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diff --git a/38070.txt b/38070.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..7df4d90 --- /dev/null +++ b/38070.txt @@ -0,0 +1,8212 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Norwegian Fairy Book, by Clara Stroebe + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: The Norwegian Fairy Book + +Author: Clara Stroebe + +Illustrator: George W. Hood + +Translator: Frederick H. Martens + +Release Date: November 20, 2011 [EBook #38070] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE NORWEGIAN FAIRY BOOK *** + + + + +Produced by David Edwards, eagkw and the Online Distributed +Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was +produced from images generously made available by The +Internet Archive) + + + + + + + [Illustration: cover] + + + + + THE NORWEGIAN FAIRY BOOK + + + + + BOOKS IN THE "FAIRY SERIES" + + + _The English Fairy Book_ + _The Welsh Fairy Book_ + _The Irish Fairy Book_ + _The Scottish Fairy Book_ + _The Italian Fairy Book_ + _The Hungarian Fairy Book_ + _The Indian Fairy Book_ + _The Spanish Fairy Book_ + _The Danish Fairy Book_ + _The Norwegian Fairy Book_ + _The Jewish Fairy Book_ + _The Swedish Fairy Book_ + _The Chinese Fairy Book_ + + + + + [Illustration: "AN OLD WOMAN CAME LIMPING ALONG, AND ASKED HIM WHAT + HE HAD IN HIS KNAPSACK." + --_Page 17_] + + + + + THE NORWEGIAN + FAIRY BOOK + + EDITED BY + CLARA STROEBE + + TRANSLATED BY + FREDERICK H. MARTENS + + [Illustration] + + WITH SIX ILLUSTRATIONS IN COLOUR BY + GEORGE W. HOOD + + NEW YORK + FREDERICK A. STOKES COMPANY + PUBLISHERS + + + + + _Copyright, 1922, by_ + FREDERICK A. STOKES COMPANY + + _All Rights Reserved_ + + _Printed in the United States of America_ + + + + +PREFACE + + +These Norwegian tales of elemental mountain, forest and sea spirits, +handed down by hinds and huntsmen, woodchoppers and fisherfolk, men who +led a hard and lonely life amid primitive surroundings are, perhaps, +among the most fascinating the Scandinavian countries have to offer. Nor +are they only meant to delight the child, though this they cannot fail +to do. "Grown-ups" also, who take pleasure in a good story, well told, +will enjoy the original "Peer Gynt" legend, as it existed before Ibsen +gave it more symbolic meanings; and that glowing, beautiful picture of +an Avalon of the Northern seas shown in "The Island of Udroest." What +could be more human and moving than the tragic "The Player on the +Jew's-Harp," or more genuinely entertaining than "The King's Hares"? +"The Master-Girl" is a Candida of fairy-land, and the thrill and glamor +of black magic and mystery run through such stories as "The Secret +Church," "The Comrade," and "Lucky Andrew." In "The Honest Four-Shilling +Piece" we have the adventures of a Norse Dick Whittington. "Storm Magic" +is one of the most thrilling sea tales, bar none, ever written, and +every story included in the volume seems to bring with it the breath of +the Norse mountains or the tang of the spindrift on Northern seas. Much +of the charm of the stories lies in the directness and simplicity of +their telling; and this quality, which adds so much to their appeal, the +translator has endeavored to preserve in its integrity. He cannot but +feel that "The Norwegian Fairy Book" has an appeal for one and all, +since it is a book in which the mirror of fairy-tale reflects human +yearnings and aspirations, human loves, ambitions and disillusionments, +in an imaginatively glamored, yet not distorted form. It is his hope and +belief that those who may come to know it will derive as much pleasure +from its reading as it gave him to put it into English. + + FREDERICK H. MARTENS. + + + + +CONTENTS + + + CHAPTER PAGE + + I PER GYNT 1 + + II THE ISLE OF UDROeST 9 + + III THE THREE LEMONS 16 + + IV THE NEIGHBOR UNDERGROUND 23 + + V THE SECRET CHURCH 26 + + VI THE COMRADE 30 + + VII ASPENCLOG 48 + + VIII THE TROLL WEDDING 51 + + IX THE HAT OF THE HULDRES 54 + + X THE CHILD OF MARY 56 + + XI STORM MAGIC 62 + + XII THE FOUR-SHILLING PIECE 69 + + XIII THE MAGIC APPLES 76 + + XIV SELF DID IT 81 + + XV THE MASTER GIRL 83 + + XVI ANENT THE GIANT WHO DID NOT HAVE HIS HEART + ABOUT HIM 101 + + XVII THE THREE PRINCESSES IN WHITELAND 110 + + XVIII TROUBLE AND CARE 118 + + XIX KARI WOODENCOAT 136 + + XX OLA STORBAEKKJEN 152 + + XXI THE CAT WHO COULD EAT SO MUCH 155 + + XXII EAST OF THE SUN AND WEST OF THE MOON 165 + + XXIII MURMUR GOOSE-EGG 181 + + XXIV THE TROLL-WIFE 197 + + XXV THE KING'S HARES 202 + + XXVI HELGE-HAL IN THE BLUE HILL 213 + + XXVII THE LORD OF THE HILL AND JOHN BLESSOM 224 + + XXVIII THE YOUNG FELLOW AND THE DEVIL 227 + + XXIX FARTHER SOUTH THAN SOUTH, AND FARTHER NORTH + THAN NORTH, AND IN THE GREAT HILL OF GOLD 229 + + XXX LUCKY ANDREW 236 + + XXXI THE PASTOR AND THE SEXTON 244 + + XXXII THE SKIPPER AND SIR URIAN 247 + + XXXIII THE YOUTH WHO WAS TO SERVE THREE YEARS + WITHOUT PAY 250 + + XXXIV THE YOUTH WHO WANTED TO WIN THE DAUGHTER OF + THE MOTHER IN THE CORNER 265 + + XXXV THE CHRONICLE OF THE PANCAKE 274 + + XXXVI SORIA-MORIA CASTLE 279 + + XXXVII THE PLAYER ON THE JEW'S-HARP 293 + + + + +LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS + + + "AN OLD WOMAN CAME LIMPING ALONG, AND ASKED + HIM WHAT HE HAD IN HIS KNAPSACK" _Frontispiece_ + + FACING PAGE + "AND SO HE SAW THE LOVELY MAIDEN WHO WAS SEATED + AMONG ITS BRANCHES" 58 + + "THEY AT LAST REACHED THE LAKE" 108 + + "THERE MURMUR JUMPED FROM ONE MOUNTAIN-TOP TO + ANOTHER" 188 + + "THE KING RECKONED AND ADDED THEM UP, AND COUNTED + WITH HIS FINGERS" 206 + + "'HEY THERE!' THE WOMAN WAS AFTER IT WITH THE PAN IN + ONE HAND, AND THE SPOON IN THE OTHER" 274 + + + + +THE NORWEGIAN FAIRY BOOK + + + + +I + +PER GYNT + + +In the old days there lived in Kvam a marksman by the name of Per Gynt. +He was continually in the mountains, where he shot bear and elk, for at +that time there were more forests on the Fjaell, and all sorts of beasts +dwelt in them. Once, late in the fall, when the cattle had long since +been driven down from the mountain pastures, Per Gynt decided to go up +on the Fjaell again. With the exception of three dairy-maids, all the +herd-folk had already left the mountains. But when Per Gynt reached +Hoevringalm, where he intended to stay over-night in a herdsman's hut, +it already was so dark that he could not see his hand before his eyes. +Then the dogs began to bark so violently that he felt quite uneasy. And +suddenly his foot struck something, and when he took hold of it, it was +cold, and large and slippery. Since he felt certain he had not left the +path, he could not imagine what it might be; but he sensed that all was +not in order. + +"And who are you?" asked Per Gynt, for he noticed that it moved. + +"O, I am the crooked one," was the answer. And now Per Gynt knew as much +as he had before. So he went along its length, "for sooner or later I +will come to the end of it," thought he. + +As he went along he again struck against something, and when he felt it, +it was again something cold, and large and slippery. + +"And who are you?" asked Per Gynt. + +"I am the crooked one," was again the answer. + +"Well, whether you be crooked or straight, you will have to let me +pass," said Per Gynt; for he noticed that he was going around in a +circle, and that the crooked one had coiled himself about the herdsman's +cottage. At these words the crooked one moved a little to one side, so +that Per Gynt could get into the cottage. When he entered he found it as +dark inside as it was out; and he stumbled and felt his way along the +walls; for he wanted to lay aside his firelock and his hunting-bag. But +while he was feeling his way about, he once more noticed the something +large, and cold and slippery. + +"And who are you now?" cried Per Gynt. + +"O, I am the big crooked one," was the answer. And no matter where he +took hold or where he set his foot, he could feel the coils of the +crooked one laid around him. + +"This is a poor place to be in," thought Per Gynt, "for this crooked one +is outside and inside; but I will soon put what is wrong to rights." He +took his firelock, went out again, and felt his way along the crooked +one until he came to his head. + +"And who are you really and truly?" he asked. + +"O, I am the big crooked one of Etnedal," said the monster troll. Then +Per Gynt did not waste any time, but shot three bullets right through +the middle of his head. + +"Shoot again!" cried the crooked one. But Per Gynt knew better, for had +he shot another time, the bullet would have rebounded and hit him. When +this had been done, Per Gynt and his dogs took hold of the great troll, +and dragged him out of the hut, so that they might make themselves +comfortable there. And meanwhile the hills about rang with laughter and +jeers. "Per Gynt pulled hard, but the dogs pulled harder!" rang in his +ears. + +In the morning Per Gynt went out hunting. When he had made his way +far into the Fjaell, he saw a girl driving sheep and goats across a +mountain-top. But when he reached the top of the mountain, the girl +had vanished, as well as her flock, and all he saw was a great pack +of bears. + +"Never yet have I seen bears run together in packs," thought Per Gynt. +But when he came nearer, they all disappeared save one alone. Then a +voice called from a nearby hill: + + "Guard your boar, for understand, + Per Gynt is without, + With his firelock in his hand!" + +"O, then it is the worse for Per Gynt; but not for my boar, because Per +Gynt did not wash to-day," sounded back from the hill. But Per Gynt spat +on his hands, and washed them thus, and then shot the bear. + +The hills rang with echoing laughter: + +"You should have guarded your boar better," called one voice. + +"I did not think he carried the wash-bowl in his mouth," answered the +other. + +Per Gynt skinned the bear, and buried his body among the bowlders; but +the head and skin he took with him. On the way back he met a mountain +fox. + +"See, my little lamb, how fat you are!" rang out from one hill. "Just +see how high Per Gynt carries his firelock!" sounded from another, as +Per Gynt shouldered his firelock and shot the fox. Him he also skinned, +and took the skin with him, and when he reached the herdsman's hut, he +nailed the heads, with jaws wide open, against the outer wall. Then he +made a fire and hung a soup kettle over it; but it smoked so terribly he +could hardly keep his eyes open, and therefore had to make a loop-hole. +Suddenly up came a troll, and thrust his nose through the loop-hole; but +his nose was so long that it reached the fireplace. + +"Here is my smeller, so take a good look!" said he. + +"Here is a taste of the soup that I cook!" said Per Gynt, and he +poured the whole kettleful of soup over his nose. The troll rushed off +lamenting loudly; but from all the heights around came laughter and +derision and calls of: + +"Gyri Soupsmeller, Gyri Soupsmeller!" + +Thereupon all was quiet for a time; yet before very long the noise and +tumult outside began again. Per Gynt looked out, and saw a wagon drawn +by bears, the great troll was loaded upon it, and off they went with +him up the Fjaell. Suddenly a pail of water was poured down through +the chimney, smothering the fire, and Per Gynt sat in the dark. Then +laughter and jibes came from every corner, and one voice said: "Now Per +Gynt will be no better off than the dairy-maids in the hut at Val!" + +Per Gynt once more lit the fire, called his dogs, locked the herdsman's +hut, and went on North, toward the hut at Val, in which there were three +dairy-maids. After he had covered some distance he saw a fire, as though +the whole hut were ablaze, and at the same moment he came across a whole +pack of wolves, of whom he shot some and clubbed the others to death. +When he reached the hut at Val, he found it pitch dark there, and there +was no fire to be seen, far or near. But there were four strangers in +the hut, who were frightening the dairy-maids. They were four mountain +trolls, and their names were: Gust i Vaere, Tron Valfjeldet, Kjoestoel +Aabakken, and Rolf Eldfoerkungen. Gust i Vaere stood at the door, on +guard, and Per Gynt shot at him, but missed, so he ran away. When Per +Gynt entered the room the dairy-maids were well-nigh frightened to +death; but when the trolls saw who had come they began to wail, and +told Eldfoerkungen to make a fire. At the same moment the dogs sprang +upon Kjoestoel Aabakken, and threw him head over heels into the hearth, +so that the ashes and sparks flew about. + +"Have you seen my snakes, Per Gynt?" asked Tron Valfjeldet--for that was +what he called the wolves. + +"Yes, and now you shall travel the same road your snakes have gone!" +cried Per Gynt, and shot him. Then he made an end of Aabakken with the +butt-end of his firelock; but Eldfoerkungen had fled through the chimney. +After Per Gynt had done this, he accompanied the dairy-maids back to +their village, for they did not venture to stay in the hut any longer. + +When Christmas came, Per Gynt once more got under way. He had heard of +a farmstead at Dovre, where so many trolls were accustomed to congregate +on Christmas Eve, that the people who lived there had to flee, and find +places to stay at other farms. This farmstead Per Gynt decided to hunt +up; for he thought he would like to see these trolls. He put on torn +clothing, and took with him a tame bear which belonged to him, together +with an awl, some pitch and some wire. When he had reached the +farmstead, he went into the house and asked for shelter. + +"May God aid us!" cried the man. "We cannot shelter you, and have to +leave the house ourselves, because the place is alive with trolls every +Christmas Eve!" + +But Per Gynt thought he could manage to clear the house of the trolls. +So they told him to stay, and gave him a pig's skin into the bargain. +Then the bear lay down behind the hearth, Per took out his awl, his +pitch and his wire, and set out to make a single large shoe out of the +pig's skin. And he drew a thick rope through it for a lace, so that he +could lace the whole shoe together, and besides he had two wagon-spokes +for wedges at hand. Suddenly the trolls came along with fiddles and +fiddlers, and some of them danced, and others ate of the Christmas +dinner that stood on the table, and some fried bacon, and others fried +frogs and toads and disgusting things of that kind--the Christmas dinner +they had brought along themselves. In the meantime some of them noticed +the shoe Per Gynt had made. Since it was evidently intended for a large +foot, all the trolls wanted to try it on. When every one of them had +thrust in his foot, Per Gynt laced it, forced in a wedge, and then drew +the lace so taut that every last one of them was caught and held in the +shoe. But now the bear thrust forth his nose, and sniffed the roast. + +"Would you like to have some cake, little white cat?" said one of the +trolls, and threw a burning hot, roasted frog into the bear's jaws. + +"Thump them, Master Bruin!" cried Per Gynt. And the bear grew so angry +that he rushed on the trolls, raining blows on every side and scratching +them. And Per Gynt hewed into the crowd with his other wagon-spoke as +though he meant to break their skulls. Then the trolls had to make +themselves scarce, but Per Gynt remained, and feasted on the Christmas +fare all of Christmas week, while for many a long year no more was heard +of the trolls. + + + NOTE + + "Per Gynt" (Asbjoernsen, _Norske Huldreeventyr og Folkesagn_, + Christiania, 1859, Part II, p. 77. From the vicinity of the Dover + mountains. The story was told Asbjoernsen by a bird hunter, whom he + accidentally met while hunting reindeer). Like "The Island of + Udroest" which follows it, it is distinctively a Northern tale. + The bold huntsman of Kvam, whose name and weirdly adventurous + experience with the great crooked one of Etnedal, thanks to Ibsen, + have been presented in an altogether different, symbolic form, + makes his appearance here with all the heartfelt spontaneity of + the folk-tale, as it is still recounted, half in pride, half in + dread, in the lonely herdsman's huts of the Dovre country. + + + + +II + +THE ISLE OF UDROeST + + +Once upon a time there lived at Vaeroe, not far from Roest, a poor +fisherman, named Isaac. He had nothing but a boat and a couple of goats, +which his wife fed as well as she could with fish leavings, and with the +grass she was able to gather on the surrounding hills; but his whole hut +was full of hungry children. Yet he was always satisfied with what God +sent him. The only thing that worried him was his inability to live at +peace with his neighbor. The latter was a rich man, thought himself +entitled to far more than such a beggarly fellow as Isaac, and wanted +to get him out of the way, in order to take for himself the anchorage +before Isaac's hut. + +One day Isaac had put out a few miles to sea to fish, when suddenly a +dark fog fell, and in a flash such a tremendous storm broke, that he had +to throw all his fish overboard in order to lighten ship and save his +life. Even then it was very hard to keep the boat afloat; but he steered +a careful course between and across the mountainous waves, which seemed +ready to swallow him from moment to moment. After he had kept on for +five or six hours in this manner, he thought that he ought to touch +land somewhere. But time went by, and the storm and fog grew worse and +worse. Then he began to realize that either he was steering out to sea, +or that the wind had veered, and at last he made sure the latter was the +case; for he sailed on and on without a sight of land. Suddenly he heard +a hideous cry from the stern of the boat, and felt certain that it was +the _drang_, who was singing his death-song. Then he prayed God to guard +his wife and children, for he thought his last hour had come. As he sat +there and prayed, he made out something black; but when his boat drew +nearer, he noticed that it was only three cormorants, sitting on a piece +of drift-wood and--swish! he had passed them. Thus he sailed for a long +time, and grew so hungry, so thirsty and so weary that he did not know +what to do; for the most part he sat with the rudder in his hand and +slept. But all of a sudden the boat ran up on a beach and stopped. Then +Isaac opened his eyes. The sun broke through the fog, and shone on a +beautiful land. Its hills and mountains were green to their very tops, +fields and meadows lay among their slopes, and he seemed to breathe a +fragrance of flowers and grass sweeter than any he had ever known +before. + +"God be praised, now I am safe, for this is Udroest!" said Isaac to +himself. Directly ahead of him lay a field of barley, with ears so +large and heavy that he had never seen their like, and through the +barley-field a narrow path led to a green turf-roofed cottage of clay, +that rose above the field, and on the roof of the cottage grazed a white +goat with gilded horns, and an udder as large as that of the largest +cow. Before the door sat a little man clad in blue, puffing away at a +little pipe. He had a beard so long and so large that it hung far down +upon his breast. + +"Welcome to Udroest, Isaac!" said the man. + +"Good day to you, father," said Isaac, "and do you know me?" + +"It might be that I do," said the man. "I suppose you want to stay here +overnight?" + +"That would suit me very well, father," was Isaac's reply. + +"The trouble is with my sons, for they cannot bear the smell of a +Christian," answered the man. "Did you meet them?" + +"No, I only met three cormorants, who were sitting on a piece of +drift-wood and croaking," was Isaac's reply. + +"Well, those were my sons," said the man, and emptied his pipe, "and now +come into the house, for I think you must be hungry and thirsty." + +"I'll take that liberty, father," said Isaac. + +When the man opened the door, everything within was so beautiful that +Isaac could not get over his admiration. He had never seen anything like +it. The table was covered with the finest dishes, bowls of cream, and +salmon and game, and liver dumplings with syrup, and cheese as well, and +there were whole piles of doughnuts, and there was mead, and everything +else that is good. Isaac ate and drank bravely, and yet his plate was +never empty; and no matter how much he drank, his glass was always +full. The man neither ate much nor said much; but suddenly they heard a +noise and clamor before the house, and the man went out. After a time he +returned with his three sons, and Isaac trembled inwardly when they came +through the door; but their father must have quieted them, for they were +very friendly and amiable, and told Isaac he must use his guest-right, +and sit down and drink with them; for Isaac had risen to leave the +table, saying he had satisfied his hunger. But he gave in to them, and +they drank mead together, and became good friends. And they said that +Isaac must go fishing with them, so that he would have something to take +with him when he went home. + +The first time they put out a great storm was raging. One of the +sons sat at the rudder, the second at the bow, and the third in the +middle; and Isaac had to work with the bailing-can until he dripped +perspiration. They sailed as though they were mad. They never reefed a +sail, and when the boat was full of water, they danced on the crests of +the waves, and slid down them so that the water in the stern spurted up +like a fountain. After a time the storm subsided, and they began to +fish. And the sea was so full of fish that they could not even put out +an anchor, since mountains of fish were piled up beneath them. The sons +of Udroest drew up one fish after another. Isaac knew his business; but +he had taken along his own fishing-tackle, and as soon as a fish bit he +let go again, and at last he had caught not a single one. When the boat +was filled, they sailed home again to Udroest, and the sons cleaned the +fish, and laid them on the stands. Meanwhile Isaac had complained to +their father of his poor luck. The man promised that he should do better +next time, and gave him a couple of hooks; and the next time they went +out to fish, Isaac caught just as many as the others, and when they +reached home, he was given three stands of fish as his share. + +At length Isaac began to get homesick, and when he was about to leave, +the man made him a present of a new fishing-boat, full of meal, and +tackle and other useful things. Isaac thanked him repeatedly, and the +man invited him to come back when the season opened again, since he +himself was going to take a cargo to Bergen, in the second _stevne_,[1] +and Isaac could go along and sell his fish there himself. Isaac was more +than willing, and asked him what course he should set when he again +wanted to reach Udroest. "All you need do is to follow the cormorant when +he heads for the open sea, then you will be on the right course," said +the man. "Good luck on your way!" + + [1] A fleet of ships that set sail together from Nordland + to Bergen to sell fish. + +But when Isaac got underway, and looked around, there was no Udroest in +sight; far and wide, all around him, he saw no more than the ocean. + +When the time came, Isaac sailed to join the man of Udroest's +fishing-craft. But such a craft he had never seen before. It was two +hails long, so that when the steersman, who was on look-out in the +stern, wanted to call out something to the rower, the latter could not +hear him. So they had stationed another man in the middle of the ship, +close by the mast, who had to relay the steersman's call to the rower, +and even he had to shout as loudly as he could in order to make +himself heard. + +Isaac's share was laid down in the forepart of the boat; and he himself +took down the fish from the stands; yet he could not understand how it +was that the stands were continually filled with fresh fish, no matter +how many he took away, and when he sailed away they were still as full +as ever. When he reached Bergen, he sold his fish, and got so much money +for them that he was able to buy a new schooner, completely fitted out, +and with a cargo to boot, as the man of Udroest had advised him. Late in +the evening, when he was about to sail for home, the man came aboard +and told him never to forget those who survived his neighbor, for his +neighbor himself had died; and then he wished Isaac all possible success +and good fortune for his schooner, in advance. "All is well, and all +stands firm that towers in the air," said he, and what he meant was that +there was one aboard whom none could see, but who would support the mast +on his back, if need be. + +Since that time fortune was Isaac's friend. And well he knew why this +was so, and never forgot to prepare something good for whoever held the +winter watch, when the schooner was drawn up on land in the fall. And +every Christmas night there was the glow and shimmer of light, the +sound of fiddles and music, of laughter and merriment, and of dancing on +the deserted schooner. + + + NOTE + + "The Island of Udroest" (Asbjoernsen, _Huldreeventyr_, Part I, + p. 259, from Nordland, narrator not specified) is a legendary + paradise, which appears at the moment of extremest peril to the + Norsemen helplessly shipwrecked in the stormy sea. The Norsemen, + whose fields near the boisterous waves yield but a niggardly + return, cannot say too much regarding its lavish fruitfulness and + its abiding peace. Udroest is almost an Isle of the Blest, an + Avalon, to the fisherfolk whose lives are passed in want and + constant danger. + + + + +III + +THE THREE LEMONS + + +Once upon a time there were three brothers who had lost their parents, +and since the latter had left their sons nothing upon which to live, +they had to wander out into the world, and seek their fortune. The two +older brothers prepared for the journey as well as they were able; but +the youngest, whom they called "Mike by the Stove," because he was +always sitting behind the stove whittling, they did not want to take +with them. So they set out at early dawn; yet for all their hurrying +Mike by the Stove reached the king's court as soon as they did. When +they got there, they asked to be taken into the king's service. Well, +said the king, he really had no work for them to do; but since they +were so poor, he would see that they were kept busy; there was always +something or other to do in such a big establishment: they could drive +nails into the wall, and when they were through, they could pull them +out again. And when that was done, they could carry wood and water into +the kitchen. Mike by the Stove was quickest at driving his nails into +the wall, and pulling them out again, and he had been quick, too, about +carrying his wood and water. Therefore his brothers grew jealous, and +said he had declared he could obtain the most beautiful princess in +twelve kingdoms for the king--for the king's wife had died and he was +a widower. When the king heard this, he told Mike by the Stove he had +better do as he had said, else he would have him brought to the block, +and his head chopped off. + +Mike by the Stove replied that he had neither said nor thought anything +of the kind; but that seeing the king was so severe, he would try it. So +he took a knapsack full of food and set out. But he had only pushed a +little way into the wood before he grew hungry, and thought he would +sample the provisions they had given him at the king's castle. When he +had sat down in all peace and comfort under a pine-tree by the side of +the road, an old woman came limping along, and asked him what he had in +his knapsack. "Meat and bacon, granny," said the youth. "If you are +hungry, come and share with me!" She thanked him, satisfied her hunger, +and then telling him she would do him a favor in turn, limped off into +the wood. When Mike by the Stove had eaten his fill, he slung his +knapsack across his shoulder once more, and went his way; but he had +only gone a short distance before he found a whistle. That would be +fine, thought he, to have a whistle, and be able to whistle himself a +tune while he traveled, and before long he really succeeded in making +it sound. That very moment the wood was alive with dwarfs, all of them +asking with one voice: "What are my lord's commands? What are my lord's +commands?" Mike by the Stove said he did not know he was their lord; +but if he had any command to give, he would ask them to bring him the +fairest princess in twelve kingdoms. That would be easy enough, said the +dwarfs; they knew exactly who she was, and they could show him the way; +then he himself could go and fetch her, since the dwarfs were powerless +to touch her. They showed him the way, and he reached his goal quickly +and without trouble, for no one interfered with him. It was a troll's +castle, and in it were three beautiful princesses; but when Mike by the +Stove stepped in, they acted as though they had lost their wits, ran +around like frightened lambs, and finally turned into three lemons that +lay on the window-ledge. Mike by the Stove was in despair, and very +unhappy because he did not know what to do. But after he had reflected +a while, he took the three lemons, and put them in his pocket; because, +thought he, he might be glad he had done so should he grow thirsty +during his journey, for he had heard that lemons were sour. + +After he had traveled a way, he grew very warm and thirsty. There was no +water to be found, and he did not know how he was to refresh himself. +Then the lemons occurred to him, and he took one and bit into it. But in +it sat a princess, visible up to her arms, and cried: "Water, water!" +If she could not have some water, said she, she must die. The youth ran +about everywhere like mad, looking for water; but there was no water +there, and none to be found, and when he returned she was dead. + +After he had gone on again a while, he grew still more thirsty, and +since he found nothing with which to refresh himself, he took another +lemon and bit into it. And another princess looked out, up to her +shoulders, and she was even more beautiful than the first. She cried for +water, and said that if she could not have some water she must die on +the spot. Mike by the Stove ran about and looked under stones and moss; +but he found no water, so this princess also died. + +Mike by the Stove thought that things were going from bad to worse, and +this was the truth, since the further he went the warmer it grew. The +part of the country in which he was traveling was so parched and dried +that not a drop of water was to be found, and he was half-dead with +thirst. For a long time he hesitated before biting into the last lemon; +but at last there was nothing else left to do. When he had bitten +into it, a princess looked out: she was the most beautiful in twelve +kingdoms, and she cried that if she could have no water, she must die on +the spot. Mike by the Stove ran about and looked for water, and this +time he met the king's miller, who showed him the way to the mill-pond. +When he had come with her to the mill-pond, and had given her water, she +came completely out of the lemon. But she had nothing to wear, and Mike +by the Stove had to give her his smock. She put it on, and hid in a +tree; while he was to go to the castle and bring her clothes, and tell +the king he had found her, and how it had all happened. + +Meanwhile the cook had come down to the pond to fetch water. When she +saw the lovely face that was reflected in the pond, she thought it was +her own, and was so pleased that she began to dance and jump around, +because she had grown so beautiful. + +"Let the devil fetch the water, I'm far too handsome to bother with it!" +said she, and threw away the water-pail. And then she suddenly noticed +that the face in the water was that of the princess who sat in the tree. +This made her so angry that she pulled her down from the tree, and threw +her into the pond. Then she herself put on Mike by the Stove's smock, +and climbed into the tree. When the king arrived, and saw the swart, +homely kitchen-maid, he grew red and white in turn; but when he heard +the people say she was the greatest beauty in twelve kingdoms, he had to +believe, willy-nilly, that there was something in it, and he did not +want to be unjust to Mike by the Stove, who had taken so much trouble to +find her. She might grow more beautiful in time, thought he, if she were +adorned with jewels, and dressed in fine clothes, and so he took her +home with him. Then they sent for wig-makers and seamstresses, and she +was adorned and dressed like a princess; but for all their washing and +bedizening, she remained swart and homely. After a while, when the +kitchen-maid had to go to the pond to fetch water, she caught a great +silver fish in her pail. She carried it up and showed it to the king, +who thought it was a beauty; but the homely princess declared it to be +the work of witches, and that they were to burn it, for she had noticed +at once what it was. So the following morning the fish was burned, and +they found a lump of silver in the ashes. Then the cook went up and +told the king, and he thought it very strange; but the princess said it +was witchcraft pure and simple, and that they were to bury the silver +under the manure-pile. The king did not want to, but she gave him no +peace until he consented, and finally said they were to do so. But on +the following day a beautiful linden-tree stood where they had buried +the lump of silver, and the leaves of the linden-tree glistened like +silver, too. When they told the king he thought it remarkable; but the +princess said it was no more nor less than witchcraft, and that the +linden-tree must be cut down. This the king did not wish done at all; +but the princess tormented him so that finally he yielded in this as +well. When the maids went out and brought wood for the fire from the +linden-tree, it was pure silver. "We need not tell the king and the +princess anything about it," said one of them, "for they would only burn +it up and melt it down. Let us keep it in the wardrobe instead. It might +be very useful to us some day, if some one comes along, and we want to +marry." They were all of the same mind, but when they had carried the +wood a while, it grew terribly heavy. And when they looked to see why +this was, the sticks of wood had turned into a little child, and before +long she had become the most beautiful princess imaginable. The maids +saw that there was some hocus-pocus about it, gave her clothes, ran off +to fetch the youth who had been sent to find the most beautiful princess +in twelve kingdoms, and told him their story. And when Mike by the +Stove arrived, the princess explained to him how everything had +happened, that the cook had thrown her into the pond, and that she had +been the silver fish, the lump of silver, and the linden-tree, and the +sticks of wood, and that she was the true princess. It was hard to get +at the king, for the swart, homely cook was with him early and late; but +at last they decided to tell him that a declaration of war had come +from a neighboring monarch, and so they got him out. When he saw the +beautiful princess, he fell so deeply in love with her that he wanted to +marry her out of hand, and when he heard how badly the swart, homely +cook had treated her, the latter was promptly punished. Then they held +a wedding that was heard of and talked about in twelve kingdoms. + + + NOTE + + The story of "The Three Lemons" is not a native Scandinavian + growth, but of foreign extraction (Asbjoernsen, _Norske + Folkeeventyr, Ny Samling_, Christiania, 1871, p. 22, No. 66), and + is a tale very popular in the Orient. Yet Asbjoernsen heard it from + a plain woman in Christiania, which would prove that it had become + naturalized in the North. + + + + +IV + +THE NEIGHBOR UNDERGROUND + + +Once upon a time there was a peasant who lived in Telemarken, and had a +big farm; yet he had nothing but bad luck with his cattle, and at last +lost his house and holding. He had scarcely anything left, and with the +little he had, he bought a bit of land that lay off to one side, far +away from the city, in the wildwood and the wilderness. One day, as he +was passing through his farm-yard, he met a man. + +"Good-day, neighbor!" said the man. + +"Good-day," said the peasant, "I thought I was all alone here. Are you +a neighbor of mine?" + +"You can see my homestead over yonder," said the man. "It is not far +from your own." And there lay a farm-holding such as he had never before +seen, handsome and prosperous, and in fine condition. Then he knew very +well that this must be one of the underground people; yet he had no +fear, but invited his neighbor in to drink a glass with him, and the +neighbor seemed to enjoy it. + +"Listen," said the neighbor, "there is one thing you must do for me as +a favor." + +"First let me know what it is," said the peasant. + +"You must shift your cow-stable, because it is in my way," was the +answer he gave the