!' said the Troll, 'if that's all, you know the cure; take theharp, and play a tune on it. '

'Yes!' said the lad; 'but where has it got to; I can't find it. '

'Why, you know well enough', said the Troll; 'you used it last; whereshould it be but over the door yonder?

The lad did not wait to be told twice; he took down the harp, andwent in and out playing tunes; but, all at once he shoved off thekneading-trough, jumped into it, and rowed off, so that the foam flewaround the trough. 

After a while the Troll thought his daughter was a long while gone, and went out to see what ailed her; and then he saw the lad in thetrough, far, far out on the lake. 

'HALLOA! Is it you', he roared, 'that took my seven silver ducks?'

'AYE, AYE!' said the lad. 

'Is it you that took my bed-quilt, with the gold and silver patches. '

'Yes!' said the lad. 

'And now you have taken off my gold harp?' screamed the Troll. 

'Yes!' said the lad; 'I've got it, sure enough. '

'And haven't I eaten you up after all, then?'

'No, no! 'twas your own daughter you ate', answered the lad. 

But when the Troll heard that, he was so sorry, he burst; and thenBoots rowed back, and took a whole heap of gold and silver with him, as much as the trough could carry. And so, when he came to the palacewith the gold harp, he got the Princess and half the kingdom, as theking had promised him; and, as for his brothers, he treated themwell, for he thought they had only wished his good when they saidwhat they had said. 

GOOSEY GRIZZEL

Once on a time there was a widower, who had a housekeeper namedGrizzel, who set her mutch at him and teazed him early and late tomarry her. At last the man got so weary of her, he was at his wits'end to know how to get rid of her. So it fell on a day, between haytime and harvest, the two went out to pull hemp. Grizzel's head wasfull of her good looks and her handiness, and she worked away at thehemp till she grew giddy from the strong smell of the ripe seed, andat last down she fell flat, fast asleep among the hemp. While sheslept, her master got a pair of scissors and cut her skirts short allround, and then he rubbed her all over, face and all, first withtallow and then with soot, till she looked worse than the Deilhimself. So, when Grizzel woke and saw how ugly she was, she didn'tknow herself. 

'Can this be me now?' said Grizzel. 'Nay, nay! it can never be me. Sougly have I never been; it's surely the Deil himself?'

Well! that she might really know the truth, she went off and knockedat her master's door, and asked, 'Is your Girzie at home the day, father?'

'Aye, aye, our Girzie is at home safe enough', said the man, whowanted to be rid of her. 

'Well, well!' she said to herself, 'then I can't be his Grizzel, ' andstole away; and right glad the man was, I can tell you. 

So, when she had walked a bit she came to a great wood, where she mettwo thieves. 'The very men for my money, thought Grizzel, 'since I amthe Deil, thieves are just fit fellows for me. '

But the thieves were not of the same mind, not they. As soon as theyset eyes on her, they took to their heels as fast as they could, forthey thought the Evil One was come to catch them. But it was no good, for Grizzel was long-legged and swift-footed, and she came up withthem before they knew where they were. 

'If you're going out to steal, I'll go with you and help, ' saidGrizzel, 'for I know the whole country round. ' So, when the thievesheard that, they thought they had found a good mate, and were nolonger afraid. 

Then they said they were off to steal a sheep, only they didn't knowwhere to lay hold of one. 

'Oh!' said Grizzel, 'that's a small matter, for I was maid with afarmer ever so long out in the wood yonder, and I could find thesheepfold, though the night were dark as pitch. '

The thieves thought that grand; and when they came to the place, Grizzel was to go into the fold and turn out the sheep, and they wereto lay hold on it. Now, the sheepfold lay close to the wall of theroom where the farmer slept, so Grizzel crept quite softly andcarefully into the fold; but, as soon as she got in, she began toscream out to the thieves, 'Will you have a wether or a ewe? here arelots to choose from. '

'Hush, hush!' said the thieves, 'only take one that is fine and fat. '

'Yes, yes! but will you have a wether or a ewe? will you have awether or a ewe? for here are lots to choose from, ' screechedGrizzel. 

'Hush, hush!' said the thieves again, 'only take one that's fine andfat; it's all the same to us whether it's a wether or a ewe. '

'Yes!' screeched Grizzel, who stuck to her own; 'but will you have awether or a ewe--a wether or a ewe? here are lots to choose from. '

'Hold your jaw!' said the thieves, 'and take a fine fat one, wetheror ewe, its all one to us. '

But just then out came the farmer in his shirt, who had been waked byall this clatter, and wanted to see what was going on. So the thievestook to their heels, and Grizzel after them, upsetting the farmer inher flight. 

'Stop, boys! stop, boys!' she screamed; but the farmer, who had onlyseen the black monster, grew so afraid that he could scarce stand, for he thought it was the Deil himself that had been in hissheepfold. The only help he knew was, to go indoors and wake up thewhole house; and they all sat down to read and pray, for he had heardthat was the way to send the Deil about his business. 

Now the next night the thieves said they must go and steal a fatgoose, and Grizzel was to shew them the way. So when they came to thegoosepen, Grizzel was to go in and turn one out, for she knew theways of the place, and the thieves were to stand outside and catchit. But as soon as ever she got in she began to scream, 'Will you have goose or gander? you may pick and choose here. '

'Hush hush! choose only a fine fat one', said the thieves. 'Yes, yes!but will you have goose or gander--goose or gander? you may pick andchoose', screamed Grizzel. 

'Hush, hush! only choose one that's fine and fat, and it's all one tous whether it's goose or gander; but do hold your jaw', said they. 

But while Grizzel and the thieves were settling this, one of thegeese began to cackle, and then another cackled, and then the wholeflock cackled and hissed, and out came the farmer to see what all thenoise could mean, and away went the thieves, and Grizzel after them, at full speed, and the farmer thought again it was the black Deilflying away; for long-legged she was, and she had no skirts to hamperher. 

'Stop a bit, boys!' she kept on screaming, 'you might as well havesaid whether you would have goose or gander?'

But they had no time to stop, they thought; and, as for the farmer, he began to read and pray with all his house, small and great, forthey thought it was the Deil, and no mistake. 

Now, the third day, when night came, the thieves and Grizzel were sohungry they did not know what to do; so they made up their minds togo to the larder of a rich farmer, who lived by the wood's side, andsteal some food. Well, off they went, but the thieves did not dare toventure themselves, so Grizzel was to go up the steps which led tothe larder, and hand the food out, and the others were to stand belowand take it from her. So when Grizzel got inside, she saw the larderwas full of all sorts of things, fresh meat and salt, and sausagesand oat-cake. The thieves begged her to be still, and just throw outsomething to eat, and to bear in mind how badly they had fated fortwo nights. But Grizzel stuck to her own, that she did. 

'Will you have fresh meat, or salt, or sausages, or oat-cake? Justlook, what a lovely oat-cake', she bawled out enough to split yourhead. 'You may have what you please, for here's plenty to choosefrom. '

But the farmer woke with all this noise, and ran out to see what itall meant. As for the thieves, off they ran as fast as they could;but while the farmer was looking after them, down came Grizzel soblack and ugly. 

'Stop a bit! stop a bit, boys!' she bellowed; 'you may have what youplease, for there's plenty to choose from. '

And when the farmer saw that ugly monster, he, too, thought the Deilwas loose, for he had heard what had happened to his neighbours theevenings before; so he began both to read and pray, and every one inthe whole parish began to read and pray, for they knew that you couldread the Deil away. 

The next evening was Saturday evening, and the thieves wanted tosteal a fat ram for their Sunday dinner; and well they might, forthey had fasted many days. But they wouldn't have Grizzel with themat any price. She brought bad luck with her jaw, they said; so whileGrizzel was walking about waiting for them on Sunday morning, she gotso awfully hungry--for she had fasted for three days--that she wentinto a turnip-field and pulled up some turnips to eat. But whenthe farmer who owned the turnips rose, he felt uneasy in hismind, and thought he would just go and take a look at his turnips onthe Sunday morning. So he pulled on his trousers and went across themoss which lay under the hill, where the turnip-field lay. But whenhe got to the bottom of the field, he saw something black walkingabout in the field and pulling up his turnips, and he soon made uphis mind that it was the Deil. So away he ran home as fast as hecould, and said the Deil was among the turnips. This frightened thewhole house out of their wits, and they agreed they'd best send forthe priest, and get him to bind the Deil. 

'That won't do', said the goodwife, 'this is Sunday morning, you'llnever get the priest to come; for either he'll be in bed; or if he'sup, he'll be learning his sermon by heart. '

'Oh!' said the goodman, 'never fear; I'll promise him a fat loin ofveal, and then he'll come fast enough. '

So off he went to the priest's house; but when he got there, sureenough, the priest was still in bed. The maid begged the farmer towalk into the parlour while she ran up to the priest, and said:

'Farmer So-and-So was downstairs, and wished to have a word withhim. '

Well! when the priest heard that such a worthy man was downstairs, hegot up at once, and came down just as he was, in his slippers andnightcap. 

So the goodman told his errand; how the Deil was loose in his turnip-field; and if the priest would only come and bind him, he would sendhim a fat loin of veal. Yes! the priest was willing enough, andcalled out to his groom, to saddle his horse, while he dressedhimself. 

'Nay, nay, father!' said the man; 'the Deil won't wait for us long, and no one knows where we shall find him again if we miss him now. Your reverence must come at once, just as you are. '

So the priest followed him just as he was, with the clothes he stoodin, and went off in his nightcap and slippers. But when they got tothe moss, it was so moist the priest couldn't cross it in hisslippers. So the goodman took him on his back to carry him over. Onthey went, the goodman picking his way from one clump to the other, till they got to the middle; then Grizzel caught sight of them, andthought it was the thieves bringing the ram. 

'Is he fat?' she screamed; 'is he fat?' and made such a noise thatthe wood rang again. 

'The Deil knows if he's fat or lean; I'm sure I don't', said thegoodman, when he heard that; 'but, if you want to know, you hadbetter come yourself and see. '

And then he got so afraid, he threw the priest head over heels intothe soft wet moss, and took to his legs; and if the priest hasn't gotout, why I dare say he's lying there still. 

THE LAD WHO WENT TO THE NORTH WIND

Once on a time there was an old widow who had one son; and as she waspoorly and weak, her son had to go up into the safe to fetch meal forcooking; but when he got outside the safe, and was just going downthe steps, there came the North Wind, puffing and blowing, caught upthe meal, and so away with it through the air. Then the lad went backinto the safe for more; but when he came out again on the steps, ifthe North Wind didn't come again and carry off the meal with a puff;and, more than that, he did so the third time. At this the lad gotvery angry; and as he thought it hard that the North Wind shouldbehave so, he thought he'd just look him up, and ask him to give uphis meal. 

So off he went, but the way was long, and he walked and walked; butat last he came to the North Wind's house. 

'Good day!' said the lad, 'and thank you for coming to see usyesterday. '

'GOOD DAY!' answered the North Wind, for his voice was loud andgruff, 'AND THANKS FOR COMING TO SEE ME. WHAT DO YOU WANT?'

'Oh!' answered the lad, 'I only wished to ask you to be so good as tolet me have back that meal you took from me on the safe steps, for wehaven't much to live on; and if you're to go on snapping up themorsel we have, there'll be nothing for it but to starve. '

'I haven't got your meal', said the North Wind; 'but if you are insuch need, I'll give you a cloth which will get you everything youwant, if you only say, 'Cloth, spread yourself, and serve up all kindof good dishes!'

With this the lad was well content. But, as the way was so long hecouldn't get home in one day, so he turned into an inn on the way;and when they were going to sit down to supper he laid the cloth on atable which stood in the corner, and said, 'Cloth, spread yourself, and serve up all kinds of good dishes. '

He had scarce said so before the cloth did as it was bid; and all whostood by thought it a fine thing, but most of all the landlady. So, when all were fast asleep at dead of night, she took the lad's cloth, and put another in its stead, just like the one he had got from theNorth Wind, but which couldn't so much as serve up a bit of drybread. 

So, when the lad woke, he took his cloth and went off with it, andthat day he got home to his mother. 

'Now', said he, 'I've been to the North Wind's house, and a goodfellow he is, for he gave me this cloth, and when I only say to it, "Cloth, spread yourself, and serve up all kind of good dishes", I getany sort of food I please. '

'All very true, I daresay, ' said his mother; 'but seeing isbelieving, and I shan't believe it till I see it. '

So the lad made haste, drew out a table, laid the cloth on it, andsaid:

'Cloth, spread yourself, and serve up all kind of good dishes. '

But never a bit of dry bread did the cloth serve up. 

'Well', said the lad, 'there's no help for it but to go to the NorthWind again'; and away he went. 

So he came to where the North Wind lived late in the afternoon. 

'Good evening!' said the lad. 

'Good evening!' said the North Wind. 

'I want my rights for that meal of ours which you took', said thelad; 'for, as for that cloth I got, it isn't worth a penny. '

'I've got no meal', said the North Wind; 'but yonder you have a ramwhich coins nothing but golden ducats as soon as you say to it:

"Rain, ram! make money!"

So the lad thought this a fine thing; but as it was too far to gethome that day, he turned in for the night to the same inn where hehad slept before. 

Before he called for anything, he tried the truth of what the NorthWind had said of the ram, and found it all right; but, when thelandlord saw that, he thought it was a famous ram, and, when the ladhad fallen asleep, he took another which couldn't coin gold ducats, and changed the two. 

Next morning off went the lad; and when he got home to his mother, hesaid:

'After all, the North Wind is a jolly fellow; for now he has given mea ram which can coin golden ducats if I only say "Ram, ram! makemoney. "'

'All very true, I daresay', said his mother; 'but I shan't believeany such stuff until I see the ducats made. '

'Ram, ram! make money!' said the lad; but if the Ram made anything, it wasn't money. 

So the lad went back again to the North Wind, and blew him up, andsaid the ram was worth nothing, and he must have his rights for themeal. 

'Well!' said the North Wind; 'I've nothing else to give you but thatold stick in the corner yonder; but it's a stick of that kind that ifyou say:

'"Stick, stick! lay on!" it lays on till you say: "Stick, stick! nowstop!"'

So, as the way was long, the lad turned in this night too to thelandlord; but as he could pretty well guess how things stood as tothe cloth and the ram, he lay down at once on the bench and began tosnore, as if he were asleep. 

Now the landlord, who easily saw that the stick must be worthsomething, hunted up one which was like it, and when he heard the ladsnore, was going to change the two; but, just as the landlord wasabout to take it, the lad bawled out: 'Stick, stick! lay on!'

So the stick began to beat the landlord, till he jumped over chairs, and tables, and benches, and yelled and roared:

'Oh my! oh my! bid the stick be still, else it will beat me to death, and you shall have back both your cloth and our ram. '

When the lad thought the landlord had got enough, he said:

'Stick, stick! now stop!'

Then he took the cloth and put it into his pocket, and went home withhis stick in his hand, leading the ram by a cord round its horns; andso he got his rights for the meal he had lost. 

THE MASTER THIEF

Once upon a time there was a poor cottager who had three sons. He hadnothing to leave them when he died, and no money with which to putthem to any trade, so that he did not know what to make of them. Atlast he said he would give them leave to take to anything each likedbest, and to go whithersoever they pleased, and he would go with thema bit of the way; and so he did. He went with them till they came toa place where three roads met, and there each of them chose a road, and their father bade them good-bye, and went back home. I have neverheard tell what became of the two elder; but as for the youngest, hewent both far and long, as you shall hear. 

So it fell out one night as he was going through a great wood thatsuch bad weather overtook him. It blew, and sleeted, and drove sothat he could scarce keep his eyes open; and in a trice, before heknew how it was, he got bewildered, and could not find either road orpath. But as he went on and on, at last he saw a glimmering of lightfar far off in the wood. So he thought he would try and get to thelight; and after a time he did reach it. There it was in a largehouse, and the fire was blazing so brightly inside, that he couldtell the folk had not yet gone to bed; so he went in and saw an olddame bustling about and minding the house. 

'Good evening!' said the youth. 

'Good evening!' said the old dame. 

'Hutetu! it's such foul weather out of doors to-night', said he. 

'So it is', said she. 

'Can I get leave to have a bed and shelter here to-night?' asked theyouth. 

'You'll get no good by sleeping here', said the old dame; 'for if thefolk come home and find you here, they'll kill both me and you. '

'What sort of folk, then, are they who live here?' asked the youth. 

'Oh, robbers! And a bad lot of them too', said the old dame. 'Theystole me away when I was little, and have kept me as theirhousekeeper ever since. '

'Well, for all that, I think I'll just go to bed', said the youth. 'Come what may, I'll not stir out at night in such weather. '

'Very well', said the old dame; 'but if you stay, it will be theworse for you. '

With that the youth got into a bed which stood there, but he darednot go to sleep, and very soon after in came the robbers; so the olddame told them how a stranger fellow had come in whom she had notbeen able to get out of the house again. 

'Did you see if he had any money?' said the robbers. 

'Such a one as he money!' said the old dame, 'the tramper! Why, if hehad clothes to his back, it was as much as he had. '

Then the robbers began to talk among themselves what they should dowith him; if they should kill him outright, or what else they shoulddo. Meantime the youth got up and began to talk to them, and to askif they didn't want a servant, for it might be that he would be gladto enter their service. 

'Oh', said they, 'if you have a mind to follow the trade that wefollow, you can very well get a place here. '

'It's all one to me what trade I follow', said the youth; 'for when Ileft home, father gave me leave to take to any trade I chose. '

'Well, have you a mind to steal?' asked the robbers. 

'I don't care', said the youth, for he thought it would not take longto learn that trade. 

Now there lived a man a little way off who had three oxen. One ofthese he was to take to the town to sell, and the robbers had heardwhat he was going to do, so they said to the youth, if he were goodto steal the ox from the man by the way without his knowing it, andwithout doing him any harm, they would give him leave to be theirserving-man. 

Well! the youth set off, and took with him a pretty shoe, with asilver buckle on it, which lay about the house; and he put the shoein the road along which the man was going with his ox; and when hehad done that, he went into the wood and hid himself under a bush. Sowhen the man came by he saw the shoe at once. 

'That's a nice shoe', said he. 'If I only had the fellow to it, I'dtake it home with me, and perhaps I'd put my old dame in a goodhumour for once. ' For you must know he had an old wife, so cross andsnappish, it was not long between each time that she boxed his ears. But then he bethought him that he could do nothing with the odd shoeunless he had the fellow to it; so he went on his way and let theshoe lie on the road. 

Then the youth took up the shoe, and made all the haste he could toget before the man by a short cut through the wood, and laid it downbefore him in the road again. When the man came along with his ox, hegot quite angry with himself for being so dull as to leave the fellowto the shoe lying in the road instead of taking it with him; so hetied the ox to the fence, and said to himself, 'I may just as wellrun back and pick up the other, and then I'll have a pair of goodshoes for my old dame, and so, perhaps, I'll get a kind word from herfor once. '

So he set off, and hunted and hunted up and down for the shoe, but noshoe did he find; and at length he had to go back with the one hehad. But, meanwhile the youth had taken the ox and gone off with it;and when the man came and saw his ox gone, he began to cry andbewail, for he was afraid his old dame would kill him outright whenshe came to know that the ox was lost. But just then it came acrosshis mind that he would go home and take the second ox, and drive itto the town, and not let his old dame know anything about the matter. So he did this, and went home and took the ox without his dame'sknowing it, and set off with it to the town. But the robbers knew allabout it, and they said to the youth, if he could get this ox too, without the man's knowing it, and without his doing him any harm, heshould be as good as any one of them. If that were all, the youthsaid, he did not think it a very hard thing. 

This time he took with him a rope, and hung himself up under the arm-pits to a tree right in the man's way. So the man came along with hisox, and when he saw such a sight hanging there he began to feel alittle queer. 

'Well', said he, 'whatever heavy thoughts you had who have hangedyourself up there, it can't be helped; you may hang for what I care!I can't breathe life into you again'; and with that he went on hisway with his ox. Down slipped the youth from the tree, and ran by afootpath, and got before the man, and hung himself up right in hisway again. 

'Bless me!' said the man, 'were you really so heavy at heart that youhanged yourself up there--or is it only a piece of witchcraft that Isee before me? Aye, aye! you may hang for all I care, whether you area ghost or whatever you are. ' So he passed on with his ox. 

Now the youth did just as he had done twice before; he jumped downfrom the tree, ran through the wood by a footpath, and hung himselfup right in the man's way again. But when the man saw this sight forthe third time, he said to himself:

'Well! this is an ugly business! Is it likely now that they shouldhave been so heavy at heart as to hang themselves, all these three?No! I cannot think it is anything else than a piece of witchcraftthat I see. But now I'll soon know for certain; if the other two arestill hanging there, it must be really so; but if they are not, thenit can be nothing but witchcraft that I see. '

So he tied up his ox, and ran back to see if the others were stillreally hanging there. But while he went and peered up into all thetrees, the youth jumped down and took his ox and ran off with it. When the man came back and found his ox gone, he was in a sad plight, and, as any one might know without being told, he began to cry andbemoan; but at last he came to take it easier, and so he thought:

'There's no other help for it than to go home and take the third oxwithout my dame's knowing it, and to try and drive a good bargainwith it, so that I may get a good sum of money for it. '

So he went home and set off with the ox, and his old dame knew nevera word about the matter. But the robbers, they knew all about it, andthey said to the youth, that if he could steal this ox as he hadstolen the other two, then he should be master over the whole band. Well, the youth set off, and ran into the wood; and as the man cameby with his ox he set up a dreadful bellowing, just like a great oxin the wood. When the man heard that, you can't think how glad hewas, for it seemed to him that he knew the voice of his big bullock, and he thought that now he should find both of them again; so he tiedup the third ox, and ran off from the road to look for them in thewood; but meantime the youth went off with the third ox. Now, whenthe man came back and found he had lost this ox too, he was so wildthat there was no end to his grief. He cried and roared and beat hisbreast, and, to tell the truth, it was many days before he dared gohome; for he was afraid lest his old dame should kill him outright onthe spot. 

As for the robbers, they were not very well pleased either, when theyhad to own that the youth was master over the whole band. So one daythey thought they would try their hands at something which he was notman enough to do; and they set off all together, every man Jack ofthem, and left him alone at home. Now, the first thing that he didwhen they were all well clear of the house, was to drive the oxen outto the road, so that they might run back to the man from whom he hadstolen them; and right glad he was to see them, as you may fancy. Next he took all the horses which the robbers had, and loaded themwith the best things he could lay his hands on-gold and silver, andclothes and other fine things; and then he bade the old dame to greetthe robbers when they came back, and to thank them for him, and tosay that now he was setting off on his travels, and they would havehard work to find him again; and with that, off he started. 

After a good bit he came to the road along which he was going when hefell among the robbers, and when he got near home, and could see hisfather's cottage, he put on a uniform which he had found among theclothes he had taken from the robbers, and which was made just like ageneral's. So he drove up to the door as if he were any other greatman. After that he went in and asked if he could have a lodging? No;that he couldn't at any price. 

'How ever should I be able', said the man, 'to make room in my housefor such a fine gentleman--I who scarce have a rag to lie upon, andmiserable rags too?'

'You always were a stingy old hunks', said the youth, 'and so you arestill, when you won't take your own son in. '

'What, you my son!' said the man. 

'Don't you know me again?' said the youth. Well, after a little whilehe did know him again. 

'But what have you been turning your hand to, that you have madeyourself so great a man in such haste?' asked the man. 

'Oh! I'll soon tell you', said the youth. 'You said I might take toany trade I chose, and so I bound myself apprentice to a pack ofthieves and robbers, and now I've served my time out, and am become aMaster Thief. '

Now there lived a Squire close by to his father's cottage, and he hadsuch a great house, and such heaps of money, he could not tell howmuch he had. He had a daughter too, and a smart and pretty girl shewas. So the Master Thief set his heart upon having her to wife, andhe told his father to go to the Squire and ask for his daughter forhim. 

'If he asks by what trade I get my living, you can say I'm a MasterThief. '

'I think you've lost your wits', said the man, 'for you can't be inyour right mind when you think of such stuff. '

No! he had not lost his wits, his father must and should go to theSquire, and ask for his daughter. 

'Nay, but I tell you, I daren't go to the Squire and be yourspokesman; he who is so rich, and has so much money', said the man. 

Yes, there was no help for it, said the Master Thief; he should gowhether he would or no; and if he did not go by fair means, he wouldsoon make him go by foul. But the man was still loath to go; so hestepped after him, and rubbed him down with a good birch cudgel, andkept on till the man came crying and sobbing inside the Squire'sdoor. 

'How now, my man! what ails you?' said the Squire. So he told him thewhole story; how he had three sons who set off one day, and how hehad given them leave to go whithersoever they would, and to followwhatever calling they chose. 'And here now is the youngest come home, and has thrashed me till he has made me come to you and ask for yourdaughter for him to wife; and he bids me say, besides, that he's aMaster Thief. ' And so he fell to crying and sobbing again. 

'Never mind, my man', said the Squire, laughing; 'just go back andtell him from me, he must prove his skill first. If he can steal theroast from the spit in the kitchen on Sunday, while all the householdare looking after it, he shall have my daughter. Just go and tell himthat. '

So he went back and told the youth, who thought it would be an easyjob. So he set about and caught three hares alive, and put them intoa bag, and dressed himself in some old rags, until he looked so poorand filthy that it made one's heart bleed to see; and then he stoleinto the passage at the back-door of the Squire's house on the Sundayforenoon, with his bag, just like any other beggar-boy. But theSquire himself and all his household were in the kitchen watching theroast. Just as they were doing this, the youth let one hare go, andit set off and ran round and round the yard in front of the house. 

'Oh, just look at that hare!' said the folk in the kitchen, and wereall for running out to catch it. 

Yes, the Squire saw it running too. 'Oh, let it run', said he;'there's no use in thinking to catch a hare on the spring. '

A little while after, the youth let the second hare go, and they sawit in the kitchen, and thought it was the same they had seen before, and still wanted to run out and catch it; but the Squire said againit was no use. It was not long before the youth let the third harego, and it set off and ran round and round the yard as the othersbefore it. Now, they saw it from the kitchen, and still thought itwas the same hare that kept on running about, and were all eager tobe out after it. 

'Well, it is a fine hare', said the Squire; 'come let's see if wecan't lay our hands on it. '

So out he ran, and the rest with him--away they all went, the harebefore, and they after; so that it was rare fun to see. But meantimethe youth took the roast and ran off with it; and where the Squiregot a roast for his dinner that day I don't know; but one thing Iknow, and that is, that he had no roast hare, though he ran after ittill he was both warm and weary. 

Now it chanced that the Priest came to dinner that day, and when theSquire told him what a trick the Master Thief had played him, he madesuch game of him that there was no end of it. 

'For my part', said the Priest, 'I can't think how it could everhappen to me to be made such a fool of by a fellow like that. '

'Very well--only keep a sharp look-out', said the Squire; 'maybehe'll come to see you before you know a word of it. ' But the Prieststuck to his text--that he did, and made game of the Squire becausehe had been so taken in. 

Later in the afternoon came the Master Thief, and wanted to have theSquire's daughter, as he had given his word. But the Squire began totalk him over, and said, 'Oh, you must first prove your skill alittle more; for what you did to-day was no great thing, after all. Couldn't you now play off a good trick on the Priest, who is sittingin there, and making game of me for letting such a fellow as youtwist me round his thumb. '

'Well, as for that, it wouldn't be hard', said the Master Thief. Sohe dressed himself up like a bird, threw a great white sheet over hisbody, took the wings of a goose and tied them to his back, and soclimbed up into a great maple which stood in the Priest's garden. Andwhen the Priest came home in the evening, the youth began to bawlout:

'Father Laurence! Father Laurence!'--for that was the Priest's name. 

'Who is that calling me?' said the Priest. 

'I am an angel', said the Master Thief, 'sent from God to let youknow that you shall be taken up alive into heaven for your piety'ssake. Next Monday night you must hold yourself ready for the journey, for I shall come then to fetch you in a sack; and all your gold andyour silver, and all that you have of this world's goods, you mustlay together in a heap in your dining-room. '

Well, Father Laurence fell on his knees before the angel, and thankedhim; and the very next day he preached a farewell sermon, and gave itout how there had come down an angel unto the big maple in hisgarden, who had told him that he was to be taken up alive into heavenfor his piety's sake; and he preached and made such a touchingdiscourse, that all who were at church wept, both young and old. 

So the next Monday night came the Master Thief like an angel again, and the Priest fell on his knees and thanked him before he was putinto the sack; but when he had got him well in, the Master Thief drewand dragged him over stocks and stones. 

'OW! OW!' groaned the Priest inside the sack, 'wherever are wegoing?'

'This is the narrow way which leadeth unto the kingdom of heaven', said the Master Thief, who went on dragging him along till he hadnearly broken every bone in his body. At last he tumbled him into agoose-house that belonged to the Squire, and the geese began peckingand pinching him with their bills, so that he was more dead thanalive. 

'Now you are in the flames of purgatory, to be cleansed and purifiedfor life everlasting', said the Master Thief; and with that he wenthis way, and took all the gold which the Priest had laid together inhis dining-room. The next morning, when the goose-girl came to letthe geese out, she heard how the Priest lay in the sack, and bemoanedhimself in the goose-house. 

'In heaven's name, who's there, and what ails you?' she cried. 

'Oh!' said the Priest, 'if you are an angel from heaven, do let meout, and let me return again to earth, for it is worse here than inhell. The little fiends keep on pinching me with tongs. '

'Heaven help us, I am no angel at all', said the girl, as she helpedthe Priest out of the sack; 'I only look after the Squire's geese, and like enough they are the little fiends which have pinched yourreverence. '

'Oh!' groaned the Priest, 'this is all that Master Thief's doing. Ah!my gold and my silver, and my fine clothes. ' And he beat his breast, and hobbled home at such a rate that the girl thought he had lost hiswits all at once. 

Now when the Squire came to hear how it had gone with the Priest, andhow he had been along the narrow way, and into purgatory, he laughedtill he well-nigh split his sides. But when the Master Thief came andasked for his daughter as he had promised, the Squire put him offagain, and said:

'You must do one masterpiece better still, that I may see plainlywhat you are fit for. Now, I have twelve horses in my stable, and onthem I will put twelve grooms, one on each. If you are so good athief as to steal the horses from under them, I'll see what I can dofor you. '

'Very well, I daresay I can do it', said the Master Thief; 'but shallI really have your daughter if I can?'

'Yes, if you can, I'll do my best for you', said the Squire. So theMaster Thief set off to a shop, and bought brandy enough to fill twopocket-flasks, and into one of them he put a sleepy drink, but intothe other only brandy. After that he hired eleven men to lie in waitat night, behind the Squire's stable-yard; and last of all, for fairwords and a good bit of money, he borrowed a ragged gown and cloakfrom an old woman; and so, with a staff in his hand, and a bundle athis back, he limped off, as evening drew on, towards the Squire'sstable. Just as he got there they were watering the horses for thenight, and had their hands full of work. 'What the devil do youwant?' said one of the grooms to the old woman. 

'Oh, oh! hutetu! it is so bitter cold', said she, and shivered andshook, and made wry faces. 'Hutetu! it is so cold, a poor wretch mayeasily freeze to death'; and with that she fell to shivering andshaking again. 

'Oh! for the love of heaven, can I get leave to stay here a while, and sit inside the stable door?'

'To the devil with your leave', said one. 'Pack yourself off thisminute, for if the Squire sets his eye on you, he'll lead us a prettydance. '

'Oh! the poor old bag-of-bones', said another, whose heart took pityon her, 'the old hag may sit inside and welcome; such a one as shecan do no harm. '

And the rest said, some she should stay, and some she shouldn't; butwhile they were quarrelling and minding the horses, she crept furtherand further into the stable, till at last she sat herself down behindthe door; and when she had got so far, no one gave any more heed toher. 

As the night wore on, the men found it rather cold work to sit sostill and quiet on horseback. 

'Hutetu! it is so devilish cold', said one, and beat his armscrosswise. 

'That it is', said another; 'I freeze so, that my teeth chatter. '

'If one only had a quid to chew', said a third. 

Well! there was one who had an ounce or two; so they shared itbetween them, though it wasn't much, after all, that each got; and sothey chewed and spat, and spat and chewed. This helped them somewhat;but in a little while they were just as bad as ever. 

'Hutetu!' said one, and shivered and shook. 

'Hutetu!' said the old woman, and shivered so, that every tooth inher head chattered. Then she pulled out the flask with brandy in it, and her hand shook so that the spirit splashed about in the flask, and then she took such a gulp, that it went 'bop' in her throat. 

'What's that you've got in your flask, old girl?' said one of thegrooms. 

'Oh! it's only a drop of brandy, old man', said she. 

'Brandy! Well, I never! Do let me have a drop', screamed the wholetwelve, one after another. 

'Oh! but it is such a little drop', mumbled the old woman, 'it willnot even wet your mouths round. ' But they must and would have it;there was no help for it; and so she pulled out the flask with thesleepy drink in it, and put it to the first man's lips; then sheshook no more, but guided the flask so that each of them got what hewanted, and the twelfth had not done drinking before the first satand snored. Then the Master Thief threw off his beggar's rags, andtook one groom after the other so softly off their horses, and setthem astride on the beams between the stalls; and so he called hiseleven men, and rode off with the Squire's twelve horses. But whenthe Squire got up in the morning, and went to look after his grooms, they had just begun to come to; and some of them fell to spurring thebeams with their spurs, till the splinters flew again, and some felloff, and some still hung on and sat there looking like fools. 

'Ho! ho!' said the Squire; 'I see very well who has been here; but asfor you, a pretty set of blockheads you must be to sit here and letthe Master Thief steal the horses from between your legs. '

So they all got a good leathering because they had not kept a sharperlook-out. 

Further on in the day came the Master Thief again, and told how hehad managed the matter, and asked for the Squire's daughter, as hehad promised; but the Squire gave him one hundred dollars down, andsaid he must do something better still. 

'Do you think now', said he, 'you can steal the horse from under mewhile I am out riding on his back?' 'O, yes! I daresay I could', saidthe Master Thief, 'if I were really sure of getting your daughter. '

Well, well, the Squire would see what he could do; and he told theMaster Thief a day when he would be taking a ride on a great commonwhere they drilled the troops. So the Master Thief soon got hold ofan old worn-out jade of a mare, and set to work, and made traces andcollar of withies and broom-twigs, and bought an old beggarly cartand a great cask. After that he told an old beggar woman, he wouldgive her ten dollars if she would get inside the cask, and keep hermouth agape over the taphole, into which he was going to stick hisfinger. No harm should happen to her; she should only be driven abouta little; and if he took his finger out more than once, she was tohave ten dollars more. Then he threw a few rags and tatters overhimself, and stuffed himself out, and put on a wig and a great beardof goat's hair, so that no one could know him again, and set off forthe common, where the Squire had already been riding about a goodbit. When he reached the place, he went along so softly and slowlythat he scarce made an inch of way. 'Gee up! Gee up!' and so he wenton a little; then he stood stock still, and so on a little again; andaltogether the pace was so poor it never once came into the Squire'shead that this could be the Master Thief. 

At last the Squire rode right up to him, and asked if he had seen anyone lurking about in the wood thereabouts. 'No', said the man, 'Ihaven't seen a soul. '

'Harkye, now', said the Squire, 'if you have a mind to ride into thewood, and hunt about and see if you can fall upon any one lurkingabout there, you shall have the loan of my horse, and a shilling intothe bargain, to drink my health, for your pains. '

'I don't see how I can go', said the man, 'for I am going to awedding with this cask of mead, which I have been to town to fetch, and here the tap has fallen out by the way, and so I must go along, holding my finger in the taphole. '

'Ride off', said the Squire; 'I'll look after your horse and cask. '

Well, on these terms the man was willing to go; but he begged theSquire to be quick in putting his finger into the taphole when hetook his own out, and to mind and keep it there till he came back. Atlast the Squire grew weary of standing there with his finger in thetaphole, so he took it out. 

'Now I shall have ten dollars more!' screamed the old woman insidethe cask; and then the Squire saw at once how the land lay, and tookhimself off home; but he had not gone far before they met him with afresh horse, for the Master Thief had already been to his house, andtold them to send one. The day after, he came to the Squire and wouldhave his daughter, as he had given his word; but the Squire put himoff again with fine words, and gave him two hundred dollars, and saidhe must do one more masterpiece. If he could do that, he should haveher. Well, well, the Master Thief thought he could do it, if he onlyknew what it was to be. 

'Do you think, now', said the Squire, 'you can steal the sheet offour bed, and the shift off my wife's back. Do you think you could dothat?'

'It shall be done', said the Master Thief. 'I only wish I was as sureof getting your daughter. '

So when night began to fall, the Master Thief went out and cut down athief who hung on the gallows, and threw him across his shoulders, and carried him off. Then he got a long ladder and set it up againstthe Squire's bedroom window, and so climbed up, and kept bobbing thedead man up and down, just for all the world like one that waspeeping in at the window. 

'That's the Master Thief, old lass!' said the Squire, and gave hiswife a nudge on the side. 'Now see if I don't shoot him, that's all. '

So saying he took up a rifle which he had laid at his bedside. 

'No! no! pray don't shoot him after telling him he might come andtry', said his wife. 

'Don't talk to me, for shoot him I will', said he; and so he laythere and aimed and aimed; but as soon as the head came up before thewindow, and he saw a little of it, so soon was it down again. At lasthe thought he had a good aim; 'bang' went the gun, down fell the deadbody to the ground with a heavy thump, and down went the Master Thieftoo as fast as he could. 

'Well', said the Squire, 'it is quite true that I am the chiefmagistrate in these parts; but people are fond of talking, and itwould be a bore if they came to see this dead man's body. I think thebest thing to be done is that I should go down and bury him. '

'You must do as you think best, dear', said his wife. So the Squiregot out of bed and went downstairs, and he had scarce put his footout of the door before the Master Thief stole in, and went straightupstairs to his wife. 

'Why, dear, back already!' said she, for she thought it was herhusband. 

'O yes, I only just put him into a hole, and threw a little earthover him. It is enough that he is out of sight, for it is such a badnight out of doors; by-and-by I'll do it better. But just let me havethe sheet to wipe myself with--he was so bloody--and I have mademyself in such a mess with him. '

So he got the sheet. 

After a while he said:

'Do you know I am afraid you must let me have your nightshift too, for the sheet won't do by itself; that I can see. '

So she gave him the shift also. But just then it came across his mindthat he had forgotten to lock the house-door, so he must step downand look to that before he came back to bed, and away he went withboth shift and sheet. 

A little while after came the true Squire. 

'Why! what a time you've taken to lock the door, dear!' said hiswife; 'and what have you done with the sheet and shift?'

'What do you say?' said the Squire. 

'Why, I am asking what you have done with the sheet and shift thatyou had to wipe off the blood', said she. 

'What, in the Deil's name!' said the Squire, 'has he taken me in thistime too?'

Next day came the Master Thief and asked for the Squire's daughter, as he had given his word; and then the Squire dared not do anythingelse than give her to him, and a good lump of money into the bargain;for, to tell the truth, he was afraid lest the Master Thief shouldsteal the eyes out of his head, and that the people would begin tosay spiteful things of him if he broke his word. So the Master Thieflived well and happily from that time forward. I don't know whetherhe stole any more; but if he did, I am quite sure it was only for thesake of a bit of fun. 

THE BEST WISH

Once on a time there were three brothers; I don't quite know how ithappened, but each of them had got the right to wish one thing, whatever he chose. So the two elder were not long a-thinking; theywished that every time they put their hands in their pockets theymight pull out a piece of money; for, said they:

'The man who has as much money as he wishes for is always sure to geton in the world. '

But the youngest wished something better still. He wished that everywoman he saw might fall in love with him as soon as she saw him; andyou shall soon hear how far better this was than gold and goods. 

So, when they had all wished their wishes, the two elder were forsetting out to see the world; and Boots, their youngest brother, asked if he mightn't go along with them; but they wouldn't hear ofsuch a thing. 

'Wherever we go', they said, 'we shall be treated as counts andkings; but you, you starveling wretch, who haven't a penny, and neverwill have one, who do you think will care a bit about you?'