peasant. + +"No, I'll not do that," said the peasant. "I put it up only this summer, +and the winter is coming on. What am I to do with my cattle then?" + +"Well, do as you choose; but if you do not tear it down, you will live +to regret it," said his neighbor. And with that he went his way. + +The peasant was surprised at this, and did not know what to do. It +seemed quite foolish to him to start in to tear down his stable when +the long winter night was approaching, and besides, he could not count +on help. + +One day as he was standing in his stable, he sank through the ground. +Down below, in the place to which he had come, everything was +unspeakably handsome. There was nothing which was not of gold or of +silver. Then the man who had called himself his neighbor came along, and +bade him sit down. After a time food was brought in on a silver platter, +and mead in a silver jug, and the neighbor invited him to draw up to +the table and eat. The peasant did not dare refuse, and sat down at +the table; but just as he was about to dip his spoon into the dish, +something fell down into his food from above, so that he lost his +appetite. "Yes, yes," said the man, "now you can see why we don't like +your stable. We can never eat in peace, for as soon as we sit down to a +meal, dirt and straw fall down, and no matter how hungry we may be, we +lose our appetites and cannot eat. But if you will do me the favor to +set up your stable elsewhere, you shall never go short of pasture nor +good crops, no matter how old you may grow to be. But if you won't, you +shall know naught but lean years all your life long." + +When the peasant heard that, he went right to work pulling down his +stable, to put it up again in another place. Yet he could not have +worked alone, for at night, when all slept, the building of the new +stable went forward just as it did by day, and well he knew his neighbor +was helping him. + +Nor did he regret it later, for he had enough of feed and corn, and his +cattle waxed fat. Once there was a year of scarcity, and feed was so +short that he was thinking of selling or slaughtering half his herd. But +one morning, when the milk-maid went into the stable, the dog was gone, +and with him all the cows and the calves. She began to cry and told the +peasant. But he thought to himself, that it was probably his neighbor's +doings, who had taken the cattle to pasture. And sure enough, so it was; +for toward spring, when the woods grew green, he saw the dog come along, +barking and leaping, by the edge of the forest, and after him followed +all the cows and calves, and the whole herd was so fat it was a pleasure +to look at it. + + + NOTE + + "The Neighbor Underground" (Idem, p. 149, from Halland, told + Asbjoernsen by a Hallander whom he met at Bjoernsjo, fishing) will + not surprise the reader who knows the Danish tale of the "Ale of + the Trolls." Now and again the underground folk and trolls show + themselves to be kind and grateful beings, when their wishes are + granted, and when they are not annoyed by obtrusive curiosity. + + + + +V + +THE SECRET CHURCH + + +Once the schoolmaster of Etnedal was staying in the mountains to fish. +He was very fond of reading, and so he always carried one book or +another along with him, with which he could lie down, and which he +read on holidays, or when the weather forced him to stay in the little +fishing-hut. One Sunday morning, as he was lying there reading, it +seemed as though he could hear church bells; sometimes they sounded +faintly, as though from a great distance; at other times the sound +was clear, as though carried by the wind. He listened long and with +surprise; and did not trust his ears--for he knew that it was impossible +to hear the bells of the parish church so far out among the hills--yet +suddenly they sounded quite clearly on his ear. So he laid aside his +book, stood up and went out. The sun was shining, the weather was fine, +and one group of churchgoers after another passed him in their Sunday +clothes, their hymn-books in their hands. A little further on in the +forest, where he had never before seen anything but trees and brush, +stood an old wooden church. After a time the priest came by, and he was +so old and decrepit that his wife and daughter led him. And when they +came to the spot where the schoolmaster was standing, they stopped and +invited him to come to church and hear mass. The schoolmaster thought +for a moment; but since it occurred to him that it might be amusing to +see how these people worshiped God, he said he would go along, if he did +not thereby suffer harm. No, no harm should come to him, said they, but +rather a blessing. In the church all went forward in a quiet and orderly +manner, there were neither dogs nor crying children to disturb the +service, and the singing was good--but he could not make out the words. +When the priest had been led to the pulpit he delivered what seemed to +the listening schoolmaster a really fine and edifying sermon--but one, +it appeared to him, of quite a peculiar trend of thought, which he was +not always able to follow. Nor did the "Our Father in heaven ..." sound +just right, and the "Deliver us from evil ..." he did not hear at all. +Nor was the name of Jesus uttered; and at the close no blessing was +spoken. + +When mass had been said, the schoolmaster was invited to the parsonage. +He gave the same answer he had already returned, that he would be glad +to go if he suffered no harm thereby. And as before, they assured him +he would not lose; but rather gain thereby. So he went with them to the +parsonage, just such an attractive and well-built parsonage like most in +the neighborhood. It had a garden with flowers and apple-trees, with a +neat lattice fence around it. They invited him to dinner, and the dinner +was well cooked and carefully prepared. As before, he said that he would +gladly accept their invitation, if he came to no harm thereby, and was +given the same reply. So he ate with them, and said later that he had +noticed no difference between this food and the Christian dinner he had +received when, once or twice, he had been asked to dinner by the priest +of the village church. When he had drunk his coffee, the wife and +daughter drew him aside into another room, and the wife complained that +her husband had grown so old and decrepit that he could not keep up much +longer. Then she began to say that the schoolmaster was such a strong +and able man, and finally, that she and her daughter would like to +have him for priest, and whether he would not stay and succeed the old +father. The schoolmaster objected that he was no scholar. But they +insisted that he had more learning than was needed in their case, for +they never had any visits from the bishop, nor did the dean ever hold a +chapter, for of all such things they knew nothing. When the schoolmaster +heard that, he said that even though he had the necessary scholarship, +he doubted very much that he had the right vocation, and since this was +a most important matter for him and for them, it would be unwise to act +too hurriedly, so he would ask for a year to think it over. When he had +said that, he found himself standing by a pond in the wood, and could +see neither church nor parsonage. So he thought the matter was at an +end. But a year later, just as the term he had set was up, he was +working on a house, for during the school vacation he busied himself +either with fishing or carpentering. He was just straddling a wall when +he saw the pastor's daughter, the one whom he had seen in the mountains, +coming straight toward him. She asked him if he had thought over the +matter. "Yes," said he, "I have thought it over, but I cannot; since I +cannot answer for it before God and my own conscience." That very moment +the pastor's daughter from underground vanished; but immediately after +he cut himself in the knee with the ax in such wise that he remained a +cripple for life. + + + NOTE + + "The Secret Church" (Asbjoernsen, _Huldreeventyr_, I, 217, from + Valders, told by a pastor), impresses one with its weirdness, + in contrast to the preceding tale of friendly neighborly + understanding with the underground folk. In Norway stories are + still told of these churches in the wilderness, and of the chiming + of their bells, which are supposed to be of evil omen to those who + hear them. The idea of the church of ice, in Ibsen's "Brand," may + have its root in such folk-tale. + + + + +VI + +THE COMRADE + + +Once upon a time there was a peasant boy, who dreamed that he would get +a princess, from far, far away, and that she was as white as milk, and +as red as blood, and so rich that her riches had no end. When he woke, +it seemed to him as though she were still standing before him, and she +was so beautiful and winning that he could not go on living without her. +So he sold all that he had, and went forth to look for her. He wandered +far, and at last, in the winter-time, came into a land where the roads +all ran in straight lines, and made no turns. After he had wandered +straight ahead for full three months, he came to a city. And there a +great block of ice lay before the church door, and in the middle of it +was a corpse, and the whole congregation spat at it as the people passed +by. This surprised the youth, and when the pastor came out of the +church, he asked him what it meant. "He was a great evil-doer," replied +the pastor, "who has been executed because of his misdeeds, and has been +exposed here in shame and derision." "But what did he do?" asked the +youth. + +"During his mortal life he was a wine-dealer," answered the pastor, +"and he watered the wine he sold." + +This did not strike the youth as being such a terrible crime. "Even if +he had to pay for it with his life," said he, "one might now grant him a +Christian burial, and let him rest in peace." But the pastor said that +this could not be done at all; for people would be needed to break him +out of the ice; and money would be needed to buy a grave for him from +the church; and the gravedigger would want to be paid for his trouble; +and the sexton for tolling the bells; and the cantor for singing; and +the pastor himself for the funeral sermon. + +"Do you think there is any one who would pay all that money for such an +arrant sinner's sake?" inquired the pastor. + +"Yes," said the youth. If he could manage to have him buried, he would +be willing to pay for the wake out of his own slender purse. + +At first the pastor would hear nothing of it; but when the youth +returned with two men, and asked him in their presence whether he +refused the dead man Christian burial, he ventured no further +objections. + +So they released the wine-dealer from his block of ice, and laid him in +consecrated ground. The bells tolled, and there was singing, and the +pastor threw earth on the coffin, and they had a wake at which tears and +laughter alternated. But when the youth had paid for the wake, he had +but a few shillings left in his pocket. Then he once more set out on +his way; but had not gone far before a man came up behind him, and +asked him whether he did not find it tiresome to wander along all alone. + +"No," said the youth, he always had something to think about. The man +asked whether he did not need a servant. + +"No," said the youth, "I am used to serving myself, so I have no need of +a servant; and no matter how much I might wish for one, I still would +have to do without, since I have no money for his keep and pay." + +"Yet you need a servant, as I know better than you do," said the man, +"and you need one upon whom you can rely in life and death. But if you +do not want me for a servant, then let me be your comrade. I promise +that you will not lose thereby, and I will not cost you a shilling. I +travel at my own expense, nor need you be put to trouble as regards my +food and clothing." + +Under these circumstances the youth was glad to have him for a comrade, +and they resumed their journey, the man as a rule going in advance and +pointing out the way. + +After they had wandered long through various lands, over hills and over +heaths, they suddenly stood before a wall of rock. The comrade knocked, +and begged to be let in. Then the rock opened before them, and after +they had gone quite a way into the interior of the hill, a witch came to +meet them and offered them a chair. "Be so good as to sit down, for you +must be weary!" said she. + +"Sit down yourself!" answered the man. Then she had to sit down and +remain seated, for the chair had power to hold fast all that approached +it. In the meantime they wandered about in the hill, and the comrade +kept looking around until he saw a sword that hung above the door. This +he wanted to have, and he promised the witch that he would release her +from her chair if she would let him have the sword. + +"No," she cried, "ask what you will. You can have anything else, but not +that, for that is my Three-Sisters Sword!" (There were three sisters to +whom the sword belonged in common.) "Then you may sit where you are till +the world's end!" said the man. And when she heard that she promised to +let him have the sword, if he would release her. + +So he took the sword, and went away with it; but he left her sitting +there, after all. When they had wandered far, over stony wastes and +desolate heaths, they again came to a wall of rock. There the comrade +again knocked, and begged to be let in. Just as before, the rock opened, +and when they had gone far into the hill, a witch came to meet them with +a chair and bade them be seated, "for you must be tired," said she. + +"Sit down yourself!" said the comrade. And what had happened to her +sister happened to her, she had to seat herself, and could not get up +again. In the meantime the youth and his comrade went about in the hill, +and the latter opened all the closets and drawers, until he found what +he had been searching for, a ball of golden twine. This he wished to +have, and promised he would release her from the chair if she would give +it to him. She told him he might have all she possessed; but that she +could not give him the ball, since it was her Three-Sisters Ball. But +when she heard that she would have to sit in the chair till the Day of +Judgment, she changed her mind. Then the comrade took the ball, and in +spite of it left her sitting where she was. Then they wandered for many +a day through wood and heath, until they came to a wall of rock. All +happened as it had twice before, the comrade knocked, the hill opened, +and inside a witch came to meet them with a chair, and bade them sit +down. The two had gone through many rooms before the comrade spied an +old hat hanging on a hook behind the door. The hat he must have, but the +old witch would not part with it, since it was her Three-Sisters Hat, +and if she gave it away she would be thoroughly unhappy. But when she +heard that she would have to sit there until the Day of Judgment if she +did not give up the hat, she at last agreed to do so. The comrade took +the hat, and then told her to keep on sitting where she sat, like her +sisters. + +At length they came to a river. There the comrade took the ball of +golden twine and flung it against the hill on the other side of the +river with such force that it bounded back. And when it had flown back +and forth several times, there stood a bridge, and when they had reached +the other side, the comrade told the youth to wind up the golden twine +again as swiftly as possible, "for if we do not take it away quickly, +the three witches will cross and tear us to pieces." The youth wound as +quickly as he could, and just as he was at the last thread, the witches +rushed up, hissing, flung themselves into the water so that the foam +splashed high, and snatched at the end of the thread. But they could not +grasp it, and drowned in the river. + +After they had again wandered on for a few days, the comrade said: "Now +we will soon reach the castle in which she lives, the princess of whom +you dreamed, and when we reach it, you must go to the castle and tell +the king what you dreamed, and your journey's aim." When they got there, +the youth did as he was told, and was very well received. He was given a +room for himself, and one for his servant, and when it was time to eat, +he was invited to the king's own table. When he saw the princess, he +recognized her at once as the vision of his dream. He told her, too, why +he was there, and she replied that she liked him quite well, and would +gladly take him, but first he must undergo three tests. When they had +eaten, she gave him a pair of gold shears and said: "The first test +is that you take these shears and keep them, and give them back to me +to-morrow noon. That is not a very severe test," she said, and smiled, +"but, if you cannot stand it, you must die, as the law demands, and you +will be in the same case as the suitors whose bones you may see lying +without the castle gate." + +"That is no great feat," thought the youth to himself. But the princess +was so merry and active, and so full of fun and nonsense, that he +thought neither of the shears nor of himself, and while they were +laughing and joking, she secretly robbed him of the shears without his +noticing it. When he came to his room in the evening, and told what had +occurred, and what the princess had said to him, and about the shears +which she had given him to guard, his comrade asked: "And have you still +the shears?" + +The youth looked through all his pockets; but his shears were not there, +and he was more than unhappy when he realized that he had lost them. + +"Well, well, never mind. I will see whether I can get them back for +you," said his comrade, and went down into the stable. There stood an +enormous goat which belonged to the princess, and could fly through the +air more swiftly than he could walk on level ground. The comrade took +the Three-Sisters Sword, gave him a blow between the horns, and asked: +"At what time does the princess ride to meet her lover to-night?" The +goat bleated, and said he did not dare tell; but when the comrade had +given him another thump, he did say that the princess would come at +eleven o'clock sharp. Then the comrade put on the Three-Sisters Hat, +which made him invisible, and waited for the princess. When she came, +she anointed the goat with a salve she carried in a great horn, and +cried out: "Up, up! over gable and roof, over land and sea, over hill +and dale, to my dearest, who waits for me in the hill!" + +As the goat flew upward, the comrade swung himself up in back, and +then they were off like the wind through the clouds: it was not a long +journey. Suddenly they stood before a wall of rock, she knocked, and +then they took their way into the interior of the hill, to the troll who +was her dearest. "And now a new suitor has come who wants to win me, +sweetheart," said she. "He is young and handsome, but I will have none +but you," she went on, and made a great time over the troll. "I have set +him a test, and here are the shears that he was to keep and guard. You +shall keep them now!" Then both of them laughed as though the youth had +already lost his head. "Yes, I will keep them, and take good care of +them, and a kiss from you shall pledge the truth, when crows are cawing +around the youth!" said the troll; and he laid the shears in an iron +chest with three locks. But at the moment he was dropping the shears +into the chest, the comrade caught them up. None could see him, for he +was wearing the Three-Sisters Hat. So the troll carefully locked the +empty chest, and put the key into a hollow double-tooth, where he kept +other magic things. "The suitor could hardly find it there," said he. + +After midnight the princess set out for home. The comrade swung himself +up in back again, and the trip home did not take long. + +The following noon the youth was invited to dine at the king's table. +But this time the princess kept her nose in the air, and was so haughty +and snappish that she hardly condescended to glance in the youth's +direction. But after they had eaten, she looked very solemn, and asked +in the sweetest manner: "You probably still have the shears I gave you +to take care of yesterday?" + +"Yes, here they are," said the youth; and he flung them on the table so +that they rang. The princess could not have been more frightened had he +thrown the shears in her face. But she tried to make the best of a bad +bargain, and said in a sweet voice: "Since you have taken such good care +of the shears, you will not find it hard to keep my ball of gold twine +for me. I should like to have it back by to-morrow noon; but if you +cannot give it to me then, you must die, according to the law." The +youth thought it would not be so very hard, and put the ball of gold +twine in his pocket. Yet the princess once more began to toy and joke +with him, so that he thought neither of himself nor of the ball of gold +twine, and while they were in the midst of their merry play she stole +the golden ball from him, and then dismissed him. + +When he came up into his room, and told what she had said and done, his +comrade asked: "And have you still the ball of gold twine?" + +"Yes, indeed," said the youth, and thrust his hand into the pocket in +which he had placed it. But there was no ball in it, and he fell into +such despair that he did not know what to do. + +"Do not worry," said his comrade. "I will see whether I cannot get it +back for you." He took his sword and his hat, and went to a smith and +had him weld twelve extra pounds of iron to his sword. Then, when he +entered the stable, he gave the goat such a blow between the horns with +it that he staggered, and asked: "At what time does the princess ride to +her dearest to-night?" + +"At twelve o'clock sharp," said the goat. + +The comrade once more put on his Three-Sisters Hat, and waited until the +princess came with the horn of ointment and anointed the goat. Then she +repeated what she had already said: "Up, up! over gable and tower, over +land and sea, over hill and dale, to my dearest who waits for me in the +hill!" And when the goat arose, the comrade swung himself up in back, +and off they were like lightning through the air. Soon they had reached +the troll-hill, and when she had knocked thrice they passed through the +interior of the hill till they met the troll who was her dearest. + +"What manner of care did you take of the golden shears I gave you +yesterday, my friend?" asked the princess. "The suitor had them, and he +gave them back to me." + +That was quite impossible, said the troll, for he had locked them up in +a chest with three locks, and had thrust the key into his hollow tooth. +But when they had unlocked the chest and looked, there were no shears +there. Then the princess told him that she had now given him her ball of +golden twine. + +"Here it is," said she. "I took it away from him again without his +having noticed it; but what are we to do if he is a master of such +arts?" + +The troll could not think of anything to suggest; but after they had +reflected a while they hit on the idea of lighting a great fire, and +burning the ball of gold twine, for then the suitor could surely not +regain it. Yet when she threw it into the flames, the comrade leaped +forward and caught it, without being seen, for he was wearing the +Three-Sisters Hat. After the princess had stayed a little while she +returned home, and again the comrade sat up behind, and the trip home +was swiftly and safely made. When the youth was asked to the king's +table, the comrade gave him the ball. The princess was still more sharp +and disdainful in her remarks than before, and after they had eaten she +pinched her lips, and said: "Would it not be possible for me to get my +ball of gold twine again, which I gave you yesterday?" + +"Yes," said the youth, "you can have it; there it is!" and he flung it +on the table with such a thud that the king leaped up in the air with +fright. + +The princess grew as pale as a corpse; but she made the best of a bad +bargain, and said that he had done well. Now there was only one more +little test for him to undergo. "If you can bring me what I am thinking +about by to-morrow noon, then you may have me and keep me." + +The youth felt as though he had been condemned to death; for it seemed +altogether impossible for him to know of what the princess was thinking, +and still more impossible to bring her the thing in question. And when +he came to his room his comrade could scarcely quiet him. He said he +would take the matter in hand, as he had done on the other occasions, +and at last the youth grew calmer, and lay down to sleep. In the +meantime the comrade went to the smith, and had him weld an additional +twenty-four pounds of iron on his sword. When this had been done, he +went to the stable, and gave the goat such a smashing blow between the +horns that he flew to the other side of the wall. + +"At what time does the princess ride to her dearest to-night?" said he. + +"At one o'clock sharp," bleated the goat. + +When the time came, the comrade was standing in the stable, wearing his +Three-Sisters Hat, and after the princess had anointed the goat and +spoken her formula, off they went through the air as before, with the +comrade sitting in back. But this time he was anything but gentle, and +kept giving the princess a cuff here, and a cuff there, until she had +received a terrible drubbing. When she reached the wall of rock, she +knocked three times, the hill opened, and they flew through it to her +dearest. + +She complained bitterly to him, and said she would never have thought it +possible that the weather could affect one so; it had seemed to her as +though some one were flying along with them, beating her and the goat, +and her whole body must be covered with black and blue spots, so badly +had she been thrashed. And then she told how the suitor had again had +the ball of twine. How he had managed to get it, neither she nor the +troll could guess. + +"But do you know the thought that came to me?" said she. Of course the +troll did not. + +"Well," said she, "I have told him he is to bring me the thing I am +thinking of by to-morrow noon, and that thing is your head. Do you +think, dear friend, that he will be able to bring it to me?" and she +made a great time over the troll. + +"I do not think he can," said the troll, who felt quite sure of himself, +and laughed and chortled with pleasure in the most malicious way. For he +and the princess were firmly convinced that the youth would be more apt +to lose his own head, and be left to the ravens, than that he would be +able to bring the princess the head of the troll. + +Toward morning the princess wanted to fly home again, but she did not +venture to ride alone; the troll must accompany her. He was quite ready +to do so, took his goat from the stable--he had one just like that of +the princess--and anointed him between the horns. When the troll had +mounted, the comrade swung up in back of him, and off they were through +the air in the direction of the king's castle. But on the way the +comrade beat away lustily at the troll and his goat, and gave him thump +after thump, and blow after blow with his sword, until they were flying +lower and lower, and at last nearly fell into the sea across which their +journey led them. When the troll noticed how stormy the weather was, he +accompanied the princess to the castle, and waited outside to make sure +that she really came home safely. But the moment when the door closed on +the princess, the comrade hewed off his head, and went up with it to +the youth's room. + +"Here is the thing of which the princess was thinking," said he. Then +everything was in apple-pie order, and when the youth was invited to the +king's table and they had eaten, the princess grew as merry as a lark. +"Have you, perhaps, the thing of which I was thinking?" "To be sure," +said the youth, and he drew forth the head from beneath his coat, and +flung it on the table so that the table and all that was on it fell +over. The princess looked as though she had come from the grave; yet she +could not deny that this was the thing of which she had thought, and +now she had to take the youth, as she had promised. So the wedding was +celebrated, and there was great joy throughout the kingdom. + +But the comrade took the youth aside, and said that on their +wedding-night he might close his eyes and pretend to sleep, but that, +if he loved his life, and followed his advice, he would not sleep a +wink until the princess was freed from her troll-skin. He must whip it +off with nine new switches of birch-wood, and strip it off with three +milk-baths beside; first he must scrub it off in a tub of year-old whey, +then he must rub it off in a tub of sour milk, and finally, he must +sponge it off in a tub of sweet milk. He had laid the birch switches +beneath the bed, and had stood the tubs of milk in the corner; all was +prepared. The youth promised to follow his advice, and do as he had +told him. When night came, and he lay in his bed, the princess raised +herself on her elbows, to see if he were really asleep, and she tickled +him under the nose; but he was sleeping quite soundly. Then she pulled +his hair and his beard. But it seemed to her that he slept like a log. +Then she drew a great butcher's knife out from beneath her pillow, and +wanted to cut off his head. But the youth leaped up, struck the knife +from her hand, seized her by the hair, whipped her with the switches, +and did not stop until not one was left. Thereupon he threw her into the +tub of whey, and then he saw what sort of creature she really was, for +her whole body was coal-black. But when he had scrubbed her in the whey, +and rubbed her in the sour milk, and sponged her in the sweet milk, the +troll-skin had altogether disappeared, and she was lovelier than she had +ever been before. + +On the following day the comrade said that now they must get on their +way. The youth was ready to set forth, and the princess, too, for her +dower had long since been made ready. During the night the comrade had +brought all the gold and silver, and all the valuables which the troll +had left in the hill to the castle, and when they wanted to start in +the morning, the castle court-yard was so full they could scarcely get +through. The dower supplied by the troll was worth more than the king's +whole country, and they did not know how they were to take it home. But +the comrade found a way out of the difficulty. The troll had also left +six goats who could fly through the air. These he loaded so heavily +with gold and silver that they had to walk on the ground, and were not +strong enough to rise into the air; and what the goats could not carry, +had to be left at the castle. Thus they traveled for a long time, but at +last the goats grew so weary and wretched that they could go no further. +The youth and the princess did not know what to do; but when the comrade +saw that they could not move from the spot, he took the whole treasure +on his back, topped it with the goats, and carried it all until they +were no more than half a mile from the youth's home. Then the comrade +said: "Now I must part from you, for I can stay with you no longer." But +the youth would not hear of parting, and would not let him go at any +price. + +So he went along another half mile, but further than that he could not +go, and when the youth pressed him, and insisted that he come home with +him, and stay there; or that he at least celebrate their home-coming, +he merely said no, he could not do so. Then the youth asked him what he +wished in the way of payment for his company and aid. "If I am to wish +for something, then I would like to have half of all that you may gain +in the course of the next five years," said his comrade. And this was +promised him. + +Now when the comrade had gone, the youth hid all his treasure, and went +straight home. And there they celebrated a home-coming feast that was +talked about in seven kingdoms; and when that was over they spent the +whole winter going back and forth with the goats, and his father's +twelve horses, bringing all the gold and silver home. + +After five years the comrade came again and asked for his share. Then +the man divided all his possessions into two equal parts. + +"Yet there is one thing you have not divided," said the comrade. + +"What could that be?" asked the man. "I thought I had divided +everything." + +"You have been blessed with a child," said the comrade, "and that you +must also divide into two equal parts." + +Yes, such was really the case. Then he took up his sword, but when he +raised it and was about to divide the child, his comrade seized the +point of the sword so that he could not strike. + +"Are you not happy, since you need not strike?" said he. + +"Yes, indeed, I never was happier," said the man. + +"That is how happy I was when you delivered me out of the block of +ice," said the comrade. "Keep all you have: I need nothing, for I am a +disembodied spirit." And he told him he was the wine-dealer who had lain +in the block of ice before the church door, spat upon by all; and that +he had become his comrade, and had aided him, because the youth had +sacrificed all he had in order that he might have peace, and a burial in +consecrated ground. He had been permitted to accompany him for the space +of a year, and the time had run out when he had first parted with him. +Now he had once more been allowed to visit him; yet on this occasion he +would have to part for all time, for the bells of heaven were calling +him. + + + NOTE + + In no event originally Norse, but thousands of years old, current + in many lands, and even recounted in the book of Tobias--though in + other words--is the story of the grateful dead man, "The Comrade." + (Asbjoernsen, N.F.E., No. 100, p. 201. From Aadal, together with + variants from Valders and Aamot.) + + + + +VII + +ASPENCLOG + + +Aspenclog's mother was an aspen-tree. He slew the man who had chopped +her down. Then he went to the king and asked whether he could give him +work. He wanted no other pay than the right to give the king three good +thumps on the back when there was no more work for him to do. The king +agreed to this condition, for he thought he would always have enough +work for him to do. Then he sent him to the forest to gather wood. But +Aspenclog piled up such a tremendous load that two horses could not pull +the wagon. So he took two polar bears, harnessed them to the wagon, +drove it home, and left the bears in the stable, where they ate up all +the king's cattle. + +Then he was told to keep a mill grinding which the evil one often +brought to a stop. No sooner had Aspenclog commenced to grind than, sure +enough, the mill stopped. Aspenclog took a candle and made a search. No +doubt of it, the evil one had wedged his leg between the mill-stones. No +sooner had Aspenclog seen the leg, than he chopped it off with his club. +Then the evil one came hobbling up on one leg, and begged fearfully and +tearfully for the leg he had lost. No, he could not have it, said the +youth, unless he gave him a bushel of money for it. But when the evil +one had to pay Aspenclog the money, he thought to cheat him, and said +that they would wager bushel against bushel, as to which of them could +throw the highest. They argued a while about which was to throw first. +At last Aspenclog had to begin. Now the evil one had a ball with which +they were to throw. Aspenclog stood a long time looking at the moon. +"Why do you do that?" asked the evil one. "Well, I would like to see +whether I cannot throw the ball into the moon," said Aspenclog. "Do you +see those black spots? Those are the balls I have already thrown up into +the moon." Then the evil one was afraid of losing his ball, and he did +not dare to let Aspenclog throw. + +So they wagered bushel against bushel as to which one of them could +blow the highest note. "You may blow first," said Aspenclog. "No, you!" +Finally it was decided that Aspenclog should blow first. Then he went to +a hill, took an enormous fir-tree and wound it around his horn like a +reed. "Why do you do that?" asked the evil one. "Well, if I don't, the +horn will burst when I blow it," was Aspenclog's answer. Now the evil +one began to get frightened, and Aspenclog came home with half a ton of +money. + +But soon the king had no corn left to grind. And war broke out in the +land. "Now he will have work enough to last him a lifetime," thought the +king. And he told Aspenclog to go out against the enemy. Aspenclog was +quite ready to do so; but wanted to have plenty of provisions to take +with him. Then he set forth, and when he saw the enemy he sat down to +eat. The enemy shot at him as hard as they could, but their bullets did +not touch him. When Aspenclog had satisfied his hunger, he stood up, +tore out an enormous oak by the roots, and lay about him with it. Before +very long he had hewn down all of the enemy. Then he went back home to +the king. + +"Have you any more work for me?" he asked. "No, now I have no work +left," said the king. "Then I will give you three good thumps on the +back," said Aspenclog. The king begged permission to bolster himself up +with pillows. "Yes, take as many as you want," said Aspenclog. Then he +thumped, and at his first thump the king burst into pieces. + + + NOTE + + "Aspenclog" (Kristoffer Janson, _Folkeeventyr, uppskrivene i + Sandeherad_, Christiania, 1878, No. 8, p. 29) is a giant related + to Murmur Goose-Egg, of whom we have still to hear. The laconic + account of his origin is one of the beliefs of primitive peoples: + that the first human beings were descended from trees, and the + _Voluspa_ even calls the first two human beings Aspen and Elm (Ask + and Embla). Aspenclog is one of these mysterious tree-people. + + + + +VIII + +THE TROLL WEDDING + + +One summer, a long, long time ago, the folk of Melbustad went up to the +hill pastures with their herd. But they had been there only a short time +when the cattle began to grow so restless that it was impossible to keep +them in order. A number of different maidens tried to manage them, but +without avail; until one came who was betrothed, and whose betrothal had +but recently been celebrated. Then the cattle suddenly quieted down, and +were easy to handle. So the maiden remained alone in the hills with no +other company than a dog. And one afternoon as she sat in the hut, it +seemed to her that her sweetheart came, sat down beside her, and began +to talk about their getting married at once. But she sat still and made +no reply, for she noticed a strangeness about him. By and by, more and +more people came in, and they began to cover the table with silverware, +and bring on dishes, and the bridesmaids brought the bridal crown, and +the ornaments, and a handsome bridal gown, and they dressed her, and put +the crown on her head, as was the custom in those days, and they put +rings on her hands. + +And it seemed to her as though she knew all the people who were there; +they were the women of the village, and the girls of her own age. But +the dog was well aware that there was something uncanny about it all. +He made his way down to Melbustad in flying leaps, and howled and barked +in the most lamentable manner, and gave the people no rest until they +followed him. The young fellow who was to marry the girl took his gun, +and climbed the hills; and when he drew near, there stood a number of +horses around the hut, saddled and bridled. He crept up to the hut, +looked through a loop-hole in the wall, and saw a whole company sitting +together inside. It was quite evident that they were trolls, the people +from underground, and therefore he discharged his gun over the roof. At +that moment the doors flew open, and a number of balls of gray yarn, one +larger than the other, came shooting out about his legs. When he went +in, there sat the maiden in her bridal finery, and nothing was missing +but the ring on her little finger, then all would have been complete. + +"In heaven's name, what has happened here?" he asked, as he looked +around. All the silverware was still on the table, but all the tasty +dishes had turned to moss and toadstools, and frogs and toads and the +like. + +"What does it all mean?" said he. "You are sitting here in all your +glory, just like a bride?" + +"How can you ask me?" answered the maiden. "You have been sitting here +yourself, and talking about our wedding the whole afternoon!" + +"No, I have just come," said he. "It must have been some one else who +had taken my shape!" + +Then she gradually came to her senses; but not until long afterward was +she altogether herself, and she told how she had firmly believed that +her sweetheart himself, and all their friends and relatives had been +there. He took her straight back to the village with him, and so that +they need fear no such deviltry in the future, they celebrated their +wedding while she was still clad in the bridal outfit of the underground +folk. The crown and all the ornaments were hung up in Melbustad and it +is said that they hang there to this very day. + + + NOTE + + Black jugglery and deception are practiced upon the poor + dairy-maid in "The Troll Wedding" (Asbjoernsen, _Huldreeventyr_, I, + p. 50. From Hadeland, told by a _Signekjarring_, a kind of wise + woman or herb doctress). Characteristic is the belief that troll + magic and witchery may be nullified if a gun be fired over the + place where it is supposed to be taking place. Then all reverts to + its original form. Curious, also, is the belief that trolls like + to turn into skeins of yarn when disturbed, and then roll swiftly + away. + + + + +IX + +THE HAT OF THE _HULDRES_ + + +Once upon a time there was a big wedding at a certain farmstead, and a +certain cottager was on his way to the wedding-feast. As he chanced to +cross a field, he found a milk-strainer, such as are usually made of +cows' tails, and looking just like an old brown rag. He picked it up, +for he thought it could be washed, and then he would give it to his +wife for a dish-rag. But when he came to the house where they were +celebrating the wedding, it seemed as though no one saw him. The bride +and groom nodded to the rest of the guests, they spoke to them and +poured for them; but he got neither greeting nor drink. Then the chief +cook came and asked the other folk to sit down to the table; but he was +not asked, nor did he get anything to eat. For he did not care to sit +down of his own accord when no one had asked him. At last he grew angry +and thought: "I might as well go home, for not a soul pays a bit of +attention to me here." When he reached home, he said: "Good evening, +here I am back again." + +"For heaven's sake, are you back again?" asked his wife. + +"Yes, there was no one there who paid any attention to me, or even so +much as looked at me," said the man, "and when people show me so little +consideration, it seems as though I have nothing to look for there." + +"But where are you? I can hear you, but I cannot see you!" cried his +wife. + +The man was invisible, for what he had found was a _huldre_ hat. + +"What are you talking about? Can't you see me? Have you lost your wits?" +asked the man. "There is an old hair strainer for you. I found it +outside on the ground," said he, and he threw it on the bench. And +then his wife saw him; but at the same moment the hat of the _huldres_ +disappeared, for he should only have loaned it, not given it away. +Now the man saw how everything had come about, and went back to the +wedding-feast. And this time he was received in right friendly fashion, +and was asked to drink, and to seat himself at the table. + + + NOTE + + A favorite jewel among the treasures of the underground world + plays the leading part of the tale: "The Hat of the _Huldres_" + (Asbjoernsen, _Huldreeventyr_, I, p. 157; from the vicinity of + Eidsvold, told by an old peasant woman). Often appearing in + legend proper as the tarn-cap, it here finds a more humble place + in everyday life, neither ennobled by legendary dignity, nor + diversified by the rich incident of fairy-tale. The entertaining + picture here afforded of its powers shows them all the more + clearly. + + + + +X + +THE CHILD OF MARY + + +Far, far from here, in a great forest, there once lived a poor couple. +Heaven blessed them with a charming little daughter; but they were so +poor they did not know how they were going to get her christened. So her +father had to go forth to see whether he could not find a god-father +to pay for the child's christening. All day long he went from one to +another; but no one wanted to be the god-father. Toward evening, as he +was going home, he met a very lovely lady, who wore the most splendid +clothes, and seemed most kind and friendly, and she offered to see that +the child was christened, if she might be allowed to keep it afterward. +The man replied that first he must ask his wife. But when he reached +home and asked her she gave him a flat "no." The following day the man +set out again; but no one wanted to be the god-father if he had to pay +for the christening himself, and no matter how hard the man begged, it +was all of no avail. When he went home that evening, he again met the +lovely lady, who looked so gentle, and she made him the same offer as +before. The man again told his wife what had happened to him, and added +that if he could not find a god-father for his child the following day, +they would probably have to let the lady take her, since she seemed to +be so kind and friendly. The man then went out for the third time, and +found no god-father that day. And so, when he once more met the friendly +lady in the evening, he promised to let her have the child, if she would +see that it was baptized. The following morning the lady came to the +man's hut, and with her two other men. She then took the child and went +to church with it, and it was baptized. Then she took it with her, +and the little girl remained with her for several years, and her +foster-mother was always good and kind to her. + +Now when the girl had grown old enough to make distinctions, and had +acquired some sense, it chanced that her foster-mother once wished to +take a journey. "You may go into any room you wish," she said to the +girl, "only you are not to go into these three rooms," and then she set +out on her journey. But the girl could not resist opening the door +to the one room a little way--and swish! out flew a star. When her +foster-mother came home, she was much grieved to find that the star had +flown out, and was so annoyed with her foster-child that she threatened +to send her away. But the girl pleaded and cried, until at last she was +allowed to remain. + +After a time the foster-mother wanted to take another journey, and she +forbade the girl, above all, to go into the two rooms which, as yet, she +had not entered. And the girl promised her that this time she would obey +her. But when she had been alone for some time, and had had all sorts +of thoughts as to what there might be in the second room, she could no +longer resist opening the second door a little way--and swish! out flew +the moon. When the foster-mother returned, and saw the moon had slipped +out, she again grieved greatly, and told the girl she could keep her no +longer, and that now she must go. But when the girl again began to cry +bitterly, and pleaded with such grace that it was impossible to deny +her, she was once more allowed to remain. + +After this the foster-mother wished to take another journey, and she +told the girl, who was now more than half-grown, that she must take +her request not to go, or even so much as peep into the third room, +seriously to heart. But when the foster-mother had been away for some +time, and the girl was all alone and bored, she could at last resist no +longer. "O," thought she, "how pleasant it would be to take a peep into +that third room!" It is true, that at first she thought she would not do +it, because of her foster-mother; yet when the thought returned to her, +she could not hold back, after all; but decided that she should and +must by all means take a peep. So she opened the door the least little +bit--and swish! out flew the sun. When the foster-mother then returned, +and saw that the sun had flown out, she grieved greatly, and told +the girl that now she could positively stay with her no longer. The +foster-daughter cried and pleaded even more touchingly than before; but +all to no avail. "No, I must now punish you," said the foster-mother. +"But you shall have your choice of either becoming the most beautiful +of all maidens, without the power of speech, or the most homely, yet +able to talk. But you must leave this place." The girl said: "Then I +would rather be the most beautiful of maidens without the power of +speech"--and such she became, but from that time on she was dumb. + +Now when the girl had left her foster-mother, and had wandered for a +time, she came to a large, large wood, and no matter how far she went +she could not reach its end. When evening came, she climbed into a high +tree that stood over a spring, and sat down in its branches to sleep. +Not far from it stood a king's castle, and early the next morning a +serving-maid came from it, to get water from the spring for the prince's +tea. And when the serving-maid saw the lovely face in the spring, she +thought it was her own. At once she threw down her pail and ran back +home holding her head high, and saying: "If I am as beautiful as all +that, I am too good to carry water in a pail!" Then another was sent to +fetch water, but the same thing happened with her; she, too, came back +and said she was far too handsome and too good to go to the spring and +fetch water for the prince. Then the prince went himself, for he wanted +to see what it all meant. And when he came to the spring, he also saw +the picture, and at once looked up into the tree. And so he saw the +lovely maiden who was seated among its branches. He coaxed her down, +took her back home with him, and nothing would do but that she must be +his bride, because she was so beautiful. But his mother, who was still +living, objected: "She cannot speak," said she, "and, maybe, she +belongs to the troll-folk." But the prince would not be satisfied until +he had won her. When, after a time, heaven bestowed a child upon the +queen, the prince set a strong guard about her. But suddenly they all +fell asleep, and her foster-mother came, cut the child's little finger, +rubbed some of the blood over the mouth and hands of the queen, and +said: "Now you shall grieve just as I did when you let the star slip +out!" And with that she disappeared with the child. When those whom the +prince had set to keep guard opened their eyes again, they thought that +the queen had devoured her child, and the old queen wanted to have her +burned; but the prince loved her so very tenderly, that after much +pleading he succeeded in having her saved from punishment, though only +with the greatest difficulty. + + [Illustration: "AND SO HE SAW THE LOVELY MAIDEN WHO WAS SEATED AMONG + ITS BRANCHES." + --_Page 59_] + +When heaven gave her a second child, a guard of twice as many men as had +first stood watch was again set about her; yet everything happened as +before, only that this time the foster-mother said to her: "Now you +shall grieve as I did when you let the moon slip out!" The queen wept +and pleaded--for when the foster-mother was there she could speak--but +without avail. Now the old queen insisted that she be burned. But the +prince once more succeeded in begging her free. When heaven gave her a +third child, a three-fold guard was set about her. The foster-mother +came while the guard slept, took the child, cut its little finger, and +rubbed some of the blood on the queen's mouth. "Now," said she, "you +shall grieve just as I did when you let the sun slip out!" And now the +prince could in no way save her, she was to be and should be burned. +But at the very moment when they were leading her to the stake, the +foster-mother appeared with all three children; the two older ones she +led by the hand, the youngest she carried on her arm. She stepped up to +the young queen and said: "Here are your children, for now I give them +back to you. I am the Virgin Mary, and the grief that you have felt is +the same grief that I felt aforetimes, when you had let the star, the +moon and the sun slip out. Now you have been punished for that which you +did, and from now on the power of speech is restored to you!" + +The happiness which then filled the prince and princess may be imagined, +but cannot be described. They lived happily together ever after, and +from that time forward even the prince's mother was very fond of the +young queen. + + + NOTE + + "The Child of Mary" (Asbjoernsen, and Moe, N.F.E., p. 34, No. 8, + taken from the Bresemann translation [1847]), is a pious + fairy-tale, which is also current in Germany; a good fairy often + takes the place of the Virgin Mary. + + + + +XI + +STORM MAGIC + + +The cabin-boy had been traveling around all summer long with his +captain; but when they began to prepare to set sail in the fall, he grew +restless and did not want to go along. The captain liked him, for though +he was no more than a boy, he was quite at home on deck, was a big, tall +lad, and did not mind lending a hand when need arose; then, too, he did +as much work as an able seaman, and was so full of fun that he kept the +whole crew in good humor. And so the captain did not like to lose him. +But the youth said out and out that he was not minded to take to the +blue pond in the fall; though he was willing to stay on board till +the ship was loaded and ready to sail. One Sunday, while the crew was +ashore, and the captain had gone to a farm-holding near the forest, in +order to bargain for small timber and log wood--presumably on his own +account--for a deck load, the youth had been left to guard the ship. +But you must know that he was a Sunday child, and had found a four-leaf +clover; and that was the reason he had the second sight. He could see +those who are invisible, but they could not see him. + +And as he was sitting there in the forward cabin, he heard voices +within the ship. He peered through a crack, and there were three +coal-black crows sitting inside the deck-beams, and they were talking +about their husbands. All three were tired of them, and were planning +their death. One could see at once that they were witches, who had +assumed another form. + +"But is it certain that there is no one here who can overhear us?" said +one of the crows. And by the way she spoke the cabin-boy knew her for +the captain's wife. + +"No, you can see there's not," said the others, the wives of the first +and second quartermasters. "There is not a soul aboard." + +"Well, then I do not mind saying that I know of a good way to get rid of +them," said the captain's wife once more, and hopped closer to the two +others. "We will turn ourselves into breakers, wash them into the sea, +and sink the ship with every man on board." + +That pleased the others, and they sat there a long time discussing the +day and the fairway. "But is it certain that no one can overhear us?" +once more asked the captain's wife. + +"You know that such is the case," said the two others. + +"Well, there is a counter-spell for what we wish to do, and if it is +used, it will go hard with us, for it will cost us nothing less than our +lives!" + +"What is the counter-spell, sister," asked the wife of the one +quartermaster. + +"Is it certain that no one is listening to us? It seemed to me as though +some one were smoking in the forward cabin." + +"But you know we looked in every corner. They just forgot to let the +fire go out in the caboose, and that is why there's smoke," said the +quartermaster's wife, "so tell away." + +"If they buy three cords of birch-wood," said the witch,--"but it must +be full measure, and they must not bargain for it--and throw the first +cord into the water, billet by billet, when the first breaker strikes, +and the second cord, billet by billet, when the second breaker strikes, +and the third cord, billet by billet, when the third breaker strikes, +then it is all up with us!" + +"Yes, that's true, sister, then it is all up with us! Then it is all up +with us!" said the wives of the quartermasters; "but there is no one who +knows it," they cried, and laughed loudly, and with that they flew out +of the hatchway, screaming and croaking like ravens. + +When it came time to sail, the cabin-boy would not go along for anything +in the world; and all the captain's coaxing, and all his promises were +useless, nothing would tempt him to go. At last they asked him whether +he were afraid, because fall was at hand, and said he would rather hide +behind the stove, hanging to mother's apron strings. No, said the youth, +he was not afraid, and they could not say that they had ever seen him +show a sign of so land-lubberly a thing as fear; and he was willing to +prove it to them, for now he was going along with them, but he made +it a condition that three cords of birch-wood were to be bought, full +measure, and that on a certain day he was to have command, just as +though he himself were the captain. The captain asked what sort of +nonsense this might be, and whether he had ever heard of a cabin-boy's +being entrusted with the command of a ship. But the boy answered that +was all one to him; if they did not care to buy the three cords of +birch-wood, and obey him, as though he were captain, for the space of a +single day--the captain and crew should know which day it was to be in +advance--then he would set foot on the ship no more, and far less would +he ever dirty his hands with pitch and tar on her again. The whole thing +seemed strange to the captain, yet he finally gave in, because he wanted +to have the boy along with him and, no doubt, he also thought that +he would come to his senses again when they were once under way. The +quartermaster was of the same opinion. "Just let him command all he +likes, and if things go wrong with him, we'll help him out," said he. So +the birch-wood was bought, full-measure and without haggling, and they +set sail. + +When the day came on which the cabin-boy was to take command, the +weather was fair and quiet; but he drummed up the whole ship's crew, and +with the exception of a tiny bit of canvas, had all sails reefed. The +captain and crew laughed at him, and said: "That shows the sort of a +captain we have now. Don't you want us to reef that last bit of sail +this very minute?" "Not yet," answered the cabin-boy, "but before long." + +Suddenly a squall struck them, struck them so heavily that they thought +they would capsize, and had they not reefed the sails they would +undoubtedly have foundered when the first breaker roared down upon the +ship. + +The boy ordered them to throw the first cord of birch-wood overboard, +billet by billet, one at a time and never two, and he did not let them +touch the other two cords. Now they obeyed him to the letter, and did +not laugh; but cast out the birch-wood billet by billet. When the last +billet fell they heard a groaning, as though some one were wrestling +with death, and then the squall had passed. + +"Heaven be praised!" said the crew--and the captain added: "I am going +to let the company know that you saved ship and cargo." + +"That's all very well, but we are not through yet," said the boy, "there +is worse to come," and he told them to reef every last rag, as well as +what had been left of the topsails. The second squall hit them with even +greater force than the first, and was so vicious and violent that the +whole crew was frightened. While it was at its worst, the boy told them +to throw overboard the second cord; and they threw it over billet by +billet, and took care not to take any from the third cord. When the last +billet fell, they again heard a deep groan, and then all was still. "Now +there will be one more squall, and that will be the worst," said the +boy, and sent every one to his station. There was not a hawser loose on +the whole ship. + +The last squall hit them with far more force than either of the +preceding ones, the ship laid over on her side so that they thought she +would not right herself again, and the breaker swept over the deck. + +But the boy told them to throw the last cord of wood overboard, billet +by billet, and no two billets at once. And when the last billet of wood +fell, they heard a deep groaning, as though some one were dying hard, +and when all was quiet once more, the whole sea was the color of blood, +as far as eye could reach. + +When they reached land, the captain and the quartermasters spoke of +writing to their wives. "That is something you might just as well let +be," said the cabin-boy, "seeing that you no longer have any wives." + +"What silly talk is this, young know-it-all! We have no wives?" said the +captain. "Or do you happen to have done away with them?" asked the +quartermasters. + +"No, all of us together did away with them," answered the boy, and told +them what he had heard and seen that Sunday afternoon when he was on +watch on the ship; while the crew was ashore, and the captain was buying +his deckload of wood. + +And when they sailed home they learned that their wives had disappeared +the day of the storm, and that since that time no one had seen or heard +anything more of them. + + + NOTE + + A weird tale of the sea and of witches is that of "Storm Magic" + (Asbjoernsen, _Huldreeventyr_, I, p. 248. From the vicinity of + Christiania, told by a sailor, Rasmus Olsen). In the "Fritjof + Legend" the hero has a similar adventure at sea with two witches, + who call up a tremendous storm. It would be interesting to know + the inner context of the cabin-boy's counter magic, and why it is + that the birch-wood, cast into the sea billet by billet, had the + power to destroy the witches. + + + + +XII + +THE FOUR-SHILLING PIECE + + +Once upon a time there was a poor woman, who lived in a wretched hut far +away from the village. She had but little to bite and less to burn, so +she sent her little boy to the forest to gather wood. He skipped and +leaped, and leaped and skipped, in order to keep warm, for it was a +cold, gray autumn day, and whenever he had gathered a root or a branch +to add to his bundle, he had to slap his arms against his shoulders, for +the cold made his hands as red as the whortleberry bushes over which he +walked. When he had filled his barrow, and was wandering homeward, he +crossed a field of stubble. There he saw lying a jagged white stone. "O, +you poor old stone, how white and pale you are! You must be freezing +terribly!" said the boy; took off his jacket, and laid it over the +stone. And when he came back home with his wood, his mother asked +him how it was that he was going around in the autumn cold in his +shirt-sleeves. He told her that he had seen a jagged old stone, quite +white and pale with the frost, and that he had given it his jacket. "You +fool," said the woman, "do you think a stone can freeze? And even if it +had chattered with frost, still, charity begins at home. Your clothes +cost enough as it is, even when you don't hang them on the stones out +in the field!"--and with that she drove the boy out again to fetch his +jacket. When he came to the stone, the stone had turned around, and had +raised itself from the ground on one side. "Yes, and I'm sure it is +because you have the jacket, poor fellow!" said the boy. But when he +looked more closely, there was a chest full of bright silver coins under +the stone. "That must be stolen money," thought the boy, "for no one +lays money honestly earned under stones in the wood." And he took the +chest, and carried it down to the pond nearby, and threw in the whole +pile of money. But a four-shilling piece was left swimming on the top +of the water. "Well, this one is honest, for whatever is honest will +float," said the boy. And he took the four-shilling piece and the jacket +home with him. He told his mother what had happened to him, that the +stone had turned around, and that he had found a chest full of silver +coins, and had thrown it into the pond because it was stolen money. "But +a four-shilling piece floated, and that I took along, because it was +honest," said the boy. "You are a fool," said the woman--for she was as +angry as could be--"if nothing were honest save what floats on the +water, there would be but little honesty left in the world. And if +the money had been stolen ten times over, still you had found it, and +charity begins at home. If you had kept the money, we might have passed +the rest of our lives in peace and comfort. But you are a dunderhead and +will stay a dunderhead, and I won't be tormented and burdened with you +any longer. Now you must get out and earn your own living." + +So the boy had to go out into the wide world, and wandered about far +and near looking for service. But wherever he went people found him too +small or too weak, and said that they could make no use of him. At last +he came to a merchant. There they kept him to work in the kitchen, and +he had to fetch wood and water for the cook. When he had been there for +some time, the merchant decided to journey to far countries, and asked +all his servants what he should buy and bring back home for them. +After all had told him what they wanted, came the turn of the little +fellow who carried wood and water for the kitchen. He handed him his +four-shilling piece. "Well, and what am I to buy for it?" asked the +merchant. "It will not be a large purchase." "Buy whatever it will +bring, it is honest money, that I know," said the boy. His master +promised to do so, and sailed away. + +Now when the merchant had discharged his cargo in foreign parts and had +reloaded, and had bought what his servants had desired, he went back to +his ship, and was about to shove off. Not until then did he remember +that the scullion had given him a four-shilling piece, with which to +buy him something. "Must I go up to the city again because of this +four-shilling piece? One only has one's troubles when one bothers with +such truck," thought the merchant. Then along came a woman with a bag on +her back. "What have you in your bag, granny?" asked the merchant. "O, +it is only a cat! I can feed her no longer, and so I want to throw her +into the sea in order to get rid of her," said the old woman. "The boy +told me to buy whatever I could get for the four-shilling piece," said +the merchant to himself, and asked the woman whether he could have her +cat for four shillings. The woman agreed without delay, and the bargain +was closed. + +Now when the merchant had sailed on for a while, a terrible storm broke +loose, a thunderstorm without an equal, and he drifted and drifted, and +did not know where or whither. At last he came to a land where he had +never yet been, and went up into the city. + +In the tavern which he entered the table was set, and at every place lay +a switch, one for each guest. This seemed strange to the merchant, for +he could not understand what was to be done with all the switches. Yet +he sat down and thought: "I will watch carefully, and see just what the +rest do with them, and then I can imitate them." Yes, and when the food +came on the table, then he knew why the switches were there: the place +was alive with thousands of mice, and all who were sitting at the table +had to work and fight and beat about them with their switches, and +nothing could be heard but the slapping of the switches, one worse than +the other. Sometimes people hit each other in the face, and then they +had to take time to say, "Excuse me!" + +"Eating is hard work in this country," said the merchant. "How is it +the folk here have no cats?" "Cats?" said the people: they did not know +what they were. Then the merchant had the cat that he had bought for the +scullion brought, and when the cat went over the table, the mice had to +hurry into their holes, and not in the memory of man had the people been +able to eat in such comfort. Then they begged and implored the merchant +to sell them his cat. At last he said he would let them have her; but he +wanted a hundred dollars for her, and this they paid, and thanked him +kindly into the bargain. + +Then the merchant sailed on, but no sooner had he reached the high seas +than he saw the cat sitting at the top of the main-mast. And immediately +after another storm and tempest arose, far worse than the first one, and +he drifted and drifted, till he came to a land where he had never yet +been. Again the merchant went to a tavern, and here, too, the table was +covered with switches; but they were much larger and longer than at the +place where he had first been. And they were much needed; for there were +a good many more mice, and they were twice the size of those he had +first seen. + +Here he again sold his cat, and this time he received two hundred +dollars for her, and that without any haggling. But when he had sailed +off and was out at sea a way, there sat the cat up in the mast. And the +storm at once began again, and finally he was again driven to a land in +which he had never been. Again he turned in at a tavern, and there the +table was also covered with switches; but every switch was a yard and a +half long, and as thick as a small broom, and the people told him that +they knew of nothing more disagreeable than to sit down to eat, for +there were great, ugly rats by the thousand. Only with toil and trouble +could one manage to shove a bite of something into one's mouth once in a +while, so hard was it to defend oneself against the rats. Then the cat +was again brought from the ship, and now the people could eat in peace. +They begged and pleaded that the merchant sell them his cat; and for a +long time he refused; but at last he promised that they should have her +for three hundred dollars. And they paid him, and thanked him, and +blessed him into the bargain. + +Now when the merchant was out at sea again, he considered how much the +boy had gained with the four-shilling piece he had given him. "Well, he +shall have some of the money," said the merchant to himself, "but not +all of it. For he has to thank me for the cat, which I bought for him, +and charity begins at home." + +But while the merchant was thinking these thoughts, such a storm and +tempest arose that all thought the ship would sink. Then the merchant +realized that there was nothing left for him to do but to promise that +the boy should have all the money. No sooner had he made his vow, than +the weather turned fair, and he had a favoring wind for his journey +home. And when he landed, he gave the youth the six hundred dollars and +his daughter to boot. For now the scullion was as rich as the merchant +himself and richer, and thereafter he lived in splendor and happiness. +And he took in his mother and treated her kindly. "For I do not believe +that charity begins at home," said the youth. + + + NOTE + + "The Honest Four-Shilling Piece" (Asbjoernsen and Moe, N.F.E., + p. 306, No. 59) stands for the idealization of childish simplicity + and honesty, which after much travail, and despite the ill-will of + the "experienced," comes into its deserved own. + + + + +XIII + +THE MAGIC APPLES + + +Once upon a time there was a lad who was better off than all the others. +He was never short of money, for he had a purse which was never empty. +He never was short of food, for he had a table-cloth on which, as soon +as he spread it, he found all he wanted to eat and drink. And, besides, +he had a magic wishing cap. When he put it on he could wish himself +wherever he wanted, and there he would be that very moment. + +There was only one thing that he lacked: he had no wife, and he was +gradually coming into the years when it would be necessary for him to +make haste. + +As he was walking sadly along one fine day, it occurred to him to wish +himself where he would find the most beautiful princess in the world. No +sooner had he thought of it than he was there. And it was a land which +he had never yet seen, and a city in which he had never yet been. And +the king had a daughter, so handsome that he had never yet beheld her +like, and he wanted to have her on the spot. But she would have nothing +to do with him, and was very haughty. + +Finally he despaired altogether, and was so beside himself that he could +no longer be where she was not. So he took his magic cap and wished +himself into the castle. He wanted to say good-by, so he said. And she +laid her hand in his. "I wish we were far beyond the end of the world!" +said the youth, and there they were. But the king's daughter wept, and +begged to be allowed to go home again. He could have all the gold and +silver in the castle in return. "I have money enough for myself," said +the youth, and he shook his purse so that money just rolled about. He +could sit down at the royal table and eat the finest food, and drink the +finest wines, said she. "I have enough to eat and drink myself," said +the youth. "See, you can sit down at the table," said he, and at once he +spread his table-cloth. And there stood a table covered with the best +one might wish; and the king himself ate no better. + +After they had eaten, the king's daughter said: "O, do look at the +handsome apples up there on the tree! If you were really kind, you would +fetch me down a couple of them!" The youth was not lazy, and climbed up. +But he had forgotten his table-cloth and his purse, and these she took. +And while he was shaking down the apples his cap fell off. She at once +put it on and wished herself back in her own room, and there she was +that minute. + +"You might have known it," said the youth to himself, and hurried down +the tree. He began to cry and did not know what to do. And as he was +sitting there, he sampled the apples which he had thrown