'Well, but in spite of that, I'd like to go with you', said Boots;'perhaps a dainty bit may fall to my share too off the plates of suchhigh and mighty lords. '

At last, after begging and praying, he got leave to go with them, ifhe would be their servant, else they wouldn't hear of it. 

So, when they had gone a day or so, they came to an inn, where thetwo who had the money alighted, and called for fish and flesh, andfowl, and brandy and mead, and everything that was good; but Boots, poor fellow, had to look after their luggage and all that belonged tothe two great people. Now, as he went to and fro outside, andloitered about in the inn-yard, the innkeeper's wife looked out ofwindow and saw the servant of the gentlemen upstairs; and, all atonce, she thought she had never set eyes on such a handsome chap. Soshe stared and stared, and the longer she looked the handsomer heseemed. 

'Why what, by the Deil's skin and bones, is it that you are standingthere gaping at out of the window?' said her husband. 'I think'twould be better if you just looked how the sucking pig is gettingon, instead of hanging out of window in that way. Don't you know whatgrand folk we have in the house to-day?'

'Oh!' said his old dame, 'I don't care a farthing about such a packof rubbish; if they don't like it they may lump it, and be off; butjust do come and look at this lad out in the yard; so handsome afellow I never saw in all my born days; and, if you'll do as I wish, we'll ask him to step in and treat him a little, for, poor lad, heseems to have a hard fight of it. '

'Have you lost the little brains you had, Goody?' said the husband, whose eyes glistened with rage; 'into the kitchen with you, and mindthe fire; but don't stand there glowering after strange men. '

So the wife had nothing left for it but to go into the kitchen, andlook after the cooking; as for the lad outside, she couldn't getleave to ask him in, or to treat him either; but just as she wasabout spitting the pig in the kitchen, she made an excuse for runningout into the yard, and then and there she gave Boots a pair ofscissors, of such a kind that they cut of themselves out of the airthe loveliest clothes any one ever saw, silk and satin, and all thatwas fine. 

'This you shall have because you are so handsome, ' said theinnkeeper's wife. 

So when the two elder brothers had crammed themselves with roast andboiled, they wished to be off again, and Boots had to stand behindtheir carriage, and be their servant; and so they travelled a goodway, till they came to another inn. There the two brothers againalighted and went indoors, but Boots, who had no money, they wouldn'thave inside with them; no, he must wait outside and watch theluggage. 'And mind', they said, 'if any one asks whose servant youare, say we are two foreign Princes. '

But the same thing happened now as happened before; while Boots stoodhanging about out in the yard, the innkeeper's wife came to thewindow and saw him, and she too fell in love with him, just like thefirst innkeeper's wife; and there she stood and stared, for shethought she could never have her fill of looking at him. Then herhusband came running through the room with something the two Princeshad ordered. 

'Don't stand there staring like a cow at a barn-door, but take thisinto the kitchen, and look after your fish-kettle, Goody', said theman; 'don't you see what grand people we have in the house to-day?'

'I don't care a farthing for such a pack of rubbish', said the wife;'if they don't like what they get they may lump it, and eat what theybrought with them. But just do come here, and see what you shall see!Such a handsome fellow as walks here, out in the yard, I never saw inall my born days. Shan't we ask him in and treat him a little; helooks as if he needed it, poor chap?' and then she went on:

'Such a love! such a love!'

'You never had much wit, and the little you had is clean gone, I cansee', said the man, who was much more angry than the first innkeeper, and chased his wife back, neck and crop, into the kitchen. 

'Into the kitchen with you, and don't stand glowering after lads', hesaid. 

So she had to go in and mind her fish-kettle, and she dared not treatBoots, for she was afraid of her old man; but as she stood theremaking up the fire, she made an excuse for running out into the yard, and then and there she gave Boots a table-cloth, which was such thatit covered itself with the best dishes you could think of, as soon asit was spread out. 

'This you shall have', she said, 'because you're so handsome. '

So when the two brothers had eaten and drank of all that was in thehouse, and had paid the bill in hard cash, they set off again, andBoots stood up behind their carriage. But when they had gone so farthat they grew hungry again, they turned into a third inn, and calledfor the best and dearest they could think of. 

'For', said they, 'we are two kings on our travels, and as for ourmoney, it grows like grass. '

Well, when the innkeeper heard that, there was such a roasting, andbaking, and boiling; why! you might smell the dinner at the nextneighbour's house, though it wasn't so very near; and the innkeeperwas at his wits' end to find all he wished to put before the twokings. But Boots, he had to stand outside here too, and look afterthe things in the carriage. 

So it was the same story over again. The innkeeper's wife came to thewindow and peeped out, and there she saw the servant standing by thecarriage. Such a handsome chap she had never set eyes on before; soshe looked and looked, and the more she stared the handsomer heseemed to the innkeeper's wife. Then out came the innkeeper, scampering through the room, with some dainty which the travellingkings had ordered, and he wasn't very soft-tongued when he saw hisold dame standing and glowering out of the window. 

'Don't you know better than to stand gaping and staring there, whenwe have such great folk in the house', he said; 'back into thekitchen with you this minute, to your custards. '

'Well! well!' she said, 'as for them, I don't care a pin. If theycan't wait till the custards are baked, they may go without--that'sall. But do, pray, come here, and you'll see such a lovely ladstanding out here in the yard. Why I never saw such a pretty fellowin my life. Shan't we ask him in now, and treat him a little, for helooks as if it would do him good. Oh! what a darling! What adarling!'

'A wanton gadabout you've been all your days, and so you are still', said her husband, who was in such a rage he scarce knew which leg tostand on; 'but if you don't be off to your custards this minute, I'llsoon find out how to make you stir your stumps; see if I don't. '

So the wife had off to her custards as fast as she could, for sheknew that her husband would stand no nonsense; but as she stood thereover the fire she stole out into the yard, and gave Boots a tap. 

'If you only turn this tap', she said; 'you'll get the finest drinkof whatever kind you choose, both mead, and wine, and brandy; andthis you shall have because you are so handsome. '

So when the two brothers had eaten and drunk all they could, theystarted from the inn, and Boots stood up behind again as theirservant, and thus they drove far and wide, till they came to a king'spalace. There the two elder gave themselves out for two emperor'ssons, and as they had plenty of money, and were so fine that theirclothes shone again ever so far off, they were well treated. They hadrooms in the palace, and the king couldn't tell how to make enough ofthem. But Boots, who went about in the same rags he stood in when heleft home, and who had never a penny in his pocket, he was taken upby the king's guard, and put across to an island, whither they usedto row over all the beggars and rogues that came to the palace. Thisthe king had ordered, because he wouldn't have the mirth at thepalace spoilt by those dirty blackguards; and thither, too, only justas much food as would keep body and soul together was sent overeveryday. Now Boots' brothers saw very well that the guard was rowinghim over to the island, but they were glad to be rid of him, anddidn't pay the least heed to him. 

But when Boots got over there, he just pulled out his scissors andbegan to snip and cut in the air; so the scissors cut out the finestclothes any one would wish to see; silk and satin both, and all thebeggars on the island were soon dressed far finer than the king andall his guests in the palace. After that, Boots pulled out his table-cloth, and spread it out, and so they got food too, the poor beggars. Such a feast had never been seen at the king's palace, as was servedthat day at the Beggars' Isle. 

'Thirsty, too, I'll be bound you all are', said Boots, and out withhis tap, gave it a turn, and so the beggars got all a drop to drink;and such ale and mead the king himself had never tasted in all hislife. 

So, next morning, when those who were to bring the beggars their foodon the island, came rowing over with the scrapings of the porridge-pots and cheese-parings--that was what the poor wretches had--thebeggars wouldn't so much as taste them, and the king's men fell towondering what it could mean; but they wondered much more when theygot a good look at the beggars, for they were so fine the guardthought they must be Emperors or Popes at least, and that they musthave rowed to a wrong island; but when they looked better about them, they saw they were come to the old place. 

Then they soon found out it must be he whom they had rowed out theday before who had brought the beggars on the island all this stateand bravery; and as soon as they got back to the palace, they werenot slow to tell how the man, whom they had rowed over the daybefore, had dressed out all the beggars so fine and grand thatprecious things fell from their clothes. 

'And as for the porridge and cheese we took, they wouldn't even tastethem, so proud have they got', they said. 

One of them, too, had smelt out that the lad had a pair of scissorswhich he cut out the clothes with. 

'When he only snips with those scissors up in the air he snips andcuts out nothing but silk and satin', said he. 

So, when the Princess heard that, she had neither peace nor rest tillshe saw the lad and his scissors that cut out silk and satin from theair; such a pair was worth having, she thought, for with its help shewould soon get all the finery she wished for. Well, she begged theking so long and hard, he was forced to send a messenger for the ladwho owned the scissors; and when he came to the palace, the Princessasked him if it were true that he had such and such a pair ofscissors, and if he would sell it to her. Yes, it was all true he hadsuch a pair, said Boots, but sell it he wouldn't; and with that hetook the scissors out of his pocket, and snipped and snipped withthem in the air till strips of silk and satin flew all about him. 

'Nay, but you must sell me these scissors', said the Princess. 'Youmay ask what you please for them, but have them I must. '

No! Such a pair of scissors he wouldn't sell at any price, for hecould never get such a pair again; and while they stood and haggledfor the scissors, the Princess had time to look better at Boots, andshe too thought with the innkeepers' wives that she had never seensuch a handsome fellow before. So she began to bargain for thescissors over again, and begged and prayed Boots to let her havethem; he might ask many, many hundred dollars for them, 'twas all thesame to her, so she got them. 

'No! sell them I won't', said Boots; 'but all the same, if I can getleave to sleep one night on the floor of the Princess' bedroom, closeby the door, I'll give her the scissors. I'll do her no harm, but ifshe's afraid, she may have two men to watch inside the room. '

Yes! the Princess was glad enough to give him leave, for she wasready to grant him anything if she only got the scissors. So Bootslay on the floor inside the Princess' bedroom that night, and two menstood watch there too; but the Princess didn't get much rest afterall; for when she ought to have been asleep, she must open her eyesto look at Boots, and so it went on the whole night. If she shut hereyes for a minute, she peeped out at him again the next, such ahandsome fellow he seemed to her to be. 

Next morning Boots was rowed over to the Beggars' isle again; butwhen they came with the porridge scrapings and cheese parings fromthe palace, there was no one who would taste them that day either, and so those who brought the food were more astonished than ever. Butone of those who brought the food contrived to smell out that the ladwho had owned the scissors owned also a table-cloth, which he onlyneeded to spread out, and it was covered with all the good things hecould wish for. So when he got back to the palace, he wasn't longbefore he said:

'Such hot joints and such custards I never saw the like of in theking's palace. '

And when the Princess heard that, she told it to the king, and beggedand prayed so long, that he was forced to send a messenger out to theisland to fetch the lad who owned the table-cloth; and so Boots cameback to the palace. The Princess must and would have the cloth ofhim, and offered him gold and green woods for it, but Boots wouldn'tsell it at any price. 

'But if I may have leave to lie on the bench by the Princess' bed-side to-night, she shall have the cloth; but if she's afraid, she iswelcome to set four men to watch inside the room. '

Yes! the Princess agreed to this, so Boots lay down on the bench bythe bed-side, and the four men watched; but if the Princess hadn'tmuch sleep the night before, she had much less this, for she couldscarce get a wink of sleep; there she lay wide awake looking at thelovely lad the whole night through, and after all, the night seemedtoo short. 

Next morning Boots was rowed off again to the Beggars' island, thoughsorely against the Princess' will, so happy was she to be near him;but it was past praying for; to the island he must go, and there wasan end of it. But when those who brought the food to the beggars camewith the porridge scrapings and cheese parings, there wasn't one ofthem who would even look at what the king sent, and those who broughtit didn't wonder either; though they all thought it strange that noneof them were thirsty. But just then, one of the king's guard smelledout that the lad who had owned the scissors and the table-cloth had atap besides, which, if one only turned it a little, gave out therarest drink, both ale, and mead, and wine. So when he came back tothe palace, he couldn't keep his mouth shut this time any more thanbefore; he went about telling high and low about the tap, and howeasy it was to draw all sorts of drink out of it. 

'And as for that mead and ale, I've never tasted the like of them inthe king's palace; honey and syrup are nothing to them forsweetness. '

So when the Princess heard that, she was all for getting the tap, andwas nothing loath to strike a bargain with the owner either. So shewent again to the king, and begged him to send a messenger to theBeggars' Isle after the lad who had owned the scissors and cloth, fornow he had another thing worth having, she said; and when the kingheard it was a tap, that was good to give the best ale and wine anyone could drink, when one gave it a turn, he wasn't long in sendingthe messenger, I should think. 

So when Boots came up to the palace, the Princess asked whether itwere true he had a tap which could do such and such things? 'Yes! hehad such a tap in his waistcoat pocket', said Boots; but when thePrincess wished with all her might to buy it, Boots said, as he hadsaid twice before, he wouldn't sell it, even if the Princess badehalf the kingdom for it. 

'But all the same', said Boots; 'if I may have leave to sleep on thePrincess' bed to-night, outside the quilt, she shall have my tap. I'll not do her any harm; but, if she's afraid, she may set eight mento watch in her room. '

'Oh, no!' said the Princess, 'there was no need of that, she knew himnow so well'; and so Boots lay outside the Princess' bed that night. But if she hadn't slept much the two nights before, she had lesssleep that night; for she couldn't shut her eyes the livelong night, but lay and looked at Boots, who lay alongside her outside the quilt. 

So, when she got up in the morning, and they were going to row Bootsback to the island, she begged them to hold hard a little bit; and inshe ran to the king, and begged him so prettily to let her have Bootsfor a husband, she was so fond of him, and, unless she had him, shedid not care to live. 

'Well, well!' said the king, 'you shall have him if you must; for hewho has such things is just as rich as you are. '

So Boots got the Princess and half the kingdom--the other half he wasto have when the king died; and so everything went smooth and well;but as for his brothers, who had always been so bad to him, he packedthem off to the Beggars' island. 

'There', said Boots, 'perhaps they may find out which is best off, the man who has his pockets full of money, or the man whom all womenfall in love with. '

Nor, to tell you the truth, do I think it would help them much towander about upon the Beggars' island pulling pieces of money out oftheir pockets; and so, if Boots hasn't taken them off the island, there they are still walking about to this very day, eating cheese-parings and the scrapings of the porridge-pots. 

THE THREE BILLY-GOATS GRUFF

Once on a time there were three Billy-goats, who were to go up to thehill-side to make themselves fat, and the name of all three was'Gruff'. 

On the way up was a bridge over a burn they had to cross; and underthe bridge lived a great ugly Troll, with eyes as big as saucers, anda nose as long as a poker. 

So first of all came the youngest billy-goat Gruff to cross thebridge. 

'Trip, trap; trip, trap!' went the bridge. 

'WHO'S THAT tripping over my bridge?' roared the Troll. 

'Oh! it is only I, the tiniest billy-goat Gruff; and I'm going up tothe hill-side to make myself fat', said the billy-goat, with such asmall voice. 

'Now, I'm coming to gobble you up', said the Troll. 

'Oh, no! pray don't take me. I'm too little, that I am', said thebilly-goat; 'wait a bit till the second billy-goat Gruff comes, he'smuch bigger. '

'Well! be off with you', said the Troll. 

A little while after came the second billy-goat Gruff to cross thebridge. 

'TRIP, TRAP! TRIP, TRAP! TRIP, TRAP!' went the bridge. 

'WHO'S THAT tripping over my bridge?' roared the Troll. 

'Oh! it's the second billy-goat Gruff, and I'm going up to the hill-side to make myself fat', said the billy-goat, who hadn't such asmall voice. 

'Now, I'm coming to gobble you up', said the Troll. 

'Oh, no! don't take me, wait a little till the big billy-goat Gruffcomes, he's much bigger. '

'Very well! be off with you', said the Troll. 

But just then up came the big billy-goat Gruff. 

'TRIP, TRAP! TRIP, TRAP! TRIP, TRAP!' went the bridge, for the billy-goat was so heavy that the bridge creaked and groaned under him. 

'WHO'S THAT tramping over my bridge?' roared the Troll. 

'IT'S I! THE BIG BILLY-GOAT GRUFF', said the billy-goat, who had anugly hoarse voice of his own. 

'Now, I'm coming to gobble you up', roared the Troll. 

 Well, come along! I've got two spears, And I'll poke your eyeballs out at your ears; I've got besides two curling-stones, And I'll crush you to bits, body and bones. 

That was what the big billy-goat said; and so he flew at the Trolland poked his eyes out with his horns, and crushed him to bits, bodyand bones, and tossed him out into the burn, and after that he wentup to the hill-side. There the billy-goats got so fat they werescarce able to walk home again; and if the fat hasn't fallen offthem, why they're still fat; and so:

 Snip, snap, snout, This tale's told out. 

WELL DONE AND ILL PAID

Once on a time there was a man, who had to drive his sledge to thewood for fuel. So a Bear met him. 

'Out with your horse', said the Bear, 'or I'll strike all your sheepdead by summer. '

'Oh! heaven help me then', said the man; 'there's not a stick offirewood in the house; you must let me drive home a load of fuel, else we shall be frozen to death. I'll bring the horse to you to-morrow morning. '

Yes! on those terms he might drive the wood home, that was a bargain;but Bruin said, 'if he didn't come back, he should lose all his sheepby summer'. 

So the man got the wood on the sledge and rattled homewards, but hewasn't over pleased at the bargain you may fancy. So just then a Foxmet him. 

'Why, what's the matter?' said the Fox; 'why are you so down in themouth?'

'Oh, if you want to know', said the man; 'I met a Bear up yonder inthe wood, and I had to give my word to him to bring Dobbin back to-morrow, at this very hour; for if he didn't get him, he said he wouldtear all my sheep to death by summer. '

'Stuff, nothing worse than that', said the Fox; 'if you'll give meyour fattest wether, I'll soon set you free; see if I don't. '

Yes! the man gave his word, and swore he would keep it too. 

'Well, when you come with Dobbin to-morrow for the bear', said theFox, 'I'll make a clatter up in that heap of stones yonder, and sowhen the bear asks what that noise is, you must say 'tis Peter theMarksman, who is the best shot in the world; and after that you musthelp yourself. '

Next day off set the man, and when he met the Bear, something beganto make a clatter up in the heap of stones. 

'Hist! what's that?' said the Bear. 

'Oh! that's Peter the Marksman, to be sure', said the than; 'he's thebest shot in the world. I know him by his voice. '

'Have you seen any bears about here, Eric?' shouted out a voice inthe wood. 

'Say, no!' said the Bear. 

'No, I haven't seen any', said Eric. 

'What's that then, that stands alongside your sledge?' bawled out thevoice in the wood. 

'Say it's an old fir-stump', said the Bear. 

'Oh, it's only an old fir-stump', said the man. 

'Such fir-stumps we take in our country and roll them on oursledges', bawled out the voice; 'if you can't do it yourself, I'llcome and help you. '

'Say you can help yourself, and roll me up on the sledge', said theBear. 

'No, thank ye, I can help myself well enough', said the man, androlled the Bear on to the sledge. 

'Such fir-stumps we always bind fast on our sledges in our part ofthe world', bawled out the voice; 'shall I come and help you?'

'Say you can help yourself, and bind me fast, do', said the Bear. 

'No, thanks, I can help myself well enough', said the man, who set tobinding Bruin fast with all the ropes he had, so that at last thebear couldn't stir a paw. 

'Such fir-stumps we always drive our axes into, in our part of theworld', bawled out the voice; 'for then we guide them better goingdown the steep pitches. '

'Pretend to drive your axe into me, do now', said the bear. Then theman took up his axe, and at one blow split the bear's skull, so thatBruin lay dead in a trice, and so the man and the Fox were greatfriends, and on the best terms. But when they came near the farm, theFox said:

'I've no mind to go right home with you, for I can't say I like yourtykes; so I'll just wait here, and you can bring the wether to me, but mind and pick out one nice and fat. '

Yes! the man would be sure to do that, and thanked the Fox much forhis help. So when he had put up Dobbin, he went across to the sheep-stall. 

'Whither away, now?' asked his old dame. 

'Oh!' said the man, 'I'm only going to the sheep-stall to fetch a fatwether for that cunning Fox, who set our Dobbin free. I gave him myword I would. '

'Whither, indeed', said the old dame; 'never a one shall that thief ofa Fox get. Haven't we got Dobbin safe, and the bear into the bargain;and as for the Fox, I'll be bound he's stolen more of our geese thanthe wether is worth; and even if he hasn't stolen them, he will. No, no; take a brace of your swiftest hounds in a sack, and slip themloose after him; and then, perhaps, we shall be rid of this robbingReynard. '

Well, the man thought that good advice; so he took two fleet redhounds, put them into a sack, and set off with them. 

'Have you brought the wether?' said the Fox. 

'Yes, come and take it', said the man, as he untied the sack and letslip the hounds. 

'HUF', said the Fox, and gave a great spring; 'true it is what theold saw says, "Well done is often ill paid"; and now, too, I see thetruth of another saying, "The worst foes are those of one's ownhouse. "' That was what the Fox said as he ran off, and saw the redfoxy hounds at his heels. 

THE HUSBAND WHO WAS TO MIND THE HOUSE

Once on a time there was a man, so surly and cross, he never thoughthis wife did anything right in the house. So, one evening, in hay-making time, he came home, scolding and swearing, and showing histeeth and making a dust. 

'Dear love, don't be so angry; there's a good man', said his goody;'to-morrow let's change our work. I'll go out with the mowers andmow, and you shall mind the house at home. '

Yes! the husband thought that would do very well. He was quitewilling, he said. 

So, early next morning, his goody took a scythe over her neck, andwent out into the hay-field with the mowers, and began to mow; butthe man was to mind the house, and do the work at home. 

First of all, he wanted to churn the butter; but when he had churneda while, he got thirsty, and went down to the cellar to tap a barrelof ale. So, just when he had knocked in the bung, and was putting thetap into the cask, he heard overhead the pig come into the kitchen. Then off he ran up the cellar steps, with the tap in his hand, asfast as he could, to look after the pig, lest it should upset thechurn; but when he got up, and saw the pig had already knocked thechurn over, and stood there, routing and grunting amongst the creamwhich was running all over the floor, he got so wild with rage thathe quite forgot the ale-barrel, and ran at the pig as hard as hecould. He caught it, too, just as it ran out of doors, and gave itsuch a kick, that piggy lay for dead on the spot. 

Then all at once he remembered he had the tap in his hand; but whenhe got down to the cellar, every drop of ale had run out of the cask. 

Then he went into the dairy and found enough cream left to fill thechurn again, and so he began to churn, for butter they must have atdinner. When he had churned a bit, he remembered that their milkingcow was still shut up in the byre, and hadn't had a bit to eat or adrop to drink all the morning, though the sun was high. Then all atonce he thought 'twas too far to take her down to the meadow, so he'djust get her up on the house top-for the house, you must know, wasthatched with sods, and a fine crop of grass was growing there. Nowtheir house lay close up against a steep down, and he thought if helaid a plank across to the thatch at the back he'd easily get the cowup. 

But still he couldn't leave the churn, for there was his little babecrawling about on the floor, and 'if I leave it', he thought, 'thechild is safe to upset it'. So he took the churn on his back, andwent out with it; but then he thought he'd better first water the cowbefore he turned her out on the thatch; so he took up a bucket todraw water out of the well; but, as he stooped down at the well'sbrink, all the cream ran out of the churn over his shoulders, and sodown into the well. 

Now it was near dinner-time, and he hadn't even got the butter yet;so he thought he'd best boil the porridge, and filled the pot withwater, and hung it over the fire. When he had done that, he thoughtthe cow might perhaps fall off the thatch and break her legs or herneck. So he got up on the house to tie her up. One end of the rope hemade fast to the cow's neck and the other he slipped down the chimneyand tied round his own thigh; and he had to make haste, for the waternow began to boil in the pot, and he had still to grind the oatmeal. 

So he began to grind away; but while he was hard at it, down fell thecow off the house-top after all, and as she fell, she dragged the manup the chimney by the rope. There he stuck fast; and as for the cow, she hung half-way down the wall, swinging between heaven and earth, for she could neither get down nor up. 

And now the goody had waited seven lengths and seven breadths for herhusband to come and call them home to dinner; but never a call theyhad. At last she thought she'd waited long enough, and went home. Butwhen she got there and saw the cow hanging in such an ugly place, sheran up and cut the rope in two with her scythe. But as she did this, down came her husband out of the chimney; and so when his old damecame inside the kitchen, there she found him standing on his head inthe porridge pot. 

DAPPLEGRIM

Once on a time there was a rich couple who had twelve sons; but theyoungest when he was grown up, said he wouldn't stay any longer athome, but be off into the world to try his luck. His father andmother said he did very well at home, and had better stay where hewas. But no, he couldn't rest; away he must and would go. So at lastthey gave him leave. And when he had walked a good bit, he came to aking's palace, where he asked for a place, and got it. 

Now the daughter of the king of that land had been carried off intothe hill by a Troll, and the king had no other children; so he andall his land were in great grief and sorrow, and the king gave hisword that any one who could set her free should have the Princess andhalf the kingdom. But there was no one who could do it, though manytried. 

So when the lad had been there a year or so, he longed to go homeagain and see his father and mother, and back he went, but when hegot home his father and mother were dead, and his brothers had sharedall that the old people owned between them, and so there was nothingleft for the lad. 

'Shan't I have anything at all, then, out of father's and mother'sgoods?' said the lad. 

'Who could tell you were still alive, when you went gadding andwandering about so long?' said his brothers. 'But all the same; thereare twelve mares up on the hill which we haven't yet shared among us;if you choose to take them for your share, you're quite welcome. '

Yes! the lad was quite content; so he thanked his brothers, and wentat once up on the hill, where the twelve mares were out at grass. Andwhen he got up there and found them, each of them had a foal at herside, and one of them had besides, along with her, a big dapple-grayfoal, which was so sleek that the sun shone from its coat. 

'A fine fellow you are, my little foal', said the lad. 

'Yes', said the foal; 'but if you'll only kill all the other foals, so that I may run and suck all the mares one year more, you'll seehow big and sleek I'll be then. '

Yes! the lad was ready to do that; so he killed all those twelvefoals, and went home again. 

So when he came back the next year to look after his foal and mares, the foal was so fat and sleek, that the sun shone from its coat, andit had grown so big, the lad had hard work to mount it. As for themares, they had each of them another foal. 

'Well, it's quite plain I lost nothing by letting you suck all mytwelve mares', said the lad to the yearling, 'but now you're bigenough to come along with me. '

'No', said the colt, 'I must bide here a year longer; and now killall the twelve foals, that I may suck all the mares this year too, and you'll see how big and sleek I'll be by summer. '

Yes! the lad did that; and next year when he went up on the hill tolook after his colt and the mares, each mare had her foal, but thedapple colt was so tall the lad couldn't reach up to his crest whenhe wanted to feel how fat he was; and so sleek he was too, that hiscoat glistened in the sunshine. 

'Big and beautiful you were last year, my colt', said the lad, 'butthis year you're far grander. There's no such horse in the king'sstable. But now you must come along with me. '

'No', said Dapple again, 'I must stay here one year more. Kill thetwelve foals as before, that I may suck the mares the whole year, andthen just come and look at me when the summer comes. '

Yes! the lad did that; he killed the foals, and went away home. 

But when he went up next year to look after Dapple and the mares, hewas quite astonished. So tall, and stout, and sturdy, he neverthought a horse could be; for Dapple had to lie down on all foursbefore the lad could bestride him, and it was hard work to get upeven then, although he lay flat; and his coat was so smooth andsleek, the sunbeams shone from it as from a looking-glass. 

This time Dapple was willing enough to follow the lad, so he jumpedup on his back, and when he came riding home to his brothers, theyall clapped their hands and crossed themselves, for such a horse theyhad never heard of nor seen before. 

'If you will only get me the best shoes you can for my horse, and thegrandest saddle and bridle that are to be found', said the lad, 'youmay have my twelve mares that graze up on the hill yonder, and theirtwelve foals into the bargain. ' For you must know that this year tooevery mare had her foal. 

Yes, his brothers were ready to do that, and so the lad got suchstrong shoes under his horse, that the stones flew high aloft as herode away across the hills; and he had a golden saddle and a goldenbridle, which gleamed and glistened a long way off. 

'Now we're off to the king's palace', said Dapplegrim--that was hisname; 'but mind you ask the king for a good stable and good fodderfor me. '

Yes! the lad said he would mind; he'd be sure not to forget; and whenhe rode off from his brothers' house, you may be sure it wasn't long, with such a horse under him, before he got to the king's palace. 

When he came there the king was standing on the steps, and stared andstared at the man who came riding along. 

'Nay, nay!', said he, 'such a man and such a horse I never yet saw inall my life. '

But when the lad asked if he could get a place in the king'shousehold, the king was so glad he was ready to jump and dance as hestood on the steps. 

Well, they said, perhaps he might get a place there. 

'Aye', said the lad, 'but I must have good stable-room for my horse, and fodder that one can trust. '

Yes! he should have meadow-hay and oats, as much as Dapple couldcram, and all the other knights had to lead their horses out of thestable that Dapplegrim might stand alone, and have it all to himself. 

But it wasn't long before all the others in the king's householdbegan to be jealous of the lad, and there was no end to the badthings they would have done to him, if they had only dared. At lastthey thought of telling the king he had said he was man enough to setthe king's daughter free--whom the Troll had long since carried awayinto the hill--if he only chose. The king called the lad before him, and said he had heard the lad said he was good to do so and so; sonow he must go and do it. If he did it, he knew how the king hadpromised his daughter and half the kingdom, and that promise would befaithfully kept; if he didn't, he should be killed. 

The lad kept on saying he never said any such thing; but it was nogood--the king wouldn't even listen to him; and so the end of it washe was forced to say he'd go and try. 

So he went into the stable, down in the mouth and heavy-hearted, andthen Dapplegrim asked him at once why he was in such dumps. 

Then the lad told him all, and how he couldn't tell which way toturn:

'For as for setting the Princess free, that's downright stuff. '

'Oh! but it might be done, perhaps', said Dapplegrim. 'I'll help youthrough; but you must first have me well shod. You must go and askfor ten pound of iron and twelve pound of steel for the shoes, andone smith to hammer and another to hold. '

Yes, the lad did that, and got for answer 'Yes!' He got both the ironand the steel, and the smiths, and so Dapplegrim was shod both strongand well, and off went the lad from the court-yard in a cloud ofdust. 

But when he came to the hill into which the Princess had beencarried, the pinch was how to get up the steep wall of rock where theTroll's cave was, in which the Princess had been hid. For you mustknow the hill stood straight up and down right on end, as upright asa house-wall, and as smooth as a sheet of glass. 

The first time the lad went at it he got a little way up; but thenDapple's fore-legs slipped, and down they went again, with a soundlike thunder on the hill. 

The second time he rode at it he got some way further up; but thenone fore-leg slipped, and down they went with a crash like alandslip. 

But the third time Dapple said:

'Now we must show our mettle'; and went at it again till the stonesflew heaven-high about them, and so they got up. 

Then the lad rode right into the cave at full speed, and caught upthe Princess, and threw her over his saddle-bow and out and downagain before the Troll had time even to get on his legs; and so thePrincess was freed. 

When the lad came back to the palace, the king was both happy andglad to get his daughter back; that you may well believe; but somehowor other, though I don't know how, the others about the court had sobrought it about that the king was angry with the lad after all. 

'Thanks you shall have for freeing my Princess', said he to the lad, when he brought the Princess into the hall, and made his bow. 

'She ought to be mine as well as yours; for you're a word-fast man, Ihope', said the lad. 

'Aye, aye!' said the king, 'have her you shall, since I said it; butfirst of all, you must make the sun shine into my palace hall. '

Now, you must know there was a high steep ridge of rock close outsidethe windows, which threw such a shade over the hall that never asunbeam shone into it. 

'That wasn't in our bargain', answered the lad; 'but I see this ispast praying against; I must e'en go and try my luck, for thePrincess I must and will have. '

So down he went to Dapple, and told him what the king wanted, andDapplegrim thought it might easily be done, but first of all he mustbe new shod; and for that ten pound of iron, and twelve pound ofsteel besides, were needed, and two smiths, one to hammer and theother to hold, and then they'd soon get the sun to shine into thepalace hall. 

So when the lad asked for all these things, he got them at once--theking couldn't say nay for very shame; and so Dapplegrim got newshoes, and such shoes! Then the lad jumped upon his back, and offthey went again; and for every leap that Dapplegrim gave, down sankthe ridge fifteen ells into the earth, and so they went on till therewas nothing left of the ridge for the king to see. 

When the lad got back to the king's palace, he asked the king if thePrincess were not his now; for now no one could say that the sundidn't shine into the hall. But then the others set the king's backup again, and he answered the lad should have her of course, he hadnever thought of anything else; but first of all he must get as granda horse for the bride to ride on to church as the bridegroom hadhimself. 

The lad said the king hadn't spoken a word about this before, andthat he thought he had now fairly earned the Princess; but the kingheld to his own; and more, if the lad couldn't do that he should losehis life; that was what the king said. So the lad went down to thestable in doleful dumps, as you may well fancy, and there he toldDapplegrim all about it; how the king had laid that task on him, tofind the bride as good a horse as the bridegroom had himself, else hewould lose his life. 

'But that's not so easy', he said, 'for your match isn't to be foundin the wide world. '

'Oh yes, I have a match', said Dapplegrim; 'but 'tisn't so easy tofind him, for he abides in Hell. Still we'll try. And now you must goup to the king and ask for new shoes for me, ten pound of iron, andtwelve pound of steel; and two smiths, one to hammer and one to hold;and mind you see that the points and ends of these shoes are sharp;and twelve sacks of rye, and twelve sacks of barley, and twelveslaughtered oxen, we must have with us; and mind, we must have thetwelve ox-hides, with twelve hundred spikes driven into each; and, let me see, a big tar-barrel--that's all we want. '

So the lad went up to the king and asked for all that Dapplegrim hadsaid, and the king again thought he couldn't say nay, for shame'ssake, and so the lad got all he wanted. 

Well, he jumped up on Dapplegrim's back, and rode away from thepalace, and when he had ridden far far over hill and heath, Dappleasked:

'Do you hear anything?'

'Yes, I hear an awful hissing and rustling up in the air, ' said thelad; 'I think I'm getting afraid. '

'That's all the wild birds that fly through the wood. They are sentto stop us; but just cut a hole in the corn-sacks, and then they'llhave so much to do with the corn, they'll forget us quite. '

Yes! the lad did that; he cut holes in the corn-sacks, so that therye and barley ran out on all sides. Then all the wild birds thatwere in the wood came flying round them so thick that the sunbeamsgrew dark; but as soon as they saw the corn, they couldn't keep totheir purpose, but flew down and began to pick and scratch at the ryeand barley, and after that they began to fight among themselves. Asfor Dapplegrim and the lad, they forgot all about them, and did themno harm. 

So the lad rode on and on--far far over mountain and dale, over sand-hills and moor. Then Dapplegrim began to prick up his ears again, andat last he asked the lad if he heard anything?

'Yes! now I hear such an ugly roaring and howling in the wood allround, it makes me quite afraid. '

'Ah!' said Dapplegrim, 'that's all the wild beasts that range throughthe wood, and they're sent out to stop us. But just cast out thetwelve carcasses of the oxen, that will give them enough to do, andso they'll forget us outright. '

Yes! the lad cast out the carcasses, and then all the wild beasts inthe wood, both bears, and wolves, and lions--all fell beasts of allkinds--came after them. But when they saw the carcasses, they beganto fight for them among themselves till blood flowed in streams; butDapplegrim and the lad they quite forgot. 

So the lad rode far away, and they changed the landscape many manytimes, for Dapplegrim didn't let the grass grow under him, as you mayfancy. At last Dapple gave a great neigh. 

'Do you hear anything?' he said. 

'Yes, I hear something like a colt neighing loud, a long long wayoff', answered the lad. 

'That's a full-grown colt then', said Dapplegrim, 'if we hear himneigh so loud such a long way off. '

After that they travelled a good bit, changing the landscape once ortwice, maybe. Then Dapplegrim gave another neigh. 

'Now listen, and tell me if you hear anything', he said. 

'Yes, now I hear a neigh like a full-grown horse', answered the lad. 

'Aye! aye!' said Dapplegrim, 'you'll hear him once again soon, andthen you'll hear he's got a voice of his own. '

So they travelled on and on, and changed the landscape once or twice, perhaps, and then Dapplegrim neighed the third time; but before hecould ask the lad if he heard anything, something gave such a neighacross the heathy hill-side, the lad thought hill and rock wouldsurely be rent asunder. 

'Now, he's here!' said Dapplegrim; 'make haste, now, and throw the oxhides, with the spikes in them, over me, and throw down the tar-barrel on the plain; then climb up into that great spruce-fir yonder. When it comes fire will flash out of both nostrils, and then the tar-barrel will catch fire. Now, mind what I say. If the flame rises, Iwin; if it falls, I lose; but if you see me winning take and cast thebridle--you must take it off me--over its head, and then it will betame enough. '

So just as the lad had done throwing the ox hides, with the spikes, over Dapplegrim, and had cast down the tar-barrel on the plain, andhad got well up into the spruce-fir, up galloped a horse, with fireflashing out of his nostrils, and the flame caught the tar-barrel atonce. Then Dapplegrim and the strange horse began to fight till thestones flew heaven high. They fought and bit, and kicked, both withfore-feet and hind-feet, and sometimes the lad could see them, andsometimes he couldn't; but at last the flame began to rise; forwherever the strange horse kicked or bit, he met the spiked hides, and at last he had to yield. When the lad saw that, he wasn't long ingetting down from the tree, and in throwing the bridle over its head, and then it was so tame you could hold it with a pack-thread. 

And what do you think? that horse was dappled too, and so likeDapplegrim, you couldn't tell which was which. Then the lad bestrodethe new Dapple he had broken, and rode home to the palace, and oldDapplegrim ran loose by his side. So when he got home, there stoodthe king out in the yard. 

'Can you tell me now', said the lad, 'which is the horse I havecaught and broken, and which is the one I had before. If you can't, Ithink your daughter is fairly mine. '

Then the king went and looked at both Dapples, high and low, beforeand behind, but there wasn't a hair on one which wasn't on the otheras well. 'No', said the king, 'that I can't; and since you've got mydaughter such a grand horse for her wedding, you shall have her withall my heart. But still, we'll have one trial more, just to seewhether you're fated to have her. First, she shall hide herselftwice, and then you shall hide yourself twice. If you can find outher hiding-place, and she can't find out yours, why then you're fatedto have her, and so you shall have her. '

'That's not in the bargain either', said the lad; 'but we must justtry, since it must be so'; and so the Princess went off to hideherself first. 

So she turned herself into a duck, and lay swimming on a pond thatwas close to the palace. But the lad only ran down to the stable, andasked Dapplegrim what she had done with herself. 

'Oh, you only need to take your gun', said Dapplegrim, 'and go downto the brink of the pond, and aim at the duck which lies swimmingabout there, and she'll soon show herself. '

So the lad snatched up his gun and ran off to the pond. 'I'll justtake a pop at this duck', he said, and began to aim at it. 

'Nay, nay, dear friend, don't shoot. It's I', said the Princess. 

So he had found her once. 

The second time the Princess turned herself into a loaf of bread, andlaid herself on the table among four other loaves; and so like wasshe to the others, no one could say which was which. 

But the lad went again down to the stable to Dapplegrim, and said howthe Princess had hidden herself again, and he couldn't tell at allwhat had become of her. 

'Oh, just take and sharpen a good bread-knife', said Dapplegrim, ' anddo as if you were going to cut in two the third loaf on the left handof those four loaves which are lying on the dresser in the king'skitchen, and you'll find her soon enough. '

Yes! the was down in the kitchen in no time, and began to sharpen thebiggest bread-knife he could lay hands on; then he caught hold of thethird loaf on the left hand, and put the knife to it, as though hewas going to cut it in two. I'll just have a slice off this loaf', hesaid, Nay, dear friend', said the Princess, 'don't cut. It's I' So he hadfound her twice. 