down. No sooner +had he tried one than he had a strange feeling in his head, and when he +looked more closely, he had a pair of horns. "Well, now it can do me no +more harm," said he, and calmly went on eating the apples. But suddenly +the horns had disappeared, and he was as before. "Good enough!" said the +youth. And with that he put the apples in his pocket, and set out to +search for the king's daughter. + +He went from city to city, and sailed from country to country; but it +was a long journey, and lasted a year and a day, and even longer. + +But one day he got there after all. It was a Sunday, and he found out +that the king's daughter was at church. Then he sat himself down with +his apples before the church door, and pretended to be a peddler. +"Apples of Damascus! Apples of Damascus!" he cried. And sure enough, the +king's daughter came, and told her maidens to go and see what desirable +things the peddler from abroad might have to offer. Yes, he had apples +of Damascus. "What do the apples give one?" asked the maiden. "Wisdom +and beauty!" said the peddler, and the maiden bought. + +When the king's daughter had eaten of the apples, she had a pair of +horns. And then there was such a wailing in the castle that it was +pitiful to hear. And the castle was hung with black, and in the whole +kingdom proclamation was made from all pulpits that whoever could help +the king's daughter should get her, and half the kingdom besides. Then +Tom, Dick and Harry, and the best physicians in the country came along. +But none of them could help the princess. + +But one day a foreign doctor from afar came to court. He was not from +their country, he said, and had made the journey purposely just to try +his luck here. But he must see the king's daughter alone, said he, and +permission was granted him. + +The king's daughter recognized him, and grew red and pale in turn. "If +I help you now, will you marry me?" asked the youth. Yes, indeed she +would. Then he gave her one of the magic apples, and her horns were only +half as large as before. "But I cannot do more until I have my cap, +and my table-cloth, and my purse back again," said he. So she went and +brought him the things. Then he gave her still another magic apple, and +now the horns were no more than tiny hornlets. "But now I cannot go on +until you have sworn that you will be true to me," said he. And she +swore that she would. And after she had eaten the third apple, her +forehead was quite smooth again, and she was even more beautiful than +in days gone by. + +Then there was great joy in the castle. They prepared for the wedding +with baking and brewing, and invited people from East and West to come +to it. And they ate and drank, and were merry and of good cheer, and if +they have not stopped, they are merry and of good cheer to this very +day! + + + NOTE + + "The Magic Apples" (_Norske Eventyr og Sagn_, optegnet av Sophus + Bugge og Rikard Berge, Christiania, 1909, p. 61) is probably a + somewhat original version of one of the cycles of tales in which + people acquire asses' ears, long noses, humped backs and other + adornments, through eating some enchanted fruit. The British Isles + are believed to be the home-land of this tale, and it is thought + to have emigrated to Scandinavia by way of France and Germany. + + + + +XIV + +SELF DID IT + + +Once upon a time there was a mill, in which it was impossible to grind +flour, because such strange things kept happening there. But there was a +poor woman who was in urgent need of a little meal one evening, and she +asked whether they would not allow her to grind a little flour during +the night. "For heaven's sake," said the mill-owner, "that is quite +impossible! There are ghosts enough in the mill as it is." But the woman +said that she must grind a little; for she did not have a pinch of flour +in the house with which to make mush, and there was nothing for her +children to eat. So at last he allowed her to go to the mill at night +and grind some flour. When she came, she lit a fire under a big +tar-barrel that was standing there; got the mill going, sat down by the +fire, and began to knit. After a time a girl came in and nodded to her. +"Good evening!" said she to the woman. "Good evening!" said the woman; +kept her seat, and went on knitting. But then the girl who had come in +began to pull apart the fire on the hearth. The woman built it up again. + +"What is your name?" asked the girl from underground. + +"Self is my name," said the woman. + +That seemed a curious name to the girl, and she once more began to pull +the fire apart. Then the woman grew angry and began to scold, and built +it all up again. Thus they went on for a good while; but at last, while +they were in the midst of their pulling apart and building up of the +fire, the woman upset the tar-barrel on the girl from underground. Then +the latter screamed and ran away, crying: + +"Father, father! Self burned me!" + +"Nonsense, if self did it, then self must suffer for it!" came the +answer from below the hill. + + + NOTE. + + "Self Did It" (Asbjoernsen, _Huldreeventyr_, I, p. 10. From the + vicinity of Sandakar, told by a half-grown boy) belongs to the + cycle of the Polyphemus fairy-tales, with a possible glimmer of + the old belief that beings low in the mythological scale are most + easily controlled by fire. + + + + +XV + +THE MASTER GIRL + + +Once upon a time there was a king who had several sons; I do not just +know how many there were, but the youngest was not content at home, +and insisted on going out into the world to seek his fortune. And in +the end the king had to give him permission to do so. After he had +wandered for a few days, he came to a giant's castle, and took service +with the giant. In the morning the giant wanted to go off to herd his +goats, and when he started he told the king's son he was to clean the +stable in the meantime. "And when you are through with that, you need +do nothing more for to-day, for you might as well know that you have +come to a kind master," said he. "But you must do what you are told to +do conscientiously and, besides, you must not go into any of the rooms +that lie behind the one in which you slept last night, else your life +will pay the forfeit." + +"He surely is a kind master," said the king's son to himself, walked up +and down the room, and whistled and sang; for, thought he, there would +be plenty of time to clean the stable. "But it would be nice to take a +look at the other room, there surely must be something in it that he is +alarmed about, since I am not so much as to take a look," thought he, +and went into the first room. There hung a kettle, and it was boiling, +but the king's son could find no fire beneath it. "What can there be in +it?" thought he, and dipped in a lock of his hair, and at once the hair +grew just like copper. "That's a fine soup, and whoever tastes it will +burn his mouth," said the youth, and went into the next room. There hung +another kettle that bubbled and boiled; but there was no fire beneath +it, either. "I must try this one, too," said the king's son, and again +he dipped in a lock of his hair and it grew just like silver. "We have +no such expensive soup at home," said the king's son, "but the main +thing is, how does it taste?" and with that he went into the third room. +And there hung still another kettle, a-boiling just like those in the +two other rooms, and the king's son wanted to try this one, too. He +dipped in a lock of his hair, and it came out like pure gold, and fairly +shimmered. + +Then the king's son said: "Better and better! But if he cooks gold here, +I wonder what he cooks inside, there?" And he wanted to see, so he went +into the fourth room. Here there was no kettle to be seen; but a maiden +sat on a bench who must have been a king's daughter; yet whatever she +might be, the king's son had never seen any one so beautiful in all his +days. "Now in heaven's name, what are you doing here?" asked the maiden. +"I hired myself out here yesterday," said the king's son. "May God be +your aid, for it is a fine service you have chosen!" said she. "O, the +master is very friendly," said the king's son. "He has given me no hard +work to do to-day. When I have cleaned out the stable, I need do nothing +more." "Yes, but how are you going to manage it?" she went on. "If you +do as the others have done, then for every shovelful you pitch out, ten +fresh shovelfuls will fly in. But I'll tell you how to go about it. You +must turn around the shovel, and work with the handle, then everything +will fly out by itself." + +This he would do, said the king's son; and he sat there with her all day +long, for they had soon agreed that they would marry, he and the king's +daughter, and in this way his first day in the giant's service did not +weary him at all. When evening came on, she told him that now he must +clean out the stable before the giant came, and when he got there he +thought he would try out her advice, and began to use the shovel as he +had seen his father's grooms use it. And sure enough, he had to stop +quickly, for after he had worked a little while, he hardly had room in +which to stand. Then he did as the king's daughter had told him, turned +the shovel around and used the handle. And in a wink the stable was as +clean as though it had been scrubbed. When he had finished he went +to the room that the giant had assigned him, and walked up and down, +whistling and singing. Then the giant came home with his goats. "Have +you cleaned out the stable?" he asked. "Yes, indeed, master, it is +spick and span," said the king's son. "I'll have to see that," said the +giant, and went into the stable; but it was just as the king's son had +said. "You surely have been talking to the Master Girl, for you could +not have done that alone," said the giant. "Master Girl? What is a +Master Girl?" said the king's son, and pretended to be very stupid. "I'd +like to see her, too." "You will see her in plenty of time," said the +giant. + +The next morning the giant went off again with his goats. And he told +the king's son he was to fetch his horse from the pasture, and when he +had done this, he might rest: "For you have come to a kind master," said +he. "But if you enter one of the rooms which I forbade you entering +yesterday, I will tear off your head," he said, and went away with his +herd. "Indeed, you are a kind master," said the king's son, "but in +spite of it I'd like to have another little talk with the Master Girl, +for she is just as much mine as yours," and with that he went in to her. +She asked him what work he had to do that day. "O, it is not so bad +to-day," said the king's son. "I am only to fetch his horse from the +pasture." "And how are you going to manage that?" asked the Master Girl. +"Surely it is no great feat to fetch a horse from pasture," said the +king's son, "and I have ridden swift horses before." "Yet it is not an +easy matter to ride this horse home," said the Master Girl, "but I will +tell you how to set about it: When you see the horse, he will come +running up, breathing fire and flame, just as though he were a burning +pine-torch. Then you must take the bit that is hanging here on the door, +and throw it into his mouth, for then he will grow so tame that you can +do what you will with him." He would take good note of it, said the +king's son, and he sat there with the Master Girl the whole day long, +and they chatted and talked about this and that, but mainly about how +delightful it would be, and what a pleasant time they could have, if +they could only marry and get away from the giant. And the king's son +would have forgotten the pasture and the horse altogether, had not the +Master Girl reminded him of them toward evening. He took the bit that +hung in the corner, hurried out to the pasture, and the horse at once +ran up, breathing fire and flame; but he seized the moment when he came +running up to him with his jaws wide open, and threw the bit into his +mouth. Then he stood still, as gentle as a young lamb, and he had no +trouble bringing him to the stable. Then he went to his room again, and +began to whistle and sing. In the evening the giant came home with his +goats. "Did you fetch the horse?" he asked. "Yes, master," said the +king's son. "It would make a fine saddle-horse, but I just took it +straight to the stable." "I'll have to see that," said the giant, and +went into the stable. But there stood the horse, just as the king's son +had said. "You surely must have spoken to my Master Girl, for you +could not have done that alone," said the giant. "Yesterday the master +chattered about the Master Girl, and to-day he is talking about her +again. I wish master would show me the creature, for I surely would like +to see her," said the king's son, and pretended to be very simple and +stupid. "You will get to see her in plenty of time," said the giant. + +On the third morning the giant went off again with his goats. "To-day +you must go to the devil, and fetch me his tribute," said he to the +king's son. "When you have done that, you may rest for the remainder of +the time, for you have come to a kind master, and you might as well know +it," and with that he went off. "You may be a kind master," said the +king's son; "yet you hand over some pretty mean jobs to me in spite of +it, but I think I'll look after your Master Girl a bit. You claim that +she belongs to you, but perhaps, in spite of it, she may tell me what to +do," and with that he went in to her. And when the Master Girl asked him +what the giant had given him to do that day, he told her he must go to +the devil and fetch a tribute. "But how will you go about it?" asked the +Master Girl. "You will have to tell me that," said the king's son, "for +I have never been to the devil's place, and even though I knew the way +there, I still would not know how much to ask for." "I will tell you +what you must do," said the Master Girl. "You must go to the rock behind +the pasture, and take the club that is lying there, and strike the rock +with it. Then one will come out whose eyes flash fire, and you must tell +him your business. And if he asks how much you want, you must tell him +as much as you can carry." He would take good note of it, said the +king's son, and he sat there with the Master Girl all day long until +evening, and he might be sitting there yet, if the Master Girl had not +reminded him that he must still go to the devil about the tribute before +the giant came home. So he set out, and did exactly as the Master Girl +had told him: he went to the rock, took the club and beat against it. +Then one came out from whose eyes and nose the sparks flew. "What do you +want?" he asked. "The giant has sent me to fetch his tribute," said the +king's son. "How much do you want?" the other again inquired. "I never +ask for more than I can carry," was the reply of the king's son. "It is +lucky for you that you did not ask for a whole ton at once," said the +one on the hill. "But come in with me, and wait a while." This the +king's son did, and saw a great deal of gold and silver lying in the +hill like dead rock in an ore-pile. Then as much as he could carry was +packed up, and with it he went his way. When the giant came home in +the evening with his goats, the king's son was running about the room, +whistling and singing as on the two preceding evenings. "Did you go to +the devil for the tribute?" asked the giant. "Yes, indeed, master," said +the king's son. "Where did you put it?" asked the giant again. "I stood +the sack of gold outside on the bench," was the reply. "I must see that +at once," said the giant, and went over to the bench. But the sack was +really standing there, and it was so full that the gold and silver +rolled right out when the giant loosened the string. "You surely must +have spoken to my Master Girl," said the giant. "If that is the case I +will tear your head off." "With your Master Girl?" said the king's +son. "Yesterday master talked about that Master Girl, and to-day he is +talking about her again, and the day before yesterday he talked about +her, too! I only wish that I might get the chance to see her sometime!" +said he. "Well, just wait until to-morrow," said the giant, "and then I +will lead you to her myself," he said. "A thousand thanks, master," said +the king's son, "but I think you are only joking!" The following day the +giant took him to the Master Girl. + +"Now you must slaughter him, and cook him in the big kettle, you know +which one I mean. And when the soup is ready, you can call me," said the +giant, and he lay down on the bench to sleep, and at once began to snore +so that the hills shook. Then the Master Girl took a knife, and cut the +youth's little finger, and let three drops of blood fall on the bench. +Then she took all the old rags, and old shoes and other rubbish she +could find, and threw them all into the kettle. And then she took a +chest of gold-dust, and a lick-stone, and a bottle of water that hung +over the door, and a golden apple, and two golden hens, and left the +giant's castle together with the king's son as quickly as possible. +After a time they came to the sea, and they sailed across; though where +they got the ship I do not exactly know. + +Now when the giant had been sleeping quite a while, he began to stretch +himself on his bench. "Is dinner ready yet?" he asked. "Just begun!" +said the first drop of blood on the bench. Then the giant turned +around, went to sleep again, and went on sleeping for quite some time. +Then he again turned around a little. "Is dinner not ready yet?" he +said, but did not open his eyes--nor had he done so the first time--for +he was still half asleep. "It is half ready!" called out the second drop +of blood, and then the giant thought it was the Master Girl. He turned +around on the bench and took another nap. After he had slept a couple of +hours longer, he once more began to move about and stretch: "Is dinner +still not ready?" said he. "Ready!" answered the third drop of blood. +The giant sat up and rubbed his eyes. But he could not see who had +called him, and so he called out to the Master Girl. But no one answered +him. "O, I suppose she has gone out for a little," thought the giant, +and he dipped his spoon in the kettle to try the dinner; but there was +nothing but leather soles and rags and like rubbish cooked together, and +he did not know whether it were mush or porridge. When he noticed this +he began to see a light, and realize how matters had come to pass, and +he grew so angry that he hardly knew what to do, and made after the +king's son and the Master Girl in flying haste. In a short time he came +to the sea, and could not cross. "But I know how to help myself," said +he. "I will fetch my sea-sucker." So the sea-sucker came, and lay down +and took two or three swallows, and thus lowered the water so that the +giant could see the king's son and the Master Girl out on the ship. "Now +you must throw the lick-stone overboard," said the Master Girl, and the +king's son did so. It turned into a tremendous large rock square across +the sea, and the giant could not get over, and the sea-sucker could +drink up no more of the sea. "I know quite well what I must do," said +the giant. "I must now fetch my hill-borer." So the hill-borer came, and +bored a hole through the rock, so the sea-sucker could get through and +keep on sucking. But no sooner were they thus far than the Master Girl +told the king's son to pour a drop or so of the bottle overboard, and +the sea grew so full that they had landed before the sea-sucker could so +much as take a single swallow. + +Now they wanted to go home to the father of the king's son; but he would +not hear of the Master Girl's going afoot, since he did not think this +fitting for either of them. "Wait here a little while, until I fetch the +seven horses that stand in my father's stable," said the king's son. "It +is not far, and I will soon be back; for I will not have my bride come +marching home afoot." "No, do not do so, for when you get home to the +castle you will forget me, I know that positively," said the Master +Girl. "How could I forget you?" said the king's son. "We have passed +through so many hardships together, and we love each other so dearly," +said he. He wanted to fetch the coach and seven horses at all costs, and +she was to wait by the seashore. So at last the Master Girl had to give +in. + +"But when you get there, you must not take time to greet a single +person. You must at once go to the stable, harness the horses, and drive +back as swiftly as you can. They will all come to meet you, but you +must act as though you did not see them, and must not take a single bite +to eat. If you do not do that, you will make both of us unhappy," said +she. And he promised to do as she had said. + +But when he got home to the castle, one of his brothers was just getting +married, and the bride and all the guests were already there. They all +crowded around him and asked him this, and asked him that, and wanted to +lead him in. But he acted as though he saw none of them, led out the +horses, and began to put them to the coach. And since they could by no +manner of means induce him to come into the castle, they came out with +food and drink, and offered him the best of all that had been prepared +for the wedding feast. + +But the king's son would taste nothing, and only made haste in order to +get away. Yet, finally, the bride's sister rolled an apple over to him +across the court-yard: "And if you will touch nothing else, then at +least you might take a bite of the apple, for you must be hungry and +thirsty after your long journey," said she, and he took the apple and +bit into it. But no sooner did he have the bit of apple in his mouth +than he had forgotten the Master Girl, and that he was to fetch her. +"I think I must be going mad! What am I doing with the horses and the +coach?" he said, and he led back the horses into the stable, and went +back to the castle, and wanted to marry the bride's sister, the one who +had thrown him the apple. + +In the meantime the Master Girl sat by the seashore, and waited and +waited; but no king's son came. Then she went on, and after she had gone +a while, she came to a little hut that lay all by itself in the forest, +near the king's castle. She went in and asked whether she might not +stay there. Now the little hut belonged to an old woman, and she was an +arrant and evil witch; at first she did not want to take in the Master +Girl at all; but at last she agreed to do so for love of money. But the +whole hut was as dark and dirty as a pig-sty; therefore the Master Girl +said she would clean up a bit, so that things would look as they did in +other, decent people's houses. The old woman would have none of it, and +was very disagreeable and angry; but the Master Girl paid no attention +to her. She took the chest of gold dust, and threw a handful into the +fire, so that a ray of gold shone over the whole hut, and it was gilded +outside and in. But when the gold flamed up, the old woman was so +terribly frightened that she ran out as though the evil one were after +her, and from pure rage she forgot to duck at the threshold, and ran her +head against the door-post. And that was the end of her. + +The following morning the bailiff came by. He was much surprised to see +the little golden hut, glittering and sparkling there in the forest, and +was still more surprised at the girl within the hut. He fell in love +with her at once, and asked her whether she would not become the +bailiff's lady. "Yes, but have you plenty of money?" said the Master +Girl. Yes, he had quite a little, said the bailiff. Then he went home +to fetch his money, and came back again at evening dragging along an +enormous sack of it, which he stood on a bench before the door. The +Master Girl said that, seeing he had so much money, she would accept +him. And then she asked him to rake the fire, which she said she had +forgotten to do. But as soon as he had the poker in his hand, the Master +Girl cried: "May God grant that you hold the poker, and the poker hold +you, and that sparks and ashes fly around you until morning!" And there +the bailiff stood the whole night through, and sparks and ashes flew +about him, nor were the sparks the less hot for all his complaining and +begging. And when morning came, and he could let go the poker, he did +not stay long; but ran off as though the evil one were at his heels. And +those who saw him stared and laughed, for he ran like a madman, and +looked as though he had been thrashed and tanned. And all would have +liked to have known where he had come from, but he said not a word, for +he was ashamed. + +On the following day the clerk passed by the Master Girl's little house. +He saw it glistening and shining in the woods, and went in to find out +who lived there. When he saw the beautiful girl he fell even more deeply +in love with her than the bailiff had, and lost no time in suing for her +hand. The Master Girl asked him, as she had asked the bailiff, whether +he had plenty of money. Money he had to spare, answered the clerk, and +ran right home to fetch it. By evening he was back again with a great +sack--it must have been as much again as the bailiff had brought--and +stood it on the bench. And so she promised to take him. Then she asked +him to shut the house-door, which she said she had forgotten to do. But +when he had the door-knob in his hand, she cried: "May God grant that +you hold the door-knob and that the door-knob hold you, and that you +move back and forth with it all night long until morning!" And the clerk +had to dance the whole night through, such a waltz as he had never +tripped before, and he had no wish to repeat the experience. Sometimes +he was ahead, and sometimes the door was, and so they went back and +forth all night, from wall to post and post to wall, and he was nearly +bruised to death. First he cursed, then he wailed and pleaded; but the +door paid no attention to him, and flung open and shut until it dawned. +When it at last released him, he hurried away as quickly as though he +had stolen something, forgot his sackful of money, and his wish to +marry, and was glad that the door did not come threshing along after +him. All grinned and stared at the clerk, for he ran like a madman, and +looked worse than if a ram had been butting him all night long. + +On the third day the magistrate came by, and also saw the little golden +house in the forest. And he, too, went in to see who lived in it. And +when he saw the Master Girl, he fell so deeply in love with her that he +sued for her hand as soon as he bade her good-day. But she told him just +what she had told the others, that if he had plenty of money she would +take him. He had money enough, said the magistrate, and he went straight +home to fetch it. When he came back in the evening, he had a much bigger +sack of money with him than the clerk had had, and he stood it on the +bench. Then the Master Girl said she would take him. But first she +asked him to go fetch the calf, which she had forgotten to bring to the +stable. And when he had the calf by the tail she cried: "May God grant +that you hold the calf's tail, and the calf's tail hold you, and that +you fly about the world together until morning!" And with that the +race began, over stick and stone, over hill and dale, and the more the +magistrate cursed and yelled, the more madly the calf ran away. When it +dawned there was hardly a whole bone in the magistrate's body, and he +was so happy to be able to let go the calf's tail that he forgot his bag +of money, and the whole occurrence. It is true that he went home more +slowly than the bailiff and the clerk; but the slower he went the more +time the people had to stare and grin at him, so ragged and badly beaten +did he appear after his dance with the calf. + +On the following day there was to be a wedding at the castle, and not +only was the older prince to marry, but the one who had stayed with the +giant as well, and he was to get the other bride's sister. + +But when they entered the coach and were about to drive to church, one +of the axles broke. They took another, and then a third, but all of them +broke, no matter what kind of wood they used. It took a great deal of +time, and they did not move from the spot, and got all out of sorts. +Then the bailiff said, for he had also been invited to the wedding at +the castle, that a maiden lived out in the forest, and "if they could +only get the loan of her poker, it would be sure to hold." So they sent +to the little house in the forest, and asked most politely whether the +maiden would not loan them the poker of which the bailiff had spoken. +And they got it, too, and then they had an axle that would not break. + +But when they wanted to drive on, the bottom of the coach broke. They +made a new bottom as well as they were able, but no matter how they put +it together, nor what kind of wood they used, it kept on breaking again +as soon as they had left the court-yard. And they were worse off than +they had been with the axle. Then the clerk said--for if the bailiff was +one of the company, you may be sure they had not forgotten to invite the +clerk--"Out in the forest lives a maiden, and if you will get the loan +of her house-door, I am sure it would not break." So they sent to the +little house in the forest, and asked most politely whether the maiden +would not loan them the golden house-door, of which the clerk had told +them. And they got it, too, and were about to drive on, when suddenly +the horses could not draw the coach. There were six, so they put to +eight, and then ten and twelve, but though they put as many as they +liked to the coach and helped along with the whip, still the coach would +not budge. The day was already far advanced, and they simply had to get +to church, and actually began to despair. But then the magistrate said +that out in the golden house in the forest lived a maiden, "and if one +could only get the loan of her calf, it would be sure to pull the coach, +and though it were as heavy as a bowlder." They did not think it quite +the thing to drive to church with a calf; but still there was nothing to +do but to send to the maiden, and to ask her most politely, with a kind +greeting from the king, if she would loan them the calf of which the +magistrate had spoken. Nor did the Master Girl refuse them this time. +And then, when they had put the calf to the coach, it moved from the +spot quickly enough. It flew over stick and stone, hill and dale, so +that the people inside could hardly catch their breath. First it was +on the ground, and next it was in the air, and when they reached +the church, it spun around it like a top, and they had the greatest +difficulty in getting out and into the church. And going home they went +still faster, and were nearly out of their wits by the time they reached +the castle. + +When they sat down to the table the king's son--the same who had been at +the giant's--said it would be no more than right to invite the maiden, +too, who had lent them the poker, and the door and the calf: "for if we +had not had these things, we should not have moved from the spot." This +seemed right to the king, so he sent five of his most distinguished +courtiers to the little golden house. They were to carry the king's +kindest greetings, and ask that the maiden come up to the castle and +take dinner with them. "A kind greeting to the king, and if he is too +good to come to me, then I am too good to go to him," said the Master +Girl. So the king had to go to her himself, and then she went along +with him at once, and the king saw very well that she was more than she +appeared to be, and gave her a place at the head of the table, next to +the young bridegroom. After they had been at dinner for a while, the +Master Girl produced the rooster and the hen and the golden apple--they +were the three things she had taken along from the giant's castle--and +placed them on the table before her. At once the rooster and the hen +began to fight for the golden apple. "Why, just see how the two fight +for the golden apple!" said the king's son. "Yes, that is how we had to +fight the time we wanted to get out of the rock!" said the Master Girl. +And then the king's son recognized her, and was very happy. The witch +who had rolled the apple over to him was duly punished, and then the +wedding really began, and the bailiff, and the clerk and the magistrate +held out to the very end, for all that their wings had been so +thoroughly singed. + + + NOTE + + "The Master Girl" (Asbjoernsen and Moe, N.F.E., p. 222. No. 46) is + fitted out with a great wealth of interesting incident. The dream + motive of not being able to get away is most delightfully woven + into the context of the story, and the sea-sucker, whom the giant + fetches to stop the flight of the lovers, is a unique creation of + fancy. + + + + +XVI + +ANENT THE GIANT WHO DID NOT HAVE HIS HEART ABOUT HIM + + +Once upon a time there was a king who had seven sons, and he was so fond +of them that he never could bear to have them all away from him at once, +and one of them always had to stay with him. When they had grown up, six +of them were to go forth and look for wives; but the youngest the king +wanted to keep at home, and the others were to bring along a bride for +him. The king gave the six the handsomest clothes that had ever been +seen, clothes that glittered from afar, and each received a horse that +had cost many hundred dollars, and so they set forth. And after they had +been at the courts of many kings, and had seen many princesses, they at +last came to a king who had six daughters. Such beautiful princesses +they had not as yet met with, and so each of them paid court to one of +them, and when each had won his sweetheart, they rode back home again. +But they were so deeply in love with their brides that they altogether +forgot they were also to bring back a princess for their young brother +who had stayed at home. + +Now when they had already covered a good bit of the homeward road, they +passed close to a steep cliff-side where the giants dwelt. And a giant +came out, looked at them, and turned them all to stone, princes and +princesses. The king waited and waited for his six sons; but though he +waited and yearned, they did not come. Then he grew very sad, and said +that he would never really be happy again. "If I did not have you," he +told his youngest, "I would not keep on living, so sad am I at having +lost your brothers." "But I had already been thinking of asking your +permission to set out and find my brothers again," said the youngest. +"No, that I will not allow under any circumstances," answered the +father, "otherwise you will be lost to me into the bargain." But the +youth's mind was set on going, and he pleaded so long that finally the +king had to let him have his way. Now the king had only a wretched old +nag for him, since the six other princes and their suite had been given +all the good horses; but that did not worry the youngest. He mounted the +shabby old nag, and "Farewell, father!" he said to the king. "I will +surely return, and perhaps I will bring my six brothers back with me." +And with that he rode off. + +Now when he had ridden a while he met a raven, who was lying in the road +beating his wings, and unable to move from the spot because he was so +starved. "O, dear friend, if you will give me a bite to eat, then I'll +help you in your hour of direst need!" cried the raven. "I have not much +food, nor are you likely to be able to help me much," said the king's +son, "but still I can give you a little, for it is easy to see you need +it." And with that he gave the raven some of the provisions he had with +him. And when he had ridden a while longer, he came to a brook, and +there lay a great salmon who had gotten on dry land, and was threshing +about, and could not get back into the water. "O, dear friend, help me +back into the water," said the salmon to the king's son, "and I will +help you, too, in your hour of greatest need!" "The help you will be +able to give me will probably not amount to much," said the prince, "but +it would be a pity if you had to lie there and pine away." And with that +he pushed the fish back into the water. Then he rode on a long, long +way, and met a wolf; and the wolf was so starved that he lay in the +middle of the road, and writhed with hunger. "Dear friend, let me eat +your horse," said the wolf. "My hunger is so great that my very inwards +rattle, because I have had nothing to eat for the past two years!" "No," +said the prince, "I cannot do that: first I met a raven, and had to give +him my provisions; then I met a salmon and had to help him back into the +water; and now you want my horse. That will not do, for what shall I +ride on then?" "Well, my dear friend, you must help me," was the wolf's +reply. "You can ride on me. I will help you in turn in your hour of +greatest need." "The help you might give me would probably not amount to +much; but I will let you eat the horse, since you are in such sorry +case," returned the prince. And when the wolf had eaten the horse, the +prince took the bit and put it in the wolf's mouth, and fastened the +saddle on his back, and his meal had made the wolf so strong that he +trotted off with the king's son as fast as he could. He had never ridden +so swiftly before. "When we have gone a little further I will show you +the place where the giants live," said the wolf; and in a short time +they were there. "Well, this is where the giants live," said the wolf. +"There you see your six brothers, whom the giant turned into stone, and +yonder are their six brides; and up there is the door through which you +must pass." "No, I would not dare do that," said the king's son. "He +would murder me." "O no," was the wolf's reply, "when you go in you will +find a princess, and she will tell you how to set about getting rid of +the giant. You need only do as she says." And the prince went in, though +he was afraid. When he entered the house the giant was not there; but in +one of the rooms sat a princess, just as the wolf had said, and such a +beautiful maiden the youth had never seen. "Now may God help you, how +did you get in here?" cried the princess, when she saw him. "It is +certain death for you. No one can kill the giant who lives here, for he +hasn't his heart about him." + +"Well, since I do happen to be here, I will at least make the attempt," +said the prince. "And I want to try to deliver my brothers, who stand +outside, turned to stone, and I would like to save you as well." +"Well, if you insist upon it, we must see what we can do," replied +the princess. "Now you must crawl under the bed here, and must listen +carefully when I talk to the giant. But you must not make a sound." The +prince slipped under the bed, and no sooner was he there than the giant +came home. "Hu, it smells like the flesh of a Christian here!" he cried. +"Yes," said the princess, "a jackdaw flew by with a human bone, and let +it fall down the chimney. I threw it out again at once, but the odor +does not disappear so quickly." Then the giant said no more about it. +Toward evening he went to bed, but after he had lain there a while, the +princess, who sat looking out of the window, said: "There is something I +would have asked you about long ago, if only I had dared." "And what may +that be?" inquired the giant. "I would like to know where you keep your +heart, since you do not have it about you?" said the princess. "O, that +is something you need not ask about; at any rate, it lies under the +threshold of the door," was the giant's reply. "Aha," thought the prince +under the bed, "that is where we will find it!" + +The next morning the giant got up very early, and went into the forest, +and no sooner had he gone than the prince and the king's daughter set +about looking for the heart under the threshold of the door. Yet no +matter how much they dug and searched--they found nothing. "This time he +has fooled us," said the princess. "We'll have to try again." And she +picked the loveliest flowers she could find and strewed them over the +threshold--which they had put to rights again--and when the time drew +near for the giant's return, the king's son crept under the bed once +more. When he was beneath it, the giant came. "Hu hu, I smell human +flesh!" he cried. "Yes," said the princess. "A jackdaw flew by with a +human bone in her beak, and she let it fall down the chimney. I threw it +out at once, but I suppose one can still smell it." Then the giant held +his tongue, and said no more about it. After a time he asked who had +strewn the flowers over the threshold. "O, I did that," said the +princess. "What does it mean?" the giant then asked. "O, I am so fond of +you that I had to do it, because I know that is where your heart lies." +"Yes, of course," said the giant, "but it does not happen to lie there +at all." + +When he had gone to bed, the princess sat looking out of the window, and +again asked the giant where he kept his heart, for she was so fond of +him, said she, that she wanted to know above all things. "O, it is in +the wardrobe there by the wall," said the giant. "Aha," thought the +king's son under the bed, "that is where we will find it!" + +The next morning the giant got up early, and went into the forest, and +no sooner had he gone than the prince and the king's daughter set about +looking for his heart in the wardrobe. Yet no matter how much they +looked, they did not find it. "Well, well," said the princess, "we will +have to try once more." Then she adorned the wardrobe with flowers and +wreaths, and toward evening the king's youngest son again crawled under +the bed. Then the giant came: "Hu hu, it smells of human flesh here!" he +cried. "Yes," said the princess. "A jackdaw just this moment flew by +with a human bone in her beak, and she let it fall down the chimney. I +threw it out again at once, but it may be that you can still smell it." +When the giant heard this, he had nothing further to say about it. But +not long afterward he noticed that the wardrobe was adorned with flowers +and wreaths, and asked who had done it. "I," said the princess. "What do +you mean by such tomfoolery?" asked the giant. "O, I am so fond of you +that I had to do it, since I know that is where your heart lies," was +the reply of the princess. "Are you really so stupid as to believe +that?" cried the giant. "Yes, surely, I must believe it," said the +princess, "when you tell me so." "How silly you are," said the giant, +"you could never reach the place where I keep my heart." "But still I +would like to know where it is," answered the princess. Then the giant +could no longer resist, and at last had to tell her the truth. "Far, +far away, in a lake there lies an island," said he, "and on the island +stands a church, and in the church there is a well, and in the well +floats a duck, and in the duck there is an egg, and in the egg--is my +heart!" + +The next morning, before dawn, the giant went to the forest again. +"Well, now I must get under way," said the prince, "and it is a way I +wish I could find." So he said farewell to the princess for the time +being, and when he stepped out of the door, the wolf was standing there +waiting for him. He told him what had happened at the giant's, and said +that now he would go to the well in the church, if only he knew the way. +The wolf told him to climb on his back. He would manage to find the +way, said he. And then they were off as though they had wings, over rock +and wood, over hill and dale. After they had been underway for many, +many days, they at last reached the lake. Then the king's son did not +know how they were to get across. But the wolf told him not to worry, +and swam across with the prince to the island. Then they came to the +church. But the church-key hung high up in the tower, and at first the +king's son did not at all know how they were to get it down. "You must +call the raven," said the wolf, and that is what the king's son did. And +the raven came at once, and flew right down with the key, and now the +prince could enter the church. Then, when he came to the well, there was +the duck, sure enough, swimming about as the giant had said. He stood by +the well and called the duck, and at last he lured her near him, and +seized her. But at the moment he grasped her and lifted her out of the +water, she let the egg fall into the well, and now the prince again did +not know how he was to get hold of it. "Well, you must call the salmon," +said the wolf. That is what the king's son did, and the salmon came at +once, and brought up the egg from the bottom of the well. Then the wolf +told him to squeeze the egg a little. And when the prince squeezed, the +giant cried out. "Squeeze it again!" said the wolf, and when the prince +did so, the giant cried out far more dolefully, and fearfully and +tearfully begged for his life. He would do all the king's son asked him +to, said he, if only he would not squeeze his heart in two. "Tell him +to give back their original form to your six brothers, whom he turned to +stone, and to their brides, as well; and that then you will spare his +life," said the wolf, and the prince did so. The troll at once agreed, +and changed the six brothers into princes, and their brides into kings' +daughters. "Now squash the egg!" cried the wolf. Then the prince +squeezed the egg in two, and the giant burst into pieces. + + [Illustration: "THEY AT LAST REACHED THE LAKE." + --_Page 108_] + +When the king's youngest son had put an end to the giant in this way, he +rode back on his wolf to the giant's home; and there stood his six +brothers as much alive as ever they had been, together with, their +brides. Then the prince went into the hill to get his own bride, and +they all rode home together. And great was the joy of the old king when +his seven sons all returned, each with his bride. "But the bride of my +youngest is the most beautiful, after all, and he shall sit with her at +the head of the table!" said the king. And then they had a feast that +lasted for weeks, and if they have not stopped, they are feasting to +this very day. + + + NOTE + + The fairy-tale, "The Giant Who Did Not Have His Heart About Him" + (Asbjoernsen and Moe, N.F.E., p. 171, No. 36), is founded on the + very ancient belief of the corporealization of the soul, and its + existence without the body. It is a belief widely current among + primitive peoples, and Koschei the Deathless of Russian fairy-tale + resembles our giant, though in his case the egg which holds his + soul is shattered on the ground, whereupon he dies at once. + + + + +XVII + +THE THREE PRINCESSES IN WHITELAND + + +Once upon a time there was a fisherman, who lived near the king's +castle, and caught fish for the king's table. One day when he had gone +fishing, he could not catch a thing. Try as he might, no matter how he +baited or flung, not the tiniest fish would bite; but when this had gone +on for a while, a head rose from the water and said: "If you will give +me the first new thing that has come into your house, you shall catch +fish a-plenty!" Then the man agreed quickly, for he could think of no +new thing that might have come into the house. So he caught fish all day +long, and as many as he could wish for, as may well be imagined. But +when he got home, he found that heaven had sent him a little son, the +first new thing to come into the house since he had made his promise. +And when he told his wife about it, she began to weep and wail, and pray +to God because of the vow her husband had made. And the woman's grief +was reported at the castle, and when it came to the king's ears, and he +learned the reason, he promised to take the boy and see if he could not +save him. And so the king took him and brought him up as though he were +his own son, until he was grown. Then one day the boy asked whether he +might not go out fishing with his father, he wanted to so very much, +said he. The king would not hear of it; but at last he was given +permission, so he went to his father, and everything went well all day +long, until they came home in the evening. Then the son found he had +forgotten his handkerchief, and went down to the boat to get it. But no +sooner was he in the boat than it moved off with a rush, and no matter +how hard the youth worked against it with the oars, it was all in vain. +The boat drove on and on, all night long, and at last he came to a white +strand, far, far away. He stepped ashore, and after he had gone a while +he met an old man with a great, white beard. "What is this country +called?" asked the youth. "Whiteland," was the man's answer, and he +asked the youth where he came from, and what he wanted, and the latter +told him. "If you keep right on along the shore," said the man, "you +will come to three princesses, buried in the earth so that only their +heads show. Then the first will call you--and she is the oldest--and beg +you very hard to come to her and help her; and the next will do the +same; but you must go to neither of them; walk quickly past them, and +act as though you neither saw nor heard them. But go up to the third, +and do what she asks of you, for then you will make your fortune." + +When the youth came to the first princess, she called out to him, and +begged him most earnestly to come to her; but he went on as though he +had not seen her. And he passed the next one in the same manner; but +went over to the third. "If you will do what I tell you to, you shall +have whichever one of us you want," said she. Yes, he would do what she +wanted. So she told him that three trolls had wished them into the earth +where they were; but that formerly they had dwelt in the castle he saw +on the edge of the forest. + +"Now you must go to the castle, and let the trolls whip you one night +through for each one of us," said she, "and if you can hold out, you +will have delivered us." "Yes," said the youth, he could manage that. +"When you go in," added the princess, "you will find two lions standing +by the door; but if you pass directly between them, they will do you no +harm. Go on into a dark little room and lie down, and then the troll +will come and beat you; but after that you must take the bottle that +hangs on the wall, and anoint yourself where he has beaten you, and you +will be whole again. And take the sword that hangs beside the bottle, +and kill the troll with it." He did as the princess had told him, passed +between the lions as though he did not see them, and right into the +little room, where he lay down. The first night a troll with three heads +and three whips came, and beat the youth badly; but he held out, and +when the troll had finished, he took the bottle and anointed himself, +grasped the sword and killed the troll. When he came out in the morning +the princesses were out of the ground up to their waists. The next night +it was the same; but the troll who came this time had six heads and six +whips, and beat him worse than the first one. But when he came out in +the morning, the princesses were out of the ground up to their ankles. +The third night came a troll who had nine heads and nine whips, and he +beat and whipped the youth so severely that at last he fainted. Then the +troll took him and flung him against the wall, and as he did so the +bottle fell down, and its whole contents poured over the youth, and he +was at once sound and whole again. Then he did not delay, but grasped +the sword, killed the troll, and when he came out in the morning, the +princesses were entirely out of the ground. So he chose the youngest of +them to be his queen, and lived long with her in peace and happiness. + +But at last he was minded to travel home, and see how his parents fared. +This did not suit his queen; but since he wanted to go so badly, and +finally was on the point of departure, she said to him: "One thing you +must promise me, that you will only do what your father tells you to do, +but not what your mother tells you to do." And this he promised. Then +she gave him a ring which had the power of granting two wishes to the +one who wore it. So he wished himself home, and his parents could not +get over their surprise at seeing how fine and handsome he had become. + +When he had been home a few days, his mother wanted him to go up to the +castle and show the king what a man he had grown to be. His father said: +"No, he had better not do that, for we will have to do without him in +the meantime." But there was no help for it, the mother begged and +pleaded until he went. When he got there he was more splendidly dressed +and fitted out than the other king. This did not suit the latter, and he +said: "You can see what my queen looks like, but I cannot see yours; and +I do not believe yours is as beautiful as mine." "God grant she were +standing here, then you would see soon enough!" said the young king, and +there she stood that very minute. But she was very sad, and said to him: +"Why did you not follow my advice and listen to your father? Now I must +go straight home, and you have used up both of your wishes." With that +she bound a ring with her name on it in his hair, and wished herself +home. + +Then the young king grew very sad, and went about day in, day out, with +no other thought than getting back to his queen. "I must try and see +whether I cannot find out where Whiteland is," thought he, and wandered +forth into the wide world. After he had gone a while he came to a +hill; and there he met one who was the lord of all the beasts of the +forest--for they came when he blew his horn--and him the king asked +where Whiteland was. "That I do not know," said he, "but I will ask my +beasts." Then he called them up with his horn, and asked whether any of +them knew where Whiteland might be; but none of them knew anything about +it. + +Then the man gave him a pair of snowshoes. "If you stand in them," said +he, "you will come to my brother, who lives a hundred miles further on. +He is the lord of the birds of the air. Ask him. When you have found +him, turn the snowshoes around so that they point this way, and they +will come back home of their own accord." When the king got there, he +turned the snowshoes around, as the lord of the beasts had told him, and +they ran home again. He asked about Whiteland, and the man called up +all the birds with his horn, and asked whether any of them knew where +Whiteland might be. But none of them knew. Long after the rest an old +eagle came along; and he had been out for some ten years, but did not +know either. + +"Well," said the man, "I will lend you a pair of snowshoes. When you +stand in them you will come to my brother, who lives a hundred miles +further on. He is the lord of all the fishes in the sea. Ask him. But do +not forget to turn the snowshoes around again." The king thanked him, +stepped into the snowshoes, and when he came to the one who was lord of +all the fishes in the sea, he turned them around, and they ran back like +the others. There he once more asked about Whiteland. + +The man called up his fishes with his horn, but none of them knew +anything about it. At last there came an old, old carp, whom he had +called with his horn only at the cost of much trouble. When he asked +him, he said: "Yes, I know it well, for I was cook there for fully ten +years. To-morrow I have to go back again, because our queen, whose king +has not come home again, is going to marry some one else." "If such be +the case," said the man, "I'll give you a bit of advice. Out there by +the wall three brothers have been standing for the last hundred years, +fighting with each other about a hat, a cloak and a pair of boots. Any +one who has these three things can make himself invisible, and wish +himself away as far as ever he will. You might say that you would test +their possessions, and then decide their quarrel for them." Then the +king thanked him, and did as he said. "Why do you stand there fighting +till the end of time?" said he to the brothers. "Let me test your +possessions if I am to decide your quarrel." That suited them; but when +he had hat, cloak and boots, he told them: "I will give you my decision +the next time we meet!" and with that he wished himself far away. While +he was flying through the air he happened to meet the North Wind. "And +where are you going?" asked the North Wind. "To Whiteland," said the +king, and then he told him what had happened to him. "Well," said the +North Wind, "you are traveling a little quicker than I am; for I must +sweep and blow out every corner. But when you come to your journey's +end, stand on the steps beside the door, and then I'll come roaring up +as though I were going to tear down the whole castle. And when the +prince who is to have the queen comes and looks out to see what it all +means, I'll just take him along with me." + +The king did as the North Wind told him. He stationed himself on the +steps; and when the North Wind came roaring and rushing up, and laid +hold of the castle walls till they fairly shook, the prince came out to +see what it was all about. But that very moment the king seized him by +the collar, and threw him out, and the North Wind took him and carried +him off. When he had borne him away, the king went into the castle. At +first the queen did not recognize him, for he had grown thin and pale +because he had wandered so long in his great distress; but when he +showed her the ring, she grew glad at heart, and then they had a wedding +which was such a wedding that the news of it spread far and wide. + + + NOTE + + "The Three Princesses in Whiteland" (Asbjoernsen and Moe, N.F.E., + p. 38, No. 9), tells a story rich in incident, of the youth who + could not hold his tongue. + + + + +XVIII + +TROUBLE AND CARE + + +Far, far from here there once lived a king, who had three beautiful +daughters. But he had no sons, and therefore he grew so fond of the +three princesses that he granted their every wish. But in time the enemy +invaded the country, and the king had to go to war. When he set out, +the oldest princess begged him to buy her a ring that would prevent her +dying as long as she wore it. The second princess asked him for a wreath +that would make her happy whenever she looked at it, no matter how sad +and troubled her heart might be. "Buy me trouble and care!" said the +youngest. And the king promised everything. + +When he had driven the enemy out of his own land, and out of the +neighboring land as well, and was about to set out for home, he +remembered what he had promised the three princesses. The ring and the +wreath were easy enough to obtain; but trouble and care were to be had +neither in one place nor in another, for all the people were so happy +that the enemy had been driven out, that there was no sorrow nor care +to be found in the entire kingdom. And since he could not buy it, it +was not to be had at all, and he had to travel home without it, loathe +as he was to do so. + +When he was not far from the castle, his way took him through a thick +forest. And there sat a squirrel in a tree by the road. "Buy me! buy me! +My name is trouble and care!" it said. Thought the king to himself, It +is better to have a squirrel than two empty hands, so he brought it +along for his youngest daughter. And she was quite as well pleased with +her present as her two sisters were with the ring and the wreath. The +squirrel played about in her room, sometimes it balanced itself on the +bed-posts, at others it would sit on the top of the wardrobe, and it +always had a great deal to chatter about. + +But as soon as it grew dark, it turned into a man. And he told her how +an evil and malicious giantess dwelt in the golden forest, who had +turned him into a squirrel because he would not marry her. During the +night she had no power over him; but every morning at daybreak he had +to slip back into his squirrel form. + +And in the course of time the princess actually wanted to marry Trouble +and Care; but when they were betrothed, he begged her earnestly, and as +best he knew how, never to light a light at night, and try to look at +him, "for then both of us would be unhappy," said he. No, said she, she +would be quite sure not to do so. + +And every evening, when the princess had lain down and blown out the +light, she would hear a man go into Trouble and Care's room; but when +morning dawned, the squirrel sat on her bed-post and greeted her, and +chattered and babbled about all sorts of things. + +Once, when she thought Trouble and Care had gone to sleep, she could not +help herself; but stood up quietly, lit a light and crept softly into +his room and to his bed, and when the ray of light fell on him, she saw +that he was far, far handsomer than the most handsome prince. He was +so surpassingly handsome that she bent over him in order to see more +clearly, and finally she could not help herself, but had to kiss him. +And then, three drops of wax from the candle fell on his chest, and he +awoke. + +"But how could you have done this!" he cried, and was quite unhappy. +"Had you only waited three days longer, I should have been free!" said +he. "But now I must return to the evil giantess and marry her, and all +is over between us." "Can I not follow you there?" asked the princess. +"No, that is something you could not do in all your days, for if you +rest or even so much as bend your knees to sit down, you will go back +during the night as far as you came forward during the day," said he; +leaped to the door, and disappeared. + +Then the princess wept and wailed, and waited for him to return; but she +heard and saw nothing more of him. After a few days she grew so restless +and wretched that she could no longer remain at home, and implored her +maid to go along with her to search for the golden forest. The girl +finally allowed herself to be moved; but she would not agree to set out +until she had gotten together a yard of drilling, a yard of ticking, +and a yard of fine linen; and she got them at once, as you may imagine, +for there was no shortage of such things in the castle. + +So they set out and wandered far, and ever farther, until their feet +ached, and their spirits fell. Toward evening they came into the middle +of a thick, dark forest; and climbed up into a high tree. The princess +was so tired that the maid had to hold her in her arms while she slept a +little. But during the night the ground about the tree grew alive with +wolves, in the most sinister fashion, and they howled and cried, so that +the princess did not venture to close her eyes another moment. But when +daylight appeared in the skies, it seemed as though the wolves had +suddenly all been blown away. + +The following day they wandered far and ever farther, until their feet +ached more, and their spirits sank lower. Toward evening they again came +to the middle of a thick, dark forest. And they once more climbed into a +high, high tree; but the princess was so tired that the maid had to hold +her in her arms while she slept a little. When it grew darker, a most +alarming number of bears flocked together under the tree, and began to +dance and turn in a circle, with alarming speed, and all at once they +tried to climb the tree. So the princess and her maid had to stand up in +the tree-top the whole night through, and could not close an eye; but +when day came, it seemed as though the bears sank into the earth in a +single moment. + +The third day they wandered far and ever farther, and then a bit more. +Toward evening they again came to a thick, dark forest. There they again +climbed into a high, high tree; but no sooner were they up in the tree +than the ground beneath the tree and the whole forest were alive with +lions, and they all roared and howled together in such a gruesome way +that the echoes came back from rock and woodland. Suddenly they began +to dance and whirl around in such a terrible fashion that the earth +trembled, and in between they would clutch the tree again, and try to +shake and loosen it, as though they would pull it out root and branch. +The princess and her maid had to stand up in the very tree-top, and +though they were so tired they could have fallen down from time to time, +neither of them dared think of sleeping. But the moment day dawned, the +lions all suddenly disappeared from the face of the earth, where they +were, walking and standing. + +Then they stumbled along, this way and that, the whole day long, until +their feet ached harder than hard, and their spirits sank lower than +low. They lost path and direction, and though they hunted north and +south and east and west, they could not find the way out of the great, +dark forest. + +At last the princess grew tired and sad beyond all measure, and wanted +to sit down every moment, in order to rest a little; but the maid held +her and dragged her forward, and never let her bend her knees for a +moment to sit down, because then they would have gone back just as far +as they had come that day; for you must know that the giantess in the +golden forest had so arranged matters. + +In the evening they came to an enormous, horrible rock. "I will knock +here," said the maid, and tapped and knocked. "O no," said the princess, +"please don't knock here, you can see how ugly everything is here!" +"Who is knocking there at my door?" cried the giantess in the rock, in +a loud, harsh manner, opened the door, and stuck her nose--it was all of +a yard long--out through the crack. + +"The youngest princess and her maid, they want to get to a prince in the +golden forest, whose name is Trouble and Care," was the maid's reply. + +"O, faugh!" cried the giantess, "that is so far to the north that one +can neither sail nor row there. But what do you want of Trouble and +Care? Is this, perhaps, the princess who wanted to marry him?" asked the +giantess. Yes, this was the princess. "Well, she will never get him as +long as she lives," said the giantess, "for now he must marry the great +giantess in the golden forest. You might just as well go back home now +as later," said she. No, they would not turn back for anything, and the +maid asked whether it would not be possible for her to take them in for +the darkest part of the night. "I can take you in easily enough," said +the giantess, "but when my husband comes home he will tear off your +heads, and eat you up!" But there was no help for it, they could not go +on in the middle of the night. Then the maid pulled out the yard of +ticking, and gave it to the giantess for linen. "It can't be true! It +can't be true!" cried she. "Here I have been married all of a hundred +years, and have never yet had any ticking!" And she was so pleased that +she invited the wanderers in, received them kindly, and took the best +care of them. After a while, when they had strengthened themselves with +food and drink, the giantess said to them: "Yes, he is a ferocious +fellow, is my husband, and I will have to hide you in the anteroom. +Perhaps he will not find you then." And she prepared a bed for them, as +soft and comfortable as a bed can be; but they did not care to lie down +in it, nor sit in it; no, they could not even close their eyes, for they +had to watch to see that their knees did not bend. So they stood the +whole night through, and took turns holding each other up, for by now +the maid was so weary and wretched that she was ready to give in. + +Toward midnight it began to thunder and rumble in a terrible manner. +This was the troll coming home; and no sooner had he thrust his first +head in at the door than he cried out loudly and harshly: "Faugh! faugh! +I smell Christian bodies!" and he rushed about in so wild and furious a +manner that the sparks flew. "Yes," said the giantess, "a bird flew past +with a bone from a Christian, and he let it drop down the chimney. I +threw it out again as quickly as I could, but perhaps one can smell it +still," said the giantess, and soothed him again. And he was satisfied +with her explanation. But the next morning the giantess told him that +the youngest princess and her maid had come in search of a prince named +Trouble and Care, in the golden forest. "O faugh! that is so far to the +north that one can neither sail nor row there!" the troll at once cried. +"It is the princess who wanted to marry him, I know, but she will never +get him as long as she lives, for he has to marry the great giantess in +three days' time. But the maidens shall not get away from me! Where are +they, where are they?" he cried, and sniffed and snuffed about in every +corner. "O no, you must not touch them," said the giantess. "They have +given me a yard of ticking, and here I have been married now for more +than a hundred years, and have never owned any ticking. Therefore you +must lend them your seven-mile waistcoat to the nearest neighbor," said +the giantess, and pleaded for the girls. And the troll was willing when +he heard how kind they had been to his wife. + +When they had eaten and were ready to travel, he put his seven-mile +waistcoat on them: "And now you must repeat: 'Forward over willow bush +and pine-tree, over hill and dale, to the nearest neighbor,'" said he. +"And when you get there you must say: 'You are to be hung up this +evening where you were put on this morning!'" The maidens did as he +said, and were carried for miles, over hill and dale. In the evening, at +dusk, they again came to a great, ugly rock. There they pulled off the +seven-mile waistcoat and said: "You are to be hung up this evening where +you were put on this morning," and then the waistcoat ran home by +itself. + +"I will knock here," said the maid, and knocked and thumped on the +rock. "O no," said the princess, "please do not knock here. You can see +how sinister everything is here!" "Who is thumping at my door?" cried +the giantess inside the rock, more loudly and harshly than the first +one, and she opened the door and thrust her nose, that was all of two +yards long, right through the crack. "Here stand the youngest princess +and her maid, and they are looking for a prince named Trouble and Care, +who lives in the golden forest," answered the maid. And then this +giantess also said it was so far north that one could neither sail nor +row there, and wanted them to turn back by all means. "You might just as +well turn back now as later," said she. But this the maidens did not +want to do at all, and the maid asked whether she would not, perhaps, +take them in for the night, and if it were only the darkest part of the +night. "Yes, I can take you in easily enough," said the giantess, "but +when my husband comes home to-night, he will tear off your heads and eat +you up!" Then the maid pulled out a yard of drilling, and gave it to the +giantess for linen. "It can't be true! It can't be true! here I have +been married now for over two hundred years, and I have never yet had +any drilling in the house," cried the giantess, and she was so pleased +that she invited them in, and received them kindly, and saw that they +wanted for nothing. After a while, when they had strengthened themselves +with food and drink, the giantess said: "Yes, he is a ferocious fellow, +is my husband, and he eats up every Christian who comes here, root and +branch. I'll have to put you in the anteroom, perhaps he will not find +you there," and she prepared a bed for the maidens. But they did not +dare either to lie down nor sit on it, not for a single moment, for they +had to watch to see that they did not bend their knees. So they stood +there the whole night through, and took turns holding each other up, +while each snatched a little sleep. + +Toward midnight it began to rumble and thunder in such a terrible manner +that they could feel the earth tremble beneath them. Then the troll came +rushing in. "Faugh! faugh! I smell Christian bodies!" he cried out +loudly and harshly, and thrashed about in such a furious way that the +sparks flew from him as from a fire. "Yes," said the giantess, "a bird +flew by, and let a bone from a Christian fall through the chimney. I +threw it out again as quickly as I could, but it may well be the case +that the smell still lingers," said she, and quieted her husband. And he +was satisfied with her explanation. But when he got up in the morning, +she told him that the youngest princess and her maid had come in search +of a prince named Trouble and Care, in the golden forest. When the troll +heard that, he also said that it was so far north that one could neither +sail nor row there. "That is the princess who wanted to marry him. Yes, +I know; but she will never get him as long as she lives, for he must +marry the great giantess herself in two days' time," said the troll. +"And where are they, these maidens? They shall not escape from me with +their lives!" he shouted, and sniffed and snuffed about everywhere. "O +no, you must not harm them!" said the giantess, and told him that they +had given her a yard of drilling for linen. "Therefore you must lend +them your seven-mile waistcoat to the nearest neighbor," said she. And +he was willing at once, when he heard how kind they had been to his +giantess. When they had eaten in the morning, he put his seven-mile +waistcoat on them. "When you reach your goal, you need only say: 'Where +you were put on this morning, there you are to hang again to-night!' +and then the seven-mile waistcoat will travel home by itself," said the +troll. Then they were carried for miles, over hill and dale, on and on. +In the evening, at dusk, they again came to a great, ugly rock. + +"I will knock here!" said the maid, and knocked and thumped on the rock. +"O no," said the princess, "please do not knock here, you can see how +sinister everything looks here!" "Who is thumping at my door?" the +giantess cried inside the rock, in a ruder and harsher manner than the +other two giantesses, and she opened the door just far enough so that +she could