Then he was to go and hide; but he and Dapplegrim had settled it allso well beforehand, it wasn't easy to find him. First he turnedhimself into a tick, and hid himself in Dapplegrim's left nostril;and the Princess went about hunting him everywhere, high and low; atlast she wanted to go into Dapplegrim's stall, but he began to biteand kick, so that she daren't go near him, and so she couldn't findthe lad. 

'Well', she said, 'since I can't find you, you must show where youare yourself'; and in a trice the lad stood there on the stablefloor. 

The second time Dapplegrim told him again what to do; and then heturned himself into a clod of earth, and stuck himself betweenDapple's hoof and shoe on the near forefoot. So the Princess huntedup and down, out and in, everywhere; at last she came into thestable, and wanted to go into Dapplegrim's loose-box. This time helet her come up to him, and she pried high and low, but under hishoofs she couldn't come, for he stood firm as a rock on his feet, andso she couldn't find the lad. 

'Well; you must just show yourself, for I'm sure I can't find you', said the Princess, and as she spoke the lad stood by her side on thestable floor. 

'Now you are mine indeed', said the lad; 'for now you can see I'mfated to have you. ' This he said both to the father and daughter. 

'Yes; it is so fated', said the king; 'so it must be. ' Then they gotready the wedding in right down earnest, and lost no time about it;and the lad got on Dapplegrim, and the Princess on Dapplegrim'smatch, and then you may fancy they were not long on their way to thechurch. 

FARMER WEATHERSKY

Once on a time there was a man and his wife, who had an only son, andhis name was Jack. The old dame thought it high time for her son togo out into the world to learn a trade, and bade her husband be offwith him. 

'But all you do', she said, 'mind you bind him to some one who canteach him to be master above all masters'; and with that she put somefood and a roll of tobacco into a bag, and packed them off. 

Well! they went to many masters; but one and all said they could makethe lad as good as themselves, but better they couldn't make him. Sowhen the man came home again to his wife with that answer, she said:

'I don't care what you make of him; but this I say and stick to, youmust bind him to some one where he can learn to be master above allmasters'; and with that she packed up more food and another roll oftobacco, and father and son had to be off again. 

Now when they had walked a while they got upon the ice, and therethey met a man who came whisking along in a sledge, and drove a blackhorse. 

'Whither away?' said the man. 

'Well!' said the father, 'I'm going to bind my son to some one who isgood to teach him a trade; but my old dame comes of such fine folk, she will have him taught to be master above all masters. '

'Well met then', said the driver; 'I'm just the man for your money, for I'm looking out for such an apprentice. Up with you behind!' headded to the lad, and whisk! off they went, both of them, and sledgeand horse, right up into the air. 

'Nay, nay!' cried the lad's father, 'you haven't told me your name, nor where you live. '

'Oh!' said the master, 'I'm at home alike north and south, and eastand west, and my name's _Farmer Weathersky_. In a year and a dayyou may come here again, and then I'll tell you if I like him. ' Soaway they went through the air, and were soon out of sight. 

So when the man got home, his old dame asked what had become of herson. 

'Well', said the man, 'Heaven knows, I'm sure I don't. They went upaloft'; and so he told her what had happened. But when the old dameheard that her husband couldn't tell at all when her son'sapprenticeship would be out, nor whither he had gone, she packed himoff again, and gave him another bag of food and another roll oftobacco. 

So, when he had walked a bit, he came to a great wood, whichstretched on and on all day as he walked through it. When it got darkhe saw a great light, and he went towards it. After a long, long timehe came to a little but under a rock, and outside stood an old hagdrawing water out of a well with her nose, so long was it. 

'Good evening, mother!' said the man. 

'The same to you', said the old hag. 'It's hundreds of years sinceany one called me mother. '

'Can I have lodging here to-night?' asked the man. 

'No! that you can't', said she. 

But then the man pulled out his roll of tobacco, lighted his pipe, and gave the old dame a whiff, and a pinch of snuff. Then she was sohappy she began to dance for joy, and the end was, she gave the manleave to stop the night. 

So next morning he began to ask after Farmer Weathersky. 'No! shenever heard tell of him, but she ruled over all the four-footedbeasts; perhaps some of them might know him. ' So she played them allhome with a pipe she had, and asked them all, but there wasn't one ofthem who knew anything about Farmer Weathersky. 

'Well!' said the old hag, 'there are three sisters of us; maybe oneof the other two know where he lives. I'll lend you my horse andsledge, and then you'll be at her house by night; but it's at leastthree hundred miles off, the nearest way. '

Then the man started off, and at night reached the house, and when hecame there, there stood another old hag before the door, drawingwater out of the well with her nose. 

'Good evening, mother!' said the man. 

'The same to you', said she; 'it's hundreds of years since any onecalled me mother. '

'Can I lodge here to-night?' asked the man. 

'No!' said the old hag. 

But he took out his roll of tobacco, lighted his pipe, and gave theold dame a whiff, and a good pinch of snuff besides, on the back ofher hand. Then she was so happy that she began to jump and dance forjoy, and so the man got leave to stay the night. When that was over, he began to ask after Farmer Weathersky. 'No! she had never heardtell of him; but she ruled all the fish in the sea; perhaps some ofthem might know something about him. ' So she played them all homewith a pipe she had, and asked them, but there wasn't one of them whoknew anything about Farmer Weathersky. 

'Well, well!' said the old hag, 'there's one sister of us left; maybeshe knows something about him. She lives six hundred miles off, butI'll lend you my horse and sledge, and then you'll get there bynightfall. '

Then the man started off, and reached the house by nightfall, andthere he found another old hag who stood before the grate, andstirred the fire with her nose, so long and tough it was. 

'Good evening, mother!' said the man. 

'The same to you', said the old hag; 'it's hundreds of years sinceany one called me mother. '

'Can I lodge here to-night?' asked the man. 

'No', said the old hag. 

Then the man pulled out his roll of tobacco again, and lighted hispipe, and gave the old hag such a pinch of snuff it covered the wholeback of her hand. Then she got so happy she began to dance for joy, and so the man got leave to stay. But when the night was over, hebegan to ask after Farmer Weathersky. She never heard tell of him shesaid; but she ruled over all the birds of the air, and so she playedthem all home with a pipe she had, and when she had mustered themall, the Eagle was missing. But a little while after he came flyinghome, and when she asked him, he said he had just come straight fromFarmer Weathersky. Then the old hag said he must guide the manthither; but the eagle said he must have something to eat first, andbesides he must rest till the next day; he was so tired with flyingthat long way, he could scarce rise from the earth. 

So when he had eaten his fill and taken a good rest, the old hagpulled a feather out of the Eagle's tail, and put the man there inits stead; so the Eagle flew off with the man, and flew, and flew, but they didn't reach Farmer Weathersky's house before midnight. 

So when they got there, the Eagle said

'There are heaps of dead bodies lying about outside but you mustn'tmind them. Inside the house every man Jack of them are so soundasleep, 't will be hard work to wake them; but you must go straightto the table drawer, and take out of it three crumbs of bread, andwhen you hear some one snoring loud, pull three feathers out of hishead; he won't wake for all that. '

So the man did as he was told, and after he had taken the crumbs ofbread, he pulled out the first feather. 

'OOF!' growled Farmer Weathersky, for it was he who snored. 

So the man pulled out another feather. 

'OOF!' he growled again. 

But when he pulled out the third, Farmer Weathersky roared so, theman thought roof and wall would have flown asunder, but for all thatthe snorer slept on. 

After that the Eagle told him what he was to do. He went to the yard, and there at the stable-door he stumbled against a big gray stone, and that he lifted up; underneath it lay three chips of wood, andthose he picked up too; then he knocked at the stable-door, and itopened of itself. Then he threw down the three crumbs of bread, and ahare came and ate them up; that hare he caught and kept. After thatthe Eagle bade him pull three feathers out of his tail, and put thehare, the stone, the chips, and himself there instead, and then hewould fly away home with them all. 

So when the Eagle had flown a long way, he lighted on a rock to rest. 

'Do you see anything?' it asked. 

'Yes', said the man, 'I see a flock of crows coming flying after us. '

'We'd better be off again, then', said the Eagle, who flew away. 

After a while it asked again:

'Do you see anything now?'

'Yes', said the man; 'now the crows are close behind us. '

'Drop now the three feathers you pulled out of his head, said theEagle. 

Well, the man dropped the feathers, and as soon as ever he droppedthem they became a flock of ravens which drove the crows home again. Then the Eagle flew on far away with the man, and at last it lightedon another stone to rest. 

'Do you see anything?' it said. 

'I'm not sure', said the man; 'I fancy I see something coming far faraway'. 

'We'd better get on then', said the Eagle; and after a while it saidagain:

'Do you see anything?'

'Yes', said the man, 'now he's close at our heels. '

'Now, you must let fall the chips of wood which you took from underthe gray stone at the stable door', said the Eagle. 

Yes! the man let them fall, and they grew at once up into tall thickwood, so that Farmer Weathersky had to go back home to fetch an axeto hew his way through. While he did this, the Eagle flew ever sofar, but when it got tired, it lighted on a fir to rest. 

'Do you see anything?' it said. 

'Well! I'm not sure', said the man; 'but I fancy I catch a glimpse ofsomething far away. '

'We'd best be off then', said the Eagle; and off it flew as fast asit could. After a while it said:

'Do you see anything now?'

'Yes! now he's close behind us', said the man. 

'Now, you must drop the big stone you lifted up at the stable door', said the Eagle. 

The man did so, and as it fell it became a great high mountain, whichFarmer Weathersky had to break his way through. When he had got halfthrough the mountain, he tripped and broke one of his legs, and so hehad to limp home again and patch it up. 

But while he was doing this, the Eagle flew away to the man's housewith him and the hare, and as soon as they got home, the man wentinto the churchyard and sprinkled Christian mould over the hare, andlo! it turned into 'Jack', his son. 

Well, you may fancy the old dame was glad to get her son again, butstill she wasn't easy in her mind about his trade, and she wouldn'trest till he gave her a proof that he was 'master above all masters'. 

So when the fair came round, the lad changed himself into a bayhorse, and told his father to lead him to the fair. 'Now, when anyone comes', he said, 'to buy me, you may ask a hundred dollars forme; but mind you don't forget to take the headstall off me; if youdo, Farmer Weathersky will keep me for ever, for he it is who willcome to deal with you. '

So it turned out. Up came a horse-dealer, who had a great wish todeal for the horse, and he gave a hundred dollars down for him; butwhen the bargain was struck, and Jack's father had pocketed themoney, the horse-dealer wanted to have the headstall. 'Nay, nay!'said the man, 'there's nothing about that in the bargain; andbesides, you can't have the headstall, for I've other horses at hometo bring to town to-morrow. '

So each went his way; but they hadn't gone far before Jack took hisown shape and ran away, and when his father got home, there sat Jackin the ingle. 

Next day he turned himself into a brown horse, and told his father todrive him to the fair. 

'And when any one comes to buy me, you may ask two hundred dollarsfor me--he'll give that and treat you besides; but whatever you do, and however much you drink, don't forget to take the headstall offme, else you'll never set eyes on me again. '

So all happened as he had said; the man got two hundred dollars forthe horse and a glass of drink besides, and when the buyer and sellerparted, it was as much as he could do to remember to take off theheadstall. But the buyer and the horse hadn't got far on the roadbefore Jack took his own shape, and when the man got home, there satJack in the ingle. 

The third day, it was the same story over again: the lad turnedhimself into a black horse, and told his father some one would comeand bid three hundred dollars for him, and fill his skin with meatand drink besides; but however much he ate or drank, he was to mindand not forget to take the headstall off, else he'd have to stay withFarmer Weathersky all his life long. 

'No, no; I'll not forget, never fear', said the man. 

So when he came to the fair, he got three hundred dollars for thehorse, and as it wasn't to be a dry bargain, Farmer Weathersky madehim drink so much that he quite forgot to take the headstall off, andaway went Farmer Weathersky with the horse. Now when he had gone alittle way, Farmer Weathersky thought he would just stop and haveanother glass of brandy; so he put a barrel of red-hot nails underhis horse's nose, and a sieve of oats under his tail, hung thehalter, upon a hook, and went into the inn. So the horse stood thereand stamped and pawed, and snorted and reared. Just then out came alassie, who thought it a shame to treat a horse so. 

'Oh, poor beastie', she said, 'what a cruel master you must have totreat you so', and as she said this she pulled the halter off thehook, so that the horse might turn round and taste the oats. 

'I'M AFTER YOU', roared Farmer Weathersky, who came rushing out ofthe door. 

But the horse had already shaken off the headstall, and jumped into aduck-pond, where he turned himself into a tiny fish. In went FarmerWeathersky after him, and turned himself into a great pike. Then Jackturned himself into a dove, and Farmer Weathersky made himself into ahawk, and chased and struck at the dove. But just then a Princessstood at the window of the palace and saw this struggle. 

'Ah! poor dove', she cried, 'if you only knew what I know, you'd flyto me through this window. '

So the dove came flying in through the window, and turned itself intoJack again, who told his own tale. 

'Turn yourself into a gold ring, and put yourself on my finger', saidthe Princess. 

'Nay, nay!' said Jack, 'that'll never do, for then Farmer Weatherskywill make the king sick, and then there'll be no one who can make himwell again till Farmer Weathersky comes and cures him, and then, forhis fee, he'll ask for that gold ring. '

'Then I'll say I had it from my mother, and can't part with it', saidthe Princess. 

Well, Jack turned himself into a gold ring, and put himself on thePrincess' finger, and so Farmer Weathersky couldn't get at him. Butthen followed what the lad had foretold; the king fell sick, andthere wasn't a doctor in the kingdom who could cure him till FarmerWeathersky came, and he asked for the ring off the Princess' fingerfor his fee. So the king sent a messenger to the Princess for thering; but the Princess said she wouldn't part with it, her mother hadleft it her. When the king heard that, he flew into a rage, and saidhe would have the ring, whoever left it to her. 

'Well', said the Princess, 'it's no good being cross about it. Ican't get it off, and if you must have the ring, you must take myfinger too. '

'If you'll let me try, I'll soon get the ring off', said FarmerWeathersky. 

'No, thanks, I'll try myself', said the Princess, and flew off to thegrate and put ashes on her finger. Then the ring slipped off and waslost among the ashes. So Farmer Weathersky turned himself into acock, who scratched and pecked after the ring in the grate, till hewas up to the ears in ashes. But while he was doing this, Jack turnedhimself into a fox, and bit off the cock's head; and so if the EvilOne was in Farmer Weathersky, it is all over with him now. 

LORD PETER

Once on a time there was a poor couple, and they had nothing in theworld but three sons. What the names the two elder had I can't say, but the youngest he was called Peter. So when their father and motherdied, the sons were to share what was left, but there was nothing buta porridge-pot, a griddle, and a cat. 

The eldest, who was to have first choice, he took the pot; 'for', said he, 'whenever I lend the pot to any one to boil porridge, I canalways get leave to scrape it'. 

The second took the griddle; 'for', said he, 'whenever I lend it toany one, I'll always get a morsel of dough to make a bannock. '

But the youngest, he had no choice left him; if he was to chooseanything it must be the cat. 

'Well!' said he, 'if I lend the cat to any one I shan't get much bythat; for if pussy gets a drop of milk, she'll want it all herself. Still, I'd best take her along with me; I shouldn't like her to goabout here and starve. '

So the brothers went out into the world to try their luck, and eachtook his own way; but when the youngest had gorse a while, the catsaid:

'Now you shall have a good turn, because you wouldn't let me staybehind in the old cottage and starve. Now, I'm off to the wood to layhold of a fine fat head of game, and then you must go up to theking's palace that you see yonder, and say you are come with a littlepresent for the king; and when he asks who sends it, you must say, "Why, who should it be from but Lord Peter. "'

Well! Peter hadn't waited long before back came the cat with areindeer from the wood; she had jumped up on the reindeer's head, between his horns, and said, 'If you don't go straight to the king'spalace I'll claw your eyes out. '

So the reindeer had to go whether he liked it or no. 

And when Peter got to the palace he went into the kitchen with thedeer, and said: 'Here I'm come with a little present for the king, ifhe won't despise it. '

Then the King went out into the kitchen, and when he saw the fineplump reindeer, he was very glad. 

'But, my dear friend', he said, 'who in the world is it that sends mesuch a fine gift?'

'Oh!' said Peter, 'who should send it but Lord Peter. '

'Lord Peter! Lord Peter!' said the King. 'Pray tell me where helives'; for he thought it a shame not to know so great a man. Butthat was just what the lad wouldn't tell him; he daren't do it, hesaid, because his master had forbidden him. 

So the King gave him a good bit of money to drink his health, andbade him be sure and say all kind of pretty things, and many thanksfor the present to his master when he got home. 

Next day the Cat went again into the wood, and jumped up on a reddeer's head, and sat between his horns, and forced him to go to thepalace. Then Peter went again into the kitchen, and said he was comewith a little present for the King, if he would be pleased to takeit. And the King was still more glad to get the red deer than he hadbeen to get the reindeer, and asked again who it was that sent sofine a present. 

'Why, it's Lord Peter, of course', said the lad; but when the Kingwanted to know where Lord Peter lived, he got the same answer as theday before; and this day, too, he gave Peter a good lump of money todrink his health with. 

The third day the Cat came with an elk. And so when Peter got intothe palace kitchen, and said he had a little present for the King, ifhe'd be pleased to take it, the King came out at once into thekitchen; and when he saw the grand big elk, he was so glad he scarceknew which leg to stand on; and this day, too, he gave Peter manymany more dollars--at least a hundred. He wished now, once for all, to know where this Lord Peter lived, and asked and asked about thisthing and that, but the lad said he daren't say, for his master'ssake, who had strictly forbidden him to tell. 

'Well, then', said the King, 'beg Lord Peter to come and see me. '

Yes, the lad would take that message; but when Peter got out into theyard again, and met the Cat, he said, 'A pretty scrape you've got me into now, for here's the King, whowants me to come and see him, and you know I've nothing to go in butthese rags I stand and walk in. '

'Oh, don't be afraid about that', said the Cat; 'in three days youshall have coach and horses, and fine clothes, so fine that the goldfalls from them, and then you may go and see the king very well. Butmind, whatever you see in the king's palace, you must say you havefar finer and grander things of your own. Don't forget that. '

No, no, Peter would bear that in mind, never fear. 

So when three days were over, the Cat came with a coach and horses, and clothes, and all that Peter wanted, and altogether it was asgrand as anything you ever set eyes on; so off he set, and the Catran alongside the coach. The King met him well and graciously; butwhatever the King offered him, and whatever he showed him, Petersaid, 'twas all very well, but he had far finer and better things in hisown house. The King seemed not quite to believe this, but Peterstuck to what he said, and at last the King got so angry, he couldn'tbear it any longer. 

'Now I'll go home with you', he said, 'and see if it be true whatyou've been telling me, that you have far finer and better things ofyour own. But if you've been telling a pack of lies, Heaven help you, that's all I say. '

'Now, you've got me into a fine scrape', said Peter to the Cat, 'forhere's the King coming home with me; but my home, that's not so easyto find, I think. '

'Oh! never mind', said the Cat; 'only do you drive after me as I runbefore. '

So off they set; first Peter, who drove after his Cat, and then theKing and all his court. 

But when they had driven a good bit, they came to a great flock offine sheep, that had wool so long it almost touched the ground. 

'If you'll only say', said the Cat to the Shepherd, 'this flock ofsheep belongs to Lord Peter, when the King asks you, I'll give youthis silver spoon', which she had taken with her from the King'spalace. 

Yes! he was willing enough to do that. So when the king came up, hesaid to the lad who watched the sheep, 'Well, I never saw so large and fine a flock of sheep in my life!Whose is it? my little lad. '

'Why', said the lad, 'whose should it be but Lord Peter's. '

A little while after they came to a great, great herd of finebrindled kine, who were all so sleek the sun shone from them. 

'If you'll only say', said the Cat to the neat-herd, 'this herd isLord Peter's, when the King asks you, I'll give you this silverladle'; and the ladle too she had taken from the King's palace. 

'Yes! with all my heart', said the neat-herd. 

So when the King came up, he was quite amazed at the fine fat herd, for such a herd he had never seen before, and so he asked the neat-herd who owned those brindled kine. 

'Why! who should own them but Lord Peter', said the neat-herd. 

So they went on a little further, and came to a great, great drove ofhorses, the finest you ever saw, six of each colour, bay, and black, and brown, and chesnut. 

'If you'll only say this drove of horses is Lord Peter's when theKing asks you', said the Cat, 'I'll give you this silver stoop'; andthe stoop too she had taken from the palace. 

Yes! the lad was willing enough; and so when the King came up, he wasquite amazed at the grand drove of horses, for the matches of suchhorses he had never yet set eyes on, he said. 

So he asked the lad who watched them, whose all these blacks, andbays, and browns, and chesnuts were?

'Whose should they be', said the lad, 'but Lord Peter's. '

So when they had gone a good bit farther, they came to a castle;first there was a gate of tin, and next there was a gate of silver, and next a gate of gold. The castle itself was of silver, and sodazzling white, that it quite hurt one's eyes to look at in thesunbeams which fell on it just as they reached it. 

So they went into it, and the Cat told Peter to say this was hishouse. As for the castle inside, it was far finer than it lookedoutside, for everything was pure gold--chairs, and tables, andbenches, and all. And when the King had gone all over it, and seeneverything high and low, he got quite shameful and downcast. 

'Yes', he said at last; 'Lord Peter has everything far finer than Ihave, there's no gainsaying that', and so he wanted to be off homeagain. 

But Peter begged him to stay to supper, and the King stayed, but hewas sour, and surly the whole time. 

So as they sat at supper, back came the Troll who owned the castle, and gave such a great knock at the door. 

'WHO'S THIS EATING MY MEAT AND DRINKING MY MEAD LIKE SWINE IN HERE', roared out the Troll. 

As soon as the Cat heard that, she ran down to the gate. 

'Stop a bit', she said, 'and I'll tell you how the farmer sets towork to get in his winter rye. '

And so she told him such a long story about the winter rye. 

'First of all, you see, he ploughs his field, and then he dungs it, and then he ploughs it again, and then he harrows it'; and so shewent on till the sun rose. 

'Oh, do look behind you, and there you'll see such a lovely lady', said the Cat to the Troll. 

So the Troll turned round, and, of course, as soon as he saw the sunhe burst. 

'Now all this is yours', said the Cat to Lord Peter. 'Now, you mustcut off my head; that's all I ask for what I have done for you. '

'Nay, nay', said Lord Peter, 'I'll never do any such thing, that'sflat. '

'If you don't', said the Cat, ' see if I don't claw your eyes out. '

Well! so Lord Peter had to do it, though it was sore against hiswill. He cut off the Cat's head, but there and then she became theloveliest Princess you ever set eyes on, and Lord Peter fell in lovewith her at once. 

'Yes! all this greatness was mine first', said the Princess, 'but aTroll bewitched me to be a Cat in your father's and mother's cottage. Now you may do as you please, whether you take me as your queen ornot, for you are now king over all this realm. '

Well, well; there was little doubt Lord Peter would be willing enoughto have her as his queen, and so there was a wedding that lastedeight whole days, and a feast besides; and after it was over, Istayed no longer with Lord Peter and his lovely queen, and so I can'tsay anything more about them. 

THE SEVEN FOALS

Once on a time there was a poor couple who lived in a wretched hut, far far away in the wood. How they lived I can't tell, but I'm sureit was from hand to mouth, and hard work even then; but they hadthree sons, and the youngest of them was Boots, of course, for he didlittle else than lie there and poke about in the ashes. 

So one day the eldest lad said he would go out to earn his bread, andhe soon got leave, and wandered out into the world. There he walkedand walked the whole day, and when evening drew in, he came to aking's palace, and there stood the King out on the steps, and askedwhither he was bound. 

'Oh, I'm going about, looking after a place', said the lad. 

'Will you serve me?' asked the King, 'and watch my seven foals. Ifyou can watch them one whole day, and tell me at night what they eatand what they drink, you shall have the Princess to wife, and half mykingdom; but if you can't, I'll cut three red stripes out of yourback. Do you hear?'

Yes! that was an easy task, the lad thought; he'd do that fastenough, never fear. 

So next morning, as soon as the first peep of dawn came, the king'scoachman let out the seven foals. Away they went, and the lad afterthem. You may fancy how they tore over hill and dale, through bushand bog. When the lad had run so a long time, he began to get weary, and when he had held on a while longer, he had more than enough ofhis watching, and just there, he came to a cleft in a rock, where anold hag sat and spun with a distaff. As soon as she saw the lad whowas running after the foals till the sweat ran down his brow, thisold hag bawled out:

'Come hither, come hither, my pretty son, and let me comb your hair. '

Yes! the lad was willing enough; so he sat down in the cleft of therock with the old hag, and laid his head on her lap, and she combedhis hair all day whilst he lay there, and stretched his lazy bones. 

So, when evening drew on, the lad wanted to go away. 'I may just aswell toddle straight home now', said he, 'for it's no use my goingback to the palace. '

'Stop a bit till it's dark', said the old hag, 'and then the king'sfoals will pass by here again, and then you can run home with them, and then no one will know that you have lain here all day long, instead of watching the foals. '

So, when they came, she gave the lad a flask of water and a clod ofturf. Those he was to show to the King, and say that was what hisseven foals ate and drank. 

'Have you watched true and well the whole day, now?' asked the King, when the lad came before him in the evening. 

'Yes, I should think so', said the lad. 

'Then you can tell me what my seven foals eat and drink', said theKing. 

'Yes!' and so the lad pulled out the flask of water and the clod ofturf, which the old hag had given him. 

'Here you see their meat, and here you see their drink', said thelad. 

But then the King saw plain enough how he had watched, and he got sowroth, he ordered his men to chase him away home on the spot; butfirst they were to cut three red stripes out of his back, and rubsalt into them. So when the lad got home again, you may fancy what atemper he was in. He'd gone out once to get a place, he said, buthe'd never do so again. 

Next day the second sons aid he would go out into the world to tryhis luck. His father and mother said 'No', and bade him look at hisbrother's back; but the lad wouldn't give in; he held to his own, andat last he got leave to go, and set off. So when he had walked thewhole day, he, too, came to the king's palace. There stood the Kingout on the steps, and asked whither he was bound? and when the ladsaid he was looking about for a place, the King said he might have aplace there, and watch his seven foals. But the king laid down thesame punishment, and the same reward, as he had settled for hisbrother. Well, the lad was willing enough; he took the place at oncewith the King, for he thought he'd soon watch the foals, and tell theKing what they ate and drank. So, in the gray of the morning, thecoachman let out the seven foals, and off they went again over hilland dale, and the lad after them. But the same thing happened to himas had befallen his brother. When he had run after the foals a longlong time, till he was both warm and weary, he passed by the cleft ina rock, where an old hag sat and spun with a distaff, and she bawledout to the lad:

'Come hither, come hither, my pretty son, and let me comb your hair. '

That the lad thought a good offer, so he let the foals run on theirway, and sat down in the cleft with the old hag. There he sat, andthere he lay, taking his ease, and stretching his lazy bones thewhole day. 

When the foals came back at nightfall, he too got a flask of waterand clod of turf from the old hag to show to the King. But when theKing asked the lad:

'Can you tell me now, what my seven foals eat and drink?' and the ladpulled out the flask and the clod, and said:

'Here you see their meat, and here you see their drink. '

Then the King got wroth again, and ordered them to cut three redstripes out of the lad's back, and rub salt in, and chase him homethat very minute. And so when the lad got home, he also told how hehad fared, and said, he had gone out once to get a place, but he'dnever do so any more. 

The third day Boots wanted to set out; he had a great mind to try andwatch the seven foals, he said. The others laughed at him, and madegame of him, saying:

'When we fared so ill, you'll do it better--a fine joke; you looklike it--you, who have never done anything but lie there and pokeabout in the ashes. '

'Yes!' said Boots, 'I don't see why I shouldn't go, for I've got itinto my head, and can't get it out again. '

And so, in spite of all the jeers of the others and the prayers ofthe old people, there was no help for it, and Boots set out. 

So after he had walked the whole day, he too came at dusk to theking's palace. There stood the King out on the steps, and askedwhither he was bound. 

'Oh', said Boots, 'I'm going about seeing if I can hear of a place. '

'Whence do you come then?' said the King, for he wanted to know alittle more about them before he took any one into his service. 

So Boots said whence he came, and how he was brother to those two whohad watched the king's seven foals, and ended by asking if he mighttry to watch them next day. 

'Oh, stuff!' said the King, for he got quite cross if he even thoughtof them; 'if you're brother to those two, you're not worth much, I'llbe bound. I've had enough of such scamps. '

'Well', said Boots; but since I've come so far, I may just as wellget leave to try, I too. '

'Oh, very well; with all my heart', said the King, 'if you_will_ have your back flayed, you're quite welcome. '

'I'd much rather have the Princess', said Boots. 

So next morning, at gray of dawn, the coachman let out the sevenfoals again, and away they went over hill and dale, through bush andbog, and Boots behind them. And so, when he too had run a long while, he came to the cleft in the rock, where the old hag sat, spinning ather distaff. So she bawled out to Boots:

'Come hither, come hither, my pretty son, and let me comb your hair. '

'Don't you wish you may catch me', said Boots. 'Don't you wish youmay catch me', as he ran along, leaping and jumping, and holding onby one of the foal's tails. And when he had got well past the cleftin the rock, the youngest foal said:

'Jump up on my back, my lad, for we've a long way before us still. '

So Boots jumped up on his back. 

So they went on, and on, a long, long way. 

'Do you see anything now', said the Foal. 

'No', said Boots. 

So they went on a good bit farther. 

'Do you see anything now?' asked the Foal. 

'Oh no', said the lad. 

So when they had gone a great, great way farther--I'm sure I can'ttell how far--the Foal asked again:

'Do you see anything now?'

'Yes', said Boots; 'now I see something that looks white--just like atall, big birch trunk. '

'Yes', said the Foal; 'we're going into that trunk. ' So when they gotto the trunk, the eldest foal took and pushed it on one side, andthen they saw a door where it had stood, and inside the door was alittle room, and in the room there was scarce anything but a littlefireplace and one or two benches; but behind the door hung a greatrusty sword and a little pitcher. 

'Can you brandish the sword?' said the Foals; 'try. ' So Boots tried, but he couldn't; then they made him take a pull at the pitcher; firstonce, then twice, and then thrice, and then he could wield it likeanything. 

'Yes', said the Foals, 'now you may take the sword with you, and withit you must cut off all our seven heads on your wedding-day, and thenwe'll be princes again as we were before. For we are brothers of thatPrincess whom you are to have when you can tell the King what we eatand drink; but an ugly Troll has thrown this shape over us. Now mind, when you have hewn off our heads, to take care to lay each head atthe tail of the trunk which it belonged to before, and then the spellwill have no more power over us. '

Yes! Boots promised all that, and then on they went. And when theyhad travelled a long long way, the Foal asked:

'Do you see anything?'

'No', said Boots. 

So they travelled a good bit still. 

'And now?' asked the Foal. 

'No, I see nothing', said Boots. 

So they travelled many many miles again, over hill and dale. 

'Now then', said the Foal, 'do you see anything now?'

'Yes', said Boots, 'now I see something like a blue stripe, far faraway. '

'Yes', said the Foal, 'that's a river we've got to cross. ' Over theriver was a long, grand bridge; and when they had got over to theother side, they travelled on a long, long way. At last the Foalasked again:

'If Boots didn't see anything?'

'Yes, this time he saw something that looked black far far away, justas though it were a church steeple. '

'Yes', said the Foal, 'that's where we're going to turn in. '

So when the foals got into the churchyard, they became men again, andlooked like Princes, with such fine clothes that it glistened fromthem; and so they went into the church, and took the bread and winefrom the priest who stood at the altar. And Boots he went in too; butwhen the priest had laid his hands on the Princes, and given them theblessing, they went out of the church again, and Boots went out too;but he took with him a flask of wine and a wafer. And soon as everthe seven Princes came out into the churchyard, they were turned intofoals again, and so Boots got up on the back of the youngest, and sothey all went back the same way that they had come; only they wentmuch, much faster. First they crossed the bridge, next they passedthe trunk, and then they passed the old hag, who sat at the cleft andspan, and they went by her so fast, that Boots couldn't hear what theold hag screeched after him; but he heard so much as to know she wasin an awful rage. 

It was almost dark when they got back to the palace, and the Kinghimself stood out on the steps and waited for them. 'Have you watchedwell and true the whole day?' said he to Boots. 

'I've done my best', answered Boots. 

'Then you can tell me what my seven foals eat and drink', said theKing. 

Then Boots pulled out the flask of wine and the wafer, and showedthem to the King. 

'Here you see their meat, and here you see their drink', said he. 

'Yes', said the King, 'you have watched true and well, and you shallhave the Princess and half the kingdom. '

So they made ready the wedding-feast, and the King said it should besuch a grand one, it should be the talk far and near. 

But when they sat down to the bridal-feast, the bridegroom got up andwent down to the stable, for he said he had forgotten something, andmust go to fetch it. And when he got down there, he did as the Foalshad said, and hewed their heads off, all seven, the eldest first, andthe others after him; and at the same time he took care to lay eachhead at the tail of the foal to which it belonged; and as he didthis, lo! they all became Princes again. 

So when he went into the bridal hall with the seven princes, the Kingwas so glad he both kissed Boots and patted him on the back, and hisbride was still more glad of him than she had been before. 

'Half the kingdom you have got already', said the King, 'and theother half you shall have after my death; for my sons can easily getthemselves lands and wealth, now they are princes again. '

And so, like enough, there was mirth and fun at that wedding. I wasthere too; but there was no one to care for poor me; and so I gotnothing but a bit of bread and butter, and I laid it down on thestove, and the bread was burnt and the butter ran, and so I didn'tget even the smallest crumb. Wasn't that a great shame?

THE WIDOW'S SON

Once on a time there was a poor, poor widow, who had an only son. Shedragged on with the boy till he had been confirmed, and then she saidshe couldn't feed him any longer, he must just go out and earn hisown bread. So the lad wandered out into the world, and when he hadwalked a day or so, a strange man met him. 

'Whither away?' asked the man. 

'Oh, I'm going out into the world to try and get a place', said thelad. 

'Will you come and serve me?' said the man. 

'Oh yes; just as soon you as any one else', said the lad. 

'Well, you'll have a good place with me', said the man; 'for you'llonly have to keep me company, and do nothing at all else beside. '

So the lad stopped with him, and lived on the fat of the land, bothin meat and drink, and had little or nothing to do; but he never sawa living soul in that man's house. 

So one day the man said:

'Now, I'm going off for eight days, and that time you'll have tospend here all alone; but you must not go into any one of these fourrooms here. If you do, I'll take your life when I come back. '

'No', said the lad, he'd be sure not to do that. But when the man hadbeen gone three or four days, the lad couldn't bear it any longer, but went into the first room, and when he got inside he looked round, but he saw nothing but a shelf over the door where a bramble-bush rodlay. 

Well, indeed! thought the lad; a pretty thing to forbid my seeingthis. 

So when the eight days were out, the man came home, and the firstthing he said was:

'You haven't been into any of these rooms, of course. '

'No, no; that I haven't', said the lad. 

'I'll soon see that', said the man, and went at once into the roomwhere the lad had been. 

'Nay, but you have been in here', said he; 'and now you shall loseyour life. '

Then the lad begged and prayed so hard that he got off with his life, but the man gave him a good thrashing. And when it was over, theywere as good friends as ever. 

Some time after the man set off again, and said he should be awayfourteen days; but before he went he forbade the lad to go into anyof the rooms he had not been in before; as for that he had been in, he might go into that, and welcome. Well, it was the same story averagain, except that the lad stood out eight days before he went in. Inthis room, too, he saw nothing but a shelf over the door, and a bigstone, and a pitcher of water on it. Well, after all, there's notmuch to be afraid of my seeing here, thought the lad. 

But when the man came back, he asked if he had been into any of therooms. No, the lad hadn't done anything of the kind. 

'Well, well; I'll soon see that, ' said the man; and when he saw thatthe lad had been in them after all, he said, 'Ah! now I'll spare youno longer; now you must lose your life. '

But the lad begged and prayed for himself again, and so this time toohe got off with stripes; though he got as many as his skin couldcarry. But when he got sound and well again, he led just as easy alife as ever, and he and the man were just as good friends. 

So a while after the man was to take another journey, and now he saidhe should be away three weeks, and he forbade the lad anew to go intothe third room, for if he went in there he might just make up hismind at once to lose his life. Then after fourteen days the ladcouldn't bear it, but crept into the room, but he saw nothing at allin there but a trap door on the floor; and when he lifted it up andlooked down, there stood a great copper cauldron which bubbled andboiled away down there; but he saw no fire under it. 

'Well, I should just like to know if it's hot, ' thought the lad, andstuck his finger down into the broth, and when he pulled it outagain, lo! it was gilded all over. So the lad scraped and scrubbedit, but the gilding wouldn't go off, so he bound a piece of rag roundit; and when the man came back, and asked what was the matter withhis finger, the lad said he'd given it such a bad cut. But the mantore off the rag, and then he soon saw what was the matter with thefinger. First he wanted to kill the lad outright, but when he wept, and begged, he only gave him such a thrashing that he had to keep hisbed three days. After that the man took down a pot from the wall, andrubbed him over with some stuff out of it, and so the lad was soundand fresh as ever. 

So after a while the man started off again, and this time he was tobe away a month. But before he went, he said to the lad, if he wentinto the fourth room he might give up all hope of saving his life. 

Well, the lad stood out for two or three weeks, but then he couldn'tholdout any longer; he must and would go into that room, and so in hestole. There stood a great black horse tied up in a stall by himself, with a manger of red-hot coals at his head, and a truss of hay at histail. Then the lad thought this all wrong, so he changed them about, and put the hay at his head. Then said the Horse:

'Since you are so good at heart as to let me have some food, I'll setyou free, that I will. For if the Troll comes back and finds youhere, he'll kill you outright. But now you must go up to the roomwhich lies just over this, and take a coat of mail out of those thathang there; and mind, whatever you do, don't take any of the brightones, but the most rusty of all you see, that's the one to take; andsword and saddle you must choose for yourself just in the same way. '

So the lad did all that; but it was a heavy load for him to carrythem all down at once. 

When he came back, the Horse told him to pull off his clothes and getinto the cauldron which stood and boiled in the other room, and bathehimself there. 'If I do', thought the lad, 'I shall look an awfulfright'; but for all that, he did as he was told. So when he hadtaken his bath, he became so handsome and sleek, and as red and whiteas milk and blood, and much stronger than he had been before. 

'Do you feel any change?' asked the Horse. 

'Yes', said the lad. 

'Try to lift me, then', said the Horse. 

Oh yes! he could do that, and as for the sword, he brandished it likea feather. 

'Now saddle me', said the Horse, 'and put on the coat of mail, andthen take the bramble-bush rod, and the stone, and the pitcher ofwater, and the pot of ointment, and then we'll be off as fast as wecan. '

So when the lad had got on the horse, off they went at such a rate, he couldn't at all tell how they went. But when he had ridden awhile, the Horse said, 'I think I hear a noise; look round! can you see anything?'

'Yes; there are ever so many coming after us, at least a score', saidthe lad. 

'Aye, aye, that's the Troll coming', said the Horse; 'now he's afterus with his pack. '

So they rode on a while, until those who followed were close behindthem. 

'Now throw your bramble-bush rod behind you, over your shoulder', said the Horse; 'but mind you throw it a good way off my back. '

So the lad did that, and all at once a close, thick bramble-wood grewup behind them. So the lad rode on a long, long time, while the Trolland his crew had to go home to fetch something to hew their waythrough the wood. But at last, the Horse said again. 

'Look behind you! can you see anything now?'

'Yes, ever so many', said the lad, 'as many as would fill a largechurch. '

'Aye, aye, that's the Troll and his crew', said the Horse; 'now he'sgot more to back him; but now throw down the stone, and mind youthrow it far behind me. '

And as soon as the lad did what the Horse said, up rose a great blackhill of rock behind him. So the Troll had to be off home to fetchsomething to mine his way through the rock; and while the Troll didthat, the lad rode a good bit further on. But still the Horse beggedhim to look behind him, and then he saw a troop like a whole armybehind him, and they glistened in the sunbeams. 

'Aye, aye', said the Horse, 'that's the Troll, and now he's got hiswhole band with him, so throw the pitcher of water behind you, butmind you don't spill any of it upon me. '

So the lad did that; but in spite of all the pains he took, he stillspilt one drop on the horse's flank. So it became a great deep lake;and because of that one drop, the horse found himself far out in it, but still he swam safe to land. But when the Trolls came to the lake, they lay down to drink it dry; and so they swilled and swilled tillthey burst. 

'Now we're rid of them', said the Horse. 

So when they had gone a long, long while, they came to a green patchin a wood. 

'Now, strip off all your arms', said the Horse, 'and only put on yourragged clothes, and take the saddle off me, and let me loose, andhang all my clothing and your arms up inside that great hollow lime-tree yonder. Then make yourself a wig of fir-moss, and go up to theking's palace, which lies close here, and ask for a place. Wheneveryou need me, only come here and shake the bridle, and I'll come toyou. '

Yes! the lad did all his Horse told him, and as soon as ever he puton the wig of moss he became so ugly, and pale, and miserable to lookat, no one would have known him again. Then he went up to the king'spalace and begged first for leave to be in the kitchen, and bring inwood and water for the cook, but then the kitchen-maid asked him:

'Why do you wear that ugly wig? Off with it. I won't have such afright in here. '

'No, I can't do that', said the lad; 'for I'm not quite right in myhead. '

'Do you think then I'll have you in here about the food', cried thecook. 'Away with you to the coachman; you're best fit to go and cleanthe stable. '

But when the coachman begged him to take his wig off, he got the sameanswer, and he wouldn't have him either. 'You'd best go down to thegardener', said he; 'you're best fit to go about and dig in thegarden. '

So he got leave to be with the gardener, but none of the otherservants would sleep with him, and so he had to sleep by himselfunder the steps of the summerhouse. It stood upon beams, and had ahigh staircase. Under that he got some turf for his bed, and there helay as well as he could. 

So, when he had been some time at the palace, it happened onemorning, just as the sun rose, that the lad had taken off his wig, and stood and washed himself, and then he was so handsome, it was ajoy to look at him. 

So the Princess saw from her window the lovely gardener's boy, andthought she had never seen any one so handsome. Then she asked thegardener why he lay out there under the steps. 

'Oh', said the gardener, 'none of his fellow-servants will sleep withhim; that's why. '

'Let him come up to-night, and lie at the door inside my bedroom, andthen they'll not refuse to sleep with him any more', said thePrincess. 

So the gardener told that to the lad. 

'Do you think I'll do any such thing?' said the lad. 'Why they'd saynext there was something between me and the Princess. '

'Yes', said the gardener, 'you've good reason to fear any such thing, you who are so handsome. '

'Well, well', said the lad, 'since it's her will, I suppose I mustgo. '

So, when he was to go up the steps in the evening, he tramped andstamped so on the way, that they had to beg him to tread softly lestthe King should come to know it. So he came into the Princess'bedroom, lay down, and began to snore at once. Then the Princess saidto her maid:

'Go gently, and just pull his wig off'; and she went up to him. 

But just as she was going to whisk it off, he caught hold of it withboth hands, and said she should never have it. After that he lay downagain, and began to snore. Then the Princess gave her maid a wink, and this time she whisked off the wig; and there lay the lad solovely, and white and red, just as the Princess had seen him in themorning sun. 

After that the lad slept every night in the Princess' bedroom. 

But it wasn't long before the King came to hear how the gardener'slad slept every night in the Princess' bedroom; and he got so wrothhe almost took the lad's life. He didn't do that, however, but threwhim into the prison tower; and as for his daughter, he shut her up inher own room, whence she never got leave to stir day or night. Allthat she begged, and all that she prayed, for the lad and herself, was no good. The King was only more wroth than ever. 

Some time after came a war and uproar in the land, and the king hadto take up arms against another king who wished to take the kingdomfrom him. So when the lad heard that, he begged the gaoler to go tothe king and ask for a coat of mail and a sword, and for leave to goto the war. All the rest laughed when the gaoler told his errand, andbegged the king to let him have an old worn-out suit, that they mighthave the fun of seeing such a wretch in battle. So he got that, andan old broken-down hack besides, which went upon three legs anddragged the fourth after it. 

Then they went out to meet the foe; but they hadn't got far from thepalace before the lad got stuck fast in a bog with his hack. There hesat and dug his spurs in, and cried, 'Gee up, gee up!' to his hack. And all the rest had their fun out of this, and laughed, and madegame of the lad as they rode past him. But they were scarcely gone, before he ran to the lime-tree, threw on his coat of mail, and shookthe bridle, and there came the horse in a trice, and said 'Do nowyour best, and I'll do mine. '

But when the lad came up the battle had begun, and the king was in asad pinch; but no sooner had the lad rushed into the thick of it thanthe foe was beaten back, and put to flight. The king and his menwondered and wondered who it could be who had come to help them, butnone of them got so near him as to be able to talk to him, and assoon as the fight was over he was gone. When they went back, theresat the lad still in the bog, and dug his spurs into his three-leggedhack, and they all laughed again. 

'No! only just look', they said; 'there the fool sits still. '

The next day when they went out to battle, they saw the lad sittingthere still, so they laughed again, and made game of him; but as soonas ever they had ridden by, the lad ran again to the lime-tree, andall happened as on the first day. Every one wondered what strangechampion it could be that had helped them, but no one got so near himas to say a word to him; and no one guessed it could be the lad;that's easy to understand. 

So when they went home at night, and saw the lad still sitting thereon his hack, they burst out laughing at him again, and one of themshot an arrow at him and hit him in the leg. So he began to shriekand to bewail; 'twas enough to break one's heart; and so the kingthrew his pocket-handkerchief to him to bind his wound. 

When they went out to battle the third day, the lad still sat there. 

'Gee up! gee up!' he said to his hack. 

'Nay, nay', said the king's men; 'if he won't stick there till he'sstarved to death. '

And then they rode on, and laughed at him till they were fit to fallfrom their horses. When they were gone, he ran again to the lime, andcame up to the battle just in the very nick of time. This day he slewthe enemy's king, and then the war was over at once. 

When the battle was over, the king caught sight of his handkerchief, which the strange warrior had bound round his leg, and so it wasn'thard to find him out. So they took him with great joy between them tothe palace, and the Princess, who saw him from her window, got soglad, no one can believe it. 

'Here comes my own true love', she said. 

Then he took the pot of ointment and rubbed himself on the leg, andafter that he rubbed all the wounded, and so they all got well againin a moment. 

So he got the Princess to wife; but when he went down into the stablewhere his horse was on the day the wedding was to be, there it stoodso dull and heavy, and hung its ears down, and wouldn't eat its corn. So when the young king--for he was now a king, and had got half thekingdom--spoke to him, and asked what ailed him, the Horse said:

'Now I have helped you on, and now I won't live any longer. So justtake the sword, and cut my head off. '

'No, I'll do nothing of the kind', said the young king; 'but youshall have all you want, and rest all your life. '

'Well', said the Horse, 'If you don't do as I tell you, see if Idon't take your life somehow. '

So the king had to do what he asked; but when he swung the sword andwas to cut his head off, he was so sorry he turned away his face, forhe would not see the stroke fall. But as soon as ever he had cut offthe head, there stood the loveliest Prince on the spot where thehorse had stood. 

'Why, where in all the world did you come from?' asked the king. 

'It was I who was a horse', said the Prince; 'for I was king of thatland whose king you slew yesterday. He it was who threw this Troll'sshape over me, and sold me to the Troll. But now he is slain I get myown again, and you and I will be neighbour kings, but war we willnever make on one another. '

And they didn't either; for they were friends as long as they lived, and each paid the other very many visits. 

BUSHY BRIDE

Once on a time there was a widower, who had a son and a daughter byhis first marriage. Both were good children, and loved each otherdearly. Some time after the man married a widow, who had a daughterby her first husband, and she was both ugly and bad, like her mother. So from the day the new wife came into the house there was no peacefor her stepchildren in any corner; and at last the lad thought he'dbest go out into the world, and try to earn his own bread. And whenhe had wandered a while he came to a king's palace, and got a placeunder the coachman, and quick and willing he was, and the horses helooked after were so sleek and clean that their coats shone again. 

But the sister who stayed at home was treated worse than badly; bothher stepmother and stepsister were always at her, and wherever shewent, and whatever she did, they scolded and snarled so, the poorlassie hadn't an hour's peace. All the hard work she was forced todo, and early and late she got nothing but bad words, and little foodbesides. 

So one day they had sent her to the burn to fetch water: and what doyou think? up popped an ugly, ugly head out of the pool, and said:

'Wash me, you lassie. '

'Yes, with all my heart I'll wash you', said the lassie. So she beganto wash and scrub the ugly head; but truth to say, she thought itnasty work. 

Well, as soon as she had done washing it, up popped another head outof the pool, and this was uglier still. 

'Brush me, you lassie', said the head. 

'Yes, with all my heart I'll brush you. '

And with that she took in hand the matted locks, and you may fancyshe hadn't very pleasant work with them. But when she had got overthat, if a third head didn't pop up out of the pool, and this was farmore ugly and loathsome than both the others put together. 

'Kiss me, you lassie!'

'Yes, I'll kiss you', said the lassie, and she did it too, though shethought it the worst work she had ever had to do in her life. 

Then the heads began to chatter together, and each asked what theyshould do for the lassie who was so kind and gentle. 

'That she be the prettiest lassie in the world, and as fair as thebright day', said the first head. 

'That gold shall drop from her hair, every time she brushes it', saidthe second head. 

'That gold shall fall from her mouth every time she speaks', said thethird head. 

So when the lassie came home looking so lovely, and beaming as thebright day itself, her stepmother and her stepsister got more andmore cross, and they got worse still when she began to talk, and theysaw how golden guineas fell from her mouth. As for the stepmother, she got so mad with rage, she chased the lassie into the pigsty. Thatwas the right place for all her gold stuff, but as for coming intothe house, she wouldn't hear of it. 

Well, it wasn't long before the stepmother wished her own daughter togo to the burn to fetch water. So when she came to the water's edgewith her buckets, up popped the first head. 

'Wash me, you lassie', it said. 

'The Deil wash you', said the stepdaughter. 

So the second head popped up. 

'Brush me, you lassie', it said. 

'The Deil brush you', said the stepdaughter. 

So down it went to the bottom, and the third head popped up. 

'Kiss me, you lassie', said the head. 

'The Deil kiss you, you pig's-snout', said the girl. 

Then the heads chattered together again, and asked what they shoulddo to the girl who was so spiteful and cross-grained; and they allagreed she should have a nose four ells long, and a snout three ellslong, and a pine bush right in the midst of her forehead, and everytime she spoke, ashes were to fall out of her mouth. 

So when she got home with her buckets, she bawled out to her mother:

'Open the door. '

'Open it yourself, my darling child', said the mother. 

'I can't reach it because of my nose', said the daughter. 

So, when the mother came out and saw her, you may fancy what a wayshe was in, and how she screamed and groaned; but, for all that, there were the nose and the snout and the pine bush, and they got nosmaller for all her grief. 

Now the brother, who had got the place in the King's stable, hadtaken a little sketch of his sister, which he carried away with him, and every morning and every evening he knelt down before the pictureand prayed to Our Lord for his sister, whom he loved so dearly. Theother grooms had heard him praying, so they peeped through the key-holeof his room, and there they saw him on his knees before the picture. So they went about saying how the lad every morning and every eveningknelt down and prayed to an idol which he had, and at last they wentto the king himself and begged him only to peep through the key-hole, and then His Majesty would see the lad, and what things he did. Atfirst the King wouldn't believe it, but at last they talked him over, and he crept on tiptoe to the door and peeped in. Yes, there was thelad on his knees before the picture, which hung on the wall, prayingwith clasped hands. 

'Open the door!' called out the King; but the lad didn't hear him. 

So the King called out in a louder voice, but the lad was so deep inhis prayers he couldn't hear him this time either. 'OPEN THE DOOR, ISAY!' roared out the King; 'It's I, the King, who want to come in. '

Well, up jumped the lad and ran to the door, and unlocked it, but inhis hurry he forgot to hide the picture. But when the King came inand saw the picture, he stood there as if he were fettered, andcouldn't stir from the spot, so lovely he thought the picture. 

'So lovely a woman there isn't in all the wide world', said the King. 

But the lad told him she was his sister whom he had drawn, and if shewasn't prettier than that, at least she wasn't uglier. 

'Well, if she's so lovely', said the King, 'I'll have her for myqueen'; and then he ordered the lad to set off home that minute, andnot be long on the road either. So the lad promised to make as muchhaste as he could, and started off from the King's palace. 

When the brother came home to fetch his sister, the step-mother andstepsister said they must go too. So they all set out, and the goodlassie had a casket in which she kept her gold, and a little dog, whose name was 'Little Flo'; those two things were all her motherleft her. And when they had gone a while, they came to a lake whichthey had to cross; so the brother sat down at the helm, and thestepmother and the two girls sat in the bow foreward, and so theysailed a long, long way. 

At last they caught sight of land. 

'There', said the brother, 'where you see the white strand yonder, there's where we're to land'; and as he said this he pointed acrossthe water. 

'What is it my brother says?' asked the good lassie. 

'He says you must throw your casket overboard', said the stepmother. 

'Well, when my brother says it, I must do it', said the lassie, andoverboard went the casket. 

When they had sailed a bit farther, the brother pointed again acrossthe lake. 

'There you see the castle we're going to. '

'What is it my brother says?' asked the lassie. 

'He says now you must throw your little dog overboard', said thestepmother. 

Then the lassie wept and was sore grieved, for Little Flo was thedearest thing she had in the world, but at last she threw himoverboard. 

'When my brother says it, I must do it, but heaven knows how it hurtsme to throw you over, Little Flo', she said. 

So they sailed on a good bit still. 

'There you see the King coming down to meet us', said the brother, and pointed towards the strand. 

'What is it my brother says', asked the lassie. 

'Now he says you must make haste and throw yourself overboard', saidthe stepmother. 

Well, the lassie wept and moaned; but when her brother told her to dothat, she thought she ought to do it, and so she leapt down into thelake. 

But when they came to the palace, and the King saw the loathly bride, with a nose four ells long, and a snout three ells long, and a pine-bush in the midst of her forehead, he was quite scared out of hiswits; but the wedding was all ready, both in brewing and baking, andthere sat all the wedding guests, waiting for the bride; and so theKing couldn't help himself, but was forced to take her for better forworse. But angry he was, that any one can forgive him, and so he hadthe brother thrown into a pit full of snakes. 

Well, the first Thursday evening after the wedding, about midnight, in came a lovely lady into the palace-kitchen, and begged thekitchen-maid, who slept there, so prettily, to lend her a brush. Thatshe got, and then she brushed her hair, and as she brushed, downdropped gold, A little dog was at her heel, and to him she said:

'Run out, Little Flo, and see if it will soon be day. '

This she said three times, and the third time she sent the dog it wasjust about the time the dawn begins to peep. Then she had to go, butas she went she sung:

 Out on you, ugly Bushy Bride, Lying so warm by the King's left side; While I on sand and gravel sleep, And over my brother adders creep, And all without a tear. 

'Now I come twice more, and then never again. '

So next morning the kitchen-maid told what she had seen and heard, and the King said he'd watch himself next Thursday night in thekitchen, and see if it were true, and as soon as it got dark, out hewent into the kitchen to the kitchen-maid. But all he could do, andhowever much he rubbed his eyes and tried to keep himself awake, itwas no good; for the Bushy Bride chaunted and sang till his eyesclosed, and so when the lovely lady came, there he slept and snored. This time, too, as before, she borrowed a brush, and brushed her hairtill the gold dropped, and sent her dog out three times, and as soonas it was gray dawn, away she went singing the same words, andadding:

'Now I come once more, and then never again. '

The third Thursday evening the King said he would watch again; and heset two men to hold him, one under each arm, who were to shake andjog him every time he wanted to fall asleep; and two men he set towatch his Bushy Bride. But when the night wore on, the Bushy Bridebegan to chaunt and sing, so that his eyes began to wink, and hishead hung down on his shoulders. Then in came the lovely lady, andgot the brush and brushed her hair, till the gold dropped from it;after that she sent Little Flo out again to see if it would soon beday, and this she did three times. The third time it began, to getgray in the east; then she sang, Out on you, ugly Bushy Bride, Lying so warm by the King's left side; While I on sand and gravel sleep, And over my brother adders creep, And all without a tear. 

'Now I come back never more', she said, and went towards the door. But the two men who held the King under the arms, clenched his handstogether, and put a knife into his grasp; and so, somehow or other, they got him to cut her in her little finger, and drew blood. Thenthe true bride was freed, and the King woke up, and she told him nowthe whole story, and how her stepmother and sister had deceived her. So the King sent at once and took her brother out of the pit ofsnakes, and the adders hadn't done him the least harm, but thestepmother and her daughter were thrown into it in his stead. 

And now no one can tell how glad the King was to be rid of that uglyBushy Bride, and to get a Queen who was as lovely and bright as theday itself. So the true wedding was held, and every one talked of itover seven kingdoms; and then the King and Queen drove to churchin their coach, and Little Flo went inside with them too, and when theblessing was given they drove back again, and after that I saw nothingmore of them. 

BOOTS AND HIS BROTHERS

Once on a time there was a man who had three sons, Peter, Paul, andJohn. John was Boots, of course, because he was the youngest. I can'tsay the man had anything more than these three sons, for he hadn'tone penny to rub against another; and so he told his sons over andover again they must go out into the world and try to earn theirbread, for there at home there was nothing to be looked for butstarving to death. 

Now, a bit off the man's cottage was the king's palace, and you mustknow, just against the king's windows a great oak had sprung up, which was so stout and big that it took away all the light from theking's palace. The King had said he would give many, many dollars tothe man who could fell the oak, but no one was man enough for that, for as soon as ever one chip of the oak's trunk flew off, two grew inits stead. A well, too, the King had dug, which was to hold water forthe whole year; for all his neighbours had wells, but he hadn't any, and that he thought a shame. So the King said he would give any onewho could dig him such a well as would hold water for a whole yearround, both money and goods; but no one could do it, for the King'spalace lay high, high up on a hill, and they hadn't dug a few inchesbefore they came upon the living rock. 

But as the King had set his heart on having these two things done, hehad it given out far and wide, in all the churches of his kingdom, that he who could fell the big oak in the king's court-yard, and gethim a well that would hold water the whole year round, should havethe Princess and half the kingdom. Well! you may easily know therewas many a man who came to try his luck; but for all their hackingand hewing, and all their digging and delving, it was no good. Theoak got bigger and stouter at every stroke, and the rock didn't getsofter either. So one day those three brothers thought they'd set offand try too, and their father hadn't a word against it; for even ifthey didn't get the Princess and half the kingdom, it might happenthey might get a place somewhere with a good master; and that was allhe wanted. So when the brothers said they thought of going to thepalace, their father said 'yes' at once. So Peter, Paul, and Jackwent off from their home. 

Well! they hadn't gone far before they came to a fir wood, and upalong one side of it rose a steep hill-side, and as they went, theyheard something hewing and hacking away up on-the hill among thetrees. 

'I wonder now what it is that is hewing away up yonder?' said Jack. 

'You're always so clever with your wonderings', said Peter and Paulboth at once. 'What wonder is it, pray, that a woodcutter shouldstand and hack up on a hill-side?'

'Still, I'd like to see what it is, after all', said Jack; and up hewent. 

'Oh, if you're such a child, 'twill do you good to go and take alesson', bawled out his brothers after him. 

But Jack didn't care for what they said; he climbed the steep hill-side towards where the noise came, and when he reached the place, what do you think he saw? why, an axe that stood there hacking andhewing, all of itself, at the trunk of a fir. 

'Good day!' said Jack. 'So you stand here all alone and hew, do you?'

'Yes; here I've stood and hewed and hacked a long long time, waitingfor you', said the Axe. 

'Well, here I am at last', said Jack, as he took the axe, pulled itoff its haft, and stuffed both head and haft into his wallet. 

So when he got down again to his brothers, they began to jeer andlaugh at him. 

'And now, what funny thing was it you saw up yonder on the hill-side?' they said. 

'Oh, it was only an axe we heard', said Jack. 

So when they had gone a bit farther, they came under a steep spur ofrock, and up there they heard something digging and shovelling. 

'I wonder now, ' said Jack, 'what it is digging and shovelling upyonder at the top of the rock. '

'Ah, you're always so clever with your wonderings', said Peter andPaul again, 'as if you'd never heard a woodpecker hacking and peckingat a hollow tree. '

'Well, well', said Jack, 'I think it would be a piece of fun just tosee what it really is. '

And so off he set to climb the rock, while the others laughed andmade game of him. But he didn't care a bit for that; up he clomb, andwhen he got near the top, what do you think he saw? Why, a spade thatstood there digging and delving. 

'Good day!' said Jack. 'So you stand here all alone, and dig anddelve!'

'Yes, that's what I do', said the Spade, 'and that's what I've donethis many a long day, waiting for you. '

'Well, here I am', said Jack again, as he took the spade and knockedit off its handle, and put it into his wallet, and then down again tohis brothers. 

'Well, what was it, so rare and strange', said Peter and Paul, 'thatyou saw up there at the top of the rock?'

'Oh, ', said Jack, 'nothing more than a spade; that was what weheard. '

So they went on again a good bit, till they came to a brook. Theywere thirsty, all three, after their long walk, and so they lay downbeside the brook to have a drink. 

'I wonder now', said Jack, 'where all this water comes from. '

'I wonder if you're right in your head', said Peter and Paul, in onebreath. 'If you're not mad already, you'll go mad very soon, withyour wonderings. Where the brook comes from, indeed! Have you neverheard how water rises from a spring in the earth?'

'Yes! but still I've a great fancy to see where this brook comesfrom', said Jack. 

So up alongside the brook he went, in spite of all that his brothersbawled after him. Nothing could stop him. On he went. So, as he wentup and up, the brook got smaller and smaller, and at last, a littleway farther on, what do you think he saw? Why, a great walnut, andout of that the water trickled. 

'Good-day!' said Jack again. 'So you lie here, and trickle and rundown all alone?'

'Yes, I do, ' said the Walnut; 'and here have I trickled and run thismany a long day, waiting for you. '

'Well, here I am', said Jack, as he took up a lump of moss andplugged up the hole, that the water mightn't run out. Then he put thewalnut into his wallet, and ran down to his brothers. 

'Well now', said Peter and Paul, 'have you found out where the watercomes from? A rare sight it must have been!'

'Oh, after all, it was only a hole it ran out of', said Jack; and sothe others laughed and made game of him again, but Jack didn't mindthat a bit. 

'After all, I had the fun of seeing it', said he. So when they hadgone a bit farther, they came to the king's palace; but as every onein the kingdom had heard how they might win the Princess and half therealm, if they could only fell the big oak and dig the king's well, so many had come to try their luck that the oak was now twice asstout and big as it had been at first, for two chips grew for everyone they hewed out with their axes, as I daresay you all bear inmind. So the King had now laid it down as a punishment, that if anyone tried and couldn't fell the oak, he should be put on a barrenisland, and both his ears were to be clipped off. But the twobrothers didn't let themselves be scared by that; they were quitesure they could fell the oak, and Peter, as he was eldest, was to tryhis hand first; but it went with him as with all the rest who hadhewn at the oak; for every chip he cut out, two grew in its place. Sothe king's men seized him, and clipped off both his ears, and put himout on the island. 

Now Paul, he was to try his luck, but he fared just the same; when hehad hewn two or three strokes, they began to see the oak grow, and sothe king's men seized him too, and clipped his ears, and put him outon the island; and his ears they clipped closer, because they said heought to have taken a lesson from his brother. 

So now Jack was to try. 

'If you _will_ look like a marked sheep, we're quite ready toclip your ears at once, and then you'll save yourself some bother', said the King; for he was angry with him for his brothers' sake. 

'Well, I'd like just to try first', said Jack, and so he got leave. Then he took his axe out of his wallet and fitted it to its haft. 

'Hew away!' said he to his axe; and away it hewed, making the chipsfly again, so that it wasn't long before down came the oak. 

When that was done, Jack pulled out his spade, and fitted it to itshandle. 

'Dig away!' said he to the spade; and so the spade began to dig anddelve till the earth and rock flew out in splinters, and so he hadthe well soon dug out, you may think. 

And when he had got it as big and deep as he chose, Jack took out hiswalnut and laid it in one corner of the well, and pulled the plug ofmoss out. 

'Trickle and run', said Jack; and so the nut trickled and ran, tillthe water gushed out of the hole in a stream, and in a short time thewell was brimfull. 

Then Jack had felled the oak which shaded the king's palace, and duga well in the palace-yard, and so he got the Princess and half thekingdom, as the King had said; but it was lucky for Peter and Paulthat they had lost their ears, else they had heard each hour and day, how every one said, 'Well, after all, Jack wasn't so much out of hismind when he took to wondering. '

BIG PETER AND LITTLE PETER

Once on a time there were two brothers, both named Peter, and so theelder was called Big Peter, and the younger Little Peter. When hisfather was dead, Big Peter took him a wife with lots of money, butLittle Peter was at home with his mother, and lived on her means tillhe grew up. So when he was of age he came into his heritage, and thenBig Peter said he mustn't stay any longer in the old house, and eatup his mother's substance; 'twere better he should go out into theworld and do something for himself. 

Yes; Little Peter thought that no bad plan; so he bought himself afine horse and a load of butter and cheese, and set off to the town;and with the money he got for his goods he bought brandy, and wine, and beer, and as soon as ever he got home again it was one round ofholiday-keeping and merry-making; he treated all his old friends andneighbours, and they treated him again; and so he lived in fun andfrolic so long as his money lasted. But when his last shilling wasspent, and Little Peter hadn't a penny in his purse, he went backhome again to his old mother, and brought nothing with him but acalf. When the spring came he turned out the calf and let it graze onBig Peter's meadow. Then Big Peter got cross and killed the calf atone blow; but Little Peter, he flayed the calf, and hung the skin upin the bath-room till it was thoroughly dry; then he rolled it up, stuffed it into a sack, and went about the country trying to sell it;but wherever he came, they only laughed at him, and said they had noneed of smoked calfskin. So when he had walked on a long way, he cameto a farm, and there he turned in and asked for a night's lodging. 

'Nay, nay', said the Goody, 'I can't give you lodging, for my husbandis up at the shieling on the hill, and I'm alone in the house. Youmust just try to get shelter at our next neighbour's; but still ifthey won't take you in, you may come back, for you must have a houseover your head, come what may. '

So as little Peter passed by the parlour window, he saw that therewas a priest in there, with whom the Goody was making merry, and shewas serving him up ale and brandy, and a great bowl of custard. Butjust as the priest had sat down to eat and drink, back came thehusband, and as soon as ever the Goody heard him in the passage, shewas not slow; she took the bowl of custard, and put it under thekitchen grate, and the ale and brandy into the cellar, and as for thepriest, she locked him up in a great chest which stood there. Allthis Little Peter stood outside and saw, and as soon as the husbandwas well inside Little Peter went up to the door and asked if hemight have a night's lodging. 

'Yes, to be sure', said the man, 'we'll take you in'; and so hebegged Little Peter to sit down at the table and eat. Yes, LittlePeter sat down, and took his calfskin with him, and laid it down athis feet. 

So, when they had sat a while, Little Peter began to mutter to hisskin:

'What are you saying now? can't you hold your tongue', said LittlePeter. 

'Who is it you're talking with?' asked the man. 

'Oh!' answered Little Peter, 'it's only a spae-maiden whom I've gotin my calfskin. '

'And pray what does she spae?' asked the man again. 

'Why, she says that no one can say there isn't a bowl of custardstanding under the grate', said Little Peter. 

'She may spae as much as she pleases', answered the man, 'but wehaven't had custards in this house for a year and a day. '

But Peter begged him only to look, and he did so; and he found thecustard-bowl. So they began to make merry with it, but just as theysat and took their ease, Peter muttered something again to thecalfskin. 

'Hush!' he said, 'can't you hold your jaw?'

'And pray what does the spae-maiden say now?' asked the man. 

'Oh! she says no one can say there isn't brandy and ale standing justunder the trap-door which goes down into the cellar', answered Peter. 

'Well! if she never spaed wrong in her life, she spaes wrong now', said the man. 'Brandy and ale! why, I can't call to mind the day whenwe had such things in the house!'

'Just look', said Peter; and the man did so, and there, sure enough, he found the drink, and you may fancy how merry and jolly he was. 

'What did you give for that spae-maiden?' said the man, 'for I musthave her, whatever you ask for her. '

'She was left me by my father', said Peter, 'and so she didn't costme much. To tell you the truth, I've no great mind to part with her, but, all the same, you may have her, if you'll let me have, insteadof her, that old chest that stands in the parlour yonder. '

'The chest's locked and the key lost', screamed the old dame. 

'Then I'll take it without the key, that I will', said Peter. And sohe and the man soon struck the bargain. Peter got a rope instead ofthe key, and the man helped him to get the chest up on his back, andthen off he stumped with it. So when he had walked a bit he came onto a bridge, and under the bridge ran a river in such a headlongstream; it leapt, and foamed, and made such a roar, that the bridgeshook again. 

'Ah!' said Peter, 'that brandy-that brandy! Now I can feel I've had adrop too much. What's the good of my dragging this chest about? If Ihadn't been drunk and mad, I shouldn't have gone and swopped away myspae-maiden for it. But now this chest shall go out into the riverthis very minute. '

And with that he began to untie the rope. 

'Au! Au! do for God's sake set me free. The priest's life is atstake; he it is whom you have got in the chest', screamed out someone inside. 

'This must be the Deil himself', said Peter, 'who wants to make mebelieve he has turned priest; but whether he makes himself priest orclerk, out he goes into the river. ' 'Oh no! oh no! 'roared out thepriest. 'The parish priest is at stake. He was on a visit to theGoody for her soul's health, but her husband is rough and wild, andso she had to hide me in the chest. Here I have a gold watch and asilver watch in my fob; you shall have them both, and eight hundreddollars beside, if you will only let me out. '

'Nay, nay', said Peter; 'is it really your reverence after all'; andwith that he took up a stone, and knocked the lid of the chest topieces. Then the priest got out, and off he set home to his parsonageboth fast and light, for he no longer had his watches and money toweigh him down. 

As for Little Peter, he went home again, and said to Big Peter, 'There was a good sale to-day for calfskins at the market. '

'Why, what did you get for your tattered one, now?' asked Big Peter. 

'Quite as much as it was worth. I got eight hundred dollars for it, but bigger and stouter calves-skins fetched twice as much', saidLittle Peter, and showed his dollars. 

''Twas well you told me this', answered Big Peter, who went andslaughtered all his kine and calves, and set off on the road to townwith their skins and hides. So when he got to the market, and thetanners asked what he wanted for his hides, Big Peter said he musthave eight hundred dollars for the small ones, and so on, more andmore for the big ones. But all the folk only laughed and made game ofhim, and said he oughtn't to come there; he'd better turn into themadhouse for a better bargain, and so he soon found out how thingshad gone, and that Little Peter had played him a trick. But when hegot home again, he was not very soft-spoken, and he swore and cursed;so help him, if he wouldn't strike Little Peter dead that very night. All this Little Peter stood and listened to; and so, when he had goneto bed with his mother, and the night had worn on a little, he beggedher to change sides with him, for he was well-nigh frozen, he said, and might be 'twas warmer next the wall. Yes, she did that, and in alittle while came Big Peter with an axe in his hand, and crept up tothe bedside, and at one blow chopped off his mother's head. 

Next morning, in went Little Peter into Big Peter's sitting-room. 

'Heaven better and help you', he said; 'you who have chopped ourmother's head off. The Sheriff will not be over-pleased to hear thatyou pay mother's dower in this way. '

Then Big Peter got so afraid, he begged Little Peter, for God's sake, to say nothing about what he knew. If he would only do that, heshould have eight hundred dollars. 

Well, Little Peter swept up the money; set his mother's head on herbody again; put her on a hand-sledge, and so drew her to market. There he set her up with an apple-basket on each arm, and an apple ineach hand. By and by came a skipper walking along; he thought she wasan apple-woman, and asked if she had apples to sell, and how many hemight have for a penny. But the old woman made no answer. So theskipper asked again. No! she hadn't a word to say for herself. 

'How many may I have for a penny', he bawled the third time, but theold dame sat bolt upright, as though she neither saw him, nor heardwhat he said. Then the skipper flew into such a rage that he gave herone under the ear, and so away rolled her head across the market-place. At that moment, up came Little Peter with a bound; he fell a-weeping and bewailing, and threatened to make the skipper smart forit, for having dealt his old mother her death blow. 

'Dear friend, only hold your tongue about what you know', said theskipper, 'and you shall have eight hundred dollars. '

And so they made it up. 

When Little Peter got home again, he said to Big Peter:

'Old women fetch a fine price at market to-day. I got eight hundreddollars for mother; just look', and so he showed him the money. 

''Twas well I came to know this', said Big Peter. 

Now, you must know he had an old stepmother, so he took and killedher out of hand, and strode off to sell her. But when they heard howhe went about trying to sell dead bodies, the neighbours were all forhanding him over to the Sheriff, and it was as much as he could do toget out of the scrape. 

When Big Peter got home again, he was so wroth and mad against LittlePeter, he threatened to strike him dead there and then; he needn'thope for mercy, die he must. 

'Well! well!' said Little Peter, 'that's the way we must all trudge, and betwixt to-day and to-morrow, there's only a night to come. Butif I must set off now, I've only one thing to ask; stuff me into thatsack that hangs yonder, and take and toss me into the river. '

Well! Big Peter had nothing to say against that, he stuffed him intothe sack and set off. But he hadn't gone far on his way, before itcame into his mind that he had forgotten something which he must goback to fetch; meanwhile, he set the sack down by the road side. Justthen came a man driving a fine fat flock of sheep. 

 To Kingdom-come, to Paradise. To Kingdom-come, to Paradise. 

roared out Little Peter, who lay inside the sack, and that he keptbawling and bellowing out. 

'Mayn't I get leave to go with you', asked the man who drove thesheep. 

'Of course you may', said Little Peter. 'If you'll only untie thesack, and creep into it in my stead, you'll soon get there. As forme, I don't mind biding here till next time, that I don't. But youmust keep on calling out the words I bawled out, else you'll not goto the right place. '

Then the man untied the sack, and got into it in Little Peter'splace: Peter tied the sack up again and the man began to bawl out:

 To Kingdom-come, to Paradise. To Kingdom-come, to Paradise. 

and to that text he stuck. 

When Peter had got him well into the sack, he wasn't slow; off hewent with the flock of sheep, and soon put a good bit of the roadbehind him. Meantime, back came Big Peter, took the sack on hisshoulders, and bore it across the country to the river, and all thewhile he went, the drover sat inside bawling out:

 To Kingdom-come, to Paradise. To Kingdom-come, to Paradise. 

'Aye, aye', said Big Peter; 'try now to find the way for yourself';and with that, he tossed him out into the stream. 

So when Big Peter had done that, and was going back home, whom shouldhe overtake but his brother, who went along driving the flock ofsheep before him. Big Peter could scarce believe his eyes, and askedhow Little Peter had got out of the river, and whence the fine flockof sheep came. 

'Ah!' said Little Peter, 'that just was a good brotherly turn you didme, when you threw me into the river. I sank right down to the bottomlike a stone, and there I just did see flocks of sheep; you'd scarcebelieve now, that they go about down there by thousands, one flockbigger than the other. And just look here! here are fleeces for you!'

'Well', said Big Peter, 'I'm very glad you told me. '

So off he ran home to his old dame; made her come with him to theriver; crept into a sack, and bade her make haste to tie it up, andtoss him over the bridge. 

'I'm going after a flock of sheep', he said, 'but if I stay too long, and you think I can't get along with the flock by myself, just jumpover and help me; do you hear?'

'Well, don't stay too long', said his wife, 'for my heart is set onseeing those sheep. '

There she stood and waited a while, but then she thought, perhaps herhusband couldn't keep the flock well together, and so down she jumpedafter him. 

And so Little Peter was rid of them all, and the farm and fields cameto him as heir, and horses and cattle too; and, besides, he had moneyin his pocket to buy milch kine to tether in his byre. 

TATTERHOOD

Once on a time there was a king and a queen who had no children, andthat gave the queen much grief; she scarce had one happy hour. Shewas always bewailing and bemoaning herself, and saying how dull andlonesome it was in the palace. 

'If we had children there'd be life enough', she said. 

Wherever she went in all her realm she found God's blessing inchildren, even in the vilest hut; and wherever she came she heard theGoodies scolding the bairns, and saying how they had done that andthat wrong. All this the queen heard, and thought it would be so niceto do as other women did. At last the king and queen took into theirpalace a stranger lassie to rear up, that they might have her alwayswith them, to love her if she did well, and scold her if she didwrong, like their own child. 

So one day the little lassie whom they had taken as their own, randown into the palace yard, and was playing with a gold apple. Justthen an old beggar wife came by, who had a little girl with her, andit wasn't long before the little lassie and the beggar's bairn weregreat friends, and began to play together, and to toss the gold appleabout between them. When the Queen saw this, as she sat at a windowin the palace, she tapped on the pane for her foster-daughter to comeup. She went at once, but the beggar-girl went up too; and as theywent into the Queen's bower, each held the other by the hand. Thenthe Queen began to scold the little lady, and to say:

'You ought to be above running about and playing with a tatteredbeggar's brat. '

And so she wanted to drive the lassie downstairs. 

'If the Queen only knew my mother's power, she'd not drive me out', said the little lassie; and when the Queen asked what she meant moreplainly, she told her how her mother could get her children if shechose. The Queen wouldn't believe it, but the lassie held her own, and said every word of it was true, and bade the Queen only to tryand make her mother do it. So the Queen sent the lassie down to fetchup her mother. 

'Do you know what your daughter says?' asked the Queen of the oldwoman, as soon as ever she came into the room. 

No; the beggar wife knew nothing about it. 

'Well, she says you can get me children if you will', answered theQueen. 

'Queens shouldn't listen to beggar lassies' silly stories', said theold wife, and strode out of the room. 

Then the Queen got angry, and wanted again to drive out the littlelassie; but she declared it was true every word that she had said. 

'Let the Queen only give my mother a drop to drink, ' said the lassie;'when she gets merry she'll soon find out a way to help you. '

The Queen was ready to try this; so the beggar wife was fetched upagain once more, and treated both with wine and mead as much as shechose; and so it was not long before her tongue began to wag. Thenthe Queen came out again with the same question she had asked before. 

'One way to help you perhaps I know', said the beggar wife. 'YourMajesty must make them bring in two pails of water some eveningbefore you go to bed. In each of them you must wash yourself, andafterwards throw away the water under the bed. When you look underthe bed next morning, two flowers will have sprung up, one fair andone ugly. The fair one you must eat, the ugly one you must let stand;but mind you don't forget the last. '

That was what the beggar wife said. 

Yes; the Queen did what the beggar wife advised her to do; she hadthe water brought up in two pails, washed herself in them, andemptied them under the bed; and lo! when she looked under the bednext morning, there stood two flowers; one was ugly and foul, and hadblack leaves; but the other was so bright, and fair, and lovely, shehad never seen its like; so she ate it up at once. But the prettyflower tasted so sweet, that she couldn't help herself. She ate theother up too, for, she thought, 'it can't hurt or help one mucheither way, I'll be bound'. 

Well, sure enough, after a while the Queen was brought to bed. Firstof all, she had a girl who had a wooden spoon in her hand, and rodeupon a goat; loathly and ugly she was, and the very moment she cameinto the world, she bawled out 'Mamma'. 

'If I'm your mamma', said the Queen, 'God give me grace to mend myways. '

'Oh, don't be sorry', said the girl, who rode on the goat, 'for onewill soon come after me who is better looking. '

So, after a while, the Queen had another girl, who was so fair andsweet, no one had ever set eyes on such a lovely child, and with heryou may fancy the Queen was very well pleased. The elder twin theycalled 'Tatterhood', because she was always so ugly and ragged, andbecause she had a hood which hung about her ears in tatters. TheQueen could scarce bear to look at her, and the nurses tried to shuther up in a room by herself, but it was all no good; where theyounger twin was, there she must also be, and no one could ever keepthem apart. 