thrust her nose, which was all of three yards long, through +the crack. "Here stand the youngest princess and her maid, in search of +a prince named Trouble and Care, who lives in the golden forest," was +the maid's reply. "O faugh!" cried the giantess, "that is so far to the +north that one can neither sail nor row there. But what do you want of +Trouble and Care? Is this, perhaps, the princess who wanted to marry +him?" asked the giantess. Yes, this was the princess, was the maid's +reply. Then this giantess said in turn: "He must marry the great +giantess in the golden forest, so you might just as well turn back home +now as later!" But this the maidens did not want to do at all, and the +maid asked whether, perhaps, she would not take them in for the night, +and if it were only for the very darkest part of the night. + +"Yes, I can take you in easily enough," said the giantess, "but when my +husband comes home to-night he will tear off your heads and eat you up!" +But there was nothing else to do; they could not travel on through the +wood and wilderness, in the very darkest part of the night. Then the +maid pulled out the yard of linen and made the giantess a present of it. +"It can't be true! It can't be true!" cried she. "Here I have been +married now for more than three hundred years, and have never yet had a +bit of linen!" And she was so pleased that she invited the maidens in, +and received them kindly, and let them want for nothing. "He is a +ferocious fellow, is my husband, and he does away with every Christian +soul that strays here," she said, when her guests had eaten. "But I will +hide you in the anteroom. Perhaps he will not find you there." Then she +carefully made up a soft bed for them, as fine as the finest in the +world. But now the princess was weary and wretched and sleepy beyond all +measure. She could no longer stand up at all, and finally had to lie +down and sleep a little, and even though it were but a tiny little +while. The maid was also so weary and wretched that she fell asleep +standing, and fell over from time to time. Yet she still managed to keep +her wits about her to the extent of seizing the princess, and holding +her up, so that she did not bend her knees. Toward midnight it began to +rumble and thunder so that the whole house shook, and it seemed as +though the roof and walls would fall in. This was the great troll, who +was coming home. When he thrust his first nose in at the door, he at +once cried out in a manner so wild and harsh that the like had never +been heard before: "Faugh! faugh! I smell Christian bodies!" and he fell +into a white rage, so that sparks and flame flew from him. "Yes, a bird +flew by, and let a bone from a Christian fall through the chimney. I +threw it out as quickly as ever I could; but it may be that the smell +still persists!" said the giantess, and tried to pacify her troll. And +he was satisfied with her explanation. But when he awoke in the morning, +she told him that the youngest princess and her maid had come in search +of a prince named Trouble and Care, who lived in the golden forest. "O +faugh! That is so far north that one can neither sail nor row there!" +cried the great troll, just as the smaller trolls had. "But she will +never get him as long as she lives, for to-morrow he must marry the +great giantess. Where are they, these maidens? Hm, hm, hm, they will +make tasty eating!" he cried, and danced around everywhere, and sniffed +and snuffed with all his nine noses at once. "O no, you must not harm +them!" cried the giantess. "They have given me a yard of linen, and here +I have been married for more than three hundred years, and have never +had a bit of linen yet. Therefore you must lend them your seven-mile +waistcoat to the nearest neighbor." And when the super-troll heard that +the maidens had been so kind, he was agreeable. + +When they had strengthened themselves in the morning, he put his +seven-mile waistcoat on them. "And now you must repeat: 'On, on! +Over willow brush and pine tree, over hill and dale, to the nearest +neighbor.' And when you reach your goal, you need only say: 'You must +hang again to-night on the nail from which you were taken down this +morning!'" said the great troll. They did as he had told them, and were +carried farther and farther along, over hills and deep valleys. + +At dusk they came to a large, large forest, where all the trees were +black as coal. If one only so much as touched them, they made one look +like a chimney-sweep. And in the middle of the forest was a clearing, +and there stood a wretched hut, ready to fall apart; it was only held +together by two beams, and looked more forlorn than the most wretched +herdsman's hut. And in front of the door lay a rubbish heap of old +shoes, dirty rags and other ugly stuff. Here the maid took off the +seven-mile waistcoat, and said: "You must hang again to-night from the +nail from which you were taken down this morning!" and the waistcoat +wandered home all by itself. + +"I will knock here!" said the maid. "O no, O no," wailed the princess, +"please do not knock here, you can see how ugly everything is!" "If you +do not do as I do, then it will be the worse for both of us!" said the +maid; trampled through the rubbish-pile and knocked. An old, old +troll-woman with a nose all of three yards long, looked out through the +crack in the door. "If you girls want to come in, then come in, and if +you do not want to, you can stay out!" said she, and made as though +to close the door in their faces. "Yes, indeed, we want to come in," +replied the maid, and drew the princess in with her. "If you girls want +to come through the door, then come through, but if you do not want to, +you can stay out," the woman said once more. "Yes, thanks, we want to +come in," said the maid, and tramped over the threshold through the dirt +and rags. "Alas, alas!" wailed the princess, and tramped after her. All +was black and ugly inside, and as grimy and dirty as a corn-loft. After +a while the giantess went out, and fetched them some milk to drink. +"If you girls want to drink, why, drink, and if you do not, why, do +without!" said she, and was about to carry it out again. "Yes, thanks, +we want to drink," said the maid, and drank. "Alas, alas!" wailed the +princess, when it came her turn, for the milk was in a pig-trough, and +dirt and clots of hair were swimming in it. Then the giantess gave them +something to eat. "If you girls want to eat, why, eat, and if you do +not, why, do without," said the giantess. "Yes, indeed, we will be glad +to," said the maid, before the ugly nosey could take the food away +again. The bread was moldly, mice had been nibbling at the cheese, the +meat was so old that one could smell it at a distance, and two dirty +calves' tails were draped about the butter. "Alas, alas!" wailed the +princess, and was ready to cry; but she had to do what her maid did, and +taste the horrible dishes. Then they had to say they were much obliged. +An old man, whom thus far they had not seen, lay on a bed covered with a +few old odds and ends of fur and other rags. When they went up to him +to thank him, he stood up, and when the princess gave him her hand he +kissed it; and at that very moment he turned into a prince handsome +beyond all measure, and the princess saw that he was Trouble and Care, +for whom she had so greatly longed. "Now you have delivered me!" he +said. "Woe to whoever has delivered you!" cried the giantess, and rushed +out of the door; but on the door-step she stood like a stone, for the +forest was no longer black, and all the trees looked as though they had +been gilded from root to crest, and glittered and sparkled more brightly +than the sun at noon-day. The wretched, dirty hut had changed into a +royal castle, immensely large and handsome. One might have thought that +the roof and walls were made of the purest gold and silver, and so they +were. "Now you may bend your knee again," said the prince, "and if you +have hitherto known nothing but sorrow and care, you shall henceforth +know all the more happiness." + +The old giantess had brewed and baked, and prepared the whole wedding +dinner. And when the next day dawned, the prince and the princess, and +all the people in the castle, and in the whole country over which he was +king, celebrated the wedding. And it lasted for four times fourteen +days, so that the news spread through seven kingdoms, and reached the +bride's father and her two sisters. And they would have celebrated it +with them, had they not been so far away. I was invited to the feast +myself, and the bridegroom made me chief cook, and I had to speak the +toast for the bride and groom. But on the last day of the feast, I had +to draw mead from a large, large cask that lay at the farthest end of +the cellar. Before I sent off the filled jug, I took a taste myself, and +the mead was so strong that it suddenly went to my head, and I flew +through the air like a bird, and there I was, floating between heaven +and earth for full nine years, and then I fell down here in the village, +in front of the house up there on the hill. And out came Bertha +Friendly, with a letter for me from the prince, who had become king in +the meantime, and the letter said that he and the young queen were doing +well, and that they sent me their greetings, and that I was to greet +you for them, and that you and your sisters were invited to the castle +Sunday after Michaelmas, and then you should see a pair of dear little +princes, the golden forest, and the old stone giantess, who stands +before the door with her nose three yards long. + + + NOTE + + The story of Cupid and Psyche is the most celebrated + representative of the type of fairy-tale to which "Trouble and + Care" belongs (Hallv. E. Bergh, _Nye Folkeeventyr og Sagn fra + Valdres og Hallindal_, Coll. III, Christiania, 1882, No. 1). The + northern peoples take special pleasure in tales of faithful women, + who try to reach their vanished lovers by means of wearisome and + difficult wanderings. Peculiar is the transformation of the lover + into a squirrel, in this tale, and the condition that the poor + princess must not bend her knees, that is, sit or crouch down, + during her long journey. The end is a typical fairy-tale close, + such as the narrator likes to add, without any inner relationship + to the story itself. + + + + +XIX + +KARI WOODENCOAT + + +Once upon a time there was a king whose wife had died, but he had a +daughter who was so good and so beautiful that no one could have been +kinder or lovelier than she. The king mourned a long time for the queen, +because he had loved her greatly; but in the course of time he grew +weary of his lonely life, and married again with the widow of another +king, who also had a daughter; but one who was just as ugly and evil +as the other was handsome and kind. The step-mother and daughter were +jealous of the king's daughter, because she was so handsome; yet so long +as the king was at home, they did not dare harm her, for he was very +fond of her. But after a time, the king began to war against another +king, and went out to battle. Then the queen thought she now could do as +she wished, and she let the king's daughter starve, and beat and pushed +her about everywhere. At last everything else was too good for her, and +she had to herd the cows. So she went out with the cows, and pastured +them in the forest or on the hill. Food she had little or none, and she +grew pale and thin, and was sad most of the time, and wept. In the herd +there was also a great blue bull, who always kept himself neat and +clean, and often came to the queen's daughter and let her scratch him. +Once, as she sat there and cried and was sad, he came to her again, +and asked why she was so unhappy. She did not answer him but kept on +weeping. "Well, I know what your trouble is," said the bull, "even +though you will not tell me. You are weeping because the queen is so +unkind to you, and would gladly starve you to death. But you need not +worry about food, for in my left ear is a cloth and, if you will take it +out and spread it, you can have as much as you want to eat." She did so, +took out the cloth, laid it on the grass, and it was at once covered +with the finest dishes one might desire: bread and mead and honey-cake. +Then she soon regained her strength, and grew so plump, and so rose and +white complexioned that the queen and her daughter, who was as thin as a +rail, turned green and yellow with envy. The queen could not understand +how it was that her step-daughter came to look so well in spite of such +poor fare. So she told a maid to follow her to the forest, and watch and +see how it came about; for she thought some of the servants secretly +gave her food. The maid followed her into the forest, and watched +carefully, and saw how the step-daughter drew the cloth out of the blue +bull's left ear, and spread it out, and how it covered itself with the +finest dishes, and also how the king's daughter ate heartily. And the +maid told the queen at home about it. + +Now the king came home, and he had defeated the other king, against whom +he had warred; and the whole castle was overjoyed, and none was more +joyful than the king's daughter. But the queen pretended to be ill, and +gave the physician a great deal of money so that he should say that she +could not recover unless she had some of the blue bull's flesh to eat. +The king's daughter and others as well asked the physician whether +nothing else would do, and pleaded for the bull; for all liked him, and +said that there was not such another in the whole kingdom. But no, he +must be slaughtered, and he should be slaughtered, and there was no help +for it. When the king's daughter heard this, she felt sad, and went into +the stable to the bull. He stood and hung his head, and looked so +mournful that she could not keep from weeping. "Why do you weep?" asked +the bull. Then she told him that the king had come home, and that the +queen had pretended to be ill, and had forced the physician to say that +she could not recover unless she had some of the blue bull's flesh to +eat, and that now he was to be slaughtered. "Once she has done away with +me, it will not be long before she does away with you," said the bull. +"But if it suits you, we will run away from here to-night." The king's +daughter did say that it would be bad enough to leave her father, but +that at the same time it would be worse to remain under the same roof +with the queen, and so she promised the bull to go with him. + +In the evening, while the rest were asleep, the king's daughter crept +down to the bull in the stable. He took her on his back, and ran off +as quickly as ever he could. And when the people rose the following +morning, and wanted to slaughter the bull, he was gone; and when the +king rose and asked for his daughter, she was gone as well. The king +sent out messengers on all sides, and had the church-bells rung for her, +but no one had seen anything of her. + +In the meantime the bull trotted through many lands with the king's +daughter, and they came to a great copper forest, whose trees, leaves +and flowers were all of copper. But before they entered it, the bull +said to the king's daughter: "Now when we get into the forest you must +be very careful not to touch so much as a single leaf, or else it is all +up with you and with me; for a troll with three heads lives here, and +the forest belongs to him." Yes, indeed, she would be careful, and not +touch anything. And she was very careful, and leaned to one side, and +thrust aside the branches; but the forest was so thick that it was +almost impossible to win through, and for all that she was so careful, +she did tear off a leaf, and it remained in her hand. + +"Alas, alas!" cried the bull. "What have you done! Now I must fight for +my very life. But see that you keep the leaf carefully!" Straightway +they reached the end of the forest, and at once a troll with three heads +came rushing up. "Who has touched my forest?" cried he. "The forest is +as much mine as yours!" was the bull's reply. "We'll see if it is!" +shouted the troll. "That suits me!" cried the bull. Then they rushed at +each other, and the bull gored and butted with might and main. But the +troll was just as strong, and it took all day before the bull gained the +upper hand. And then he had so many wounds, and was so weak that he +could scarcely walk. So they had to halt for a whole day; but the bull +told the queen's daughter to take the horn of ointment that hung at the +troll's girdle, and anoint him with the salve. Thereupon he grew strong +and well again, and they went on the next day. Now they wandered for +many, many days, and at last came to a silver forest, whose trees, +branches, leaves, buds and all were of silver. + +Before the bull entered the forest he said to the king's daughter: "Now +when we get into this forest, in heaven's name be careful! You must +touch nothing, and not even tear off so much as a single leaf, or else +it is all up with you and me. A troll with six heads lives here, and the +forest belongs to him, and I will hardly be able to hold my own against +him!" + +"Yes," said the king's daughter, "indeed I will be careful, and not +touch the least thing, just as you have told me." But when they entered +the forest, it was so thick that it was almost impossible to win +through. She was as careful as she could be, and avoided the branches, +and thrust them aside with her hands; but the branches struck her in the +face each moment, and in spite of all her care a leaf did remain in her +hand. + +"Alas, alas!" cried the bull. "What have you done! Now I must fight for +my very life, for the troll with six heads is twice as strong as the +first one; but see that you take care of the leaf and keep it +carefully!" + +At once the troll came rushing up. "Who has touched my forest?" cried +he. "The forest is as much mine as yours!" cried the bull. "Oho, we'll +see if it is!" cried the troll. "That suits me!" said the bull, and +rushed on the troll, gored him, and thrust his horns right through him. +But the troll was just as strong, and it took three whole days before +the bull got the better of him. After that he was so weak and feeble +that he could scarcely move, and so full of wounds that his blood ran in +streams. Then he told the king's daughter to take the horn of ointment +that hung at the troll's girdle, and anoint him with the salve. She did +so, and he recovered again: yet they had to remain a time on the spot, +until he was once more able to go on. + +At last they set out again; but the bull was still weak, and at first +they went slowly. The king's daughter wanted to spare him, and said she +was young and quick on her feet, and could walk very well; but this he +would not allow, and she had to sit on his back. Thus they wandered for +a long time, and through many lands, and the king's daughter had no idea +where they might be going; but at length they came to a golden forest. +It was very beautiful, and the gold dripped down from it, for the trees, +and branches and leaves and buds were all of purest gold. And here all +went as it had in the copper and silver forests. The bull told the +king's daughter that in no case was she to touch anything, since a +troll with nine heads lived here, to whom the forest belonged. And he +was much larger and stronger than the two others together, and he did +not believe he could hold his own against him. Yes, said she, she would +be sure to pay attention and positively would not touch a thing. But +when they entered the forest, it was even thicker than the silver +forest, and the further they went the worse it became. The forest +grew thicker and denser, and at last it seemed as though it would be +impossible to push on at all. She was much afraid of tearing off +anything, and wound and twisted and bent herself in every direction, in +order to avoid the branches, and thrust them aside with her hands. But +each moment they struck her in the face, so that she could not see where +she was reaching, and before she had a chance to think, she held a +golden apple in her hand. Then she was terribly frightened, and began to +cry, and wanted to throw it away. But the bull told her to keep it, and +hide it carefully, and consoled her as best he could. Yet he thought +that the battle would be a hard one, and was in doubt as to whether it +would end well. + +But now the troll with the nine heads came rushing up, and he was so +frightful that the king's daughter could scarcely bear to look at him. +"Who has touched my forest?" he shouted. "The forest is as much mine as +yours!" cried the bull. "We'll see if it is!" cried the troll. "That +suits me!" said the bull, and with this they rushed on each other, so +that it was a fearsome sight, and the king's daughter nearly fainted. +The bull gored the troll through and through with his horns; but the +troll was as strong as he, and as soon as the bull killed one of his +heads, the others breathed fresh life into it, and it took a full week +before the bull got the better of him. But then he was so wretched and +so weak that he could not move a bit. His whole body was covered with +wounds; and he could not even tell the king's daughter to take the horn +of ointment from the troll's girdle and anoint him with the salve. But +she did so of her own accord, and then he recovered again. Yet they had +to stay where they were for three whole weeks, until he was able to go +on again. + +At last they once more went slowly on their way; for the bull said they +still had a little further to go, and they went over many great hills +and through thick forests. After a time they came to a rock. "Do you see +anything?" asked the bull. "No, I see only the sky and the rock," said +the king's daughter. But when they went on up the hills were more level, +so that they had a broader outlook. "Do you see something now?" asked +the bull. "Yes, I see a small castle, far, far in the distance," said +the princess. "And yet it is not so small," said the bull. At length +they came to a great mountain with a steep, rocky face. "Do you see +something now?" asked the bull. "Yes, now I see the castle close by, and +it is much, much larger," said the king's daughter. "That is where you +must go!" said the bull. "Just below the castle is a pig-sty, and if you +go into it you will find a wooden coat. You must put it on, and go with +it into the castle, and say your name is Kari Woodencoat, and ask for a +place. But now take your little knife and cut off my head; then draw off +my skin, roll it up and lay it at the foot of the rock. But in it you +must place the copper leaf, and the silver leaf, and the golden apple. +Outside, against the hill, is a stick, and if you want anything of me, +all you need do is to knock at the mountain-side." At first the princess +could not at all make up her mind to do this; but when the bull told her +that this was the only reward he wanted for all the good he had done +her, she could not refuse. It made her heart ache, yet in spite of it, +she took her knife and cut until she had cut off the head of the great +beast, and had drawn off his skin, and then she laid the latter at the +foot of the rock, and in it she placed the copper leaf, and the silver +leaf, and the golden apple. + +When she had done this she went to the pig-sty, but she wept a great +deal and felt sad. Then she put on the wooden coat, and went to the +king's castle in it. She asked for a place in the kitchen, and said her +name was Kari Woodencoat. Yes, said the cook, she might have a place if +she cared to wash up, for the girl who had formerly attended to it had +run away. "And after you have been here a while, no doubt you will have +enough of it, and run away from us, too," said he. No, indeed, she would +not do so. + +She was most industrious at her washing up. On Sunday they expected +company at the king's castle; and Kari asked permission to take up +water to wash in to the prince. But the others laughed at her and cried; +"What do you want to do there? Do you think the prince will have +anything to do with you, homely as you are?" But she kept on asking, and +at length received permission. + +And then, as she ran up the stairs, her wooden coat clattered so loudly +that the prince came out and asked: "And who are you?" "I came to bring +you water to wash in," said Kari. "Do you think I want the water you are +bringing me?" cried the prince, and poured the water out over her head. +So she had to go off; but she asked permission to go to church. And she +received permission, for the church was close by. But first she went to +the rock and knocked at it with a stick, as the bull had told her. And a +man came out at once and asked what she wanted. The king's daughter said +that she had permission to go to church and hear the sermon, but that +she had no dress to wear. Then the man gave her a dress that shone like +the copper forest, and a horse and a saddle as well. When she came to +church she looked so beautiful that all the people wondered who she +might be, and none of them listened to the sermon, because they were all +looking at her. She even pleased the prince so much that he could not +keep from looking at her. + +When she left the church, the prince came after her, and closed the +church door behind her, and kept one of the gloves she wore in his hand. +And then when she wanted to mount her horse, the prince came again, and +asked her where she came from. "From Washwaterland!" said Kari, and +while the prince pulled out the glove and wanted to give it to her, she +said: + + "Be there light before me, and darkness behind, + That the place I ride to the prince may not find!" + +The prince had never yet seen such a handsome glove, and he traveled +far, looking for the native land of the noble lady who had abandoned her +glove, but no one could tell him where it might be. + +The following Sunday some one had to go up to the prince, and bring him +a towel. "Cannot I go up?" begged Kari. "Is that all you want?" said the +rest in the kitchen. "You saw yourself what happened to you the last +time!" But Kari kept on asking, and finally she received permission, +after all, and ran up the stairs so that her wooden coat fairly +clattered. The prince at once thrust his head out of the door, and when +he saw that it was Kari, he tore the towel out of her hand and flung it +at her head. "Off with you, you horrid creature!" cried he. "Do you +think I want a towel that you have touched with your dirty fingers?" + +After that the prince went to church, and Kari also begged permission to +go. The people asked her why she wanted to go to church, since she had +nothing to wear but her ugly, black wooden coat. But Kari said the +pastor preached so beautifully that she loved to listen to him, and +finally they allowed her to go. She went to the wall of rock and +knocked, and the man came out and gave her a dress that was far +handsomer than the first; it was embroidered all over with silver, and +gleamed like the silver forest; and she also received a splendid horse, +with housings embroidered with silver, and a silver bridle. When the +king's daughter came to the church, the people were still standing +before the church door. In their astonishment they all asked each other +who she might be, and the prince came running up at once, and wanted to +hold her horse while she dismounted. But she jumped right down, and said +it would not be necessary, since the horse was so tame that it would +stand still when she commanded, and come to her if she wished. Then +every one went into the church. But hardly any one paid any attention +to the sermon; for they were all looking at Kari, and the prince fell +deeper in love with her than he had the first time. When the sermon was +over, and she left the church and was about to mount her horse, the +prince again came, and asked where she came from. "From Towelland!" said +she, and let fall her riding-whip. And when the prince stooped to pick +it up, she said: + + "Be there light before me, and darkness behind, + That the place I ride to the prince may not find!" + +Off she was, and the prince did not know what had become of her. He +wandered about in the world, far and wide, looking for her native land. +But no one could tell him where it might be, and with that the prince +finally had to content himself. + +The following Sunday some one was to go up to the prince, and bring him +a comb. Kari begged that they would let her go, but the others reminded +her of what had happened the last time, and scolded her for showing +herself to the prince, ugly and black as she was, and in her wooden +coat. But she kept on asking, and finally they let her go with the comb. +When she once more came clattering up the stairs, the prince thrust his +head out of the door, tore the comb from her hand, and shouted at her to +be off. Then the prince went to church, and Kari wanted to go as well. +The rest again asked her why she wanted to go to church, black and ugly +as she was, since she did not even have clothes fit to appear in before +other people. The prince, or some one else might happen to see her, and +that would mean unhappiness for herself and others. But Kari said that +the people would have other things to look at besides herself, and +finally they let her go. + +Then everything happened exactly as on the other two occasions. She went +to the wall of rock, and knocked with the stick, and then the man came +out, and gave her a dress that was far more beautiful than both of the +others. It was all pure gold and diamonds, and she also received a +beautiful horse, with housings embroidered with gold, and a golden +bridle. + +When the king's daughter came to the church, the pastor and all the +congregation were still standing before the church door, waiting for +her. The prince came running up at once, and wanted to hold her horse, +but she jumped down and said: "No, thanks, it is not necessary, for my +horse is so tame that he will remain standing when I tell him to do so." +So they all went into the church, and the pastor mounted the pulpit. But +not a soul listened to the sermon, because all the people were looking +at the princess, and wondering where she came from, and the prince fell +still more deeply in love than he had on the two other occasions. He +paid no attention to anything, and looked only at her. + +When the sermon was over, and the king's daughter left the church, the +prince had poured tar on the floor of the vestibule, so that he might +have a chance to help the king's daughter across. But she paid no +attention to it, stepped right into the middle of the tar, and leaped +over. But one of her golden shoes stuck fast, and when she had mounted +her horse, the prince came running out of the church and asked her +whence she came. "From Combland!" she answered. But when the prince +wanted to hand her the golden shoe, she said: + + "Be there light before me, and darkness behind, + That the place I ride to the prince may not find!" + +And again the prince did not know where she had gone, and he wandered +about the world a long time, looking for Combland; but since no one +could tell him where it might be, he let it be known that he would marry +the girl whose foot the golden shoe fitted. Then the handsome and the +homely came scurrying up from the ends of the earth; but none of them +had a foot so small that they could put on the golden shoe. At last +Kari's evil stepmother and her daughter also came, and the shoe fitted +the latter. But she was very homely, and looked so unsatisfactory +that the prince kept his promise most unwillingly. Notwithstanding, +preparations were made for the wedding, and she was adorned with her +bridal finery, but when they rode to church, a little bird sat in a tree +and sang: + + "A bit of the heel, + And a bit of the toe, + Kari Woodencoat's shoe + Is filled with blood, I know!" + +And when they looked, the bird had told the truth, for blood was +dripping from the shoe. Then all the maids and all the women who were at +the castle had to try on the shoe, but it would fit none of them. "But +where is Kari Woodencoat?" asked the prince, for he had understood the +song of the bird, and remembered it well. "O she!" said the others. "It +is not worth while having her come, for she has feet like a horse." "Be +that as it may," said the prince. "But all the rest have tried it on, so +she shall try it on as well. Kari!" he called out through the door, and +Kari came clattering up the stairs so that everything shook, just as +though a whole regiment of dragoons had arrived. "Now you shall try on +the golden shoe, and be a princess!" said the others, and made fun of +her. But Kari took the shoe, put her foot into it without a bit of +trouble, cast off her wooden coat, and stood there in her golden dress, +so that she was all a-sparkle, and on her other foot she had the golden +shoe's mate. The prince recognized her at once, put his arm around her, +and kissed her. And she told him that she was a king's daughter, which +made him still more happy, and then they celebrated their wedding. + + "Spin, span, spun, + Now our tale is done!" + + + NOTE + + "Kari Woodencoat" (Asbjoernsen and Moe, N.F.E., p. 79, No. 19) + proves how arbitrarily the motives of a fairy-tale are sometimes + handled. The blue bull helps the maiden out of her difficulties, + and we expect that he will turn out to be a handsome prince, or a + guardian spirit sent by the deceased mother. Instead of which he + disappears from the story with hardly a trace, and Kari marries a + foreign prince. The last part of the tale has an independent + existence in a Russian fairy-story, "The Czar's Daughter in the + Underground Kingdom." + + + + +XX + +OLA STORBAEKKJEN + + +Once upon a time there lived a man in the forest of Dovre whose name was +Ola Storbaekkjen. He was of giant build, powerful and fearless. During +the winter he did not work, but traveled from one fair to another, +hunting up quarrels and brawls. From Christiansmarkt he went to Branaes +and Konigsberg, and thence to Grundsaet, and wherever he came squabbles +and brawls broke out, and in every brawl he was the victor. In the +summer he dealt in cattle at Valders and the fjords, and fought with the +fjord-folk and the hill people of Halling and Valders, and always had +the best of it. But sometimes they scratched him a bit with the knife, +did those folk. + +Now once, at the time of the hay harvest, he was home at Baekkjen, and +had lain down to take a little after-dinner nap under the penthouse. And +he was taken into the hill, which happened in the following way: A man +with a pair of gilded goat's horns came along and butted Ola, but Ola +fell upon him so that the man had to duck back, again and again. But the +stranger stood up once more, and began to butt again, and finally he +took Ola under his arm like a glove, and then both of them flew straight +off into the hill. + +In the place to which they came all was adorned with silver plates and +dishes, and with ornaments of silver, and Ola thought that the king +himself had nothing finer. They offered him mead, which he drank; but +eat he would not, for the food did not seem to him to be appetizing. +Suddenly the man with the gilded goat's horns came in, and gave Ola a +shove before he knew it; but Ola came back at him as before, and so they +beat and pulled each other through all the rooms, and along all the +walls. Ola was of the opinion that they had been at it all night long; +but by that time the scuffle had lasted over fourteen days, and they had +already tolled the church bells for him on three successive Thursday +evenings. On the third Thursday evening he was in ill ease, for the +people in the hill had in mind to thrust him forth. When the bells +stopped ringing, he sat at a crack in the hill, with his head looking +out. Had not a man come by and happened to spy him, and told the people +to keep on ringing the church-bells, the hill would have closed over him +again, and he would probably still be inside. But when he came out he +had been so badly beaten, and was so miserable, that it passed all +measure. The lumps on his head were each bigger than the other, his +whole body was black and blue, and he was quite out of his mind. And +from time to time he would leap up, run off and try to get back into the +hill to take up his quarrel again, and fight for the gilded goat's +horns. For those he wanted to break from the giant's forehead. + + NOTE + + A primitive enjoyment of brawling and pummeling is betrayed in the + story of "Ola Storbaekkjen" (Asbjoernsen, _Huldreeventyr_, II, + p. 73. From the vicinity of Osterdalen, told by a + reindeer-hunter). + + + + +XXI + +THE CAT WHO COULD EAT SO MUCH + + +Once upon a time there was a man who had a cat, and she ate so very +much that he did not want to keep her any longer. So he decided to tie +a stone around her neck, and throw her into the river; but