Well, one Christmas eve, when they were half grown up, there rosesuch a frightful noise and clatter in the gallery outside the Queen'sbower. So Tatterhood asked what it was that dashed and crashed so outin the passage. 

'Oh!' said the Queen, 'it isn't worth asking about. '

But Tatterhood wouldn't give over till she found out all about it andso the Queen told her it was a pack of Trolls and witches who hadcome there to keep Christmas. So Tatterhood said she'd just go outand drive them away; and in spite of all they could say, and howevermuch they begged and prayed her to let the Trolls alone, she must andwould go out to drive the witches off; but she begged the Queen tomind and keep all the doors close shut, so that not one of them cameso much as the least bit ajar. Having said this, off she went withher wooden spoon, and began to hunt and sweep away the hags; and allthis while there was such a pother out in the gallery, the like of itwas never heard. The whole Palace creaked and groaned as if everyjoint and beam were going to be torn out of its place. Now, how itwas, I'm sure I can't tell; but somehow or other one door did get theleast bit ajar, then her twin sister just peeped out to see howthings were going with Tatterhood, and put her head a tiny bitthrough the opening. But, POP! up came an old witch, and whipped offher head, and stuck a calf's head on her shoulders instead; and sothe Princess ran back into the room on all-fours, and began to 'moo'like a calf. When Tatterhood came back and saw her sister, shescolded them all round, and was very angry because they hadn't keptbetter watch, and asked them what they thought of their heedlessnessnow, when her sister was turned into a calf. 

'But still I'll see if I can't set her free', she said. 

Then she asked the King for a ship in full trim, and well fitted withstores; but captain and sailors she wouldn't have. No; she would sailaway with her sister all alone; and as there was no holding her back, at last they let her have her own way. 

Then Tatterhood sailed off, and steered her ship right under the landwhere the witches dwelt, and when she came to the landing-place, shetold her sister to stay quite still on board the ship; but sheherself rode on her goat up to the witches' castle. When she gotthere, one of the windows in the gallery was open, and there she sawher sister's head hung up on the window frame; so she leapt her goatthrough the window into the gallery, snapped up the head, and set offwith it. After her came the witches to try to get the head again, andthey flocked about her as thick as a swarm of bees or a nest of ants;but the goat snorted, and puffed, and butted with his horns, andTatterhood beat and banged them about with her wooden spoon; and sothe pack of witches had to give it up. So Tatterhood got back to hership, took the calf's head off her sister, and put her own on again, and then she became a girl as she had been before. After that shesailed a long, long way, to a strange king's realm. 

Now the king of that land was a widower, and had an only son. So whenhe saw the strange sail, he sent messengers down to the strand tofind out whence it came, and who owned it; but when the king's mencame down there, they saw never a living soul on board butTatterhood, and there she was, riding round and round the deck on hergoat at full speed, till her elf locks streamed again in the wind. The folk from the palace were all amazed at this sight, and asked, were there not more on board? Yes, there were; she had a sister withher, said Tatterhood. Her, too, they wanted to see, but Tatterhoodsaid 'No':

'No one shall see her, unless the king comes himself', she said; andso she began to gallop about on her goat till the deck thunderedagain. 

So when the servants got back to the palace, and told what they hadseen and heard down at the ship, the king was for setting out atonce, that he might see the lassie that rode on the goat. When he gotdown, Tatterhood led out her sister, and she was so fair and gentle, the king fell over head and ears in love with her as he stood. Hebrought them both back with him to the Palace, and wanted to have thesister for his queen; but Tatterhood said 'No'; the king couldn'thave her in any way, unless the king's son chose to have Tatterhood. That you may fancy the prince was very loath to do, such an uglyhussy as Tatterhood was; but at last the king and all the others inthe palace talked him over, and he yielded, giving his word to takeher for his queen; but it went sore against the grain, and he was adoleful man. 

Now they set about the wedding, both with brewing and baking; andwhen all was ready, they were to go to church; but the prince thoughtit the weariest churching he had ever had in all his life. First, theking drove off with his bride, and she was so lovely and so grand, all the people stopped to look after her all along the road, and theystared at her till she was out of sight. After them came the princeon horseback by the side of Tatterhood, who trotted along on her goatwith her wooden spoon in her fist, and to look at him, it was morelike going to a burial than a wedding, and that his own; so sorrowfulhe seemed, and with never a word to say. 

'Why don't you talk?' asked Tatterhood, when they had ridden a bit. 

'Why, what should I talk about?' answered the prince. 

'Well, you might at least ask me why I ride upon this ugly goat', said Tatterhood. 

'Why do you ride on that ugly goat?' asked the prince. 

'Is it an ugly goat? why, it's the grandest horse bride ever rodeon', answered Tatterhood; and in a trice the goat became a horse, andthat the finest the prince had ever set eyes on. 

Then they rode on again a bit, but the prince was just as woeful asbefore, and couldn't get a word out. So Tatterhood asked him againwhy he didn't talk, and when the Prince answered he didn't know whatto talk about, she said:

'You can at least ask me why I ride with this ugly spoon in my fist. '

'Why do you ride with that ugly spoon? 'asked the prince. 

'Is it an ugly spoon? why, it's the loveliest silver wand bride everbore', said Tatterhood; and in a trice it became a silver wand, sodazzling bright, the sunbeams glistened from it. 

So they rode on another bit, but the Prince was just as sorrowful, and said never a word. In a little while, Tatterhood asked him againwhy he didn't talk, and bade him ask why she wore that ugly grey hoodon her head. 

'Why do you wear that ugly grey hood on your head?' asked the Prince. 

'Is it an ugly hood? why, it's the brightest golden crown bride everwore', answered Tatterhood, and it became a crown on the spot. 

Now, they rode on a long while again, and the Prince was so woeful, that he sat without sound or speech just as before. So his brideasked him again why he didn't talk, and bade him ask now, why herface was so ugly and ashen-grey?

'Ah!' asked the Prince, 'why is your face so ugly and ashen-grey?'

'I ugly', said the bride; 'you think my sister pretty, but I am tentimes prettier'; and lo! when the Prince looked at her, she was solovely, he thought there never was so lovely a woman in all theworld. After that, I shouldn't wonder if the Prince found his tongue, and no longer rode along hanging down his head. 

So they drank the bridal cup both deep and long, and, after that, both Prince and King set out with their brides to the Princess'sfather's palace, and there they had another bridal feast, and drankanew, both deep and long. There was no end to the fun; and, if youmake haste and run to the King's palace, I dare say you'll findthere's still a drop of the bridal ale left for you. 

THE COCK AND HEN THAT WENT TO THE DOVREFELL

Once on a time there was a Hen that had flown up, and perched on anoak-tree for the night. When the night came, she dreamed that unlessshe got to the Dovrefell, the world would come to an end. So thatvery minute she jumped down, and set out on her way. When she hadwalked a bit she met a Cock. 

'Good day, Cocky-Locky', said the Hen. 

'Good day, Henny-Penny', said the Cock, 'whither away so early. '

'Oh, I'm going to the Dovrefell, that the world mayn't come to anend', said the Hen. 

'Who told you that, Henny-Penny', said the Cock. 

'I sat in the oak and dreamt it last night', said the Hen. 

'I'll go with you', said the Cock. 

Well! they walked on a good bit, and then they met a Duck. 

'Good day, Ducky-Lucky', said the Cock. 

'Good day, Cocky-Locky', said the Duck, 'whither away so early?'

'Oh, I'm going to the Dovrefell, that the world mayn't come to anend', said the Cock. 

'Who told you that, Cocky-Locky?'

'Henny-Penny', said the Cock. 

'Who told you that, Henny-Penny?' said the Duck. 

'I sat in the oak and dreamt it last night', said the Hen. 

'I'll go with you', said the Duck. 

So they went off together, and after a bit they met a Goose. 

'Good day, Goosey-Poosey', said the Duck. 

'Good day, Ducky-Lucky', said the Goose, 'whither away so early?'

'I'm going to the Dovrefell, that the world mayn't come to an end', said the Duck. 

'Who told you that, Ducky-Lucky?' asked the Goose. 

'Cocky-Locky. '

'Who told you that, Cocky-Locky?'

'Henny-Penny. '

'How you do know that, Henny-Penny?' said the Goose. 

'I sat in the oak and dreamt it last night, Goosey-Poosey', said theHen. 

'I'll go with you', said the Goose. 

Now when they had all walked along for a bit, a Fox met them. 

'Good day, Foxsy-Cocksy', said the Goose. 

'Good day, Goosey-Poosey. '

'Whither away, Foxy-Cocksy?'

'Whither away yourself, Goosey-Poosey?'

'I'm going to the Dovrefell that the world mayn't come to an end', said the Goose. 

'Who told you that, Goosey-Poosey?' asked the Fox. 

'Ducky-Lucky. '

'Who told you that, Ducky-Lucky?'

'Cocky-Locky. '

'Who told you that, Cocky-Locky?'

'Henny-Penny. '

'How do you know that, Henny-Penny?'

'I sat in the oak and dreamt last night, that if we don't get to theDovrefell, the world will come to an end', said the Hen. 

'Stuff and nonsense', said the Fox; 'the world won't come to an endif you don't get thither. No! come home with me to my earth. That'sfar better, for it's warm and jolly there. '

Well, they went home with the Fox to his earth, and when they got in, the Fox laid on lots of fuel, so that they all got very sleepy. 

The Duck and the Goose, they settled themselves down in a corner, butthe Cock and Hen flew up on a post. So when the Goose and Duck werewell asleep, the Fox, took the Goose and laid him on the embers, androasted him. The Hen smelt the strong roast meat, and sprang up to ahigher peg, and said, half asleep:

 Faugh, what a nasty smell! What a nasty smell!

'Oh, stuff', said the Fox; 'it's only the smoke driven down thechimney; go to sleep again, and hold your tongue. ' So the Hen wentoff to sleep again. 

Now the Fox had hardly got the Goose well down his throat, before hedid the very same with the Duck. He took and laid him on the embers, and roasted him for a dainty bit. Then the hen woke up again, andsprung up to a higher peg still. 

 Faugh, what a nasty smell! What a nasty smell!

She said again, and then she got her eyes open, and came to see howthe Fox had eaten both the twain, goose and duck; so she flew up tothe highest peg of all, and perched there, and peeped up through thechimney. 

'Nay, nay; just see what a lovely lot of geese flying yonder', shesaid to the Fox. 

Out ran Reynard to fetch a fat roast. But while he was gone, the Henwoke up the Cock, and told him how it had gone with Goosey-Poosey andDucky-Lucky; and so Cocky-Lucky and Henny-Penny flew out through thechimney, and if they hadn't got to the Dovrefell, it surely wouldhave been all over with the world. 

KATIE WOODENCLOAK

Once on a time there was a King who had become a widower. By hisQueen he had one daughter, who was so clever and lovely, there wasn'ta cleverer or lovelier Princess in all the world. So the King went ona long time sorrowing for the Queen, whom he had loved so much, butat last he got weary of living alone, and married another Queen, whowas a widow, and had, too, an only daughter; but this daughter wasjust as bad and ugly as the other was kind, and clever, and lovely, The stepmother and her daughter were jealous of the Princess, becauseshe was so lovely; but so long as the King was at home, they daredn'tdo her any harm, he was so fond of her. 

Well, after a time, he fell into war with another King, and went outto battle with his host, and then the stepmother thought she might doas she pleased; and so she both starved and beat the Princess, andwas after her in every hole and corner of the house. At last shethought everything too good for her, and turned her out to herdcattle. So there she went about with the cattle, and herded them inthe woods and on the fells. As for food, she got little or none, andshe grew thin and wan, and was always sobbing and sorrowful. Now inthe herd there was a great dun bull, which always kept himself soneat and sleek, and often and often he came up to the Princess, andlet her pat him. So one day when she sat there, sad, and sobbing, andsorrowful, he came up to her and asked her outright why she wasalways in such grief. She answered nothing, but went on weeping. 

'Ah!' said the Bull, 'I know all about it quite well, though youwon't tell me; you weep because the Queen is bad to you, and becauseshe is ready to starve you to death. But food you've no need to fretabout, for in my left ear lies a cloth, and when you take and spreadit out, you may have as many dishes as you please. '

So she did that, took the cloth and spread it out on the grass, andlo! it served up the nicest dishes one could wish to have; there waswine too, and mead, and sweet cake. Well, she soon got up her fleshagain, and grew so plump, and rosy, and white, that the Queen and herscrawny chip of a daughter turned blue and yellow for spite. TheQueen couldn't at all make out how her stepdaughter got to look sowell on such bad fare, so she told one of her maids to go after her in thewood, and watch and see how it all was, for she thought some of theservants in the house must give her food. So the maid went after her, and watched in the wood, and then she saw how the stepdaughter tookthe cloth out of the Bull's ear, and spread it out, and how it servedup the nicest dishes, which the stepdaughter ate and made good cheerover. All this the maid told the Queen when she went home. 

And now the King came home from war, and had won the fight againstthe other king with whom he went out to battle. So there was greatjoy throughout the palace, and no one was gladder than the King'sdaughter. But the Queen shammed sick, and took to her bed, and paidthe doctor a great fee to get him to say she could never be wellagain unless she had some of the Dun Bull's flesh to eat. Both theking's daughter and the folk in the palace asked the doctor ifnothing else would help her, and prayed hard for the Bull, for everyone was fond of him, and they all said there wasn't that Bull's matchin all the land. But, no; he must and should be slaughtered, nothingelse would do. When the king's daughter heard that, she got verysorrowful, and went down into the byre to the Bull. There, too, hestood and hung down his head, and looked so downcast that she beganto weep over him. 

'What are you weeping for?' asked the Bull. 

So she told him how the King had come home again, and how the Queenhad shammed sick and got the doctor to say she could never be welland sound again unless she got some of the Dun Bull's flesh to eat, and so now he was to be slaughtered. 

'If they get me killed first', said the Bull, 'they'll soon take yourlife too. Now, if you're of my mind, we'll just start off, and goaway to-night. '

Well, the Princess thought it bad, you may be sure, to go and leaveher father, but she thought it still worse to be in the house withthe Queen; and so she gave her word to the Bull to come to him. 

At night, when all had gone to bed, the Princess stole down to thebyre to the Bull, and so he took her on his back, and set off fromthe homestead as fast as ever he could. And when the folk got up atcockcrow next morning to slaughter the Bull, why, he was gone; andwhen the King got up and asked for his daughter, she was gone too. Hesent out messengers on all sides to hunt for them, and gave them outin all the parish churches; but there was no one who had caught aglimpse of them. Meanwhile, the Bull went through many lands with theKing's daughter on his back, and so one day they came to a greatcopper-wood, where both the trees, and branches, and leaves, andflowers, and everything, were nothing but copper. 

But before they went into the wood, the Bull said to the King'sdaughter:

'Now, when we get into this wood, mind you take care not to toucheven a leaf of it, else it's all over both with me and you, for heredwells a Troll with three heads who owns this wood. '

No, bless her, she'd be sure to take care not to touch anything. Well, she was very careful, and leant this way and that to miss theboughs, and put them gently aside with her hands; but it was such athick wood, 'twas scarce possible to get through; and so, with allher pains, somehow or other she tore off a leaf, which she held inher hand. 

'AU! AU! what have you done now?' said the Bull; 'there's nothing forit now but to fight for life or death; but mind you keep the leafsafe. '

Soon after they got to the end of the wood, and a Troll with threeheads came running up:

'Who is this that touches my wood?' said the Troll. 

'It's just as much mine as yours', said the Bull. 

'Ah!' roared the Troll, 'we'll try a fall about that. '

'As you choose', said the Bull. 

So they rushed at one another, and fought; and the Bull he butted, and gored, and kicked with all his might and main; but the Troll gavehim as good as he brought, and it lasted the whole day before theBull got the mastery; and then he was so full of wounds, and so wornout, he could scarce lift a leg. Then they were forced to stay therea day to rest, and then the Bull bade the King's daughter to take thehorn of ointment which hung at the Troll's belt, and rub him with it. Then he came to himself again, and the day after they trudged onagain. So they travelled many, many days, until, after a long longtime, they came to a silver wood, where both the trees, and branches, and leaves, and flowers, and everything, were silvern. 

Before the Bull went into the wood, he said to the King's daughter:

'Now, when we get into this wood, for heaven's sake mind you takegood care; you mustn't touch anything, and not pluck off so much asone leaf, else it is all over both with me and you; for here is aTroll with six heads who owns it, and him I don't think I should beable to master. '

'No', said the King's daughter; 'I'll take good care and not touchanything you don't wish me to touch. '

But when they got into the wood, it was so close and thick, theycould scarce get along. She was as careful as careful could be, andleant to this side and that to miss the boughs, and put them on oneside with her hands, but every minute the branches struck her acrossthe eyes, and in spite of all her pains, it so happened she tore offa leaf. 

'AU! AU! what have you done now?' said the Bull. 'There's nothing forit now but to fight for life and death, for this Troll has six heads, and is twice as strong as the other, but mind you keep the leaf safe, and don't lose it. '

Just as he said that, up came the Troll:

'Who is this', he said, 'that touches my wood?'

'It's as much mine as yours', said the Bull. 

'That we'll try a fall about', roared the Troll. 

'As you choose', said the Bull, and rushed at the Troll, and goredout his eyes, and drove his horns right through his body, so that theentrails gushed out; but the Troll was almost a match for him, and itlasted three whole days before the Bull got the life gored out ofhim. But then he, too, was so weak and wretched, it was as much as hecould do to stir a limb, and so full of wounds, that the bloodstreamed from him. So he said to the King's daughter she must takethe horn of ointment that hung at the Troll's belt, and rub him withit. Then she did that, and he came to himself; but they were forcedto stay there a week to rest before the Bull had strength enough togo on. 

At last they set off again, but the Bull was still poorly, and theywent rather slowly at first. So, to spare time, the King's daughtersaid, as she was young and light of foot, she could very well walk, but she couldn't get leave to do that. No; she must seat herself upon his back again. So on they travelled through many lands a longtime, and the King's daughter did not know in the least whither theywent; but after a long, long time they came to a gold wood. It was sogrand, the gold dropped from every twig, and all the trees, andboughs, and flowers, and leaves, were of pure gold. Here, too, thesame thing happened as had happened in the silver wood and copperwood. The Bull told the King's daughter she mustn't touch it foranything, for there was a Troll with nine heads who owned it, and hewas much bigger and stouter than both the others put together; and hedidn't think he could get the better of him. No; she'd be sure totake heed not to touch it; that he might know very well. But whenthey got into the wood, it was far thicker and closer than the silverwood, and the deeper they went into it, the worse it got. The woodwent on, getting thicker and thicker, and closer and closer; and atlast she thought there was no way at all to get through it. She wasin such an awful fright of plucking off anything, that she sat, andtwisted, and turned herself this way and that, and hither andthither, to keep clear of the boughs, and she put them on one sidewith her hands; but every moment the branches struck her across theeyes, so that she couldn't see what she was clutching at; and lo!before she knew how it came about, she had a gold apple in her hand. Then she was so bitterly sorry, she burst into tears, and wanted tothrow it away; but the Bull said, she must keep it safe and watch itwell, and comforted her as well as he could; but he thought it wouldbe a hard tussle, and he doubted how it would go. 

Just then up came the Troll with the nine heads, and he was so ugly, the King's daughter scarcely dared to look at him. 

'WHO IS THIS THAT TOUCHES MY WOOD?' he roared. 

'It's just as much mine as yours', said the Bull. 

'That we'll try a fall about', roared the Troll again. 

'Just as you choose', said the Bull; and so they rushed at oneanother, and fought, and it was such a dreadful sight, the King'sdaughter was ready to swoon away. The Bull gored out the Troll'seyes, and drove his horns through and through his body, till theentrails came tumbling out; but the Troll fought bravely; and whenthe Bull got one head gored to death, the rest breathed life into itagain, and so it lasted a whole week before the Bull was able to getthe life out of them all. But then he was utterly worn out andwretched. He couldn't stir a foot, and his body was all one wound. Hecouldn't so much as ask the King's daughter to take the horn ofointment which hung at the Troll's belt, and rub it over him. But shedid it all the same, and then he came to himself by little andlittle; but they had to lie there and rest three weeks before he wasfit to go on again. 

Then they set off at a snail's pace, for the Bull said they had stilla little further to go, and so they crossed over many high hills andthick woods. So after awhile they got upon the fells. 

'Do you see anything?' asked the Bull. 

'No, I see nothing but the sky, and the wild fell', said the King'sdaughter. 

So when they clomb higher up, the fell got smoother, and they couldsee further off. 

'Do you see anything now?' asked the Bull. 

'Yes, I see a little castle far, far away', said the Princess. 

'That's not so little though', said the Bull. 

After a long, long time, they came to a great cairn, where there wasa spur of the fell that stood sheer across the way. 

'Do you see anything now?' asked the Bull. 

'Yes, now I see the castle close by', said the King's daughter, 'andnow it is much, much bigger. '

'Thither you're to go', said the Bull. 'Right underneath the castleis a pig-sty, where you are to dwell. When you come thither you'llfind a wooden cloak, all made of strips of lath; that you must puton, and go up to the castle and say your name is "Katie Woodencloak", and ask for a place. But before you go, you must take your penknifeand cut my head off, and then you must flay me, and roll up the hide, and lay it under the wall of rock yonder, and under the hide you mustlay the copper leaf, and the silver leaf, and the golden apple. Yonder, up against the rock, stands a stick; and when you wantanything, you've only got to knock on the wall of rock with thatstick. '

At first she wouldn't do anything of the kind; but when the Bull saidit was the only thanks he would have for what he had done for her, she couldn't help herself. So, however much it grieved her heart, shehacked and cut away with her knife at the big beast till she got bothhis head and his hide off, and then she laid the hide up under thewall of rock, and put the copper leaf, and the silvern leaf, and thegolden apple inside it. 

So when she had done that, she went over to the pig-sty, but all thewhile she went she sobbed and wept. There she put on the woodencloak, and so went up to the palace. When she came into the kitchenshe begged for a place, and told them her name was Katie Woodencloak. Yes, the cook said she might have a place--she might have leave to bethere in the scullery, and wash up, for the lassie who did that workbefore had just gone away. 

'But as soon as you get weary of being here, you'll go your way too, I'll be bound. '

No; she was sure she wouldn't do that. 

So there she was, behaving so well, and washing up so handily. TheSunday after there were to be strange guests at the palace, so Katieasked if she might have leave to carry up water for the Prince'sbath; but all the rest laughed at her, and said:

'What should you do there? Do you think the Prince will care to lookat you, you who are such a fright!'

But she wouldn't give it up, and kept on begging and praying; and atlast she got leave. So when she went up the stairs, her wooden cloakmade such a clatter, the Prince came out and asked:

'Pray who are you?'

'Oh! I was just going to bring up water for your Royal Highness'sbath', said Katie. 

'Do you think now', said the Prince, 'I'd have anything to do withthe water you bring?' and with that he threw the water over her. 

So she had to put up with that, but then she asked leave to go tochurch; well, she got that leave too, for the church lay close by. But, first of all, she went to the rock, and knocked on its face withthe stick which stood there, just as the Bull had said. Andstraightway out came a man, who said:

'What's your will?'

So the Princess said she had got leave to go to church and hear thepriest preach, but she had no clothes to go in. So he brought out akirtle, which was as bright as the copper wood, and she got a horseand saddle beside. Now, when she got to the church she was so lovelyand grand, all wondered who she could be, and scarce one of themlistened to what the priest said, for they looked too much at her. Asfor the Prince, he fell so deep in love with her, he didn't take hiseyes off her for a single moment. 

So, as she went out of church, the Prince ran after her, and held thechurch door open for her; and so he got hold of one of her gloves, which was caught in the door. When she went away and mounted herhorse, the Prince went up to her again, and asked whence she came. 

'Oh! I'm from Bath', said Katie; and while the Prince took out theglove to give it to her, she said:

 Bright before and dark behind, Clouds come rolling on the wind; That this Prince may never see Where my good steed goes with me. 

The Prince had never seen the like of that glove, and went about farand wide asking after the land whence the proud lady, who rode offwithout her glove, said she came; but there was no one who could tellwhere 'Bath' lay. 

Next Sunday some one had to go up to the Prince with a towel. 

'Oh! may I have leave to go up with it?' said Katie. 

'What's the good of your going?' said the others; 'you saw how itfared with you last time. '

But Katie wouldn't give in; she kept on begging and praying, till shegot leave; and then she ran up the stairs, so that her wooden cloakmade a great clatter. Out came the Prince, and when he saw it wasKatie, he tore the towel out of her hand, and threw it into her face. 

'Pack yourself off, you ugly Troll', he cried; 'do you think I'd havea towel which you have touched with your smutty fingers?'

After that the Prince set off to church, and Katie begged for leaveto go too. They all asked what business she had at church--she whohad nothing to put on but that wooden cloak, which was so black andugly. But Katie said the priest was such a brave man to preach, whathe said did her so much good; and so she at last got leave. Now shewent again to the rock and knocked, and so out came the man, and gaveher a kirtle far finer than the first one; it was all covered withsilver, and it shone like the silver wood; and she got besides anoble steed, with a saddle-cloth broidered with silver, and a silverbit. 

So when the King's daughter got to the church, the folk were stillstanding about in the churchyard. And all wondered and wondered whoshe could be, and the Prince was soon on the spot, and came andwished to hold her horse for her while she got off. But she jumpeddown, and said there was no need, for her horse was so well broke, itstood still when she bid it, and came when she called it. So they allwent into church; but there was scarce a soul that listened to whatthe priest said, for they looked at her a deal too much; and thePrince fell still deeper in love than the first time. 

When the sermon was over, and she went out of church and was going tomount her horse, up came the Prince again, and asked her whence shecame. 

'Oh! I'm from Towelland', said the King's daughter; and as she saidthat, she dropped her riding-whip, and when the Prince stooped topick it up, she said:

 Bright before and dark behind, Clouds come rolling on the wind; That this Prince may never see Where my good steed goes with me. 

So away she was again; and the Prince couldn't tell what had becomeof her. He went about far and wide asking after the land whence shesaid she came, but there was no one who could tell him where it lay;and so the Prince had to make the best he could of it. 

Next Sunday some one had to go up to the Prince with a comb. Katiebegged for leave to go up with it, but the others put her in mind howshe had fared the last time, and scolded her for wishing to go beforethe Prince--such a black and ugly fright as she was in her woodencloak. But she wouldn't leave off asking till they let her go up tothe Prince with his comb. So, when she came clattering up the stairsagain, out came the Prince, and took the comb, and threw it at her, and bade her be off as fast as she could. After that the Prince wentto church, and Katie begged for leave to go too. They asked againwhat business she had there, she who was so foul and black, and whohad no clothes to show herself in. Might be the Prince or some oneelse would see her, and then both she and all the others would smartfor it; but Katie said they had something else to do than to look ather; and she wouldn't leave off begging and praying till they gaveher leave to go. 

So the same thing happened now as had happened twice before. She wentto the rock and knocked with the stick, and then the man came out andgave her a kirtle which was far grander than either of the others. Itwas almost all pure gold, and studded with diamonds; and she gotbesides a noble steed, with a gold broidered saddle-cloth and agolden bit. 

Now when the King's daughter got to the church, there stood thepriest and all the people in the churchyard waiting for her. Up camethe Prince running, and wanted to hold her horse, but she jumped off, and said:

'No; thanks--there's no need, for my horse is so well broke, itstands still when I bid him. '

So they all hastened into church, and the priest got into the pulpit, but no one listened to a word he said; for they all looked too muchat her, and wondered whence she came; and the Prince, he was fardeeper in love than either of the former times. He had no eyes, orears, or sense for anything, but just to sit and stare at her. 

So when the sermon was over, and the King's daughter was to go out ofthe church, the Prince had got a firkin of pitch poured out in theporch, that he might come and help her over it; but she didn't care abit--she just put her foot right down into the midst of the pitch, and jumped across it; but then one of her golden shoes stuck fast init, and as she got on her horse, up came the Prince running out ofthe church, and asked whence she came. 

'I'm from Combland', said Katie. But when the Prince wanted to reachher the gold shoe, she said, Bright before and dark behind, Clouds come rolling on the wind; That this Prince may never see Where my good steed goes with me. 

So the Prince couldn't tell still what had become of her, and he wentabout a weary time all over the world asking for 'Combland'; but whenno one could tell him where it lay, he ordered it to be given outeverywhere that he would wed the woman whose foot could fit the goldshoe. 

So many came of all sorts from all sides, fair and ugly alike; butthere was no one who had so small a foot as to be able to get on thegold shoe. And after a long, long time, who should come but Katie'swicked stepmother, and her daughter, too, and her the gold shoefitted; but ugly she was, and so loathly she looked, the Prince onlykept his word sore against his will. Still they got ready thewedding-feast, and she was dressed up and decked out as a bride; butas they rode to church, a little bird sat upon a tree and sang:

 A bit off her heel, And a bit off her toe; Katie Woodencloak's tiny shoe Is full of blood--that's all I know. 

And, sure enough, when they looked to it the bird told the truth, forblood gushed out of the shoe. 

Then all the maids and women who were about the palace had to go upto try on the shoe, but there was none of them whom it would fit atall. 

'But where's Katie Woodencloak?' asked the Prince, when all the resthad tried the shoe, for he understood the song of birds very well, and bore in mind what the little bird had said. 

'Oh! she think of that!' said the rest; 'it's no good her comingforward. Why, she's legs like a horse. '

'Very true, I daresay', said the Prince; 'but since all the othershave tried, Katie may as well try too. '

'Katie', he bawled out through the door; and Katie came tramplingupstairs, and her wooden cloak clattered as if a whole regiment ofdragoons were charging up. 

'Now, you must try the shoe on, and be a Princess, you too, ' said theother maids, and laughed and made game of her. 

So Katie took up the shoe, and put her foot into it like nothing, andthrew off her wooden cloak; and so there she stood in her goldkirtle, and it shone so that the sunbeams glistened from her; and, lo! on her other foot she had the fellow to the gold shoe. 

So when the Prince knew her again, he grew so glad, he ran up to herand threw his arms round her, and gave her a kiss; and when he heardshe was a King's daughter, he got gladder still, and then came thewedding feast; and so, Snip, snip, snover, This story's over. 

THUMBIKIN

Once on a time there was a woman who had an only son, and he was notaller than your thumb; and so they called him Thumbikin. 

Now, when he had come to be old enough to know right and wrong, hismother told him to go out and woo him a bride, for now she said itwas high time he thought about getting a wife. When Thumbikin heardthat, he was very glad; so they got their driving gear in order andset off, and his mother put him into her bosom. Now they were goingto a palace where there was an awfully big Princess, but when theyhad gone a bit of the way, Thumbikin was lost and gone. His motherhunted for him everywhere, and bawled to him, and wept because he waslost, and she couldn't find him again. 

'_Pip, Pip_', said Thumbikin, 'here I am'; and he had hiddenhimself in the horse's mane. 

So he came out, and had to give his word to his mother that hewouldn't do so any more. But when they had driven a bit further on, Thumbikin was lost again. His mother hunted for him, and called him, and wept; but gone he was, and gone he stayed. 

'_Pip, Pip_', said Thumbikin at last; and then she heard how helaughed and tittered, but she couldn't find him at all for the lifeof her. 

'_Pip, Pip_, why, here I am now!' said Thumbikin, and came outof the horse's ear. 

So he had to give his word that he wouldn't hide himself again; butthey had scarce driven a bit further before he was gone again. Hecouldn't help it. As for his mother, she hunted, and wept, and calledhim by name; but gone he was, and gone he stayed; and the more shehunted, the less she could find him in any way. 

'_Pip, Pip_, here I am then', said Thumbikin. 

But she couldn't make out at all where he was, his voice sounded sodull, and muffled. 

So she hunted, and he kept on saying, 'Pip, here I am', and laughedand chuckled, but she couldn't find him; but all at once the horsesnorted, and it snorted Thumbikin out, for he had crept up one of hisnostrils. 

Then his mother took him and put him into a bag; she knew no otherway, for she saw well enough he couldn't help hiding himself. 

So, when they came to the palace, the match was soon made, for thePrincess thought him a pretty little chap, and it wasn't long beforethe wedding came on too. 

Now, when they were going to sit down to the wedding-feast, Thumbikinsat at the table by the Princess's side; but he had worse than noseat, for when he was to eat he couldn't reach up to the table; andso if the Princess hadn't helped him up on to it, he wouldn't havegot a bit to eat. 

Now it went good and well so long as he had to eat off a plate, butthen there came a great bowl of porridge--that he couldn't reach upto; but Thumbikin soon found out a way to help himself; he climbed upand sat on the lip of the bowl. But then there was a pat of meltingbutter right in the middle of the bowl, and that he couldn't reach todip his porridge into it, and so he went on and took his seat at theedge of the melting butter; but just then who should come but thePrincess, with a great spoonful of porridge to dip it into thebutter; and, alas! she went too near to Thumbikin, and tipped himover; and so he fell over head and ears, and was drowned in themelted butter. 

DOLL I' THE GRASS

Once on a time there was a King who had twelve sons. When they weregrown big he told them they must go out into the world and winthemselves wives, but these wives must each be able to spin, andweave, and sew a shirt in one day, else he wouldn't have them fordaughters-in-law. 

To each he gave a horse and a new suit of mail, and they went outinto the world to look after their brides; but when they had gone abit of the way, they said they wouldn't have Boots, their youngestbrother, with them--he wasn't fit for anything. 

Well, Boots had to stay behind, and he didn't know what to do orwhither to turn; and so he grew so downcast, he got off his horse, and sat down in the tall grass to weep. But when he had sat a littlewhile, one of the tufts in the grass began to stir and move, and outof it came a little white thing, and when it came nearer, Boots sawit was a charming little lassie, only such a tiny bit of a thing. Sothe lassie went up to him, and asked if he would come down below andsee 'Doll i' the Grass'. 

Yes, he'd be very happy, and so he went. 

Now, when he got down; there sat Doll i' the Grass on a chair; shewas so lovely and so smart, and she asked Boots whither he was going, and what was his business. 

So he told her how there were twelve brothers of them, and how theKing had given them horses and mail, and said they must each go outinto the world and find them a wife who could spin, and weave, andsew a shirt in a day. 

'But if you'll only say at once you'll be my wife, I'll not go a stepfurther', said Boots to Doll i' the Grass. 

Well, she was willing enough, and so she made haste and span, andwove, and sewed the shirt, but it was so tiny, tiny little. It wasn'tlonger than so--------long. 

So Boots set off home with it, but when he brought it out he wasalmost ashamed, it was so small. Still the King said he should haveher, and so Boots set off, glad and happy to fetch his littlesweetheart. So when he got to Doll i' the Grass, he wished to takeher up before him on his horse; but she wouldn't have that, for shesaid she would sit and drive along in a silver spoon, and that shehad two small white horses to draw her. So off they set, he on hishorse and she on her silver spoon, and the two horses that drew herwere two tiny white mice; but Boots always kept the other side of theroad, he was so afraid lest he should ride over her, she was solittle. So, when they had gone a bit of the way, they came to a greatpiece of water. Here Boots' horse got frightened, and shied acrossthe road and upset the spoon, and Doll i' the Grass tumbled into thewater. Then Boots got so sorrowful because he didn't know how to gether out again; but in a little while up came a merman with her, andnow she was as well and full grown as other men and women, and farlovelier than she had been before. So he took her up before him onhis horse, and rode home. 

When Boots got home all his brothers had come back each with hissweetheart, but these were all so ugly, and foul, and wicked, thatthey had done nothing but fight with one another on the way home, andon their heads they had a kind of hat that was daubed over with tarand soot, and so the rain had run down off the hats on to theirfaces, till they got far uglier and nastier than they had beenbefore. When his brothers saw Boots and his sweetheart, they were allas jealous as jealous could be of her; but the King was so overjoyedwith them both, that he drove all the others away, and so Boots heldhis wedding-feast with Doll i' the Grass, and after that they livedwell and happily together a long long time, and if they're not dead, why they're alive still. 

THE LAD AND THE DEIL

Once on a time there was a lad who was walking along a road crackingnuts, so he found one that was worm-eaten, and just at that verymoment he met the Deil. 

'Is it true, now', said the lad, 'what they say, that the Deil canmake himself as small as he chooses, and thrust himself in through apinhole?'

'Yes it is', said the Deil. 

'Oh! it is, is it? then let me see you do it, and just creep intothis nut', said the lad. 

So the Deil did it. 

Now, when he had crept well in through the worm's hole, the ladstopped it up with a pin. 

'Now, I've got you safe', he said, and put the nut into his pocket. 

So when he had walked on a bit, he came to a smithy, and he turned inand asked the smith if he'd be good enough to crack that nut for him. 

'Aye, that'll be an easy job', said the smith, and took his smallesthammer, laid the nut on the anvil, and gave it a blow, but itwouldn't break. 

So he took another hammer a little bigger, but that wasn't heavyenough either. 

Then he took one bigger still, but it was still the same story; andso the smith got wroth, and grasped his great sledge-hammer. 

'Now, I'll crack you to bits', he said, and let drive at the nut withall his might and main. And so the nut flew to pieces with a bangthat blew off half the roof of the smithy, and the whole housecreaked and groaned as though it were ready to fall. 

'Why! if I don't think the Deil must have been in that nut', said thesmith. 

'So he was; you're quite right', said the lad, as he went awaylaughing. 

THE COCK AND HEN A-NUTTING

Once on a time the cock and the hen went out into the hazel-wood topick nuts; and so the hen got a nutshell in her throat, and lay onher back, flapping her wings. 

Off went the cock to fetch water for her; so he came to the Springand said:

'Dear good friend Spring give me a drop of water, that I may give itto Dame Partlet, my mate, who lies at death's door in the hazel-wood. '

But the Spring answered:

'You'll get no water from me until I get leaves from you. '

So the Cock ran to the Linden, and said:

'Dear good friend Linden, give me some of your leaves, the leavesI'll give to the Spring, and the Spring'll give me water to give toDame Partlet my mate, who lies at death's door in the hazel-wood. '

'You'll get no leaves from me', said the Linden, 'until I get a redribbon with a golden edge from you. '

So the Cock ran to the Virgin Mary. 

'Dear good Virgin Mary, give me a red ribbon with a golden edge, andI'll give the red ribbon to the Linden, the Linden'll give me leaves, the leaves I'll give to the Spring, the Spring'll give me water, andthe water I'll give to Dame Partlet my mate, who lies at death'sdoor, in the hazel-wood. '

'You'll get no red ribbon from me', answered the Virgin Mary, 'untilI get shoes from you. '

So the Cock ran to the Shoemaker and said

'Dear good friend Shoemaker, give me shoes, and I'll give the shoesto the Virgin Mary, the Virgin Mary'll give me a red ribbon, the redribbon I'll give to the Linden, the Linden'll give me leaves, theleaves I'll give to the Spring, the Spring'll give me water, thewater I'll give to Dame Partlet my mate, who lies at death's door inthe hazel-wood. '

'You'll get no shoes from me', said the Shoemaker, 'until I getbristles from you. '

So the Cock ran to the Sow and said:

'Dear good friend Sow, give me bristles, the bristles I'll give tothe Shoemaker, the Shoemaker'll give me shoes, the shoes I'll give tothe Virgin Mary, the Virgin Mary'll give me a red ribbon, the redribbon I'll give to the Linden, the Linden'll give me leaves, theleaves I'll give to the Spring, the Spring'll give me water, thewater I'll give to Dame Partlet my mate, who lies at death's door inthe hazel-wood. '

'You'll get no bristles from me', said the Sow, 'until I get cornfrom you. '

So the Cock ran to the Thresher and said:

'Dear good friend Thresher, give me corn, the corn I'll give to theSow, the Sow'll give me bristles, the bristles I'll give to theShoemaker, the Shoemaker'll give me shoes, the shoes I'll give to theVirgin Mary, the Virgin Mary'll give me a red ribbon, the red ribbonI'll give to the Linden, the Linden'll give me leaves, the leavesI'll give to the Spring, the Spring'll give me water, the water I'llgive to Dame Partlet my mate, who lies at death's door in the hazel-wood. '

'You'll get no corn from me', said the Thresher, 'until I get abannock from you. '

So the Cock ran to the Baker's wife and said:

'Dear good friend Mrs. Baker, give me a bannock, the bannock I'llgive to the Thresher, the Thresher'll give me corn, the corn I'llgive to the Sow, the Sow'll give me bristles, the bristles I'll giveto the Shoemaker, the Shoemaker'll give me shoes, the shoes I'll giveto the Virgin Mary, the Virgin Mary'll give me a red ribbon, the redribbon I'll give to the Linden, the Linden'll give me leaves, theleaves I'll give to the Spring, the Spring'll give me water, thewater I'll give to Dame Partlet my mate, who lies at death's door inthe hazel-wood. '

'You'll get no bannock from me', said the Baker's wife, until I getwood from you. '

So the Cock ran to the Woodcutter and said:

'Dear good friend Woodcutter, give me wood, the wood I'll give to theBaker's wife, the Baker's wife'll give me a bannock, the bannock I'llgive to the Thresher, the Thresher'll give me corn, the corn I'llgive to the Sow, the Sow'll give me bristles, the bristles I'll giveto the Shoemaker, the Shoemaker'll give me shoes, the shoes I'll giveto the Virgin Mary, the Virgin Mary'll give me a red ribbon, the redribbon I'll give to the Linden, the Linden'll give me leaves, theleaves I'll give to the Spring, the Spring'll give me water, thewater I'll give to Dame Partlet my mate, who lies at death's door inthe hazel-wood. '

'You'll get no wood from me', answered the Woodcutter, 'until I getan axe from you. '

So the Cock ran to the Smith and said:

'Dear good friend Smith, give me an axe, the axe I'll give to theWoodcutter, the Woodcutter'll give me wood, the wood I'll give to theBaker's wife, the Baker's wife'll give me a bannock, the bannock I'llgive to the Thresher, the Thresher'll give me corn, the corn I'llgive to the Sow, the Sow'll give me bristles, the bristles I'll giveto the Shoemaker, the Shoemaker'll give me shoes, the shoes I'll giveto the Virgin Mary, the Virgin Mary'll give me a red ribbon, the redribbon I'll give to the Linden, the Linden'll give me leaves, theleaves I'll give to the Spring, the Spring'll give me water, thewater I'll give to Dame Partlet my mate, who lies at death's door inthe hazel-wood. '

'You'll get no axe from me', answered the Smith, 'until I getcharcoal of you. '

So the Cock ran to the Charcoal-burner and said

'Dear good friend Charcoal-burner, give me charcoal, the charcoalI'll give to the Smith, the Smith'll give me an axe, the axe I'llgive to the Woodcutter, the Woodcutter'll give me wood, the wood I'llgive to the Baker's wife, the Baker's wife'll give me a bannock, thebannock I'll give to the Thresher, the Thresher'll give me corn, thecorn I'll give to the Sow, the Sow'll give me bristles, the bristlesI'll give to the Shoemaker, the Shoemaker'll give me shoes, the shoesI'll give to the Virgin Mary, the Virgin Mary'll give me a redribbon, the red ribbon I'll give to the Linden, the Linden'll give meleaves, the leaves I'll give to the Spring, the Spring'll give mewater, the water I'll give to Dame Partlet my mate, who lies atdeath's door in the hazel-wood. 

So the Charcoal-burner took pity on the Cock, and gave him a bit ofcharcoal, and then the Smith got his coal, and the Woodcutter hisaxe, and the Baker's wife her wood, and the Thresher his bannock, andthe Sow her corn, and the Shoemaker his bristles, and the Virgin Maryher shoes, and the Linden its red ribbon with a golden edge, and theSpring its leaves, and the Cock his drop of water, and he gave it toDame Partlet, his mate, who lay there at death's door in the hazel-wood, and so she got all right again. 

THE BIG BIRD DAN

Once on a time there was a king who had twelve daughters, and he wasso fond of them they must always be at his side; but every day atnoon, while the king slept, the Princesses went out to take a walk. So once, while the king was taking his noontide nap, and thePrincesses had gone to take their walk, all at once they weremissing, and worse, they never came home again. Then there was greatgrief and sorrow all over the land, but the most sorry of all was theking. He sent messengers out throughout his own and other realms, andgave out their names in all the churches, and had the bells tolledfor them in all the steeples; but gone the Princesses were, and gonethey stayed, and none could tell what was become of them. So it wasas clear as day that they must have been carried off by somewitchcraft. 

Well, it wasn't long before these tidings spread far and wide, overland and town, aye, over many lands; and so the news came to a kingever so many lands off, who had twelve sons. So when these Princesheard of the twelve king's daughters, they asked leave of theirfather to go out and seek them. They had hard work to get his leave, for he was afraid lest he should never see them again, but they allfell down on their knees before the king, and begged so long, at lasthe was forced to let them go after all. 

He fitted out a ship for them, and gave them Ritter Red, who wasquite at home at sea, for a captain. So they sailed about a long, long time, landed on every shore they came to, and hunted and askedafter the Princesses, but they could neither hear nor see anything ofthem. And now, a few days only were wanting to make up seven yearssince they set sail, when one day a strong storm rose, and such foulweather, they thought they should never come to land again, and allhad to work so hard, they couldn't get a wink of sleep so long as thestorm lasted. But when the third day was nearly over, the wind fell, and all at once it got as still as still could be. Now, they were allso weary with work and the rough weather, they fell fast asleep inthe twinkling of an eye; all but the youngest Prince, he could get norest, and couldn't go off to sleep at all. 

So as he was pacing up and down the deck, the ship came to a littleisland, and on the island ran a little dog, and bayed and barked atthe ship as if it wanted to come on board. So the Prince went to thatside of the deck, and tried to coax the dog, and whistled andwhistled to him, but the more he whistled and coaxed, the more thedog barked and snarled. Well, he thought it a shame the dog shouldrun about there and starve, for he made up his mind that it must havecome thither from a ship that had been cast away in the storm; butstill he thought he should never be able to help it after all, for hecouldn't put out the boat by himself, and as for the others, they allslept so sound, he wouldn't wake them for the sake of a dog. But thenthe weather was so calm and still; and at last he said to himself:'Come what may, you must go on shore and save that dog', and so hebegan to try to launch the boat, and he found it far easier work thanhe thought. So he rowed ashore, and went up to the dog; but everytime he tried to catch it, it jumped on one side, and so it went ontill he found himself inside a great grand castle, before he knewwhere he was. Then the dog, all at once, was changed into a lovelyPrincess; and there, on the bench, sat a man so big and ugly, thePrince almost lost his wits for fear. 

'YOU'VE NO NEED TO BE AFRAID', said the man--but the Prince, to tellyou the truth, got far more afraid when he heard his gruff voice--'for I know well enough what you want. There are twelve Princes ofyou, and you are looking for the twelve Princesses that are lost. Iknow, too, very well whereabouts they are; they're with my lord andmaster, and there they sit, each of them on her chair, and comb hishair; for he has twelve heads. And now you have sailed seven years, but you'll have to sail seven years more before you find them. As foryou, you might stay here and welcome, and have my daughter; but youmust first slay him, for he's a hard master to all of us, and we'reall weary of him, and when he's dead I shall be King in his stead;but first try if you can brandish this sword'. 

Then the King's son took hold of a rusty old sword which hung on thewall, but he could scarce stir it. 

'Now you must take a pull at this flask', said the Troll; and when hehad done that he could stir it, and when he had taken another hecould lift it, and when he had taken a third he could brandish thesword as easily as if it had been his own. 

'Now, when you get on board', said the Troll Prince, 'you must hidethe sword well in your berth, that Ritter Red mayn't set eyes on it;he's not man enough to wield it, but he'll get spiteful against you, and try to take your life. And when seven years are almost out allbut three days', he went on to say, 'everything will happen just asnow; foul weather will come on you, with a great storm, and when itis over you'll all be sleepy. Then you must take the sword and rowashore, and so you'll come to a castle where all sorts of guards willstand--wolves, and bears, and lions; but you needn't be afraid ofthem, for they'll all come and crouch at your feet. But when you comeinside the castle, you'll soon see the Troll; he sits in a splendidchamber in grand attire and array; twelve heads he has of his own, and the Princesses sit round them, each on her chair, and comb hisheads, and that's a work you may guess they don't much like. Then youmust make haste, and hew off one head after the other as quick as youcan; for if he wakes and sets his eyes on you, he'll swallow youalive'. 

So the King's son went on board with the sword, and he bore in mindwhat he had come to know. The others still lay fast asleep andsnored, and he hid the sword in his berth, so that neither Ritter Rednor any of the rest got sight of it. And now it began to blow again, so he woke up the others and said he thought they oughtn't to sleepany longer now when there was such a good wind. And there was none ofthem that marked he had been away. Well, after the seven years wereall gone but three days, all happened as the Troll had said. A greatstorm and foul weather came on that lasted three days, and when ithad blown itself out, all the rest grew sleepy and went to rest; butthe youngest King's son rowed ashore, and the guards fell at hisfeet, and so he came to the castle. So when he got inside thechamber, there sat the King fast asleep as the Troll Prince had said, and the twelve Princesses sat each on her chair and combed one of hisheads. The king's son beckoned to the Princesses to get out of theway; they pointed to the Troll, and beckoned to him again to go hisway as quick as ever he could, but he kept on making signs to them toget out of the way, and then they understood that he wanted to setthem free, and stole away softly one after the other, and as fast asthey went, he hewed off the Troll King's heads, till at last theblood gushed out like a great brook. When the Troll was slain herowed on board and hid his sword. He thought now he had done enough, and as he couldn't get rid of the body by himself, he thought it onlyfair they should help him a little. So he woke them all up, and saidit was a shame they should be snoring there, when he had found thePrincesses, and set them free from the Troll. The others only laughedat him, and said he had been just as sound asleep as they, and onlydreamt that he was man enough to do what he said; for if any one wasto set the Princesses free, it was far more likely it would be one ofthem. But the youngest King's son told them all about it, and whenthey followed him to the land and saw first of all the brook ofblood, and then the castle, and the Troll, and the twelve heads, andthe Princesses, they saw plain enough that he had spoken the truth, and now the whole helped him to throw the body and the heads into thesea. So all were glad and happy, but none more so than thePrincesses, who got rid of having to sit there and comb the Troll'shair all day. Of all the silver and gold and precious things thatwere there, they took as much as the ship could hold, and so theywent on board altogether Princes and Princesses alike. 

But when they had gone a bit out on the sea, the Princesses said theyhad forgotten in their joy their gold crowns; they lay behind in apress, and they would be so glad to have them. So when none of theothers was willing to fetch them, the youngest King's son said:

'I have already dared so much, I can very well go back for the goldcrowns too, if you will only strike sail and wait till I come again. '

Yes, that they would do. But when he had gone back so far that theycouldn't see him any longer, Ritter Red, who would have been gladenough to have been their chief, and to have the youngest Princess, said, 'it was no use their lying there still waiting for him, forthey might know very well he would never come back; they all knew, too, how the king had given him all power and authority to sail ornot as he chose; and now they must all say 'twas he that had savedthe Princesses, and if any one said anything else, he should lose hislife'. 

The Princes didn't dare to do anything else than what Ritter Redwilled, and so they sailed away. 

Meanwhile the youngest King's son rowed to land, went up to thecastle, found the press with gold crowns in it, and at last lugged itdown to the boat, and shoved off; but when he came where he ought tohave seen the ship, lo! it was gone. Well, as he couldn't catch aglimpse of it anywhere, he could very soon tell how matters stood. Torow after them was no good, and so he was forced to turn about androw back to land. He was rather afraid to stay alone in the castleall night, but there was no other house to be got, so he plucked up aheart, locked up all the doors and gates fast, and lay down in a roomwhere there was a bed ready made. But fearful and woeful he was, andstill more afraid he got when he had lain a while and something beganto creak and groan and quake in wall and roof, as if the whole castlewere being torn asunder. Then all at once down something plungedclose by the side of his bed, as if it were a whole cartload of hay. Then all was still again; but after a while he heard a voice, whichbade him not to be afraid, and said:

 Here am I the Big Bird Dan Come to help you all I can. 

'But the first thing you must do when you wake in the morning, willbe to go to the barn and fetch four barrels of rye for me. I mustfill my crop with them for breakfast, else I can't do anything'. 

When he woke up, sure enough there he saw an awfully big bird, whichhad a feather at the nape of his neck, as thick and long as a half-grown spruce fir. So the King's son went down to the barn to fetchfour barrels of rye for the Big Bird Dan, and when he had crammedthem into his crop he told the King's son to hang the press with thegold crowns on one side of his neck, and as much gold and silver aswould weigh it down on the other side, and after that to get on hisback and hold fast by the feather in the nape of his neck. So awaythey went till the wind whistled after them, and so it wasn't longbefore they outstripped the ship. The King's son wanted to go onboard for his sword, for he was afraid lest any one should get sightof it, for the Troll had told him that mustn't be; but Bird Dan saidthat mustn't be either. 

'Ritter Red will never see it, never fear; but if you go on board, he'll try to take your life, for he has set his heart on having theyoungest Princess; but make your mind quite easy about her, for shelays a naked sword by her side in bed every night. '

So after a long, long time, they came to the island where the TrollPrince was; and there the King's son was welcomed so heartily therewas no end to it. The Troll Prince didn't know how to be good enoughto him for having slain his Lord and Master, and so made him King ofthe Trolls, and if the King's son had been willing he might easilyhave got the Troll King's daughter, and half the kingdom. But he hadso set his heart on the youngest of the twelve Princesses, he couldtake no rest, but was all for going after their ship time after time. So the Troll King begged him to be quiet a little longer, and saidthey had still nearly seven years to sail before they got home. Asfor the Princess the Troll said the same thing as the Big Bird Dan. 

'You needn't fret yourself about her, for she lays a naked sword byher side every night in bed. And now if you don't believe what Isay', said the Troll, 'you can go on board when they sail by here, and see for yourself, and fetch the sword too, for I may just as wellhave it again. '

So when they sailed by another great storm arose, and when the king'sson went on board they all slept, and each Princess lay beside herPrince; but the youngest lay alone with a naked sword beside her inthe bed, and on the floor by the bedside lay Ritter Red. Then theking's son took the sword and rowed ashore again, and none of themhad seen that he had been on board. But still the King's son couldn'trest, and he often and often wanted to be off, and so at last when itgot near the end of the seven years, and only three weeks were left, the Troll King said:

'Now you may get ready to go since you won't stay with us; and youshall have the loan of my iron boat, which sails of itself, if youonly say:

 Boat, boat, go on!

'In that boat there is an iron club, and that club you must lift alittle when you see the ship straight a-head of you, and then they'llget such a rattling fair breeze, they'll forget to look at you; butwhen you get alongside them, you must lift the club a little again, and then they'll get such a foul wind and storm, they'll havesomething else to do than to stare at you; and when you have run pastthem, you must lift the club a third time, but you must always besure and lay it down carefully again, else there'll be such a stormboth you and they will be wrecked and lost. Now, when you have got toland, you've no need to bother yourself at all about the boat; justturn it about, and shove it off, and say:

 Boat, boat, go back home!

When he set out they gave him so much gold and silver, and so manyother costly things, and clothes and linen which the Troll Princesshad sewn and woven for him all that long time, that he was far richerthan any of his brothers. 

Well, he had no sooner seated himself in the boat, and said, Boat, boat, go on!

than away went the boat, and when he saw the ship right ahead helifted up the club, and then they got such a fair breeze, they forgotto look at him. When he was alongside the ship, he lifted the clubagain, and then such a storm arose and such foul weather, that thewhite foam flew about the ship, and the billows rolled over the deck, and they had something else to do than to stare at him; and when hehad run past them he lifted the club the third time, and then thestorm and the wind rose so, they had still less time to look afterhim, and to make him out. So he came to land long, long before theship; and when he had got all his goods out of the boat, he shoved itoff again, and turned it about and said:

 Boat, boat, go back home!

And off went the boat. 

Then he dressed himself up as a sailor--whether the Troll king hadtold him that, or it was his own device, I'm sure I can't say--andwent up to a wretched hut where an old wife lived, whom he got tobelieve that he was a poor sailor who had been on board a great shipthat was wrecked, and that he was the only soul that had got ashore. After that he begged for house-room for himself and the goods he hadsaved. 

'Heaven mend me!' said the old wife, 'how can I lend any one house-room? look at me and mine, why, I've no bed to sleep on myself, stillless one for any one else to lie on. '

Well, well, it was all the same, said the sailor; if he only got aroof over his head, it didn't matter where he lay. So she couldn'tturn him out of the house, when he was so thankful for what therewas. That afternoon he fetched up his things, and the old wife, whowas very eager to hear a bit of news to run about and tell, began atonce to ask who he was, whence he came, whither he was bound, what itwas he had with him, what his business was, and if he hadn't heardanything of the twelve Princesses who had been away the Lord knew howmany years. All this she asked and much more, which it would be wasteof time to tell. But he said he was so poorly and had such a badheadache after the awful weather he had been out in, that he couldn'tanswer any of her questions; she must just leave him alone and lethim rest a few days till he came to himself after the hard work he'dhad in the gale, and then she'd know all she wanted. 

The very next day the old wife began to stir him up and ask again, but the sailor's head was still so bad he hadn't got his witstogether, but somehow he let drop a word or two to show that he didknow something about the Princesses. Off ran the old wife with whatshe had heard to all the gossips and chatterboxes round about, andsoon the one came running after the other to ask about thePrincesses, 'if he had seen them', 'if they would soon be there', 'ifthey were on the way', and much more of the same sort. He still wenton groaning over his headache after the storm, so that he couldn'ttell them all about it, but so much he told them, unless they hadbeen lost in the great storm they'd make the land in about afortnight or before perhaps; but he couldn't say for sure whetherthey were alive or no, for though he had seen them, it might verywell be that they had been cast away in the storm since. So what didone of these old gossips do but run up to the Palace with this story, and say that there was a sailor down in such and such an old wife'shut, who had seen the Princesses, and that they were coming home in afortnight or in a week's time. When the King heard that he sent amessenger down to the sailor to come up to him and tell the newshimself. 

'I don't see how it's to be', said the sailor, 'for I haven't anyclothes fit to stand in before the King. '

But the King said he must come; for the King must and would talk withhim, whether he were richly or poorly clad, for there was no one elsewho could bring him any tidings of the Princesses. So he went up atlast to the Palace and went in before the King, who asked him if itwere true that he had seen anything of the Princesses. 

'Aye, aye', said the sailor, 'I've seen them sure enough, but I don'tknow whether they're still alive, for when I last caught sight ofthem, the weather was so foul we in our ship were cast away; but ifthey're still alive they'll come safe home in a fortnight or perhapsbefore. '

When the King heard that he was almost beside himself for joy; andwhen the time came that the sailor had said they would come, the Kingdrove down to the strand to meet them in a great state; and there wasjoy and gladness over the whole land, when the ship came sailing inwith the Princes and Princesses and Ritter Red. But no one wasgladder than the old King, who had got his daughters back again. Theeleven eldest Princesses too, were glad and merry, but the youngestwho was to have Ritter Red, who said that he had set them all freeand slain the Troll, she wept and was always sorrowful. The King tookthis ill, and asked why she wasn't cheerful and merry like theothers; she hadn't anything to be sorry for now when she had got outof the Troll's clutches, and was to have such a husband as RitterRed. But she daredn't say anything, for Ritter Red had said he wouldtake the life of any one who told the truth how things had gone. 

But now one day, when they were hard at work sewing and stitching thebridal array, in came a man in a great sailor's cloak with a pedlar'spack on his back, and asked if the Princesses wouldn't buy somethingfine of him for the wedding; he had so many wares and costly things, both gold and silver. Yes, they might do so perhaps, so they lookedat his wares and they looked at him, for they thought they had seenboth him and many of his costly things before. 

'He who has so many fine things', said the youngest Princess, 'mustsurely have something still more precious, and which suits us bettereven than these. '

'Maybe I have', said the Pedlar. 

But now all the others cried 'Hush', and bade her bear in mind whatRitter Red had said he would do. 

Well, some time after the Princesses sat and looked out of thewindow, and then the King's son came again with the great sea-cloakthrown about him, and the press with the gold crowns at his back; andwhen he got into the palace hall he unlocked the press before thePrincesses, and when each of them knew her own gold crown again, theyoungest said:

'I think it only right that he who set us free should get the meedthat is his due; and he is not Ritter Red, but this man who hasbrought us our gold crowns. He it is that set us free. '

Then the King's son cast off the sailor's cloak, and stood there farfiner and grander than all the rest; and so the old King made themput Ritter Red to death. And now there was real right down joy in thepalace; each took his own bride, and there just was a wedding! Why, it was heard of and talked about over twelve kings' realms. 

SORIA MORIA CASTLE

Once on a time there was a poor couple who had a son whose name wasHalvor. Ever since he was a little boy he would turn his hand tonothing, but just sat there and groped about in the ashes. His fatherand mother often put him out to learn this trade or that, but Halvorcould stay nowhere; for, when he had been there a day or two, he ranaway from his master, and never stopped till he was sitting again inthe ingle, poking about in the cinders. 

Well, one day a skipper came, and asked Halvor if he hadn't a mind tobe with him, and go to sea, and see strange lands. Yes, Halvor wouldlike that very much; so he wasn't long in getting himself ready. 

How long they sailed I'm sure I can't tell; but the end of it was, they fell into a great storm, and when it was blown over, and it gotstill again, they couldn't tell where they were; for they had beendriven away to a strange coast, which none of them knew anythingabout. 

Well, as there was just no wind at all, they stayed lying wind-boundthere, and Halvor asked the skipper's leave to go on shore and lookabout him; he would sooner go, he said, than lie there and sleep. 

'Do you think now you're fit to show yourself before folk', said theskipper, 'why, you've no clothes but those rags you stand in?'

But Halvor stuck to his own, and so at last he got leave, but he wasto be sure and come back as soon as ever it began to blow. So off hewent and found a lovely land; wherever he came there were fine largeflat corn-fields and rich meads, but he couldn't catch a glimpse of aliving soul. Well, it began to blow, but Halvor thought he hadn'tseen enough yet, and he wanted to walk a little farther just to seeif he couldn't meet any folk. So after a while he came to a broadhigh road, so smooth and even, you might easily roll an egg along it. Halvor followed this, and when evening drew on he saw a great castleever so far off, from which the sunbeams shone. So as he had nowwalked the whole day and hadn't taken a bit to eat with him, he wasas hungry as a hunter, but still the nearer he came to the castle, the more afraid he got. In the castle kitchen a great fire wasblazing, and Halvor went into it, but such a kitchen he had neverseen in all his born days. It was so grand and fine; there werevessels of silver and vessels of gold, but still never a living soul. So when Halvor had stood there a while and no one came out, he wentand opened a door, and there inside sat a Princess who span upon aspinning-wheel. 

'Nay, nay, now!' she called out, 'dare Christian folk come hither?But now you'd best be off about your business, if you don't want theTroll to gobble you up; for here lives a Troll with three heads. '

'All one to me', said the lad, 'I'd be just as glad to hear he hadfour heads beside; I'd like to see what kind of fellow he is. As forgoing, I won't go at all. I've done no harm; but meat you must getme, for I'm almost starved to death. '

When Halvor had eaten his fill, the Princess told him to try if hecould brandish the sword that hung against the wall; no, he couldn'tbrandish it, he couldn't even lift it up. 

'Oh!' said the Princess, 'now you must go and take a pull of thatflask that hangs by its side; that's what the Troll does every timehe goes out to use the sword. '

So Halvor took a pull, and in the twinkling of an eye he couldbrandish the sword like nothing; and now he thought it high time theTroll came; and lo! just then up came the Troll puffing and blowing. Halvor jumped behind the door. 

'HUTETU', said the Troll, as he put his head in at the door, 'what asmell of Christian man's blood!'

'Aye', said Halvor, 'you'll soon know that to your cost', and withthat he hewed off all his heads. 

Now the Princess was so glad that she was free, she both danced andsang, but then all at once she called her sisters to mind, and so shesaid:

'Would my sisters were free too'

'Where are they?' asked Halvor. 

Well, she told him all about it; one was taken away by a Troll to hisCastle which lay fifty miles off, and the other by another Troll tohis Castle which was fifty miles further still. 

'But now', she said, 'you must first help me to get this ugly carcassout of the house. '

Yes, Halvor was so strong he swept everything away, and made it allclean and tidy in no time. So they had a good and happy time of it, and next morning he set off at peep of grey dawn; he could take norest by the way, but ran and walked the whole day. When he first sawthe Castle he got a little afraid; it was far grander than the first, but here too there wasn't a living soul to be seen. So Halvor wentinto the kitchen, and didn't stop there either, but went straitfurther on into the house. 

'Nay, nay', called out the Princess, 'dare Christian folk comehither? I don't know I'm sure how long it is since I came here, butin all that time I haven't seen a Christian man. 'Twere best you sawhow to get away as fast as you came; for here lives a Troll, who hassix heads. '

'I shan't go', said Halvor, 'if he has six heads besides. '

'He'll take you up and swallow you down alive', said the Princess. 

But it was no good, Halvor wouldn't go; he wasn't at all afraid ofthe Troll, but meat and drink he must have, for he was half starvedafter his long journey. Well, he got as much of that as he wished, but then the Princess wanted him to be off again. 

'No', said Halvor, 'I won't go, I've done no harm, and I've nothingto be afraid about. '

'He won't stay to ask that', said the Princess, 'for he'll take youwithout law or leave; but as you won't go, just try if you canbrandish that sword yonder, which the Troll wields in war. '

He couldn't brandish it, and then the Princess said he must take apull at the flask which hung by its side, and when he had done thathe could brandish it. 

Just then back came the Troll, and he was both stout and big, so thathe had to go sideways to get through the door. When the Troll got hisfirst head in he called out 'HUTETU, what a smell of Christian man'sblood!'

But that very moment Halvor hewed off his first head, and so on, allthe rest as they popped in. The Princess was overjoyed, but just thenshe came to think of her sisters, and wished out loud they were free. Halvor thought that might easily be done, and wanted to be off atonce; but first he had to help the Princess to get the Troll'scarcass out of the way, and so he could only set out next morning. 

It was a long way to the Castle, and he had to walk fast and run hardto reach it in time; but about night-fall he saw the Castle, whichwas far finer and grander than either of the others. This time hewasn't the least afraid, but walked straight through the kitchen, andinto the Castle. There sat a Princess who was so pretty, there was noend to her loveliness. She too like the others told him there hadn'tbeen Christian folk there ever since she came thither, and bade himgo away again, else the Troll would swallow him alive, and do youknow, she said, he has nine heads. 

'Aye, aye', said Halvor, 'if he had nine other heads, and nine otherheads still, I won't go away', and so he stood fast before the stove. The Princess kept on begging him so prettily to go away, lest theTroll should gobble him up, but Halvor said:

'Let him come as soon as he likes. '

So she gave him the Troll's sword, and bade him take a pull at theflask, that he might be able to brandish and wield it. 

Just then back came the Troll puffing and blowing and tearing along. He was far stouter and bigger than the other two, and he too had togo on one side to get through the door. So when he got his first headin, he said as the others had said:

'HUTETU what a smell of Christian man's blood!

That very moment Halvor hewed off the first head and then all therest; but the last was the toughest of them all, and it was thehardest bit of work Halvor had to do, to get it hewn off, although heknew very well he had strength enough to do it. 

So all the Princesses came together to that Castle, which was called_Soria Moria Castle_, and they were glad and happy as they hadnever been in all their lives before, and they all were fond ofHalvor and Halvor of them, and he might choose the one he liked bestfor his bride; but the youngest was fondest of him of all the three. 

But there after a while, Halvor went about, and was so strange anddull and silent. Then the Princesses asked him what he lacked, and ifhe didn't like to live with them any longer? Yes, he did, for theyhad enough and to spare, and he was well off in every way, but stillsomehow or other he did so long to go home, for his father and motherwere alive, and them he had such a great wish to see. 

Well, they thought that might be done easily enough. 

'You shall go thither and come back hither, safe and unscathed, ifyou will only follow our advice', said the Princesses. 

Yes, he'd be sure to mind all they said. So they dressed him up tillhe was as grand as a king's son, and then they set a ring on hisfinger, and that was such a ring, he could wish himself thither andhither with it; but they told him to be sure not to take it off, andnot to name their names, for there would be an end of all hisbravery, and then he'd never see them more. 

'If I only stood at home I'd be glad', said Halvor; and it was doneas he had wished. Then stood Halvor at his father's cottage doorbefore he knew a word about it. Now it was about dusk at even, andso, when they saw such a grand stately lord walk in, the old couplegot so afraid they began to bow and scrape. Then Halvor asked if hecouldn't stay there, and have a lodging there that night. No; that hecouldn't. 

'We can't do it at all', they said, 'for we haven't this thing orthat thing which such a lord is used to have; 'twere best yourlordship went up to the farm, no long way off, for you can see thechimneys, and there they have lots of everything. '

Halvor wouldn't hear of it--he wanted to stop; but the old couplestuck to their own, that he had better go to the farmer's; there hewould get both meat and drink; as for them, they hadn't even a chairto offer him to sit down on. 

'No', said Halvor, 'I won't go up there till to-morrow early, but letthe just stay here to-night; worst come to the worst, I can sit inthe chimney-corner. '

Well, they couldn't say anything against that; so Halvor sat down bythe ingle, and began to poke about in the ashes, just as he used todo when he lay at home in old days, and stretched his lazy bones. 

Well, they chattered and talked about many things; and they toldHalvor about this thing and that; and so he asked them if they hadnever had any children. 

'Yes, yes, they had once a lad whose name was Halvor, but they didn'tknow whither he had wandered; they couldn't even tell whether he weredead or alive. '

'Couldn't it be me, now?' said Halvor. 

'Let me see; I could tell him well enough', said the old wife, androse up. 'Our Halvor was so lazy and dull, he never did a thing; andbesides, he was so ragged, that one tatter took hold of the nexttatter on him. No; there never was the making of such a fine fellowin him as you are, master. '

A little while after the old wife went to the hearth to poke up thefire, and when the blaze fell on Halvor's face, just as when he wasat home of old poking about in the ashes, she knew him at once. 

'Ah! but is it you after all, Halvor?' she cried; and then there wassuch joy for the old couple, there was no end to it; and he wasforced to tell how he had fared, and the old dame was so fond andproud of him, nothing would do but he must go up at once to thefarmer's, and show himself to the lassies, who had always looked downon him. And off she went first, and Halvor followed after. So, whenshe got up there, she told them all how her Halvor had come homeagain, and now they should only just see how grand he was, for, saidshe, 'he looks like nothing but a king's son'. 

'All very fine', said the lassies, and tossed up their heads. 'We'llbe bound he's just the same beggarly ragged boy he always was. '

Just then in walked Halvor, and then the lassies were all so takenaback, they forgot their sarks in the ingle, where they were sittingdarning their clothes, and ran out in their smocks. Well, when theywere got back again, they were so shamefaced they scarce dared lookat Halvor, towards whom they had always been proud and haughty. 

'Aye, aye', said Halvor, 'you always thought yourselves so pretty andneat, no one could come near you; but now you should just see theeldest Princess I have set free; against her you look just likemilkmaids, and the midmost is prettier still; but the youngest, whois my sweetheart, she's fairer than both sun and moon. Would toHeaven she were only here', said Halvor, 'then you'd see what youwould see. '

He had scarce uttered these words before there they stood, but thenhe felt so sorry, for now what they had said came into his mind. Upat the farm there was a great feast got ready for the Princesses, andmuch was made of them, but they wouldn't stop there. 

'No; we want to go down to your father and mother', they said toHalvor; 'and so we'll go out now and look about us. '

So he went down with them, and they came to a great lake just outsidethe farm. Close by the water was such a lovely green bank; here thePrincesses said they would sit and rest a while; they thought it sosweet to sit down and look over the water. 

So they sat down there, and when they had sat a while, the youngestPrincess said:

'I may as well comb your hair a little, Halvor. '

Yes, Halvor laid his head on her lap, and so she combed his bonnylocks, and it wasn't long before Halvor fell fast asleep. Then shetook the ring from his finger, and put another in its stead; and soshe said:

'Now hold me all together! and now would we were all in SORIA MORIACASTLE. '

So when Halvor woke up, he could very well tell that he had lost thePrincesses, and began to weep and wail; and he was so downcast, theycouldn't comfort him at all. In spite of all his father and mothersaid, he wouldn't stop there, but took farewell of them, and said hewas safe not to see them again; for if he couldn't find thePrincesses again, he thought it not worth while to live. 

Well, he had still three hundred dollars left, so he put them intohis pocket, and set out on his way. So, when he had walked a while, he met a man with a tidy horse, and he wanted to buy it, and began tochaffer with the man. 

'Aye', said the man, 'to tell the truth, I never thought of sellinghim; but if we could strike a bargain, perhaps----'

'What do you want for him', asked Halvor. 

'I didn't give much for him, nor is he worth much; he's a brave horseto ride, but he can't draw at all; still he's strong enough to carryyour knapsack and you too, turn and turn about', said the man. 

At last they agreed on the price, and Halvor laid the knapsack onhim, and so he walked a bit, and rode a bit, turn and turn about. Atnight he came to a green plain where stood a great tree, at the rootsof which he sat down. There he let the horse loose, but he didn't liedown to sleep, but opened his knapsack and took a meal. At peep ofday off he set again, for he could take no rest. So he rode andwalked and walked and rode the whole day through the wide wood, wherethere were so many green spots and glades that shone so bright andlovely between the trees. He didn't know at all where he was orwhither he was going, but he gave himself no more time to rest thanwhen his horse cropped a bit of grass, and he took a snack out of hisknapsack when they came to one of those green glades. So he went onwalking and riding by turns, and as for the wood there seemed to beno end to it. 

But at dusk the next day he saw a light gleaming away through thetrees. 

'Would there were folk hereaway', thought Halvor, 'that I might warmmyself a bit and get a morsel to keep body and soul together. '

When he got up to it, he saw the light came from a wretched littlehut, and through the window he saw an old old couple inside. Theywere as grey-headed as a pair of doves, and the old wife had such anose! why, it was so long she used it for a poker to stir the fire asshe sat in the ingle. 

'Good evening', said Halvor. 

'Good evening', said the old wife. 

'But what errand can you have in coming hither?' she went on, 'for noChristian folk have been here these hundred years and more. '

Well, Halvor told her all about himself, and how he wanted to get toSORIA MORIA CASTLE, and asked if she knew the way thither. 

'No', said the old wife, 'that I don't, but see now, here comes theMoon, I'll ask her, she'll know all about it, for doesn't she shineon everything?'

So when the Moon stood clear and bright over the tree-tops, the oldwife went out. 

'THOU MOON, THOU MOON', she screamed, 'canst thou tell me the way toSORIA MORIA CASTLE?'

'No', said the Moon, 'that I can't, for the last time I shone there acloud stood before me. '

'Wait a bit still', said the old wife to Halvor, 'by and bye comesthe West Wind; he's sure to know it, for he puffs and blows roundevery corner. '

'Nay, nay', said the old wife when she went out again, 'you don'tmean to say you've got a horse too; just turn the poor beastie loosein our "toun", and don't let him stand there and starve to death atthe door. '

Then she ran on:

'But won't you swop him away to me?--we've got an old pair of bootshere, with which you can take twenty miles at each stride; those youshall have for your horse, and so you'll get all the sooner to SORIAMORIA CASTLE. '

That Halvor was willing to do at once; and the old wife was so gladat having the horse, she was ready to dance and skip for joy. 

'For now', she said, 'I shall be able to ride to church. I too, thinkof that. '

As for Halvor, he had no rest, and wanted to be off at once, but theold wife said there was no hurry. 

'Lie down on the bench with you and sleep a bit, for we've no bed tooffer you, and I'll watch and wake you when the West Wind comes. '

So after a while up came the West Wind, roaring and howling alongtill the walls creaked and groaned again. 

Out ran the old wife. 

'THOU WEST WIND, THOU WEST WIND! Canst thou tell me the way to SORIAMORIA CASTLE? Here's one who wants to get thither. '

'Yes, I know it very well', said the West Wind, and now I'm just offthither to dry clothes for the wedding that's to be; if he's swift offoot he can go along with me. '

Out ran Halvor. 

'You'll have to stretch your legs if you mean to keep up', said theWest Wind. 

So off he set over field and hedge, and hill and fell, and Halvor hadhard work to keep up. 

'Well', said the West Wind, 'now I've no time to stay with you anylonger, for I've got to go away yonder and tear down a strip ofspruce wood first before I go to the bleaching-ground to dry theclothes; but if you go alongside the hill you'll come to a lot oflassies standing washing clothes, and then you've not far to go toSORIA MORIA CASTLE. '

In a little while Halvor came upon the lassies who stood washing, andthey asked if he had seen anything of the West Wind who was to comeand dry the clothes for the wedding. 'Aye, aye, that I have', saidHalvor, 'he's only gone to tear down a strip of spruce wood. It'llnot be long before he's here', and then he asked them the way toSORIA MORIA CASTLE. 

So they put him into the right way, and when he got to the Castle itwas full of folk and horses; so full it made one giddy to look atthem. But Halvor was so ragged and torn from having followed the WestWind through bush and brier and bog, that he kept on one side, andwouldn't show himself till the last day when the bridal feast was tobe. 

So when all, as was then right and fitting, were to drink the brideand bridegroom's health and wish them luck, and when the cupbearerwas to drink to them all again, both knights and squires, last of allhe came in turn to Halvor. He drank their health, but let the ringwhich the Princess had put upon his finger as he lay by the lake fallinto the glass, and bade the cupbearer go and greet the bride andhand her the glass. 

Then up rose the Princess from the board at once. 

'Who is most worthy to have one of us', she said, 'he that has set usfree, or he that here sits by me as bridegroom?'

Well they all said there could be but one voice and will as to that, and when Halvor heard that he wasn't long in throwing off hisbeggar's rags, and arraying himself as bridegroom. 

'Aye, aye, here is the right one after all', said the youngestPrincess as soon as she saw him, and so she tossed the other one outof the window, and held her wedding with Halvor. 

BRUIN AND REYNARD

The Bear and the Fox had once bought a firkin of butter together;they were to have it at Yule and hid it till then under a thickspruce bush. 

After that they went a little way off and lay down on a sunny bank tosleep. So when they had lain a while the Fox got up, shook himself, and bawled out 'yes'. 

Then he ran off straight to the firkin and ate a good third part ofit. But when he came back, and the Bear asked him where he had been, since he was so fat about the paunch, he said:

'Don't you believe then that I was bidden to barsel, to a christeningfeast. '

'So, so', said the Bear, 'and pray what was the bairn's name. '

'Just-begun', said the Fox. 

So they lay down to sleep again. In a little while up jumped the Foxagain, bawled out 'yes', and ran off to the firkin. 

This time too he ate a good lump. When he came back, and the Bearasked him again where he had been, he said:

'Oh, wasn't I bidden to barsel again, don't you think. '

'And pray what was the bairn's name this time', asked the Bear. 

'Half-eaten', said the Fox. 

The Bear thought that a very queer name, but he hadn't wondered longover it before he began to yawn and gape and fell asleep. Well, hehadn't lain long before the Fox jumped up as he had done twicebefore, bawled out 'yes' and ran off to the firkin, which this timehe cleared right out. When he got back he had been bidden to barselagain, and when the Bear wanted to know the bairn's name, heanswered:

'Licked-to-the-bottom. '

After that they lay down again, and slept a long time; but then theywere to go to the firkin to look at the butter, and when they foundit eaten up, the Bear threw the blame on the Fox, and the Fox on theBear; and each said the one had been at the firkin while the otherslept. 

'Well, well', said Reynard, 'we'll soon find this out, which of ushas eaten the butter. We'll just lay down in the sunshine, and hewhose cheeks and chaps are greasiest when we wake, he is the thief. '

Yes, that trial Bruin was ready to stand; and as he knew in his hearthe had never so much as tasted the butter, he lay down without a careto sleep in the sun. 