before he +did so she was to have something to eat just once more. The woman +offered her a dish of mush and a little potful of fat. These she +swallowed, and then jumped out of the window. There stood the man on +the threshing-floor. + +"Good-day, man in the house," said the cat. + +"Good-day, cat," said the man. "Have you had anything to eat yet +to-day?" + +"O, only a little, but my fast has hardly been broken," said the cat. "I +have had no more than a dish of mush and a little potful of fat, and I +am thinking over whether I ought not to eat you as well," said she, and +she seized the man and ate him up. Then she went into the stable. There +sat the woman, milking. + +"Good-day, woman in the stable," said the cat. + +"Good-day, cat, is that you?" said the woman. "Have you eaten your +food?" she asked. + +"O, only a little to-day. My fast has hardly been broken," said the cat. +"I have had no more than a dish of mush and a little potful of fat and +the man in the house, and I'm thinking over whether I ought not to eat +you as well," said she, and she seized the woman and ate her up. + +"Good-day, cow at the manger," said the cat to the bell-cow. + +"Good-day, cat," said the bell-cow. "Have you had anything to eat yet +to-day?" "O, only a little. My fast has hardly been broken," said the +cat. "I have had no more than a dish of mush and a little potful of fat +and the man in the house and the woman in the stable, and I'm thinking +over whether I ought not to eat you as well," said the cat, and seized +the bell-cow and ate her up. Then she went up to the orchard, and there +stood a man who was sweeping up leaves. + +"Good-day, leaf-sweeper in the orchard," said the cat. + +"Good-day, cat," said the man. "Have you had anything to eat yet +to-day?" + +"O, only a little. My fast has hardly been broken," said the cat. "I +have had no more than a dish of mush and a little potful of fat and the +man in the house and the woman in the stable and the bell-cow at the +manger, and I'm thinking over whether I ought not to eat you up as +well," said she, and seized the leaf-sweeper and ate him up. + +Then she came to a stone-pile. There stood the weasel, looking about +him. + +"Good-day, weasel on the stone-pile," said the cat. + +"Good-day, cat," said the weasel. "Have you had anything to eat yet +to-day?" + +"O, only a little. My fast has hardly been broken," said the cat. "I +have had no more than a dish of mush and a little potful of fat and the +man in the house and the woman in the stable and the bell-cow at the +manger and the leaf-sweeper in the orchard, and I'm thinking over +whether I ought not to eat you as well," said the cat, and seized the +weasel and ate him up. + +After she had gone a while, she came to a hazel-bush. There sat the +squirrel, gathering nuts. + +"Good-day, squirrel in the bush," said the cat. + +"Good-day, cat! Have you already had anything to eat yet to-day?" said +the squirrel. + +"O, only a little. My fast has hardly been broken," said the cat. "I +have had no more than a dish of mush and a little potful of fat and the +man in the house and the woman in the stable and the bell-cow at the +manger and the leaf-sweeper in the orchard and the weasel on the +stone-pile, and I'm thinking over whether I ought not to eat you up as +well," said she, and seized the squirrel and ate him up. + +After she had gone a little while longer, she met Reynard the fox, who +was peeping out of the edge of the forest. + +"Good-day, fox, you sly-boots," said the cat. + +"Good-day, cat! Have you had anything to eat yet to-day?" said the fox. + +"O, only a little. My fast has hardly been broken," said the cat. "I +have had no more than a dish of mush and a little potful of fat and the +man in the house and the woman in the stable and the bell-cow at the +manger and the leaf-sweeper in the orchard and the weasel on the +stone-pile and the squirrel in the hazel-bush, and I'm thinking over +whether I ought not to eat you as well," said she, and seized the fox +and ate him up too. + +When she had gone a little further, she met a hare. + +"Good-day, you hopping hare," said the cat. + +"Good-day, cat! Have you had anything to eat yet to-day?" said the hare. + +"O, only a little. My fast has hardly been broken," said the cat. "I +have had no more than a dish of mush and a little potful of fat and the +man in the house and the woman in the stable and the bell-cow at the +manger and the leaf-sweeper in the orchard and the weasel on the +stone-pile and the squirrel in the hazel-bush and the fox, the +sly-boots, and I'm thinking over whether I ought not to eat you up as +well," said she, and seized the hare and ate him up. + +When she had gone a little further, she met a wolf. + +"Good-day, you wild wolf," said the cat. + +"Good-day, cat! Have you had anything to eat yet to-day?" said the wolf. + +"O, only a little. My fast has hardly been broken," said the cat. "I +have had no more than a dish of mush and a little potful of fat and the +man in the house and the woman in the stable and the bell-cow at the +manger and the leaf-sweeper in the orchard and the weasel on the +stone-pile and the squirrel in the hazel-bush and the fox, the +sly-boots, and the hopping hare, and I'm thinking over whether I ought +not to eat you up as well," said she, and seized the wolf and ate him +up, too. + +Then she went into the wood, and when she had gone far and farther than +far, over hill and dale, she met a young bear. + +"Good-day, little bear brown-coat," said the cat. + +"Good-day, cat! Have you had anything to eat yet to-day?" said the bear. + +"O, only a little. My fast has hardly been broken," said the cat. "I +have had no more than a dish of mush and a little pot of fat and the man +in the house and the woman in the stable and the bell-cow at the manger +and the leaf-sweeper in the orchard and the weasel on the stone-pile and +the squirrel in the hazel-bush and the fox, the sly-boots, and the +hopping hare and the wild wolf, and I'm thinking over whether I ought +not to eat you up as well," said she, and seized the little bear and ate +him up. + +When the cat had gone a bit further, she met the mother bear, who was +clawing at the tree-stems so that the bark flew, so angry was she to +have lost her little one. + +"Good-day, you biting mother bear," said the cat. + +"Good-day, cat! Have you had anything to eat yet to-day?" said the +mother bear. + +"O, only a little. My fast has hardly been broken," said the cat. "I +have had no more than a dish of mush and a little potful of fat and the +man in the house and the woman in the stable and the bell-cow at the +manger and the leaf-sweeper in the orchard and the weasel on the +stone-pile and the squirrel in the hazel-bush and the fox, the +sly-boots, and the hopping hare and the wild wolf and the little bear +brown-coat, and I'm thinking over whether I ought not to eat you as +well," said she, and seized the mother bear and ate her, too. + +When the cat had gone on a little further, she met the bear himself. + +"Good-day, Bruin Good-fellow," said she. + +"Good-day, cat! Have you had anything to eat yet to-day?" asked the +bear. + +"O, only a little. My fast has hardly been broken," said the cat. "I +have had no more than a dish of mush and a little potful of fat and the +man in the house and the woman in the stable and the bell-cow at the +manger and the leaf-sweeper in the orchard and the weasel in the +stone-pile and the squirrel in the hazel-bush and the fox, the +sly-boots, and the hopping hare and the wild wolf and the little bear +brown-coat and the biting mother bear, and now I'm thinking over whether +I ought not to eat you as well," said she, and she seized the bear and +ate him up, too. + +Then the cat went far and farther than far, until she came into the +parish. And there she met a bridal party on the road. + +"Good-day, bridal party on the road," said the cat. + +"Good-day, cat! Have you had anything to eat yet to-day?" + +"O, only a little. My fast is hardly broken," said the cat. "I have had +no more than a dish of mush and a little potful of fat and the man in +the house and the woman in the stable and the bell-cow at the manger and +the leaf-sweeper in the orchard and the weasel on the stone-pile and the +squirrel in the hazel-bush and the fox, the sly-boots, and the hopping +hare and the wild wolf and the little bear brown-coat and the biting +mother bear and bruin good-fellow and now I'm thinking whether I ought +not to eat you up as well," said she, and she pounced on the whole +bridal party, and ate it up, with the cook, the musicians, the horses +and all. + +When she had gone a bit farther, she came to the church. And there she +met a funeral procession. + +"Good-day, funeral procession at the church," said the cat. + +"Good-day, cat! Have you had anything to eat yet to-day?" said the +funeral procession. + +"O, only a little. My fast has hardly been broken," said the cat. "I +have had no more than a dish of mush and a little potful of fat and +the man in the house and the woman in the stable and the bell-cow at +the manger and the leaf-sweeper in the orchard and the weasel on the +stone-pile and the squirrel in the hazel-bush and the fox, the +sly-boots, and the hopping hare and the wild wolf and little bear +brown-coat and the biting mother bear and bruin good-fellow and the +bridal party on the road, and now I'm thinking over whether I ought +not to eat you up as well," said she, and pounced on the funeral +procession, and ate up corpse and procession. + +When the cat had swallowed it all, she went straight on up to the sky, +and when she had gone far and farther than far, she met the moon in a +cloud. + +"Good-day, moon in a cloud," said the cat. + +"Good-day, cat! Have you had anything to eat yet to-day?" said the moon. + +"O, only a little. My fast has hardly been broken," said the cat. "I +have had no more than a dish of mush and a little potful of fat and the +man in the house and the woman in the stable and the bell-cow at the +manger and the leaf-sweeper in the orchard and the weasel on the +stone-pile and the squirrel in the hazel-bush and the fox, the +sly-boots, and the wild wolf and little bear brown-coat and the biting +mother bear and bruin good-fellow and the bridal party on the road and +the funeral procession at the church, and now I'm thinking over whether +I ought not to eat you up as well," said she, and pounced on the moon +and ate him up, half and full. + +Then the cat went far and farther than far, and met the sun. + +"Good morning, cat! Have you had anything to eat yet to-day?" said the +sun. + +"O, only a little," said the cat. "I have had no more than a dish of +mush and a little potful of fat and the man in the house and the woman +in the stable and the bell-cow at the manger and the leaf-sweeper in the +orchard and the weasel on the stone-pile and the squirrel in the +hazel-bush and the fox, the sly-boots, and the hopping hare and the wild +wolf and little bear brown-coat and the biting mother bear and bruin +good-fellow and the bridal party on the road and the funeral procession +at the church and the moon in a cloud, and now I'm thinking over whether +I ought not to eat you up as well," said she, and pounced on the sun in +the sky and ate him up. + +Then the cat went far and farther than far, until she came to a bridge, +and there she met a large billy-goat. + +"Good morning, billy-goat on the broad bridge," said the cat. + +"Good morning, cat! Have you had anything to eat yet to-day?" said the +goat. + +"O, only a little. My fast has hardly been broken," said the cat. "I had +no more than a dish of mush and a little potful of fat and the man in +the house and the woman in the stable and the bell-cow at the manger and +the leaf-sweeper in the orchard and the weasel on the stone-pile and the +squirrel in the hazel-bush and the fox, the sly-boots, and the hopping +hare and the wild wolf and little bear brown-coat and the biting mother +bear and bruin good-fellow and the bridal party on the road and the +funeral procession at the church and the moon in a cloud and the sun in +the sky, and now I'm thinking over whether I ought not to eat you up as +well," said she. + +"We'll fight about that first of all," said the goat, and butted the cat +with his horns so that she rolled off the bridge, and fell into the +water, and there she burst. + +Then they all crawled out, and each went to his own place, all whom the +cat had eaten up, and were every one of them as lively as before, the +man in the house and the woman in the stable and the bell-cow at the +manger and the leaf-sweeper in the orchard and the weasel on the +stone-pile and the squirrel in the hazel-bush and the fox, the +sly-boots, and the hopping hare and the wild wolf and little bear +brown-coat and the biting mother bear and bruin good-fellow and the +bridal party on the road and the funeral procession at the church and +the moon in a cloud and the sun in the sky. + + + NOTE + + A real nursery fairy-tale is that of "The Cat Who Could Eat So + Much" (Asbjoernsen, N.F.E., No. 102, p. 222. From Gudbrandsdal). It + may be a survival from the time when it was believed that the sun + and moon in the sky were devoured by a monster when they were + obscured by a passing cloud. + + + + +XXII + +EAST OF THE SUN AND WEST OF THE MOON + + +Once upon a time there was a poor tenant farmer who had a number of +children whom he could feed but poorly, and had to clothe in the +scantiest way. They were all handsome; but the most beautiful, after +all, was the youngest daughter, for she was beautiful beyond all +telling. + +Now it happened that one Thursday evening late in the fall there was a +terrible storm raging outside. It was pitch dark, and it rained and +stormed so that the house shook in every joint. The whole family sat +around the hearth, and each was busy with some work or other. Suddenly +there were three loud knocks on the window-pane. The man went out to see +who was there, and when he stepped outside, there stood a great white +bear. + +"Good evening," said the white bear. + +"Good evening," returned the man. + +"If you'll give me your youngest daughter, I will make you just as rich +as now you are poor," said the bear. + +The man was not ill-pleased that he was to become so rich; yet he did +think that first he ought to speak to his daughter about it. So he went +in again, and said that there was a white bear outside, who had promised +to make him just as rich as he was poor now, if he could only have the +youngest daughter for his bride. But the girl said no, and would not +hear of it. Then the man went back to the bear again, and they both +agreed that the white bear should return again the following Thursday +and get his answer. In the meantime, however, the parents worked upon +their daughter, and talked at length about all the riches they would +gain, and how well she herself would fare. So at last she agreed, washed +and mended the few poor clothes she had, adorned herself as well as she +could, and made ready to travel. And what she was given to take along +with her is not worth mentioning, either. + +The following Thursday the white bear came to fetch his bride. The girl +seated herself on his back with her bundle, and then he trotted off. +After they had gone a good way, the white bear asked: "Are you afraid?" + +"No, not at all," she answered. + +"Just keep a tight hold on my fur, and then you will be in no danger," +said the bear. So she rode on the bear's back, far, far away, until at +last they came to a great rock. There the bear knocked, and at once +a door opened through which they entered a great castle, with many +brilliantly lighted rooms, where everything gleamed with gold and +silver. Then they came into a great hall, and there stood a table +completely covered with the most splendid dishes. Here the white bear +gave the maiden a silver bell, and said that if there were anything she +wanted, she need only ring the bell, and she should have it at once. +And after the maiden had eaten, and evening came on, she felt like lying +down and going to sleep. So she rang her bell; and at its very first +peal she found herself transported to a room in which stood the most +beautiful bed one might wish to have, with silken cushions and curtains +with golden tassels; and all that was in the room was of gold and +silver. Yet when she had lain down and put out the light, she saw a man +come in and cast himself down in a corner. It was the white bear, who +was allowed to throw off his fur at night; yet the maiden never actually +saw him, for he never came until she had put out the light, and before +dawn brightened he had disappeared again. + +For a time all went well; but gradually the maiden grew sad and silent; +for she had not a soul to keep her company the live-long day, and she +felt very homesick for her parents and sisters. When the white bear +asked her what troubled her, she told him she was always alone, and that +she wanted so very much to see her parents and sisters again, and felt +very sad because she could not do so. "O that can be managed," said the +white bear. "But first you must promise me that you will never speak to +your mother alone; but only when others are present. Very likely she +will take you by the hand, and want to lead you into her room, so that +she can speak to you alone. But this you must not allow, otherwise you +will make us both unhappy." + +And then, one Sunday, the white bear actually came and told her that now +she might make the trip to her parents. So she seated herself on the +bear's back, and the bear set out. After they had gone a very long +distance, they at length came to a fine, large, white house, before +which her brothers and sisters were running about and playing, and all +was so rich and splendid that it was a real pleasure merely to look at +it. + +"This is where your parents live," said the white bear. "Only do not +forget what I told you, or you will make us both unhappy." Heaven forbid +that she should forget it, said the maiden; and when she had come to the +house, she got down, and the bear turned back. + +When the daughter entered her parents' home, they were more than happy; +they told her that they could not thank her enough for what she had +done, and that now all of them were doing splendidly. Then they asked +her how she herself fared. The maiden answered that all was well with +her, also, and that she had all that heart could desire. I do not know +exactly all the other things she told them; but I do not believe she +told them every last thing there was to tell. So in the afternoon, when +the family had eaten dinner, it happened as the white bear had foretold; +the mother wanted to talk to her daughter alone, in her room; but she +thought of what the white bear had told her, and did not want to go with +her mother, but said: + +"All we have to say to each other can just as well be said here." +Yet--she herself did not know exactly how it happened--her mother +finally did persuade her, and then she had to tell just how things +were. So she informed her that as soon as she put out the light at +night, a man came and cast himself down in the corner of the room. +She had never yet seen him, for he always went away before the dawn +brightened. And this grieved her, for she did want to see him so very +much, and she was alone through the day, and it was very dreary and +lonely. + +"Alas, perhaps he is a troll, after all," said the mother. "But I +can give you some good advice as to how you can see him. Here is a +candle-end, which you must hide under your wimple. When the troll is +sleeping, light the light and look at him. But be careful not to let +a drop of tallow fall on him." + +The daughter took the candle-end and hid it in her wimple, and in the +evening the white bear came to fetch her. + +After they had gone a way the white bear asked whether everything had +not happened just as he had said. Yes, such had been the case, and the +maiden could not deny it. + +"If you have listened to your mother's advice, then you will make us +both unhappy, and all will be over between us," said the bear. "O, no, +she had not done so," replied the maiden, indeed she had not. + +When they reached home, and the maiden had gone to bed, all went as +usual: a man came in and cast himself down in a corner of the room. But +in the night, when she heard him sleeping soundly, she stood up and +lighted the candle. She threw the light on him, and saw the handsomest +prince one might wish to see. And she liked him so exceedingly well +that she thought she would be unable to keep on living if she could not +kiss him that very minute. She did so, but by mistake she let three hot +drops of tallow fall on him, and he awoke. + +"Alas, what have you done!" cried he. "Now you have made both of us +unhappy. If you had only held out until the end of the year, I would +have been delivered. I have a step-mother who has cast a spell on me, so +that by day I am a bear, and at night a human being. But now all is over +between us, and I must return to my step-mother. She lives in a castle +that is east of the sun and west of the moon, where there is a princess +with a nose three yards long, whom I must now marry." + +The maiden wept and wailed; but to no avail, for the prince said he must +journey away. Then she asked him whether she might not go with him. No, +said he, that could not be. + +"But can you not at least tell me the road, so that I can search for +you. For surely that will be permitted me?" + +"Yes, that you may do," said he. "But there is no road that leads there. +The castle lies east of the sun and west of the moon, and neither now +nor at any other time will you find the road to it!" + +When the maiden awoke the next morning, the prince as well as the castle +had disappeared. She lay in a green opening in the midst of a thick, +dark wood, and beside her lay the bundle of poor belongings she had +brought from home. And when she had rubbed the sleep out of her eyes, +and had cried her fill, she set out and wandered many, many days, until +at last she came to a great hill. And before the hill sat an old woman +who was playing with a golden apple. The maiden asked the woman whether +she did not know which road led to the prince who lived in the castle +that was east of the sun and west of the moon, and who was to marry a +princess with a nose three yards long. + +"How do you come to know him?" asked the woman. "Are you, perhaps, the +maiden he wanted to marry?" + +"Yes, I am that maiden," she replied. + +"So you are that girl," said the woman. "Well, my child, I am sorry to +say that all I know of him is that he lives in the castle that is east +of the sun and west of the moon, and that you will probably never +get there. But I will loan you my horse, on which you may ride to my +neighbor, and perhaps she can tell you. And when you get there just give +the horse a blow back of his left ear, and order him to go home. And +here, take this golden apple along!" + +The maiden mounted the horse, and rode a long, long time. At length she +again came to a hill, before which sat an old woman with a golden reel. +The maiden asked whether she could not tell her the road which led to +the castle that lay east of the sun and west of the moon. This woman +said just what the other had, no, she knew no more of the castle than +that it lay east of the sun and west of the moon. "And," said she, "you +will probably never get there. But I will loan you my horse to ride +to the nearest neighbor; perhaps she can tell you. And when you have +reached her just give the horse a blow back of his left ear, and order +him to go home again." And finally she gave the maiden the golden reel, +for, said the old woman, it might be useful to her. + +The maiden then mounted the horse, and again rode a long, long time. At +length she once more came to a great hill, before which sat an old woman +spinning at a golden spindle. Then the maiden once more asked after the +prince, and the castle that lay east of the sun and west of the moon. +And everything happened exactly as on the two previous occasions. + +"Do you happen to be the maiden the prince wanted to marry?" asked the +old woman. + +"Yes, I am that maiden," answered the maiden. + +But this old woman knew no more about the road than the two others. +"Yes, the castle lies east of the sun and west of the moon, that I +know," said she. "And you will probably never get there. But I will +loan you my horse, and you may ride on it to the East Wind and ask him. +Perhaps he is acquainted there, and can blow you thither. And when you +reach him, just give my horse a blow back of the left ear, and then he +will return here of his own accord." Finally the old woman gave her her +golden spindle. "Perhaps it may be useful to you," said she. + +The maiden now rode for many days and weeks, and it took a long, long +time before she came to the East Wind. But at last she did find him, and +then she asked the East Wind whether he could show her the road that led +to the prince who lived in the castle that was east of the sun and west +of the moon. + +O, yes, he had heard tell of the prince, and of the castle as well, said +the East Wind, but he did not know the road that led to it, for he had +never blown so far. "But if you wish, I will take you to my brother, the +West Wind, and perhaps he can tell you, for he is much stronger than I +am. Just sit down on my back, and I will carry you to him." + +The maiden did as he told her, and then they moved swiftly away. When +they came to the West Wind, the East Wind said that here he was bringing +the maiden whom the prince who lived in the castle that lay east of the +sun and west of the moon had wanted to marry, that she was journeying +on her way to him, and looking for him everywhere, and that he had +accompanied her in order to find out whether the West Wind knew where +this castle might be. + +"No," said the West Wind to the maiden, "I have never blown so far, but +if you wish I will take you to the South Wind, who is much stronger than +both of us, and has traveled far and wide, and perhaps he can tell you. +Seat yourself on my back, and I will carry you to him." + +The maiden did so, and then they flew quickly off to the South Wind. +When they found him, the West Wind asked whether the South Wind could +show them the road that led to the castle that lay east of the sun and +west of the moon; and that this was the maiden who was to have the +prince. + +"Well, well, so this is the girl?" cried the South Wind. "Yes, it is +true that I have gone about a good deal during my life," said he, "yet I +have never blown so far. But if you wish, I will take you to my brother, +the North Wind. He is the oldest and strongest of us all. If he does not +know where the castle lies, then no one in the whole world can tell you. +Seat yourself on my back, and I will carry you to him." + +The maiden seated herself on the back of the South Wind, and he flew +away with a roar and a rush. The journey did not take long. + +When they had reached the dwelling of the North Wind, the latter was so +wild and unmannerly that he blew a cold blast at them while they were +still a good way off. "What do you want?" cried he, as soon as he caught +sight of them, so that a cold shiver ran down their backs. + +"You should not greet us so rudely," said the South Wind. "It is I, the +South Wind. And this is the maiden who wanted to marry the prince who +lives in the castle that lies east of the sun and west of the moon. She +wishes to ask you whether you have ever been there, and if you can show +her the road that leads to it; for she would like to find the prince +again." + +"O, yes, I know very well where the castle lies," said the North Wind. +"I blew an aspen leaf there just once, and then I was so weary that I +could not blow at all for many a long day. But if you want to get there +above all things, and are not afraid of me, I will take you on my back, +and see whether I can blow you there." + +The maiden said that she must and would get to the castle, if it were by +any means possible, and that she was not afraid, no matter how hard the +journey might be. "Very well, then you must stay here over night," said +the North Wind. "For if we are to get there to-morrow, we must have the +whole day before us." + +Early the next morning the North Wind awakened the maiden. Then he +blew himself up, and made himself so large and thick that he was quite +horrible to look at, and thereupon they rushed along through the air as +though they meant to reach the end of the world at once. And everywhere +beneath them raged such a storm that forests were pulled out by the +roots, and houses torn down, and as they rushed across the sea, ships +foundered by the hundreds. Further and further they went, so far that no +one could even imagine it, and still they were flying across the sea; +but gradually the North Wind grew weary, and became weaker and weaker. +Finally he could hardly keep going, and sank lower and lower, and at +last he flew so low that the waves washed his ankles. + +"Are you afraid?" asked the North Wind. + +"No, not at all," answered the maiden. By now they were not far distant +from the land, and the North Wind had just enough strength left to be +able to set down the maiden on the strand, beneath the windows of the +castle that lay east of the sun and west of the moon. And then he was so +wearied and wretched that he had to rest many a long day before he could +set out for home again. + +The next morning the maiden seated herself beneath the windows of the +castle and played with the golden apple, and the first person who showed +herself was the monster with the nose, whom the prince was to marry. + +"What do you want for your golden apple?" asked the princess with the +nose, as she opened the window. + +"I will not sell it at all, either for gold or for money," answered the +maiden. + +"Well, what do you want for it, if you will not sell it either for gold +or for money?" asked the princess. "Ask what you will!" + +"I only want to speak to-night to the prince who lives here, then I will +give you the apple," said the maiden who had come with the North Wind. + +The princess replied that this could be arranged, and then she received +the golden apple. But when the maiden came into the prince's room in the +evening, he was sleeping soundly. She called and shook him, wept and +wailed; but she could not wake him, and in the morning, as soon as it +dawned, the princess with the long nose came and drove her out. + +That day the maiden again sat beneath the windows of the castle, and +wound her golden reel. And all went as on the preceding day. The +princess asked what she wanted for the reel, and the maiden answered +that she would sell it neither for gold nor for money; but if she might +speak that night to the prince, then she would give the reel to the +princess. Yet when the maiden came to the prince, he was again fast +asleep, and no matter how much she wept and wailed, and cried and shook, +she could not wake him. But as soon as day dawned, and it grew bright, +the princess with the long nose came and drove her out. And that day the +maiden again seated herself beneath the windows of the castle, and spun +with her golden spindle; and, of course, the princess with the long nose +wanted to have that, too. She opened the window, and asked what she +wanted for the golden spindle. The maiden replied, as she had twice +before, that she would sell the spindle neither for gold nor money; but +that the princess could have it if she might speak to the prince again +that night. Yes, that she was welcome to do, said the princess, and took +the golden spindle. Now it happened that some Christians, who were +captives in the castle, and quartered in a room beside that of the +prince, had heard a woman weeping and wailing pitifully in the prince's +room for the past two nights. So they told the prince. And that evening +when the princess came to him with his night-cap, the prince pretended +to drink it; but instead poured it out behind his back, for he could +well imagine that she had put a sleeping-powder into the cup. Then, when +the maiden came in, the prince was awake, and she had to tell him just +how she had found the castle. + +"You have come just in the nick of time," said he, "for to-morrow I am +to marry the princess; but I do not want the monster with the nose at +all, and you are the only person who can save me. I will say that first +I wish to see whether my bride is a capable housewife, and demand that +she wash the three drops of tallow from my shirt. She will naturally +agree to this, for she does not know that you made the spots, for only +Christian hands can wash them out again, but not the hands of this pack +of trolls. Then I will say I will marry none other than the maiden who +can wash out the spots, and ask you to do so," said the prince. And then +both rejoiced and were happy beyond measure. + +But on the following day, when the wedding was to take place, the prince +said: "First I would like to see what my bride can do!" Yes, that was no +more than right, said his mother-in-law. "I have a very handsome shirt," +continued the prince, "which I would like to wear at the wedding. But +there are three tallow-spots on it, and they must first be washed out. +And I have made a vow to marry none other than the woman who can do +this. So if my bride cannot manage to do it, then she is worthless." + +Well, that would not be much of a task, said the women, and agreed to +the proposal. And the princess with the long nose at once began to wash. +She washed with all her might and main, and took the greatest pains, but +the longer she washed and rubbed, the larger grew the spots. + +"O, you don't know how to wash!" said her mother, the old troll-wife. +"Just give it to me!" But no sooner had she taken the shirt in her hand, +than it began to look worse, and the more she washed and rubbed, the +larger and blacker grew the spots. Then the other troll-women had to +come and wash; but the longer they washed the shirt the uglier it grew, +and finally it looked as though it had been hanging in the smokestack. + +"Why, all of you are worthless!" said the prince. "Outside the window +sits a beggar-girl. I'm sure she is a better washer-woman than all of +you put together. You, girl, come in here!" he cried out of the window; +and when the maiden came in he said: "Do you think you can wash this +shirt clean for me?" + +"I do not know," answered the maiden, "but I will try." And no more had +she dipped the shirt in the water than it turned as white as newly +fallen snow, yes, even whiter. + +"Indeed, and you are the one I want!" said the prince. + +Then the old troll-woman grew so angry that she burst in two, and the +princess with the long nose and the rest of the troll-pack probably +burst in two as well, for I never heard anything more of them. The +prince and his bride then freed all the Christians who had been kept +captive in the castle, and packed up as much gold and silver as they +could possibly take with them, and went far away from the castle that +lies East of the sun and West of the moon. + + NOTE + + "East of the Sun and West of the Moon" (Asbjoernsen and Moe, + N.F.E., p. 200, No. 41). The maiden's journeys with the winds are + here recounted in a colorful and imaginative manner, and the + motive of the washing out of the three drops of tallow is a + delicate and ingenious development of the idea of the fateful + candle. + + + + +XXIII + +MURMUR GOOSE-EGG + + +Once upon a time there were five women who were standing in a field, +mowing. Heaven had not given a single one of them a child, and each of +them wanted to have one. And suddenly they saw a goose-egg of quite +unheard-of size, well-nigh as large as a man's head. "I saw it first," +said the one. "I saw it at the same time that you did," insisted +another. "But I want it, for I saw it first of all," maintained a third. +And thus they went on, and fought so about the egg that they nearly came +to blows. Finally they agreed that it should belong to all five of them, +and that all of them should sit on it, as a goose would do, and hatch +out the little gosling. The first remained sitting on the egg for eight +days, and hatched, and did not move or do a thing; and during this time +the rest had to feed her and themselves as well. One of them grew angry +because of this and scolded. + +"You did not crawl out of the egg either before you could cry peep!" +said the one who was sitting on the egg and hatching. "Yet I almost +believe that a human child is going to slip out of the egg, for +something is murmuring inside it without ever stopping: 'Herring and +mush, porridge and milk,'" said she. "And now you can sit on it for +eight days, while we bring you food." + +When the fifth day of the eight had passed, it was plain to her that +there was a child in the egg, which kept on calling: "Herring and mush, +porridge and milk," and so she punched