Then Reynard stole off to the firkin for a morsel of butter, whichstuck there in a crack, and then he crept back to the Bear, andgreased his chaps and cheeks with it; and then he, too, lay down tosleep as if nothing had happened. 

So when they both woke, the sun had melted the butter, and the Bear'swhiskers were all greasy; and so it was Bruin after all, and no oneelse, who had eaten the butter. 

TOM TOTHERHOUSE

Once on a time there was a Goody who had a deaf husband. A good, easyman he was, but that was just why she thought more of the lad nextdoor, whom they called 'Tom Totherhouse'. Now the lad that served thedeaf man saw very well that the two had something between them, andone day he said to the Goody:

'Dare you wager ten dollars, mother, that I don't make you lay bareyour own shame?'

'Yes I dare', said she; and so they wagered ten dollars. So one day, while the lad and the deaf man stood thrashing in the barn, the ladsaw that Tom Totherhouse came to see the Goody. He said nothing, buta good while before dinnertime he turned toward the barn-door, andbawled out 'Halloa!'

'What! are we to go home already?' said the man, who hadn't given anyheed to what the lad did. 

'Yes, we must, since mother calls', said the lad. 

So when they got into the passage, the lad began to hem and cough, that the Goody might get Tom Totherhouse out of the way. But whenthey came into the room, there stood a whole bowl of custards on thetable. 

'Nay, nay, mother', cried out the man; 'shall we have custards to-day?'

'Yes, that you shall, dear', said the Goody; but she was as sour asverjuice, and as cross as two sticks. 

So when they had eaten and drank all the good cheer up, off they wentagain to their work, and the Goody said to Tom:

'Deil take that lad's sharp nose, this was all his fault; but now youmust be off as fast as you can, and I'll come down to you in the meadwith a snack between meals. '

This the lad stood outside in the passage and listened to. 

'Do you know, father', he said, 'I think we'd best go down into thehollow and put our fence to rights, which is blown down, before theneighbours' swine get in and root up our meadow. '

'Aye, aye, let's go and do it', said the man; for he did all he wastold, good, easy man. 

So when the afternoon was half spent, down came the Goody sneakingalong into the mead, with something under her apron. 

'Nay, nay, mother', said the man, 'it can't be you any longer; are weto have a snack between meals too?'

'Yes, yes, that you shall', she said; but she was sourer and wilderthan ever. 

So they made merry, and crammed themselves with bannocks and butter, and had a drop of brandy into the bargain. 

'I'll go off to Tom Totherhouse with a snack--shan't I, mother?' saidthe lad. 'He's had nothing between meals, I'll be bound. '

'Ah! do; there's a good fellow', said the Goody, who all at once gotas mild as milk. 

As he went along the lad broke a bannock to bits, and dropped thecrumbs here and there as he walked. But when he got to TomTotherhouse he said:

'Now, just you take care, for our old cock has found out that youcome too often to see our Goody. He won't stand it any longer, andhas sworn to drive his axe into you as soon as ever he can set eyeson you. '

As for Tom, he was so frightened he scarce knew which way to turn, and the lad went back again to his master. 

'There's something wrong', he said, 'with Tom's plough, and he begsyou to be so good as to take your axe, and go and see if you can'tset it right. '

Yes, the man set off with his axe, but Tom Totherhouse had scarcecaught sight of him before he took to his heels as fast as he could. The man turned and twisted the plough round and round, and looked atit on every side, and when he couldn't see anything wrong with it hewent off home again; but on the way he picked up the bits of brokenbannock which the lad had let fall. His old dame stood in the meadowand looked at him as he did this for a while, and wondered andwondered what it could be her husband was gathering up. 

'Oh, I know', said the lad, 'master's picking up stones, I'll bebound; for he has marked how often this Tom Totherhouse runs overhere; and the old fellow won't stand it any longer; and now he hassworn to stone mother to death. '

Off went the Goody as fast as her legs could carry her. 

'What in the world is it that mother is running after now?' asked theman, when he reached the spot where she had stood. 

'Oh', said the lad, 'maybe the house at home is on fire!'

So there ran the husband behind and the Goody before; and as she ranshe screeched out:

'Ah! ah! don't stone me to death; don't stone me to death! and I'llgive you my word never to let Tom Totherhouse come near me again. '

'Now the ten dollars are mine', bawled out the lad; and so they were. 

LITTLE ANNIE THE GOOSE-GIRL

Once on a time there was a King who had so many geese he was forcedto have a lassie to tend them and watch them; her name was Annie, andso they called her 'Annie the Goose-girl'. Now you must know therewas a King's son from England who went out to woo; and as he camealong Ann sat herself down in his way. 

'Sitting all alone there, you little Annie?' said the King's son. 

'Yes', said little Annie, 'here I sit and put stitch to stitch andpatch on patch. I'm waiting to-day for the King's son from England. '

'Him you mustn't look to have', said the Prince. 

'Nay, but if I'm to have him', said little Annie, 'have him I shall, after all. '

And now limners were sent out into all lands and realms to take thelikenesses of the fairest Princesses, and the Prince was to chosebetween them. So he thought so much of one of them, that he set outto seek her, and wanted to wed her, and he was glad and happy when hegot her for his sweetheart. 

But now I must tell you this Prince had a stone with him which helaid by his bedside, and that stone knew everything, and when thePrincess came little Annie told her, if so be she'd had a sweetheartbefore, or didn't feel herself quite free from anything which shedidn't wish the Prince to know, she'd better not step on that stonewhich lay by the bedside. 

'If you do, it will tell him all about you', said little Annie. 

So when the Princess heard that she was dreadfully downcast, and shefell upon the thought to ask Annie if she would get into bed thatnight in her stead and lie down by the Prince's side; and then whenhe was sound asleep, Annie should get out and the Princess should getin, and so when he woke up in the morning he would find the rightbride by his side. 

So they did that, and when Annie the goose-girl came and stepped uponthe stone the Prince asked:

'Who is this that steps into my bed?'

'A maid pure and bright', said the stone, and so they lay down tosleep; but when the night wore on the Princess came and lay down inAnnie's stead. 

But next morning, when they were to get up, the Prince asked thestone again:

'Who is this that steps out of my bed?'

'One that has had three bairns', said the stone. When the Princeheard that he wouldn't have her, you may know very well; and so hepacked her off home again, and took another sweetheart. 

But as he went to see her, little Annie went and sat down in his wayagain. 

'Sitting all alone there, little Annie, the goose-girl', said thePrince. 

'Yes, here I sit, and put stitch to stitch, and patch on patch; forI'm waiting to-day for the king's son from England', said Annie. 

'Oh! you mustn't look to have him', said the king's son. 

'Nay, but if I'm to have him, have him I shall, after all'; that waswhat Annie thought. 

Well, it was the same story over again with the Prince; only thistime, when his bride got up in the morning, the stone said she'd hadsix bairns. 

So the Prince wouldn't have her either, but sent her about herbusiness; but still he thought he'd try once more if he couldn't findone who was pure and spotless; and he sought far and wide in manylands, till at last he found one he thought he might trust. But whenhe went to see her, little Annie the goose-girl had put herself inhis way again. 

'Sitting all alone there, you little Annie, the goose-girl', said thePrince. 

'Yes, here I sit, and put stitch to stitch, and patch on patch; forI'm waiting to-day for the king's son from England', said Annie. 

'Him you mustn't look to have', said the Prince. 

'Nay, but if I'm to have him, have him I shall, after all', saidlittle Annie. 

So when the Princess came, little Annie the goose-girl told her thesame as she had told the other two, if she'd had any sweetheartbefore, or if there was anything else she didn't wish the Prince toknow, she mustn't tread on the stone that the Prince had put at hisbedside; for, said she:

'It tells him everything. '

The Princess got very red and downcast when she heard that, for shewas just as naughty as the others, and asked Annie if she would go inher stead and lie down with the Prince that night; and when he wassound asleep, she would come and take her place, and then he wouldhave the right bride by his side when it was light next morning. 

Yes! they did that. And when little Annie the goose-girl came andstepped upon the stone, the Prince asked:

'Who is this that steps into my bed. '

'A maid pure and bright', said the stone; and so they lay down torest. 

Farther on in the night the Prince put a ring on Annie's finger, andit fitted so tight she couldn't get it off again; for the Prince sawwell enough there was something wrong, and so he wished to have amark by which he might know the right woman again. 

Well, when the Prince had gone off to sleep, the Princess came anddrove Annie away to the pigsty, and lay down in her place. Nextmorning, when they were to get up, the Prince asked:

'Who is this that steps out of my bed?'

'One that's had nine bairns', said the stone. 

When the Prince heard that he drove her away at once, for he was inan awful rage; and then he asked the stone how it all was with thesePrincesses who had stepped on it, for he couldn't understand it atall, he said. 

So the stone told him how they had cheated him, and sent little Anniethe goose-girl to him in their stead. 

But as the Prince wished to have no mistake about it, he went down toher where she sat tending her geese, for he wanted to see if she hadthe ring too, and he thought, 'if she has it, 'twere best to take herat once for my queen'. 

So when he got down he saw in a moment that she had tied a bit of raground one of her fingers, and so he asked her why it was tied up. 

'Oh! I've cut myself so badly', said little Annie the goose-girl. 

So he must and would see the finger, but Annie wouldn't take the ragoff. Then he caught hold of the finger; but Annie, she tried to pullit from him, and so between them the rag came off, and then he knewhis ring. 

So he took her up to the palace, and gave her much fine clothes andattire, and after that they held their wedding feast; and so littleAnnie the goose-girl came to have the king of England's son for herhusband after all, just because it was written that she should havehim. 

INTRODUCTION TO APPENDIX

ANANZI STORIES

The Negroes in the West Indies still retain the tales and traditionswhich their fathers and grandfathers brought with them from Africa. Some thirty years back these 'Ananzi Stories', as they are called, were invariably told at the Negro wakes, which lasted for ninesuccessive nights. The reciters were always men. In those days whenthe slaves were still half heathen, and when the awful _Obeah_was universally believed in, such of the Negroes as attended churchor chapel kept their children away from these funeral gatherings. Thewakes are now, it is believed, almost entirely discontinued, and withthem have gone the stories. The Negroes are very shy of telling them, and both the clergyman of the Church of England, and the DissentingMinister set their faces against them, and call them foolishness. Thetranslator, whose early childhood was passed in those islands, remembers to have heard such stories from his nurse, who was anAfrican born; but beyond a stray fragment here and there, the richstore which she possessed has altogether escaped his memory. Thefollowing stories have been taken down from the mouth of a WestIndian nurse in his sister's house, who, born and bred in it, israther regarded as a member of the family than as a servant. They areprinted just as she told them, and both their genuineness and theiraffinity with the stories of other races will be self-evident. Thuswe have the 'Wishing Tree' of the Hindoos, the _Kalpa Vriksha_of Somadeva, and of the German Fairy Tales in the 'Pumpkin Tree', which throws down as many pumpkins as the poor widow wishes. In onestory we have 'Boots' to the life, while the man whom he outwits isown brother to the Norse Trolls. In another we find a 'speakingbeast', which reminds us at once of the Egyptian story of Anessou andSatou, as well as of the 'Machandelboom', and 'the Milk-white Doo'. We find here the woman who washes the dirty head rewarded, and theman who refuses to wash it punished, in the very words used in 'TheBushy Bride'. We find, too, in 'Nancy Fairy', the same story, both ingroundwork and incident, as we have in 'the Lassie and herGodmother'; and most surprising of all, in the story of 'Ananzi andQuanqua', we find the very trait about a trick played with the tailof an ox, which is met with in a variation to 'Boots who ate a matchwith the Troll'. Here is the variation: 'Whilst he was with theTroll, the lad was to go out to watch the swine, so he drove themhome to his father's house, but first he cut their tails off, andstuck them into the ground. Then he went home to the Troll, andbegged him to come and see how his swine were going down to Hell. Butwhen the Troll saw the swine's tails sticking out of the ground hewanted to pull them back again, so he caught hold of them and gave agreat tug, and then down he fell with his heels up in the air, andthe tails in his fist. '

They are called 'Ananzi Stories', because so many of them turn on thefeats of Ananzi, whose character is a mixture of 'the Master-thief', and of 'Boots'; but the most curious thing about him, is that heillustrates the Beast Epic in a remarkable way. In all the WestIndian Islands, 'Ananzi' is the name of spiders in general, and of avery beautiful spider with yellow stripes in particular. [Footnote:Compare Crowther's _Yoruba Glossary_, where _Alansasa_ is givenas the Yoruban for _spider_. The change of _n_ into _l_ is notuncommon, even supposing the West Indian word to be uncorrupt. ] TheNegroes think that this spider is the 'Ananzi' of their stories, but thathis superior cunning enables him to take any shape he pleases. In fact, he is the example which the African tribes from which these storiescame, have chosen to take as pointing out the superiority of wit overbrute strength. In this way they have matched the cleverness anddexterity of the Spider, against the bone and muscle of the Lion, invariably to the disadvantage of the latter. 

After this introduction, we let the Tales speak for themselves, onlypremising that the 'Jack-Spaniard' in the first story is a verypretty fly of the wasp kind, and, like his European brother, verysmall in the waist; that the 'Cush-cush', is a little red yam whichimparts a strong red dye to everything with which it is boiled; andthat the 'Doukana' is a forest tree which bears a fruit, though ofwhat kind it is hard to say. 

APPENDIX

WHY THE JACK-SPANIARD'S WAIST IS SMALL

Ananzi and Mosquito were talking together one day, and boasting oftheir fathers' crops. Ananzi said his father had never had such acrop in his life before; and Mosquito said, he was sure his father'swas bigger, for one yam they dug was as big as his leg. This tickledJack-Spaniard so much, that he laughed till he broke his waist intwo. That's why the Jack-Spaniard's waist is so small. 

ANANZI AND THE LION

Once on a time Ananzi planned a scheme. He went to town and boughtever so many firkins of fat, and ever so many sacks, and ever so manyballs of string, and a very big frying pan, then he went to the bayand blew a shell, and called the Head-fish in the sea, 'Green Eel', to him. Then he said to the fish, 'The King sends me to tell you thatyou must bring all the fish on shore, for he wants to give them newlife. '

So 'Green Eel' said he would, and went to call them. Meanwhile Ananzilighted a fire, and took out some of the fat, and got his frying panready, and as fast as the fish came out of the water he caught themand put them into the frying pan, and so he did with all of themuntil he got to the Head-fish, who was so slippery that he couldn'thold him, and he got back again into the water. 

When Ananzi had fried all, the fish, he put them into the sacks, andtook the sacks on his back and set off to the mountains. He had notgone very far when he met Lion, and Lion said to him':

'Well, brother Ananzi, where have you been? I have not seen you along time. '

Ananzi said, 'I have been travelling about. '

'But what have you got there?' said the Lion. 

'Oh! I have got my mother's bones--she has been dead these forty-eleven years, and they say I must not keep her here, so I am takingher up into the middle of the mountains to bury her. '

Then they parted. After he had gone a little way, the Lion said, 'Iknow that Ananzi is a great rogue; I daresay he has got somethingthere that he doesn't want me to see, and I will just follow him';but he took care not to let Ananzi see him. 

Now, when Ananzi got into the wood he set his sacks down, and tookone fish out and began to eat; then a fly came, and Ananzi said, 'Icannot eat any more, for there is some one near'; so he tied the sackup, and went on further into the mountains, where he set his sacksdown, and took out two fish, which he ate; and no fly came, he said, 'There's no one near'; so he took out more fish. But when he hadeaten about half-a-dozen, the Lion came up, and said:

'Well, brother Ananzi, a pretty tale you have told me. '

'Oh! brother Lion, I am so glad you have come; never mind what tale Ihave told you, but come and sit down--it was only my fun. '

So Lion sat down and began to eat; but before Ananzi had eaten twofish, Lion had emptied one of the sacks. Then said Ananzi to himself:

'Greedy fellow, eating up all my fish. '

'What do you say, sir?'

'I only said you do not eat half fast enough', for he was afraid theLion would eat him up. 

Then they went on eating, but Ananzi wanted to revenge himself, andhe said to the Lion, 'Which of us do you think is the strongest?'

The Lion said, 'Why, I am, of course. '

Then Ananzi said, 'We will tie one another to the tree and we shallsee which is the stronger. '

Now they agreed that the Lion should tie Ananzi first, and he tiedhim with some very fine string, and did not tie him tight. Ananzitwisted himself about two or three times, and the string broke. 

Then it was Ananzi's turn to tie the Lion, and he took some verystrong cord. The Lion said, 'You must not tie me tight, for I did nottie you tight. ' And Ananzi said, 'Oh! no, to be sure I will not. ' Buthe tied him as tight as ever he could, and then told him to try andget loose. 

The Lion tried and tried in vain--he could not get loose. Then Ananzithought, now is my chance; so he got a big stick and beat him, andthen went away and left him, for he was afraid to loose him lest heshould kill him. 

Now there was a woman called Miss Nancy, who was going out onemorning to get some 'callalou' (spinach) in the wood, and as she wasgoing, she heard some one say, 'Good morning, Miss Nancy!' She couldnot tell who spoke to her, but she looked where the voice came from, and saw the Lion tied to the tree. 

'Good morning, Mr Lion, what are you doing there?'

He said, 'It is all that fellow Ananzi who has tied me to the tree, but will you loose me?'

But she said, 'No, for I am afraid, if I do, you will kill me. ' Buthe gave, her his word he would not; still she could not trust him;but he begged her again and again, and said:

'Well, if I do try to eat you, I hope all the trees will cry outshame upon me. '

So at last she consented; but she had no sooner loosed him, than hecame up to her to eat her, for he had been so many days without foodthat he was quite ravenous, but the trees immediately cried out'shame', and so he could not eat her. Then she went away as fast asshe could, and the Lion found his way home. 

When Lion got home he told his wife and children all that happened tohim, and how Miss Nancy had saved his life, so they said they wouldhave a great dinner, and ask Miss Nancy. Now when Ananzi heard of it, he wanted to go to the dinner, so he went to Miss Nancy, and said shemust take him with her as her child, but she said 'No'. Then he said, I can turn myself into quite a little child, and then you can takeme, and at last she said 'Yes'; and he told her, when she was askedwhat pap her baby ate, she must be sure to tell them it did not eatpap, but the same food as every one else; and so they went, and had avery good dinner, and set off home again--but somehow one of thelion's sons fancied that all was not right, and he told his father hewas sure it was Ananzi, and the Lion set out after him. 

Now as they were going along, before the Lion got up to them, Ananzibegged Miss Nancy to put him down, that he might run, which she did, and he got away and ran along the wood, and the Lion ran after him. When he found the Lion was overtaking him, he turned himself into anold man with a bundle of wood on his head--and when the Lion got upto him, he said, 'Good-morning, Mr Lion', and the Lion said 'Good-morning, old gentleman. '

Then the old man said, 'What are you after now? 'and the Lion askedif he had seen Ananzi pass that way, but the old man said 'No, thatfellow Ananzi is always meddling with some one; what mischief has hebeen up to now?'

Then the Lion told him, but the old man said it was no use to followhim any more, for he would never catch him, and so the Lion wishedhim good day, and turned and went home again. 

ANANZI AND QUANQUA

Quanqua was a very clever fellow, and he had a large house full ofall sorts of meat. But you must know he had a way of saying _Quan?qua?_ (how? what?) when any one asked him anything and so theycalled him 'Quanqua'. One day when he was out, he met Atoukama, Ananzi's wife, who was going along driving an ox, but the ox wouldnot walk, so Atoukama asked Quanqua to help her; and they got onpretty well, till they came to a river, when the ox would not crossthrough the water. Then Atoukama called to Quanqua to drive the oxacross, but all she could get out of him was, 'QUAN? QUA? _Quan?qua?_' At last she said, 'Oh! you stupid fellow, you're no good;stop here and mind the ox while I go and get help to drive himacross. ' So off she went to fetch Ananzi. As soon as Atoukama wasgone away, Quanqua killed the ox, and hid it all away, where Ananzishould not see it; but first he cut off the tail, then he dug a holenear the river side and stuck the tail partly in, leaving out thetip. When he saw Ananzi coming, he caught hold of the tail, pretending to tug at it as if he were pulling the ox out of the hole. Ananzi seeing this, ran up as fast as he could, and tugging at thetail with all his might, fell over into the river, but he still hadhold of the tail, and contrived to get across the water, when hecalled out to Quanqua, 'You idle fellow, you couldn't take care ofthe ox, so you shan't have a bit of the tail', and then on he went. When he was gone quite out of sight, Quanqua took the ox home, andmade a very good dinner. 

Next day he went to Ananzi's house, and said, Ananzi must give himsome of the tail, for he had got plenty of yams, but he had no meat. Then they agreed to cook their pot together. Quanqua was to put inwhite yams, and Ananzi the tail, and red yams. When they came to putthe yams in, Quanqua put in a great many white yams, but Ananzi onlyput in one little red cush-cush yam. Quanqua asked him if that littleyam would be enough, he said, 'Oh! plenty', for I don't eat much. 

When the pot boiled, they uncovered it, and sat down to eat theirshares, but they couldn't find any white yams at all; the little redone had turned them all red. So Ananzi claimed them all, and Quanquawas glad to take what Ananzi would give him. 

Now, when they had done eating, they said they would try which couldbear heat best, so they heated two irons, and Ananzi was to try firston Quanqua, but he made so many attempts, that the iron got coldbefore he got near him; then it was Quanqua's turn, and he pulled theiron out of the fire, and poked it right down Ananzi's throat. 

THE EAR OF CORN AND THE TWELVE MEN

[This tale is imperfect at the beginning. ]

Ananzi said to the King, that if he would give him an ear of corn, hewould bring him twelve strong men. The King gave him the ear of corn, and he went away. At last he got to a house, where he asked for anight's lodging which was given him; the next morning he got up veryearly, and threw the ear of corn out of the door to the fowls, andwent back to bed. When he got up in the morning, he looked for hisear of corn, and could not find it anywhere, so he told them he wassure the fowls had eaten it, and he would not be satisfied unlessthey gave him the best cock they had. So they were obliged to givehim the cock, and he went away with it, all day, until night, when hecame to another house, and asked again for a night's lodging, whichhe got; but when they wanted to put the cock into the fowl-house, hesaid no, the cock must sleep in the pen with the sheep, so they putthe cock with the sheep. At midnight he got up, killed the cock, threw it back into the pen, and went back to bed. Next morning whenit was time for him to go away, his cock was dead, and he would nottake anything for it but one of the best sheep, so they gave it tohim, and he went off with it all that day, until night-fall, when hegot to a village, where he again asked for a night's lodging, whichwas given to him, and when they wanted to put his sheep with theother sheep, he said, no, the sheep must sleep with the cattle; sothey put the sheep with the cattle. In the middle of the night he gotup and killed the sheep, and went back to bed. Next morning he wentfor his sheep, which was dead, so he told them they must give him thebest heifer for his sheep, and if they would not do so, he would goback and tell the King, who would come and make war on them. 

So to get rid of him, they were glad to give him the heifer, and lethim go; and away he went, and walked nearly all day with the heifer. Towards evening he met a funeral, and asked whose it was? one of themen said, it was his sister, so he asked the men if they would lethim have her; they said no, but after a while, he begged so hard, saying he would give them the heifer, that they consented, and hetook the dead body and walked away, carrying it until it was dark, when he came to a large town, where he went to a house and beggedhard for a night's lodging for himself and his sister, who was sotired he was obliged to carry her, and they would be thankful if theywould let them rest there that night. So they let them in, and heasked them to let them sit in the dark, as his sister could not bearthe light. So they took them into a room, and left them in the dark;and when they were alone, he seated himself on a bench near thetable, and put his sister close by his side, with his arm round herto keep her up. Presently they brought them in some supper; one platehe set before his sister, and put her hand in it, and the other platefor himself, but he ate out of both plates. When it was time to go tobed, he asked if they would allow his sister to sleep in a room wherethere were twelve strong men sleeping, for she had fits, and if shehad one in the night, they would be able to hold her, and would notdisturb the rest of the house. So they agreed to this, and he carriedher in his arms, because, he said she was so tired, she was asleep, and laid her in a bed; he charged the men not to disturb her, andwent himself to sleep in the next room. In the middle of the night heheard the men calling out, for they smelt a horrid smell, and triedto wake the woman-first one man gave her a blow, and then another, until all the men had struck her, but Ananzi took no notice of thenoise. In the morning when he went in for his sister and found herdead, he declared they had killed her, and that he must have thetwelve men; to this the townsmen said no, not supposing that all themen had killed her, but the men confessed that they had each givenher a blow-so he would not be satisfied with less than the twelve, and he carried them off to the King, and delivered them up. 

THE KING AND THE ANT'S TREE

There was a King who had a very beautiful daughter, and he said, whoever would cut down an Ant's tree, which he had in his kingdom, without brushing off the ants, should marry his daughter. Now a greatmany came and tried, but no one could do it, for the ants fell outupon them and stung them, and they were forced to brush them off. There was always someone watching to see if they brushed the antsoff. 

Then Ananzi went, and the King's son was set to watch him. When theyshowed him the tree, he said, 'Why, that's nothing, I know I can dothat. ' So they gave him the axe, and he began to hew, but each blowhe gave the tree, he shook himself and brushed himself, saying allthe while, 'Did you see me do that? I suppose you think I'm brushingmyself, but I am not. ' And so he went, on until he had cut down thetree. But the boy thought he was only pretending to brush himself allthe time, and the King was obliged to give him his daughter. 

THE LITTLE CHILD AND THE PUMPKIN TREE

There was once a poor widow who had six children. One day when shewas going out to look for something to eat, for she was very poor, she met an old man sitting by the river side. He said to her 'Goodmorning. '

And she answered, 'Good morning, father. '

He said to her, 'Will you wash my head?'

She said she would, so she washed it, and when she was going away, hegave her a 'stampee'[A small coin], and told her to go a certaindistance, and she would see a large tree full of pumpkins; she wasthen to dig a hole at the root of the tree and bury the money, andwhen she had done so, she was to call for as many pumpkins as sheliked, and she should have them. 

So the woman went, and did as she was told, and she called for sixpumpkins, one for each child, and six came down, and she carried themhome; and now they always had pumpkins enough to eat, for wheneverthey wanted any, the woman had only to go to the tree and call, andthey had as many as they liked. One morning when she got up, shefound a little baby before the door, so she took it up and carried itin, and took care of it. Every day she went out, but in the morningshe boiled enough pumpkins to serve the children all day. One daywhen she came back she found the food was all gone, so she scoldedher children, and beat them for eating it all up. They told her theyhad not taken any--that it was the baby--but she would not believethem, and said, 'How could a little baby get up and help itself'; butthe children still persisted it was the baby. So one day when she wasgoing out, she put some pumpkin in a calabash, and set a trap overit. When she was gone the baby got up as usual to eat the food, andgot its head fastened in the trap, so that it could not get out, andbegan knocking its head about and crying out, 'Oh! do loose me, forthat woman will kill me when she comes back. ' When the woman came in, she found the baby fastened in the trap, so she beat it well, andturned it out of doors, and begged her children's pardon for havingwronged them. 

Then after she turned the baby out, he changed into a great big man, and went to the river, where he saw the old man sitting by the riverside, who asked him to wash his head, as he had asked the poor woman, but the man said:

'No, he would not wash his dirty head', and so he wished the old man'good bye'. 

Then the old man asked him if he would like to have a pumpkin, towhich he said 'yes', and the old man told him to go on till he saw alarge tree with plenty of pumpkins on it, and then he must ask forone. So he went on till he got to the tree, and the pumpkins lookedso nice he could not be satisfied with one, so he called out, 'Tenpumpkins come down', and the ten pumpkins fell and crushed him. 

THE BROTHER AND HIS SISTERS

There were once upon a time three sisters and a brother. The sisterswere all proud, and one was very beautiful, and she did not like herlittle brother, 'because', she said, 'he was dirty'. Now, thisbeautiful sister was to be married, and the brother begged theirmother not to let her marry, as he was sure the man would kill her, for he knew his house was full of bones. So the mother told herdaughter, but she would not believe it, and said, 'she wouldn'tlisten to anything that such a dirty little scrub said', and so shewas married. 

Now, it was agreed that one sister was to remain with their motherand the other was to go with the bride, and so they set out on theirway. When they got to the beach, the husband picked up a beautifultortoise-shell comb, which he gave to his bride. Then they got intohis boat and rowed away over the sea, and when they reached theirhome, they were so surprised to see their little brother, for thecomb had turned into their brother. They were not at all glad to seehim, and the husband thought to himself he would kill him withouttelling his wife. When night came the boy told the husband that athome his mother always put him to sleep in the blacksmith's shop, andso the husband said he should sleep in the smithy. 

In the middle of the night the man got up, intending to kill themall, and went to his shop to get his irons ready, but the boy jumpedup as soon as he went in, and he said, 'Boy, what is the matter withyou?' So the boy said, when he was at home his mother always gave himtwo bags of gold to put his head on. Then the man said, he shouldhave them, and went and fetched him two bags of gold, and told him togo to sleep. 

But the boy said, 'Now mind, when you hear me snore I'm notasleep, but when I am not snoring, then I'm asleep. ' Then the boywent to sleep and began to snore, and as long as the man heard thesnoring, he blew his bellows; but as soon as the snoring stopped, theman took his irons out of the fire, and the boy jumped up. 

Then the man said, 'Why, what's the matter? why, can't you sleep?'

The boy said 'No; for at home my mother always gave me four bags ofmoney to lie upon. 

Well, the man said he should have them, and brought him four bags ofmoney. Then the boy told him again the same thing about his snoringand the man bade him go to sleep, and he began to snore, and the manto blow his bellows until the snoring stopped. Then the man took outhis irons again, and the boy jumped up, and the man dropped theirons, saying, 'Why, what's the matter now that you can't sleep?'

The boy said, 'At home my mother always gave me two bushels of corn. '

So the man said he should have the corn, and went and brought it, andtold him to go to sleep. Then the boy snored, and the man blew hisbellows till the snoring stopped, when he again took out his irons, and the boy jumped up, and the man said, 'Why, what's it now?'

The boy said, 'At home my mother always goes to the river with asieve to bring me some water. '

So the man said 'Very well, I will go, but I have a cock here, andbefore I go, I must speak to it. '

Then the man told the cock if he saw any one moving in the house, hemust crow; that the cock promised to do, and the man set off. 

Now when the boy thought the man was gone far away, he got up, andgave the cock some of the corn; then he woke up his sisters andshowed them all the bones the man had in the house, and they werevery frightened. Then he took the two bags of gold on his shoulders, and told his sisters to follow him. He took them to the bay, and putthem into the boat with the bags of gold, and left them whilst hewent back for the four bags of money. When he was leaving the househe emptied the bags of corn to the cock, who was so busy eating, heforget to crow, until they had got quite away. 

When the man returned home and could not find them in the house, hewent to the river, where he found his boat gone, and so he had no wayof going after them. When they landed at their own place, the boyturned the boat over and stove it in, so that it was of no use anymore; and he took his sisters home, and told their mother all thathad happened, and his sisters loved him, and they lived very happilytogether ever afterwards, and do so still if they are not dead. 

THE GIRL AND THE FISH

There was once a girl who used to go to the river to fetch water, butwhen she went she was never in a hurry to come back, but staid solong, that they made up their minds to watch her. So one day theyfollowed her to the river, and found when she got there, she saidsomething (the reciter forgets the words), and a fish came up andtalked to her; and she did not like to leave it, for it was hersweetheart. So next day they went to the river to see if the fishwould come up, for they remembered what the girl said and used thesame words. Then up came the fish immediately, and they caught it, and took it home, and cooked it for dinner--and a part they set by, and gave to the girl when she came in. Whilst she was eating, a voicesaid, 'Do you know what you are eating? I am he you have so oftentalked with. If you look in the pig's tub, you will see my heart. 'Then the voice told her to take the heart, and wrap it up in ahandkerchief, and carry it to the river. When she got to the rivershe would see three stones in the water, she was to stand on themiddle stone, and dip the handkerchief three times into the water. All this she did, and then she sank suddenly, and was carried down toa beautiful place, where she found her lover changed from a fish intohis proper form, and there she lived happily with him for ever. Andthis is the reason why there are mermaids in the water. 

THE LION, THE GOAT, AND THE BABOON

A Lion had a Goat for his wife. One day Goat went out to market, andwhile she was gone, Lion went out in the wood, where he met withBaboon, who made friends with Lion, for fear he would eat him, andasked him to go home with him; but the Lion thought it would be agood chance, so he asked the Baboon to go home with him and see hislittle ones. When they got home, the Baboon said to the Lion. 

'Why, you have got plenty of little goats here. '

The Lion said, 'Yes, they are my children. '

So the Baboon said, 'If they are, they are little goats, and they arevery good meat. '

So the Lion said, 'Don't make a noise; their mother will comepresently, and we will see. '

So these little goats took no notice, but went out to meet theirmother, and told her what had passed. 

Their mother said to them, 'Go back, take no notice, and I shall comehome presently, and shall do for him. '

So she went and bought some molasses, and took it home with her. TheLion said, 'Are you come; what news?'

'Oh!' she said, 'good news, taste here. ' He tasted, and said, 'It'svery good, it's honey. '

And she said, 'It's baboon's blood; they have been killing one to-day, the blood is running in the street, and every one is carrying itaway. '

The Lion said, 'Hush, there's one in the house, and we shall havehim. '

At this the Baboon rushed off, and when they looked for him, he wasgone, and never came near them again, which saved the little goats'lives. 

ANANZI AND BABOON

Ananzi and Baboon were disputing one day which was fattest. Ananzisaid he was sure he was fat, but Baboon declared he was fatter. ThenAnanzi proposed that they should prove it; so they made a fire, andagreed that they should hang up before it, and see which would dropmost fat. 

Then Baboon hung up Ananzi first, but no fat dropped. 

Then Ananzi hung up Baboon, and very soon the fat began to drop, which smelt so good that Ananzi cut a slice out of Baboon, and said, 'Oh! brother Baboon, you're fat for true. '

But Baboon didn't speak. 

So Ananzi said, 'Well, speak or not speak, I'll eat you every bit to-day', which he really did. But when he had eaten up all Baboon, thebits joined themselves together in his stomach, and began to pull himabout so much that he had no rest, and was obliged to go to a doctor. 

The doctor told him not to eat anything for some days, then he was toget a ripe banana, and hold it to his mouth; when the Baboon, whowould be hungry, smelt the banana, he would be sure to run up to eatit, and so he would run out of his mouth. 

So Ananzi starved himself, and got the banana, and did as the doctortold him; but when he put the banana to his mouth, he was so hungryhe couldn't help eating it. So he didn't get rid of the Baboon, whichwent on pulling him about till he was obliged to go back to thedoctor, who told him he would soon cure him; and he took the banana, and held it to Ananzi's mouth, and very soon the Baboon jumped up tocatch it, and ran out of his mouth; and Ananzi was very glad to getrid of him. And Baboons to this very day like bananas. 

THE MAN AND THE DOUKANA TREE

There was once a man and his wife, who were very poor, and they had agreat many children. The man was very lazy, and would do nothing tohelp his family. The poor mother did all she could. In the wood closeby grew a Doukana Tree, which was full of fruit. Every day the manwent and ate some of the fruit, but never took any home, so he ateand he ate, until there were only two Doukanas left on the Tree. Onehe ate, and left the other. Next day, when he went for that one, hewas obliged to climb up the tree to reach it; but when he got up, theDoukana fell down; when he got down the Doukana jumped up; and so itwent on until he was quite tired. 

Then he asked all the animals that passed by to help him, but theyall made some excuse. They all had something to do. The horse had hiswork to do, or he would have no grass to eat. The donkey brayed. Lastcame a dog, and the man begged him hard to help him; so the dog saidhe would. Then the man climbed up the tree, and the Doukana jumped tothe ground again, when the dog picked it up and ran off with it Theman was very vexed, and ran after the dog, but it ran all the faster, so that the man could not overtake him. The dog, seeing the man afterhim, ran to the sea shore, and scratching a hole in the ground, buried himself all but his nose, which he left sticking out. 

Soon after the man came up, and seeing the nose, cried out that hehad 'never seen ground have nose'; and catching hold of it he tuggedtill he pulled out the dog, when he squeezed him with all his mightto make him give up the Doukana. And that's why dogs are so small intheir bodies to this very day. 

NANCY FAIRY

There was once an old woman called 'Nancy Fairy'. She was a witch, and used to steal all the little babies as soon as they were born, and eat them. One day she stole a little baby, who was so beautifulthat she had not the heart to eat her; but she took her home andbrought her up. She called her 'daughter', named her 'Nancy Fairy', after herself, and the girl called the old woman 'Granny'. 

So the girl grew up, and the more she grew the more beautiful shegot. 

The old woman never let her daughter know of her doings; but one daywhen she had brought a baby home, and had locked herself in a room, her daughter peeped through a chink to see what she was about, andthe old woman saw her shadow, and thought her daughter had seen whatshe was doing, and the daughter thought her granny had seen her, andwas very much afraid. 

So the old woman asked her, 'Nancy Fairy, did you see what I wasdoing?'

'No, Granny. '

She asked the girl several times, 'Nancy Fairy, did you see what Iwas doing?' and the girl always said, 'No, Granny. '

So the old woman took her up to a hut in a wood, and left her thereas a punishment; and she took her food every day. 

One day it happened that the king's servant, going that way, saw thebeautiful girl come out of the hut. Next day he went again and sawthe same beautiful girl again. So he went home and told the princethat he could show him in the wood a girl more beautiful than he hadever seen. The prince went and saw the girl, and then sent a band ofsoldiers to fetch her home, and took her for his bride. 

A year after she had a baby. Soldiers were set to keep guard at thegate, and the room was full of nurses; but in the middle of the nightthe old woman came in a whirlwind and put them all to sleep. Shestole the child, and on going away gave the mother a slap on themouth which made her dumb. 

Next morning there was a great stir, and they said the mother hadeaten the child. There was a trial, but the mother was let off thattime. 

Next year she had another baby, and the same thing happened again. The old woman came in the middle of the night in a whirlwind, and putthem all to sleep. She stole the child, and struck the mother on themouth, which made it bleed. 

In the morning there was a stir; and the servant maid, who wasjealous, said the mother had eaten the child. All believed it, as hermouth was covered with blood; and, besides, what would be expected ofa girl brought out of the wood? So she was tried again, and condemnedto be hanged. 

Invitations were sent out to all the grand folk to come and see herhanged; so many fine carriages came driving up. At last, just beforethe time, there came a very grand carriage, all of gold, whichglistened in the sun. In it were the old woman and two children, dressed in fine clothes, with the king's star on them. When the queensaw this grand carriage she got her speech and sung, 'Do spare me till I see that grand carriage. '

The old woman came into the courtyard, and asked the people if theysaw any likeness to any one in the children. They said, 'they werelike the prince', and asked her how she came by them, and told hershe had stolen them. She said she had not stolen them; she had takenthem, for they were her own; the prince had taken away her daughterwithout her leave, and so she had taken his children; but she waswilling to give them back, if they would allow that she was right. 

So they consented, and the old woman made the prince and his queen apresent of the grand carriage, and so they lived happily. The oldwoman was allowed to come and see the children whenever she liked. But the servant girl, who said the queen had eaten her babies, washanged. 

'THE DANCING GANG'

A water carrier once went to the river to fetch water. She dipped inher calabash, and brought out a cray-fish. The cray-fish beganbeating his claws on the calabash, and played such a beautiful tune, that the girl began dancing, and could not stop. 

The driver of the gang wondered why she did not come, and sentanother to see after her. When she came, she too began to dance. Sothe driver sent another, who also began to dance when she heard themusic and the cray-fish singing:

 Vaitsi, Vaitsi, O sulli Van. Stay for us, stay for us, how long will you stay for us?

Then the driver sent another and another, till he had sent the wholegang. 

At last he went himself, and when he found the whole gang dancing, hetoo began to dance; and they all danced till night, when the cray-fish went back into the water; and if they haven't done dancing, theyare dancing still. 

FOOTNOTES TO INTRODUCTION

[1]

How strange is the terror of Natural Science, which seems to possess, with a religious possession, so many good and pious people! Howrigidly do they bind themselves hand and foot with the mere letter ofthe law, forgetting Him who came to teach us, that 'the letterkilleth, but the Spirit giveth life!' What are we to say of thosewho, when the old crust which clogs and hampers human knowledge iscracking and breaking all around them, when the shell is too narrowan abode for the life within it, which is preparing to cast it off, still cling to the crust and shell, looking, like the disciples bythe sepulchre, at the linen clothes lying, and know not that He hasrisen in glory? These are they who obstinately refuse to believe inthe 'Testimony of the Rocks', who deny Geology the thousands, naymillions, of years which she requires to make her deposits inNature's great saving-bank. These are they for whom the Nile, as hebrings down year by year his tribute to the sea from Central Africa, lays down in vain layer after layer of alluvial deposit, which can bemeasured to an inch for tens of thousands of years. These are they towhom the comparatively younger growth of trees, the dragon tree ofOrotava, and the cedars of California, plead in vain when they show, year after year, ring on ring of wood for thousands of years. 'No;the world is only five or six thousands of years old, or thereabouts. The Old Testament'--the dates in which have been confessedly tamperedwith, and in some cases forged and fabricated by Hebrew scribes--'says so. We believe in it--we will believe in nothing else, not evenin our senses. We will believe literally in the first chapter ofGenesis, in working days and nights of twenty-four hours, even beforethe sun and moon were made, on the fourth day, "to divide the dayfrom the night", and to be "for signs and for seasons, and for daysand years". We will not hear of ages or periods, but "days", becausethe "letter" says so'. This is what our Western Brahmins say; but ifthey remembered that He who set sun and moon also planted the eye andear, that he gave sense, and speech, and mind; if they consideredthat faith is a lively thing, elastic and expansive; that it embracesa thousand or a million years as easily as a moment of time; thatbonds cannot fetter it, nor distance darken and dismay it; that it isgiven to man to grow with his growth and strengthen with hisstrength; that it rises at doubts and difficulties, and surmountsthem; they would cease to condemn all the world to wear their ownstrait-waistcoat, cut and sewn by rabbis and doctors some thousandyears ago; a garment which the human intellect has altogetheroutgrown, which it is ridiculous to wear, which careless and impiousmen laugh at when it is seen in the streets; and might begin to seethat spirit is spirit, and flesh is flesh; that while one lives forever, the other is corruptible and passes away; that there aredevelopments in faith as in every thing else; that as man's intellectand human knowledge have grown and expanded, so his faith must growand expand too; that it really matters nothing at all, as an act offaith, whether the world is six thousand or six million years old;that it must have had a beginning; that there must be one great firstcause, God. Surely there is no better way to bring His goodness intoquestion, to throw doubt on His revelation, and to make it thelaughing stock of the irreligious, than thus to clip the wings offaith, to throw her into a dungeon, to keep her from the light ofday, to make her read through. Hebrew spectacles, and to force her tobe a laggard and dullard, instead of a bright and volatile spirit, forward and foremost in the race of life. 

[2]

But if the first heir of my invention prove deformed, I shall besorry it had so noble a godfather, and never after _ear_ sobarren a land, for fear it yield me still so bad a harvest'--SHAKESPEARE, _Dedication to Venus and Adonis_. 

[3]

As a specimen of their thoughtful turn of mind, even in the_Vedas_, at a time before the monstrous avatars of the HindooPantheon were imagined, and when their system of philosophy, properly so called, had no existence, the following metrical translationof the 129th hymn of the 10th book of the _Rig-Veda_ may bequoted, which Professor Müller assures us is of a very early date:

 Nor aught nor naught existed; yon bright sky Was not, nor Heaven's broad woof outstretched above. What covered all? what sheltered? what concealed? Was it the water's fathomless abyss? There was not death--yet was there nought immortal. There was no confine betwixt day and night; The only One breathed breathless by itself, Other than It there nothing since has been. Darkness there was, and all at first was veiled In gloom profound--an ocean without light-- The germ that still lay covered in the husk Burst forth, one nature, from the fervent heat. Then first came love upon it, the new spring Of mind--yea, poets in their hearts discerned, Pondering, this bond between created things And uncreated. Comes this spark from earth, Piercing and all pervading, or from Heaven? Then seeds were sown, and mighty powers arose-- Nature below, and power and will above-- Who knows the secret? who proclaimed it here, Whence, whence this manifold creation sprang? The Gods themselves came later into being-- Who knows from whence this great creation sprang? He from whom all this great creation came, Whether His will created or was mute, The Most High Seer that is in highest heaven, He knows it--or perchance even he knows not. 

If we reflect that this hymn was composed centuries before the timeof Hesiod, we shall be better able to appreciate the speculativecharacter of the Indian mind in its earliest stage. 

[4]

'A Brahmin, who had vowed a sacrifice, went to the market to buy agoat. Three thieves saw him, and wanted to get hold of the goat. Theystationed themselves at intervals on the high road. When the Brahmin, who carried the goat on his back, approached the first thief, thethief said, "Brahmin, why do you carry a dog on your back?" TheBrahmin replied: "It is not a dog, it is a goat. " A little whileafter, he was accosted by the second thief, who said, "Brahmin, whydo you carry a dog on your back?" The Brahmin felt perplexed, put thegoat down, examined it, and walked on. Soon after he was stopped bythe third thief, who said, "Brahmin, why do you carry a dog on yourback?" Then the Brahmin was frightened, threw down the goat, andwalked home to perform his ablutions for having touched an uncleananimal. The thieves took the goat and ate it. ' See the notice ofthe Norse Tales in _The Saturday Review_, January 15. In MaxMüller's translation of the _Hitopadesa_, the story has adifferent ending. See also _Le Piacevoli Notti_, di M. GiovanFrancesco Straparola da Caravaggio (Venice, 1567), Notte Prima, Favola III: 'Pre Scarpacifico da tre malandrini una sol voltagabbato, tre fiate gabba loro, finalmente vittorioso con la sua Ninalietamente rimane'. In which tale the beginning is a parallel to thefirst part of 'The Master Thief', while the end answers exactly tothe Norse tale added in this edition, and called Big Peter and LittlePeter'. 

[5]

The following are translations from Saxo, the _Wilkina Saga_, and the _Malleus Maleficarum_. The question is completely set atrest by Grimm, _D. M. _ p. 353 fol. And p. 1214. 

'Nor is the following story to be wrapped in silence. A certainPalnatoki, for some time among King Harold's bodyguard, had made hisbravery odious to very many of his fellow-soldiers by the zeal withwhich he surpassed them in the discharge of his duty. This man once, when talking tipsily over his cups, had boasted that he was soskilled an archer, that he could hit the smallest apple placed a longway off on a wand at the first shot; which talk, caught up at firstby the ears of backbiters, soon came to the hearing of the king. Now, mark how the wickedness of the king turned the confidence of the sireto the peril of the son, by commanding that this dearest pledge ofhis life should be placed instead of the wand, with a threat that, unless the author of this promise could strike off the apple at thefirst flight of the arrow, he should pay the penalty of his emptyboasting by the loss of his head. The king's command forced thesoldier to perform more than he had promised, and what he _had_said, reported by the tongues of slanderers, bound him to accomplishwhat he had _not_ said'... 'Nor did his sterling courage, thoughcaught in the snare of slander, suffer him to lay aside his firmnessof heart; nay, he accepted the trial the more readily because it washard. So Palnatoki warned the boy urgently when he took his stand toawait the coming of the hurtling arrow with calm ears and unbenthead, lest by a slight turn of his body he should defeat thepractised skill of the bowman; and, taking further counsel to preventhis fear, he turned away his face lest he should be scared at thesight of the weapon. Then taking three arrows from the quiver, hestruck the mark given him with the first he fitted to the string. But, if chance had brought the head of the boy before the shaft, nodoubt the penalty of the son would have recoiled to the peril of thefather, and the swerving of the shaft that struck the boy would havelinked them both in common ruin. I am in doubt, then, whether toadmire most the courage of the father or the temper of the son, ofwhom the one by skill in his art avoided being the slayer of hischild, while the other by patience of mind and quietness of bodysaved himself alive, and spared the natural affection of his father. Nay, the youthful frame strengthened the aged heart, and showed asmuch courage in awaiting the arrow as the father, skill in launchingit. But Palnatoki, when asked by the king why he had taken morearrows from the quiver, when it had been settled that he should onlytry the fortune of the bow _once_, made answer "That I mightavenge on thee the swerving of the first by the points of the rest, lest perchance my innocence might have been punished, while yourviolence escaped scot-free"'. --_Saxo Gram. _, Book X, (p. 166, ed. Frankf. )

'About that time the young Egill, Wayland's brother, came to thecourt of King Nidung, because Wayland (Smith) had sent him word. Egill was the fairest of men and one thing he had before all othermen--he shot better with the bow than any other man. The king took tohim well, and Egill was there a long time. Now, the king wished totry whether Egill shot so well as was said or not, so he let Egill'sson, a boy of three years old, be taken, and made them put an appleon his head, and bade Egill shoot so that the shaft struck neitherabove the head nor to the left nor to the right; the apple only washe to split. But it was not forbidden him to shoot the boy, for theking thought it certain that he would do that on no account if hecould at all help it. And he was to shoot one arrow only, no more. SoEgill takes three, and strokes their feathers smooth, and fits one tohis string, and shoots and hits the apple in the middle, so that thearrow took along with it half the apple, and then fell to the ground. This master-shot has long been talked about, and the king made muchof him, and he was the most famous of men. Now, King Nidung askedEgill why he took out _three_ arrows, when it was settled thatone only was to be shot with. Then Egill answered "Lord", said he, "Iwill not lie to you; had I stricken the lad with that one arrow, thenI had meant these two for you. " But the king took that well from him, and all thought it was boldly spoken'. --_Wilkina Saga_, ch. 27(ed. Pering). 

'It is related of him (Puncher) that a certain lord, who wished toobtain a sure trial of his skill, set up his little son as a butt, and for a mark a shilling on the boy's cap, commanding him to carryoff the shilling without the cap with his arrow. But when the wizardsaid he could do it, though he would rather abstain, lest the Devilshould decoy him to destruction; still, being led on by the words ofthe chief, he thrust one arrow through his collar, and, fitting theother to his crossbow, struck off the coin from the boy's cap withoutdoing him any harm; seeing which, when the lord asked the wizard whyhe had placed the arrow in his collar? he answered "If by the Devil'sdeceit I had slain the boy, when I needs must die, I would havetransfixed you suddenly with the other arrow, that even so I mighthave avenged my death. "'--_Malleus Malef. _, p. Ii, ch. 16. 

[6]

See _Pantcha-Tantra_, v. Ii of Wilson's _Analysis_, quotedby Loiseleur Deslongchamps, _Essai sur les Fables Indiennes_(Paris, Techener, 1838, p. 54), where the animal that protects thechild is a mangouste (Viverra Mungo). See also _Hitopadesa_, (Max Müller's Translation, Leipzig, Brockhaus, p. 178) where theguardian is an otter. In both the foe is a snake. [7]

The account in the _Nibelungen_ respecting the _Tarnhut_ isconfused, and the text probably corrupt; but so much is plain, thatSiegfried got it from Elberich in the struggle which ensued withSchilbung and Niblung, after he had shared the Hoard. 

[8]

Thus we find it in the originals or the parallels of Grendel in_Beowulf_, of Rumpelstiltskin, of the recovery of the Bride bythe ring dropped into the cup, as related in 'Soria Moria Castle, 'and other tales; of the 'wishing ram', which in the Indian storybecomes a 'wishing cow', and thus reminds us of the bull in one ofthese Norse Tales, out of whose ear came a 'wishing cloth'; of thelucky child, who finds a purse of gold under his pillow everymorning; and of the red lappet sown on the sleeping lover, as onSiegfried in the _Nibelungen_. The devices of Upakosa, thefaithful wife, remind us at once of 'the Master-maid', and the wholeof the stories of Saktideva and the Golden City, and of Viduschaka, King Adityasena's daughter, are the same in groundwork and in many oftheir incidents as 'East o' the Sun, and West o' the Moon', 'theThree Princesses of Whiteland', and 'Soria Moria Castle'. 

[9]

Kölle, _Kanuri Proverbs and Fables_ (London Church MissionaryHouse, 1854), a book of great philological interest, and one whichreflects great credit on the religious society by which it waspublished. 

[10]

Notte Duodecima. Favola terza. 'Pederigo da Pozzuolo che intendeva illinguaggio de gli animali, astretto dalla moglie dirle un segreto, quella stranamente battè. '

[11]

The story of the Two Brothers Anesou and Satou, from the _D'OrbineyPapyrus_, by De Ronge, Paris, 1852. 

[12]

See the Ananzi Stories in the Appendix, which have been taken downfrom the mouth of a West Indian nurse. 

[13]

See _Anecd. And Trad. _, Camd. Soc. 1839, pp. 92 fol. See alsothe passages from Anglo-Saxon laws against 'well-waking', which Grimmhas collected: _D. M. _, p. 550. 

[14]

One of Odin's names, when on these adventures, was Gangradr, orGangleri. Both mean 'the _Ganger_, or way-farer'. We have thelatter epithet in the '_Gangrel_ carle', and '_Gangrel loon_', ofthe early Scotch ballads. 

[15]

So also Orion's Belt was called by the Norsemen, Frigga's spindle or_rock, Friggjar rock_. In modern Swedish, _Friggerock_, where theold goddess holds her own; but in Danish, _Mariaerock_, Our Lady's rockor spindle. Thus, too, _Karlavagn_, the 'car of men', or heroes, whorode with Odin, which we call 'Charles' Wain', thus keeping something, at least, of the old name, though none of its meaning, became inScotland 'Peter's-pleugh', from the Christian saint, just as Orion's swordbecame 'Peter's-staff'. But what do 'Lady Landers' and 'Lady Ellison'mean, as applied to the 'Lady-Bird' in Scotland?

[16]

Here are a few of these passages which might be much extended:Burchard of Worms, p. 194, a. 'credidisti ut aliqua femina sit quaehoc facere possit quod quaedam a diabolo deceptae se affirmantnecessario et ex praecepto facere debere; id est cum daemonum turbain similitudinem mulierum transformata, quam vulgaris stultitia_Holdam_ vocat, certis noctibus equitare debere super quasdambestias, et in eorum se consortio annumeratam esse. '

'Illud etiam non omittendum, quod quasdam sceleratae mulieres retropost Sathanam conversae, daemonum illusionibus et phantasmatibusseductae credunt se et profitentur nocturnis horis cum _Diana_paganorum dea, vel cum _Herodiade_ et innumera multitudinemulierum equitare super quasdam bestias, et multa terrarum spatiaintempestae noctis silentio pertransire, ejusque jussionibus velut_Dominae_ obedire et certis noctibus ad ejus servitium evocari. '--Burchard of Worms, 10, I. 

'Quale est, quod noctilucam quandam, vel _Herodiadem_, velpraesidem noctis Dominam concilia et conventus de nocte asseruntconvocare, varia celebrari convivia, etc. '--Joh. SarisberiensisPolycrat. 2, 17 (died 1182). 

'_Herodiam_ illam baptistae Christi interfectricem, quasireginam, immo deam proponant, asserentes tertiam totius mundi partemilli traditam. '--Rather. Cambrens. (died 974). 

'Sic et daemon qui praetextu mulieris cum aliis de nocte, domos etcellaria dicitur frequentare, et vocant eam _Satiam_ a satietate, et_Dominam Abundiam_ pro abundantia, quam eam praestare dicuntdomibus quas frequentaverit; hujusmodi etiam daemones quas _dominasvocant_, vetulae penes quas error iste remansit et a quibus soliscreditur et somniatur. '--Guilielmus Alvernus, 1, 1036 (died 1248). 

So also the Roman de la Rose (Meon line 18, 622. )

 Qui les cinc sens ainsinc deçoit Par les fantosmes, qu'il reçoit, Don maintes gens par lor folie Cuident estre par nuit estries, _Errans_ aveques _Dame Habonde_: Et dient, que par tout le monde _Li tiers enfant_ de nacion _Sunt de ceste condicion. _

And again, line 18, 686:

 Dautre part, _que li tiers du monde_ _Aille_ ainsinc _eavec Dame Habonde_. 

[17]

See the derivation of _pagan_ from paganus, one who lived in thecountry, as opposed to urbanus, a townsman. 

[18]

Keisersberg Omeiss, 46 b. , quoted by Grimm, _D. M. _ pp. 991, says:

 Wen man em man verbrent, so brent man wol zehen frauen. 

[19]

See the passage from Vincent, _Bellov. Spec. Mor. _, iii, 2, 27, quoted in Grimm, _D. M. _ pp. 1, 012-3. 

[20]

The following passage from _The Fortalice of Faith_ of AlphonsoSpina, written about the year 1458, will suffice to show howdisgustingly the Devil, in the form of a goat, had supplanted the'Good Lady': Quia nimium abundant tales perversae mulieres ineDelphinatu et Guasconia, ubi se asserunt concurrere de nocte inquâdam planitie deserta ubi est _caper quidam in rupe_, quivulgariter dicitur _el boch de Biterne_ et clued ibi _conveniuntcum candelis accensis et adorant illum caprum osculpntes eum in anosuo_. Ideo captae plures earum, ab inquisitoribus fidei et convictaecomburuntur. '

About the same time, too, began to spread the notion of formalwritten agreements between the Fiend and men who were to be his aftera certain time, during which he was to help them to all earthlygoods. This, too, came with Christianity from the East. The firstinstance was Theophilus, vicedominus of the Bishop of Adana, whosefall and conversion form the original of all the Faust Legends. SeeGrimm, D. M. 969, and 'Theophilus in Icelandic, Low German, and othertongues, by G. W. Dasent, Stockholm, 1845. ' There a complete accountof the literature of the legend may be found. In almost all theseearly cases the Fiend is outwitted by the help of the Virgin or someother saint, and in this way the reader is reminded of the NorseDevil, the successor of the Giants, who always makes bad bargains. When the story was applied to Faust in the sixteenth century, theterrible Middle Age Devil was paramount, and knew how to exact hisdue. 

[21]

How strangely full of common sense sounds the following article fromthe Capitularies of Charlemagne, _De part. Sax. _, 5:

Si quis a diabolo deceptus crediderit secundum morem. Paganorum, virum aliquem aut faeminam strigam esse et homines comedere, etpropter hoc ipsum incenderit, vel carnem eius ad comedendum dederit, capitis sententia punietur. ' And this of Rotharius, Lex. Roth. , 379:'Nullus praesumat aldiam alienam aut ancillam quasi strigam occidere, quod Christianis mentibus nullatenus est credendum nec possible est, ut hominem mulier vivum intrinsecus possit comedere. '

Here the law warns the common people from believing in witches, andfrom taking its functions into their own hands, and reasons with themagainst the absurdity of such delusions. So, too, that reasonableparish priest who thrashed the witch, though earlier in time, was farin advance of Gregory and his inquisitors, and even of our wise KingJames. 

[22]

The following is the title of this strange tract, _Newes fromScotland, declaring the damnable life of Doctor Fian, a notableSorcerer, who was burned at Edenbrough, in Januarie last 1591, whichDoctor was register to the devil, that sundrie times preached atNorth Baricke Kirke to a number of notorious Witches. With the trueexaminations of the said Doctor and witches, as they uttered them inthe presence of the Scottish king. Discovering how they pretended tobewitch and drowne his Majestic in the sea, comming from Denmarke, with such other wonderfull matters as the like, hath not bin heard atanie time_. Published according to the Scottish copie. Printed forWilliam Wright. It was reprinted in 1816 for the Roxburghe Club by MrH. Freeling, and is very scarce even in the reprint, which, allthings considered, is perhaps just as well. 

[23]

The following specimens of the tortures and confessions may suffice;but most of the crimes and confessions are unutterable. One GeillisDuncane was tortured by her master, David Seaton, dwelling within thetown of Tranent, who, 'with the help of others, did torment her withthe torture of the Pilliwinkes (thumbscrews), upon her fingers, andbinding and wrinching her head with a cord or roape, which is a mostcruel torment also. ' So also Agnes Sampson, 'the eldest witch of themall, dwelling in Haddington, being brought to Haleriud House beforethe kinge's majestie and sundry other of the nobilitie of Scotland, had her head thrawne with a rope according to the custom of thatcountrie, beeing a payne most greevous. ' After the Devil's mark isfound on her she confesses that she went to sea with two hundredothers in sieves to the kirk of North Berwick in East Lothian, andafter they had landed they 'took handes on the lande and daunted, this reill or short daunce, saying all with one voice:

 Commer goe ye before, Commer goe ye, Gif ye will not goe before, Commer let me. 

'At which time she confessed that this Geillis Duncane did goe beforethem playing this reill or daunce upon a small trumpe called a Jew'strump, until they entered into the kirk of North Barrick. ' 'Astouching the aforesaid Doctor Fian', he 'was taken and imprisoned, and used with the accustomed paine provided for these offences, inflicted upon the rest, as is aforesaid. First by thrawing of hishead with a rope, whereat he would confesse nothing! Secondly, he waspersuaded by faire means to confesse his follies, but that wouldprevaile as little. Lastly, he was put to the most severe and cruellpaine in the world, called the Bootes, who, after he had receivedthree strokes, being inquired if he would confesse his damnable actesand wicked life, his toong would not serve him to spaake. ' Thisinability, produced no doubt by pain, the other witches explain bysaying that the Devil's mark had not been found, which, being found, 'the charm' was 'stinted', and the Doctor, in dread probably of afourth stroke, confessed unutterably shameful things. Having escapedfrom prison, of course by the aid of the Devil, he was pursued, andbrought back and re-examined before the king. 'But this Doctor, notwithstanding that his own confession appeareth remaining inrecorde, under his owne handewriting, and the same thereunto fixed inthe presence of the King's majestie and sundrie of his councell, yetdid he utterly deny the same, whereupon the King's majestie, perceiving his stubborne wilfulness... He was commanded to have amost strange torment, which was done in this manner following: Hisnailes upon all his fingers were riven and pulled off with aninstrument called in Scottish a Turkas, which in England wee call apayre of pincars, and under everie nayle there was thrust in twoneedels over even up to the heads. At all which torments, notwithstanding the Doctor never shronke anie whit; neither would hethen confesse it the sooner for all the tortures inflicted upon him. 

'Then was he with all convenient speed, by commandement convaiedagaine to the torment of the Bootes, wherein hee continued a longtime, and did abide so many blowes in them, that his legges werecrusht and beaten together as small as might bee, and the bones andflesh so brused that the blond and marrow spouted forth in greatabundance, wherby they were made unserviceable for ever. Andnotwithstanding all these grievous panes and cruel torments, he wouldnot confesse aniething, so deepely had the Devil entered into hisheart, that hee utterly denied all that which he had before avouched, and would saie nothing thereunto but this, that what he had done andsayde before, was onely done and saide for fear of paynes which hehad endured. ' Thereupon as 'a due execution of justice' 'and 'forexample sake', he was tried, sentenced, put into a cart, strangledand immediately put into a great fire, being readie provided for thatpurpose, and there burned in the Castle Hill of Edenbrough on asaterdaie, in the ende of Januaire last past, 1591. ' The tract endssignificantly: 'The rest of the witches which are not yet executedremayne in prison till further triall and knowledge of his majestie'spleasure. '

[24]

_Ecl. _, viii, 97:

 His ego saepe lupum fieri et se condere silvis Maerin--vidi. 

[25]

See Grimm's _D. M. _, 1, 047 fol. ; and for this translation fromPetronius, a very interesting letter prefixed to Madden's Ed. Of theold English Romance of _William and the Werewolf_, 1832, one ofthe Roxburghe Club Publications. This letter, which was by the hand ofMr Herbert of Petworth, contains all that was known on this subjectbefore Grimm; but when Grimm came he was, compared with all who hadtreated the subject, as a sober man amongst drunkards. 

[26]

_Bisclavaret_ in the _Lais_ of Marie de France, 1, 178seems to be a corruption of Bleizgarou, as the Norman _garwal_is of _garwolf_. See also Jamieson Dict. , under _warwolf_. 

[27]

_Troldham, at kaste ham paa. _ Comp. The old Norse _hamr, hamför, hammadr, hamrammr_, which occur repeatedly in the samesense. 

[28]

Comp. Vict. Hugo, _Nôtre-Dame de Paris_, where he tells us thatthe gipsies called the wolf _piedgris_. See also Grimm, _D. M. _, 633 and _Reinhart_, lv, ccvii, and 446. 

[29]

Thus from the earliest times 'dog', 'hound', has been a term ofreproach. Great instances of fidelity, such as 'Gellert' or the 'Dogof Montargis', both of which are Eastern and primeval, have scarcelyredeemed the cringing currish nature of the race in general fromdisgrace. M. Francisque Michel, in his _Histoire des RacesMaudites de da France et de l'Espagne_, thinks it probable that_Cagot_, the nickname by which the heretical Goths who fledinto Aquitaine in the time of Charles Martel, and received protectionfrom that king and his successors, were called by the Franks, was derived from the term _Canis Gothicus_ or _Canes Gothi_. Inmodern French the word means hypocrite, and this would comefrom the notion of the outward conformity to the Catholic formulariesimposed on the Arian Goths by their orthodox protectors. Etymologically, the derivation is good enough, according to Diez, _RomanischesWörterbuch_; Provençal _ca_, dog; _Get_, Gothic. Before quitting_Cagot_, we may observe that the derivation of _bigot_, our bigot, another word of the same kind, is not so clear. Michel says it comes from_Vizigothus, Bizigothus_. Diez says this is too far-fetched, especially as'Bigot', 'Bigod', was a term applied to the Normans, and not to thepopulation of the South of France. There is, besides another derivationgiven by Ducange from a Latin chronicle of the twelfth century. Inspeaking of the homage done by Rollo, the first Duke of Normandy, tothe King of France, he says:

Hic non dignatus pedem Caroli osculari nisi ad os suum levaret, cumque sui comites illum admonerent ut pedem Regis in acceptionetanti muneris, Neustriae provinciae, oscularetur, Anglica linguarespondit '_ne se bi got_', quod interpretatur 'ne per deum'. Rex vero et sui illum deridentes, et sermonem ejus corruptereferentes, illum vocaverunt Bigottum; unde Normanni adhuc Bigothivocantur. 

Wace, too, says, in the _Roman de Rou_, that the French hadabused the Normans in many ways, calling them Bigos. It is alsotermed, in a French record of the year 1429, '_un mot trèsinjurieux_'. Diez says it was not used in its present sense beforethe sixteenth century. 

[30]

The most common word for a giant in the Eddas was Jötunn (A. S. _coten_), which, strange to say, survives in the Scotch Etin. Inone or two places the word _ogre_ has been used, which isproperly a Romance word, and comes from the French _ogre_, Ital. _orco_, Lat. _orcus_. Here, too, we have an old Roman god of thenether world degraded. 

[31]

These paroxysms were called in Old Norse _Jötunmodr_, the_Etin mood_, as opposed to _Asmodr, the mood of the Aesir_, that diviner wrath which, though burning hot, was still under thecontrol of reason. 

[32]

It may be worth while here to shew how old and widespread this customor notion of the 'naked sword' was. In the North, besides being toldof Sigurd and Brynhildr, we hear it of Hrólf and Ingigerd, who tookrest at night in a hut of leaves in the wood, and lay together, 'butlaid a naked sword between them'. So also Saxo Grammaticus says ofKing Gorm, 'Caeterum ne inconcessum virginis amorem libidinosocomplexu praeripere videretur, vicina latera non solum alteriuscomplexibus exult, sed etiam _districto mucrone_ secrevit. Lib. 9, p. 179. So also Tristan and Isolt in Gottfried of Strasburg's poem, line 17, 407-17. 

 Hierü ber vant Tristan einen sin, Si giengen an ir bette wider, Und leiten sich dâ wider nider, Von einander wol pin dan, Reht als man and man, Niht als man and wîp; Dâ lac lîp and lîp, In fremder gelegenheit, Ouch hât Tristan geleit Sîn _swert bar_ enzwischen si. 

And the old French Tristan in the same way:

 Et qant il vit la nue espee Qui entre eus deus les deseurout. 

So the old English Tristrem, line 2, 002-3:

 His sword he drough titly And laid it hem bitvene. 

And the old German ballad in _Des Knaben Wunderhorn_, 2, 276:

 Der Herzog zog aus sein goldiges schwert, Er leit es zwischen beide hert Das schwert soll weder hauen noch schneiden, Das Annelein soll ein megedli bleiben. 

So Fonzo and Fenizia in the _Pentamerone_, I, 9:

Ma segnenno havere fatto vuto a Diana, de non toccare la mogliere lanotte, mese la spata arranata comme staccione 'miezo ad isso ed aFenizia. 

And in Grimm's story of 'The Two Brothers' where the second brotherlays 'a double-edged sword' at night between himself and hisbrother's wife, who has mistaken him for his twin brother. In factthe custom as William Wackernagel has shewn in _Haupt's Zeitschriftfür Deutsches Alterthum_ was one recognized by the law; and solate as 1477, when Lewis, County Palatine of Veldenz representedMaximilian of Austria as his proxy at the betrothal of Mary ofBurgundy, he got into the bed of state, booted and spurred, and laida naked sword between him and the bride. Comp. Birkens Ehrenspiegel, p. 885. See also as a proof that the custom was known in England aslate as the seventeenth century, _The Jovial Crew_, a comedyfirst acted in 1641, and quoted by Sir W. Scott in his _Tristrem_, p. 345, where it is said (Act V, sc. 2): 'He told him that he would behis proxy, and marry her for him, and lie with her the first night with anaked cudgel betwixt them. ' And see for the whole subject, J. Grimm's_Deutsche Rechts-Alterthümer_, Göttingen, 1828, p. 168-70. 

[33]

M. Moe, _Introd. Norsk. Event_ (Christiania, 1851, 2d Ed. ), towhich the writer is largely indebted. 

[34]

Footnote: The following list, which only selects the more prominentcollections, will suffice to show that Popular Tales have aliterature of their own:--Sanscrit. The _Pantcha Tantra_, 'TheFive Books', a collection of fables of which only extracts have asyet been published, but of which Professor Wilson has given ananalysis in the Transactions of the Asiatic Society, vol. I, sect. 2. The _Hitopadesa_, or 'Wholesome Instruction', a selection oftales and fables from the Pantcha Tantra, first edited by Carey atSerampore in 1804; again by Hamilton in London in 1810; again inGermany by A. W. Von Schlegel in 1829, an edition which was followedin 1831 by a critical commentary by Lassen; and again in 1830 atCalcutta with a Bengali and English translation. The work had beentranslated into English by Wilkins so early as 1787, when it waspublished in London, and again by Sir William Jones, whose rendering, which is not so good as that by Wilkins, appeared after his death inthe collected edition of his works. Into German it has beentranslated in a masterly way by Max Müller, Leipzig, Brockhaus, 1844. Versions of these Sanscrit collections, the date of the latter ofwhich is ascribed to the end of the second century of the Christianera, varying in many respects, but all possessing sufficientresemblance to identify them with their Sanscrit originals, are foundin almost every Indian dialect, and in Zend, Arabic, Persian, Hebrew, Greek and Turkish. We are happy to be able to state here that theeminent Sanscrit scholar, Professor Benfey of Göttingen, is nowpublishing a German translation of the _Pantcha Tantra_, whichwill be accompanied by translations of numerous compositions of thesame kind, drawn from unpublished Sanscrit works, and from thelegends current amongst the Mongolian tribes. The work will bepreceded by an introduction embracing the whole question of theorigin and diffusion of fables and popular tales. The following willbe the title of Prof. Benfey's work: '_Pantcha Tantra. ErsterTheil, Fünf Bücher Indischer Fabeln, Märchen, and Erzählungen_. Ausdem Sanskrit übersetzt, mit Anmerkungen and Einleitung über dasIndische Grundwerk und dessen Ausflüsse, so wie über die Quellen undVerbreitung des Inhalts derselben. Zweiter Theil, Übersetzungen undAnmerkungen. ' Most interesting of all for our purpose is thecollection of Sanscrit Tales, collected in the twelfth century of ourera, by Somadeva Bhatta of Cashmere. This has been published inSanscrit, and translated into German by Hermann Brockhaus, and thenature of its contents has already been sufficiently indicated. Wemay add, however, that Somadeva's collection exhibits the Hindoo mindin the twelfth century in a condition, as regards popular tales, which the mind of Europe has not yet reached. How old thesestories and fables must have been in the East, we see both fromthe _Pantcha Tantra_ and the _Hitopadesa_, which are strictlydidactic works, and only employ tales and fables to illustrate andinculcate a moral lesson. We in the West have got beyond fables andapologues, but we are only now collecting our popular tales. InSomadeva's time the simple tale no longer sufficed; it had to befitted into and arranged with others, with an art and dexterity whichis really marvellous; and so cleverly is this done, that it requiresa mind of no little cultivation, and a head of more than ordinaryclearness, to carry without confusion all the wheels within wheels, and fables within fables, which spring out of the original story asit proceeds. In other respects the popular tale loses in simplicitywhat it gains in intricacy by this artificial arrangement; and it isevident that in the twelfth century the Hindoo tales had been longsince collected out of the mouths of the people, and reduced towriting; in a word, that the popular element had disappeared, andthat they had passed into the written literature of the race. We maytake this opportunity, too, to mention that a most curious collectionof tales and fables, translated from Sanscrit, has recently beendiscovered in Chinese. They are on the eve of publication by M. Stanislas Julien, the first of Chinese scholars; and from theinformation on the matter which Professor Max Müller has kindlyfurnished to the translator, it appears that they passed withBuddhism from India into China. The work from which M. Julien hastaken these fables, which are all the more precious because theSanscrit originals have in all probability perished, --is called_Yu-lin_, or 'The Forest of Comparisons'. It was the work ofYouen-thai, a great Chinese scholar, who was President of theMinistry of justice at Pekin in the year 1565 of our era. Hecollected in twenty-four volumes, after the labour of twenty years, during which he read upwards of four hundred works, all the fablesand comparisons he could find in ancient books. Of those works, twohundred were translations from the Sanscrit made by Buddhist monks, and it is from eleven of these that M. Julien has translated hisChinese Fables. We need hardly say that this work is most anxiouslyexpected by all who take an interest in such matters. Let it beallowed to add here, that it was through no want of respect towardsthe memory of M. De Sacy that the translator has given so muchprominence to the views and labours of the Brothers Grimm in thisIntroduction. 

To M. De Sacy belongs all the merit of exploring what may be calledthe old written world of fable. He, and Warton, and Dunlop, andPrice, too, did the day's work of Giants, in tracing out andclassifying those tales and fables which had passed into theliterature of the Aryan race. But, besides this old region, there isanother new hemisphere of fiction which lies in the mouths and in theminds of the people. This new world of fable the Grimms discovered, and to them belongs the glory of having brought all its fruits andflowers to the light of day. This is why their names must ever beforemost in a work on Popular Tales, shining, as their namesmust ever shine, a bright double star in that new hemisphere. Inmore modern times, the earliest collection of popular tales is to befound in the _Piacevoli Notte_ of John Francis Straparola ofCaravaggio, near Milan, the first edition of which appeared atVenice in 1550. The book, which is shamefully indecent, evenfor that age, and which at last, in 1606, was placed in the_Index Expurgatorius_, contains stories from all sources, andamongst them nineteen genuine popular tales, which are notdisfigured by the filth with which the rest of the volume is full. Straparola's work has been twice translated into German, once atVienna, 1791, and again by Schmidt in a more complete form, _Märchen-Saal_, Berlin, 1817. But a much more interesting Italiancollection appeared at Naples in the next century. This wasthe _Pentamerone_ of Giambattista Basile, who wrote in theNeapolitan dialect, and whose book appeared in 1637. This collectioncontains forty-eight tales, and is in tone, and keeping, and diction, one of the best that has ever appeared in any language. It has beenrepeatedly reprinted at Naples. It has been translated into German, and a portion of it, a year or two back, by Mr. Taylor, into English. In France the first collection of this kind was made by CharlesPerrault, who, in 1697, published eight tales, under a title takenfrom an old _Fabliau_, _Contes de ma mère L'Oye_, whence comesour 'Mother Goose'. To these eight, three more tales were added inlater editions. Perrault was shortly followed by Madame D'Aulnoy(born in 1650, died 1705), whose manner of treating her tales is farless true to nature than Perrault's, and who inserts at will, verses, alterations, additions, and moral reflections. Her style issentimental and over-refined; the courtly airs of the age of LouisXIV predominate, and nature suffers by the change from the cottage tothe palace. Madame d'Aulnoy was followed by a host of imitators; theCountess Mürat, who died in 1710; Countess d'Auneuil, who died in1700; M. De Preschac, born 1676, who composed tales of utterworthlessness, which may be read as examples of what popular talesare not, in the collection called _Le Cabinet des Fées_, whichwas published in Paris in 1785. Not much better are the attempts ofCount Hamilton, who died in 1720; of M. De Moncrif, who died in 1770;of Mademoiselle de la Force, died 1724; of Mademoiselle l'Heritierdied 1737; of Count Caylus, who wrote his _Féeries Nouvelles_ inthe first half of the 18th century, for the popular element failsalmost entirely in their works. Such as they are, they may also beread in the _Cabinet des Fées_, a collection which ran to nofewer than forty-one volumes, and with which no lover of populartradition need trouble himself much. To the playwright and the story-teller it has been a great repository, which has supplied the lack oforiginal invention. In Germany we need trouble ourselves with none ofthe collections before the time of the Grimms, except to say thatthey are nearly worthless. In 1812-14 the two brothers, Jacob andWilliam, brought out the first edition of their _Kinder-und Haus-Märchen_, which was followed by a second and more complete one in1822: 3 vols. , Berlin, Reimer. The two first volumes have beenrepeatedly republished, but few readers in England are aware of theexistence of the third, a third edition of which appeared in 1856 atGöttingen, which contains the literature of these traditions, and isa monument of the care and pains with which the brothers, or ratherWilliam, for it is his work, even so far back as 1820, had traced outparallel traditions in other tribes and lands. This work formed anera in popular literature, and has been adopted as a model by alltrue collectors ever since. It proceeded on the principle offaithfully collecting these traditions from the mouths of the people, without adding one jot or tittle, or in any way interfering withthem, except to select this or that variation as most apt orbeautiful. To the adoption of this principle we owe the excellentSwedish collection of George Stephens and Hylten Cavallius, _Svenska Folk-Sagor og Aefventyr_, 2 vols. Stockholm 1844, andfollowing years; and also this beautiful Norse one, to which JacobGrimm awards the palm over all collections, except perhaps theScottish, of MM. Asbjörnsen and Moe. To it also we owe many mostexcellent collections in Germany, over nearly the whole of which anactive band of the Grimm's pupils have gone gathering up as gleanersthe ears which their great masters had let fall or let lie. InDenmark the collection of M. Winther, _Danske Folkeeventyr_, Copenhagen, 1823, is a praiseworthy attempt in the same direction;nor does it at all detract from the merit of H. C. Andersen as anoriginal writer, to observe how often his creative mind has fastenedon one of these national stories, and worked out of that piece ofnative rock a finished work of art. Though last not least, are to bereckoned the Scottish stories collected by Mr. Robert Chambers, ofthe merit of which we have already expressed our opinion in the text. 

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After all, there is, it seems, a Scottish word which answers to_Askepot_ to a hair. See Jamieson's _Dictionary_, where thereader will find _Ashiepattle_ as used in Shetland for a'neglected child'; and not in Shetland alone, but in Ayrshire, _Ashypet_, an adjective, or rather a substantive degraded to dothe dirty work of an adjective, 'one employed in the lowest kitchenwork'. See too the quotation, 'when I reached Mrs. Damask's house shewas gone to bed, and nobody to let me in, dripping wet as I was, butan _ashypet_ lassy, that helps her for a servant. '--_Steamboat_, p. 259. So again _Assiepet_, substantive 'a dirty little creature, one that is constantly soiled with _ass_ or ashes'. 

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The Sagas contain many instances of Norsemen who sat thus idly overthe fire, and were thence called _Kolbitr_, _coalbiters_, but whoafterwards became mighty men.