a hole in the egg, and instead of +a gosling out came a child, and it was quite disgustingly homely, with +a big head and a small body, and no sooner had it crawled out than it +began to cry: "Herring and mush, porridge and milk!" So they named the +child Murmur Goose-Egg. + +In spite of the child's homeliness, the women at first took a great deal +of pleasure in him; but before long he grew so greedy that he devoured +everything they had. When they cooked a dish of mush or a potful of +porridge that was to do for all six of them, the child swallowed it all +by himself. So they did not want to keep him any longer. "I have not had +a single full meal since the changling crawled out," said one of them; +and when Murmur Goose-Egg heard that, and the rest agreed, he said that +he would gladly go his own gait, for "if they had no need of him, then +he had no need of them," and with that he went off. Finally he came to a +farmstead that lay in a rocky section, and asked for work. Yes, they +needed a workman, and the master told him to gather up the stones in the +field. Then Murmur Goose-Egg gathered up the stones in the field; he +picked up some that were so large that a number of horses could not have +dragged them, and large and small, one and all, he put them in his +pocket. Before long he had finished his work, and wanted to know what he +was to do next. + +"You have picked up the stones in the field?" said his master. "You +cannot possibly have finished before you have really begun!" + +But Murmur Goose-Egg emptied his pockets, and threw the stones on a +pile. Then his master saw that he had finished his work, and that one +would have to handle such a strong fellow with kid gloves. So he told +him to come in and eat. That suited Murmur Goose-Egg, and he ate up +everything that was to have supplied the master and his family, and the +help, and then he was only half satisfied. + +He was really a splendid worker; but a dangerous eater, like a +bottomless cask, said the peasant. "Such a serving-man could eat up a +poor peasant, house and ground, before he noticed it," said he. He had +no more work for him, and the best thing to do would be to go to the +king's castle. + +So Murmur Goose-Egg went to the king, and was at once given a place, +and there was enough to eat and drink in the castle. He was to be the +errand-boy, and help the maids fetch wood and water, and do other odd +jobs. So he asked what he was to do first. + +For the time being he could chop fire-wood, said they. So Murmur +Goose-Egg began to chop fire-wood, and hewed to the line in such fashion +that the chips fairly flew. Before long he had chopped up all that there +was, kindling wood and building wood, beams and boards, and when he was +through with it, he came and asked what he was to do now. + +"You can finish chopping the fire-wood," said they. + +"There is none left," said Murmur Goose-Egg. + +That could not be possible, said the superintendent, and looked into +the wood-bin. Yes, indeed, Murmur Goose-Egg had chopped up everything, +large and small, beams and boards. That was very bad, and therefore +the superintendent said that Murmur Goose-Egg should have nothing to +eat until he had chopped down just as much wood in the forest as he +had just chopped up for fire-wood. + +Then Murmur Goose-Egg went into the smithy, and had the smith make an +iron ax of five hundred-weights. With that he went into the forest and +began to chop. He chopped down big pine and fir trees, as thick as +masts, and all that he found on the king's ground, as well as what he +found on that of his neighbors. But he cut off neither the branches nor +the tree-tops, so that all lay there as though felled by the storm. Then +he loaded a sizable stack on the sled, and put to the horses. But they +could not move the load from the spot, and when he took them by the +heads, in order to pull them forward, he tore off their heads. So he +unharnessed them, and left them lying in the field, and put himself to +the sled, and went off alone with the load. When he came to the king's +castle, there stood the king with the master carpenter in the entrance, +and they were ready to give him a warm reception, because of the +destruction he had wrought in the forest. For the master carpenter had +been there and seen the havoc he had made. But when Murmur Goose-Egg +came along with half the forest, the king grew frightened as well as +angry, and he thought that if Murmur was so strong, it would be best to +handle him with care. + +"Why, you are a splendid workman," said the king, "but tell me, how much +do you really eat at once," he continued, "for I am sure you are +hungry?" + +If he were to have enough porridge, they would have to take twelve tons +of meal to make it; but after he had eaten that, then he could wait a +while, said Murmur Goose-Egg. + +It took some time before so much porridge could be prepared, and in the +meantime Murmur was to carry wood into the kitchen. So he piled the +whole load of wood on a sled, but when he drove it through the door, he +did not go to work about it very gently. The house nearly broke from +its joints, and he well-nigh tore down the entire castle. When at last +dinner was ready, they sent him out into the field, to call the help. He +called so loudly that hill and vale reechoed the sound. But still the +people did not come quick enough to suit him. So he picked a quarrel +with them, and killed twelve. + +"You kill twelve of my people, and you eat for twelve times twelve of +them, but how many men's work can you do?" asked the king. + +"I do the work of twelve times twelve, too," said Murmur. When he had +eaten, he was to go to the barn and thresh. So he pulled the beam out of +the roof-tree, and made a flail out of it, and when the roof threatened +to fall in, he took a pine-tree with all its boughs and branches, and +set it up in place of the roof-beam. Then he threshed corn and hay and +straw, all together, and it seemed as though a cloud hung over the royal +castle. + +When Murmur Goose-Egg had nearly finished threshing, the enemy broke +into the land, and war began. Then the king told him to gather people +about him, and go to meet the foe, and do battle with him, for he +thought the enemy would probably kill him. + +No, said Murmur Goose-Egg, he did not want to have the king's people +killed, he would see that he dealt with the enemy himself. + +All the better, thought the king, then I am sure to get rid of him. But +he would need a proper club, said Murmur. + +So they sent to the smith, and he forged a club of two hundred-weights. +That would only do for a nut-cracker, said Murmur Goose-Egg. So he +forged another that weighed six hundred-weights, and that would do to +hammer shoes with, said Murmur Goose-Egg. But the smith told him that he +and all his workmen together could not forge a larger one. + +Then Murmur Goose-Egg went into the smithy himself, and forged himself +a club of thirty hundred-weights, and it would have taken a hundred men +just to turn it around on the anvil. This might do at a pinch, said +Murmur. Then he wanted a knapsack with provisions. It was sewn together +out of fifteen ox-skins, and stuffed full of provisions, and then Murmur +wandered down the hill with the knapsack on his back, and the club over +his shoulder. + +When he came near enough for the soldiers to see him, they sent to ask +whether he had a mind to attack them. + +"Just wait until I have eaten," said Murmur, and sat him down behind his +knapsack to eat. But the enemy would not wait, and began to fire at him. +And it fairly rained and hailed musket-balls all around Murmur. + +"I don't care a fig for these blueberries," said Murmur Goose-Egg, and +feasted on quite at ease. Neither lead nor iron could wound him, and his +knapsack stood before him, and caught the bullets like a wall. + +Then the enemy began to throw bombs at him, and shoot at him with +cannon. He hardly moved when he was struck. "O, that's of no account!" +said he. + +But then a bomb flew into his wind-pipe. "Faugh!" said he, and spat it +out again, and then came a chain-bullet and fell into his butter-plate, +and another tore away the bit of bread from between his fingers. + +Then he grew angry, stood up, took his club, pounded the ground with it, +and asked whether they wanted to take the food from his mouth with the +blueberries they were blowing out at him from their clumsy blow-pipes. +Then he struck a few more blows, so that the hills and valleys round +about trembled, and all the enemy flew up into the air like chaff, and +that was the end of the war. + +When Murmur came back and asked for more work, the king was at a loss, +for he had felt sure that now he was rid of him. So he knew of nothing +better to do than to send him to the devil's place. + +"Now you can go to the devil, and fetch the tribute from him," said the +king. Murmur Goose-Egg went off with his knapsack on his back, and his +club over his shoulder. He had soon reached the right spot; but when he +got there the devil was away at a trial. There was no one home but his +grandmother, and she said she had never yet heard anything about a +tribute, and that he was to come back some other time. + +"Yes, indeed, come again to-morrow," said he. "I know that old excuse!" +But since he was there, he would stay there, for he had to take home the +tribute, and he had plenty of time to wait. But when he had eaten all +his provisions, he grew weary, and again demanded the tribute from the +grandmother. + +"You will get nothing from me, and that's as flat as the old fir-tree +outside is fast," said the devil's grandmother. The fir-tree stood in +front of the gate to the devil's place, and was so large that fifteen +men could hardly girdle it with their arms. But Murmur climbed up into +its top and bent and shook it to and fro as though it were a willow +wand, and then asked the devil's grandmother once more whether she would +now pay him the tribute. + + [Illustration: "THERE MURMUR JUMPED FROM ONE MOUNTAIN-TOP TO ANOTHER." + --_Page 189_] + +So she did not dare to refuse any longer, and brought out as much money +as he could possibly carry in his knapsack. Then he set out for home +with the tribute, and now no sooner had he gone than the devil came +home, and when he learned that Murmur had taken along a big bag of +money, he first beat his grandmother, and then hurried after Murmur. +And he soon caught up to him, for he ran over sticks and stones, and +sometimes flew in between; while Murmur had to stick to the highway with +his heavy knapsack. But with the devil at his heels, he began to run as +fast as he could, and stretched out the club behind him, to keep the +devil from coming to close quarters. And thus they ran along, one behind +the other; while Murmur held the shaft and the devil the end of the +club, until they reached a deep valley. There Murmur jumped from one +mountain-top to another, and the devil followed him so hotly that he ran +into the club, fell down into the valley and broke his foot--and there +he lay. + +"There's your tribute!" said Murmur Goose-Egg, when he had reached the +royal castle, and he flung down the knapsack full of money before the +king, so that the whole castle tottered. The king thanked him kindly, +and promised him a good reward, and a good character, if he wanted it; +but Murmur only wanted more work to do. + +"What shall I do now?" he asked. The king reflected for a while, and +then he said Murmur should travel to the hill-troll, who had robbed him +of the sword of his ancestors. He lived in a castle by the sea, where +no one ventured to go. + +Murmur was given a few cart-loads of provisions in his big knapsack, and +once more set out. Long he wandered, though, over field and wood, over +hills and deep valleys, till he came to a great mountain where the troll +lived who had robbed the king of the sword. + +But the troll was not out in the open, and the mountain was closed, so +Murmur could not get it. So he joined a party of stone-breakers, who +were working at a mountainside, and worked along with them. They had +never had such a helper, for Murmur hewed away at the rocks till they +burst, and stone bowlders as large as houses came rolling down. But when +he was about to rest and eat up the first cart-load of his provisions, +it had already been eaten up. "I have a good appetite myself," said +Murmur, "but whoever got hold of it has an even better one, for he has +eaten up the bones as well!" + +Thus it went the first day, and the second was no better. On the third +day he went to work again, and took along the third cart-load, lay down +behind it, and pretended to be sleeping. + +Then a troll with seven heads came out of the hill, began to smack his +lips, and eat of his provisions. + +"Now the table is set, so now I am going to eat," said he. + +"First we'll see about that," said Murmur, and hewed away at the troll +so that the heads flew from his body. + +Then he went into the hill out of which the troll had come, and inside +stood a horse eating out of a barrel of glowing ashes, while behind him +stood a barrel filled with oats. + +"Why don't you eat out of the barrel of oats?" asked Murmur Goose-Egg. + +"Because I cannot turn around," said the horse. + +"I will turn you around," said Murmur Goose-Egg. + +"Tear my head off instead," pleaded the horse. + +Murmur did so, and then the horse turned into a fine-looking man. He +said that he had been enchanted, and turned into a horse by the troll. +Then he helped Murmur look for the sword, which the troll had hidden +under the bed. But in the bed lay the troll's grandmother, and she was +snoring. + +They went home by water, and just as they sailed off the old troll +grandmother came after them; but she could not get at them, hence she +commenced to drink, so that the water went down and grew lower. But at +last she could not drink up the whole sea, and so she burst. + +When they came ashore, Murmur sent to the king, and had him told to have +the sword fetched; but though the king sent four horses, they could not +move it from the spot. He sent eight, he sent twelve, but the sword +remained where it was, and could not be moved from the spot by any +means. Then Murmur Goose-Egg took it up, and carried it alone. + +The king could not believe his eyes when he saw Murmur once more; but +he was very friendly and promised him gold and green forests. But when +Murmur asked for more work, he told him to travel to his troll's castle, +where no one dared go, and to remain there until he had built a bridge +across the sound, so that people could cross. If he could do that, he +would reward him well, yes, he would even give him his daughter, said +the king. He would attend to it, said Murmur. + +Yet no human being had ever returned thence alive; all who had gotten +so far, lay on the ground dead, and crushed to a jelly, and the king +thought, when sending him there, that he would never see him again. + +But Murmur set out. He took with him his knapsack full of provisions, +and a properly turned and twisted block of pine-wood, as well as an ax, +a wedge and some wooden chips. + +When he reached the sound, the river was full of drifting ice, and it +roared like a waterfall. But he planted his legs firmly on the ground, +and waded along until he got across. When he had warmed himself and +satisfied his hunger, he wanted to sleep; but a tumult and rumbling +started, as though the whole castle were to be turned upside down. The +gate flew wide open, and Murmur saw nothing but a pair of yawning jaws +that reached from the threshold to the top of the door. + +"Let's see who you may be? Perhaps you are an old friend of mine," said +Murmur. And sure enough, it was Master Devil. Then they played cards +together. The devil would gladly have won back some of the tribute +Murmur had forced from his grandmother for the king. Yet, no matter how +he played, Murmur always won; for he made a cross on the cards. And +after he had won all the devil had with him, the latter had to give him +some of the gold and silver that was in the castle. + +In the midst of their game the fire went out, so that they could no +longer tell the cards apart. + +"Now we must split wood," said Murmur. He hewed into the block of +pine-wood with his ax, and drove in the wedge, but the tree-stump was +tough, and would not split at once, though Murmur gave himself all +manner of pains. + +"You are supposed to be strong," he said to the devil. "Spit on your +hands, slap in your claws here, and pull the block apart, so that I can +see what you can do!" + +The devil obediently thrust both hands into the split, and tore and +clawed with all his might; but suddenly Murmur Goose-Egg knocked out the +wedge, and there the devil was caught in a vice, while Murmur belabored +his back with the ax. The devil wailed, and begged Murmur to let him go; +but Murmur would hear nothing of it until he had promised never to come +back and make a nuisance of himself again. Besides that, he had to +promise to build a bridge over the sound, on which one could go back and +forth at all seasons of the year. And the bridge was to be completed +immediately after the breaking up of the ice-drift. + +"Alas!" said the devil, but there was nothing for it but to promise if +he wished to go free. Yet he made one condition, that he was to have the +first soul that crossed the bridge as sound-toll. + +He could have it, said Murmur. Then he let the devil out, and he ran +straight home. But Murmur lay down and slept until far into the +following day. + +Then the king came to see whether Murmur Goose-Egg were lying crushed +on the ground, or had merely been badly beaten. He had to wade through +piles of money before he could reach the bed. The money was stacked up +high along the walls in heaps and in bags, and Murmur lay in the bed and +snored. + +"May heaven help me and my daughter!" cried the king, when he saw that +Murmur Goose-Egg was in the best of health. Yes, and no one could deny +that everything had been well and thoroughly done, said the king; but +there could be no talk of marriage as long as the bridge had not been +built. + +Then one day the bridge was finished; and on it stood the devil, ready +to collect the toll promised him. + +Murmur Goose-Egg wanted the king to be the first to try the bridge with +him; but the king had no mind to do so, therefore Murmur himself mounted +a horse, and swung up the fat dairy-maid from the castle before him on +the saddle-bow--she looked almost like a gigantic block of wood--and +dashed across the bridge with her so that the planks fairly thundered. + +"Where is my sound-toll? Where is the soul?" cried the devil. "Sitting +in this block of wood! If you want her, you must spit on your hands and +catch hold of her," said Murmur Goose-Egg. "No, thank you! If she does +not catch hold of me, then I'll certainly not catch hold of her," said +the devil. "You caught me in a vice once, but you can't fool me a second +time," said he, and flew straight home to his grandmother, and since +then nothing more has been heard or seen of him. + +But Murmur Goose-Egg hurried back to the castle and asked for the reward +the king had promised him. And when the king hesitated and began to make +all sorts of excuses, in order not to have to keep his promise, Murmur +said it would be best to have a substantial knapsackful of provisions +made ready, since now he, Murmur, was going to take his reward himself. +This the king did, and when the knapsack was ready, Murmur took the king +along with him in front of the castle, and gave him a proper shove, so +that he flew high up into the air. And he threw the knapsack up after +him, so that he would not be left altogether without provisions; and if +he has not come down yet, then he, together with the knapsack, is +floating between heaven and earth to this very day. + + + NOTE + + "Murmur Goose-Egg" (Asbjoernsen, N.F.E., p. 172, No. 96. From + Gudbrandsdal, title and introduction after a variant from the + vicinity of Christiania) is predestined to great deeds from birth, + like his Swedish counterpart Knoes. This giant fellow, who fears + neither death nor the devil, if he only has enough to eat, is of + old a favorite figure in Norse fairy-tale. It is by means of + similar giant fooleries that Thor, the god of the Norwegian + peasant, was made ridiculous, and shown up as a braggart; and in + the Song of Harbord he is mocked because of his fondness for + herring and mush, the very dish Murmur demands before he crawls + from the egg. Thor is also credited with a trip to the nether + world, just as Murmur is sent to the devil in hell, to collect a + tribute. + + + + +XXIV + +THE TROLL-WIFE + + +Once upon a time, long, long years ago, there lived a well-to-do old +couple on a homestead up in Hadeland. They had a son, who was a dragoon, +a big, handsome fellow. They had a pasture in the hills, and the hut was +not like most of the herdsmen's huts; but was well and solidly built, +and even had a chimney, a roof and a window. And there they spent the +summer; but when they came back home in the fall, the wood-cutters and +huntsmen and fishermen, and whoever else had business in the woods at +that time, noticed that the mountain folk had carried on its tricks with +their herd. And among the mountain folk was a maiden who was so +beautiful that her like had never been seen. + +The son had often heard tell of her, and one fall, when his parents had +already come home from the mountain pasture, he put on his full uniform, +saddled his service horse, thrust his pistols in the holsters, and thus +rode up into the hills. When he rode toward the pasture, such a fire +burned in the herdsman's hut that it lit up every road, and then he knew +that the mountain folk were inside. So he tied his horse to a pine-tree, +took a pistol from its holster, crept up to the hut, and peeped through +the window. And there sat an old man and a woman who were quite crooked +and shriveled up with age, and so unspeakably ugly that he had never +seen anything like it in his life; but with them was a maiden, and she +was so surpassingly beautiful that he fell in love with her at once, and +felt that he could not live without her. All had cow's tails, and the +lovely maiden, too. And he could see that they had only just arrived, +for everything was in disorder. The maiden was busy washing the ugly old +man, and the woman was building a fire under the great cheese-kettle on +the hearth. + +At that moment the dragoon flung open the door, and shot off his pistol +right above the maiden's head, so that she tottered and fell to the +ground. And then she grew every bit as ugly as she had been beautiful +before, and she had a nose as long as a pistol-case. + +"Now you may take her, for now she belongs to you!" said the old man. +But the dragoon stood as though rooted to the spot; stood where he +stood, and could not take a single step, either forward or backward. +Then the old man began to wash the girl; and she looked a little better; +her nose was only half its original size, and her ugly cow's tail was +tied back; but she was not as handsome, and any one who said so would +not have been telling the truth. + +"Now she is yours, my proud dragoon! Take her up before you on your +horse, and ride into town and marry her. And you need only set the +table for us in the little room in the bake-house; for we do not want +to be with the other wedding-guests," said the old monster, her father, +"but when the dishes make the round, you can stop in where we are." + +He did not dare do anything else, and took her up before him on his +horse, and made ready to marry her. But before she went to church, the +bride begged one of the bridesmaids to stand close behind her, so that +no one could see her tail fall off when the priest joined their hands. + +So the wedding was celebrated, and when the dishes made the round, the +bridegroom went out into the room where the table had been set for the +old folk from the mountain. And at that time there was nothing to be +seen there; but after the wedding-guests had gone, there was so much +gold and silver, and such a pile of money lying there, as he had never +seen together before. + +For a long time all went well. Whenever guests came, his wife laid the +table for the old folk in the bake-house, and on each occasion so much +money was left lying there, that before long they did not know what to +do with it all. But ugly she was, and ugly she remained, and he was +heartily weary of her. So it was bound to happen that he sometimes flew +into a rage, and threatened her with cuffs and blows. Once he wanted to +go to town, and since it was fall, and the ground already frozen, the +horse had first to be shod. So he went into the smithy--for he himself +was a notable farrier--but, no matter what lie did, the horse-shoe was +either too large or too small, and would not fit at all. He had no other +horse at home, and he toiled away until noon and on into the afternoon. +"Will you never make an end of your shoeing?" asked his wife. "You are +not a very good husband; but you are a far worse farrier. I see there is +nothing left for me but to go into the smithy myself and shoe the horse. +This shoe is too large, you should have made it smaller, and that one is +too small, you should have made it larger." + +She went into the smithy, and the first thing she did was to take the +horse-shoe in both hands and bend it straight. + +"There, look at it," said she, "that is how you must do it." And with +that she bent it together again as though it were made of lead. "Now +hold up the horse's leg," said she, and the horse-shoe fitted to a hair, +so that the best farrier could not have bettered it. + +"You have a great deal of strength in your fingers," said her husband, +and he looked at her. + +"Do you think so?" was her reply. "What would have happened to me had +you been as strong? But I love you far too dearly ever to use my +strength against you," said she. + +And from that day on he was the best of husbands. + + + NOTE + + "The Troll-Wife" (Asbjoernsen, _Huldreeventyr_, I, p. 77. From + Hadeland, told by a farrier who knew a number of fairy-tales) + deals with a marriage between a Christian and a Troll. Strange to + say, the woman is kind and gentle beyond all reproach, while her + husband grows less kind and more brutal, and does not improve + until his wife shows that troll strength and skill are still at + her command. + + + + +XXV + +THE KING'S HARES + + +Once upon a time there was a man who lived in the little back room. He +had given up his estate to the heir; but in addition he had three sons, +who were named Peter, Paul and Esben, who was the youngest. All three +hung around at home and would not work, for they had it too easy, and +they thought themselves too good for anything like work, and nothing was +good enough for them. Finally Peter once heard that the king wanted a +shepherd for his hares, and he told his father he would apply for the +position, as it would just suit him, seeing that he wished to serve no +one lower in rank than the king. His father, it is true, was of the +opinion that there might be other work that would suit him better, for +whoever was to herd hares would have to be quick and spry, and not a +sleepy-head, and when the hares took to their heels in all directions, +it was a dance of another kind than when one skipped about a room. But +it was of no use. Peter insisted, and would have his own way, took his +knapsack, and shambled down hill. After he had gone a while, he saw an +old woman who had got her nose wedged in a tree-stump while chopping +wood, and when Peter saw her jerking and pulling away, trying to get +out, he burst into loud laughter. + +"Don't stand there and laugh in such a stupid way," said the woman, +"but come and help a poor, feeble old woman. I wanted to split up some +fire-wood, and caught my nose here, and here I have been standing for +more than a hundred years, pulling and jerking, without a bit of bread +to chew in all that time," said she. + +Then Peter had to laugh all the harder. He found it all very amusing, +and said that if she had already been standing there a hundred years, +then she could probably hold out for another hundred years or more. + +When he came to court they at once took him on as a herdsman. The place +was not bad, there was good food, and good wages, and the chance of +winning the princess besides; yet if no more than a single one of the +king's hares were to be lost, they would cut three red strips from his +back, and throw him into the snake-pit. + +As long as Peter was on the common or in the enclosure, he kept his +hares together nicely, but later, when they reached the forest, they ran +away from him across the hills. Peter ran after them with tremendous +leaps, as long as he thought he could catch even a single hare, but when +the very last one had vanished, his breath was gone, and he saw no more +of them. Toward noon he went home, taking his time about it, and when he +reached the enclosure, he looked around for them on all sides, but no +hares came. And then, when he came to the castle, there stood the king +with the knife in his hand. He cut three red strips from his back, and +cast him into the snake-pit. + +After a while Paul decided to go to the castle and herd the king's +hares. His father told him what he had told Peter, and more besides; but +he insisted on going, and would not listen, and he fared neither better +nor worse than Peter had. The old woman stood and pulled and jerked at +her nose in the tree-trunk, and he laughed, found it very amusing, and +let her stand there and torment herself. He was at once taken into +service, but the hares all ran away across the hills, though he pursued +them, and worked away like a shepherd dog in the sun, and when he came +back to the castle in the evening minus his hares, there stood the king +with the knife in his hand, cut three broad strips from his back, rubbed +in pepper and salt, and flung him into the snake-pit. + +Then, after some time had passed, the youngest decided to set out to +herd the king's hares, and told his father of his intention. He thought +that would be just the work for him, to loaf about in forest and field, +look for strawberry patches, herd a flock of hares, and lie down and +sleep in the sun between times. His father thought that there was other +work that would suit him better, and that even if he fared no worse than +his brothers, it was quite certain that he would fare no better. Whoever +herded the king's hares must not drag along as though he had lead in +his soles, or like a fly on a limerod; and that when the hares took to +their heels, it was a horse of another color from catching flees with +gloved hands; whoever wanted to escape with a whole back, would have to +be more than quick and nimble, and swifter than a bird. But there was +nothing he could do. Esben merely kept on saying that he wanted to go to +court and serve the king, for he would not take service with any lesser +master, said he; and he would see to the hares, they could not be much +worse than a herd of goats or of calves. And with that he took his +knapsack and strolled comfortably down the hill. + +After he had wandered a while, and began to feel a proper hunger, he +came to the old woman who was wedged by the nose in the tree-trunk and +who was pulling and jerking away, in order to get loose. + +"Good day, mother," said Esben, "and why are you worrying yourself so +with your nose, you poor thing?" "No one has called me mother for the +last hundred years," said the old woman, "but come and help me out, and +give me a bite to eat; for I have not had a bit to eat in all that time. +And I will do something for your sake as well," said she. + +Yes, no doubt she would need something to eat and drink badly, said +Esben. + +Then he hewed the tree-trunk apart, so that she got her nose out of the +cleft, sat down to eat, and shared with her. The old woman had a good +appetite, and she received a good half of his provisions. + +When they were through she gave Esben a whistle which had the power that +if he blew into one end, whatever he wished scattered was scattered to +all the winds, and when he blew into the other, all came together again. +And if the whistle passed from his possession, it would return as soon +as he wished it back. + +"That is a wonderful whistle!" thought Esben. + +When he came to the castle, they at once took him on as a shepherd; the +place was not bad, he was to have food and wages, and should he manage +to herd the king's hares without losing one of them, he might possibly +win the princess; but if he lost so much as a single hare, and no matter +how small it might be, then they would cut three red strips from his +back, and the king was so sure of his case that he went right off to +whet his knife. It would be a simple matter to herd the hares, thought +Esben; for when they went off they were as obedient as a herd of sheep, +and so long as they were on the common, and in the enclosure, they +even marched in rank and file. But when they reached the forest, and +noon-time came, and the sun burned down on hill and dale, they all took +to their heels and ran away across the hills. + +"Hallo, there! So you want to run away!" called Esben, and blew into one +end of his whistle, and then they scattered the more quickly to all the +ends of the earth. But when he had reached an old charcoal-pit, he blew +into the other end of his whistle, and before he knew it the hares were +back again, and standing in rank and file so he could review them, just +like a regiment of soldiers on the drill-ground. + + [Illustration: "THE KING RECKONED AND ADDED THEM UP, AND COUNTED WITH + HIS FINGERS." + --_Page 207_] + +"That is a splendid whistle!" thought Esben; lay down on a sunny +hillock, and fell asleep. The hares were left to their own devices, and +played until evening; then he once more whistled them together, and took +them along to the castle like a herd of sheep. + +The king and queen and the princess, too, stood in the hall-way, and +wondered what sort of a fellow this was, who could herd hares without +losing a single one. The king reckoned and added them up, and counted +with his fingers, and then added them up again; but not even the +teeny-weeniest hare was missing. "He is quite a chap, he is," said the +princess. + +The following day he again went to the forest, and herded his hares; but +while he lay in all comfort beside a strawberry patch, they sent out the +chamber-maid from the castle to him, and she was to find out how he +managed to herd the king's hares. + +He showed her his whistle, and blew into one end, and all the hares +darted away across the hills in all directions, and then he blew into +the other, and they came trotting up from all sides, and once more stood +in rank and file. "That is a wonderful whistle," said the chamber-maid. +She would gladly give him a hundred dollars, if he cared to sell it. + +"Yes, it is a splendid whistle," said Esben, "and I will not sell it for +money. But if you give me a hundred dollars, and a kiss with every +dollar to boot, then I might let you have it." + +Yes, indeed, that would suit her right down to the ground; she would +gladly give him two kisses with every dollar, and feel grateful, +besides. + +So she got the whistle, but when she reached the castle, the whistle +disappeared all of a sudden. Esben had wished it back again, and toward +evening he came along, driving his hares like a herd of sheep. The king +reckoned and counted and added, but all to no purpose, for not the least +little hare was missing. + +When Esben was herding his hares the third day, they sent the princess +to him to get away his pipe from him. She was tickled to death, and +finally offered him two hundred dollars if he would let her have the +whistle, and would also tell her what she had to do in order to fetch it +safely home with her. + +"Yes, it is a very valuable whistle," said Esben, "and I will not sell +it," but at last, as a favor to her, he said he would let her have it if +she gave him two hundred dollars, and a kiss for every dollar to boot. +But if she wanted to keep it, why, she must take good care of it, for +that was her affair. + +"That is a very high price for a hare-whistle," said the princess, and +she really shrank from kissing him, "but since we are here in the middle +of the forest, where no one can see or hear us, I'll let it pass, for I +positively must have the whistle," said she. And when Esben had pocketed +the price agreed upon, she received the whistle, and held it tightly +clutched in her hand all the way home; yet when she reached the castle, +and wanted to show it, it disappeared out of her hands. On the following +day the queen herself set out, and she felt quite sure that she would +succeed in coaxing the whistle away from him. + +She was stingier, and only offered fifty dollars; but she had to raise +her bid until she reached three hundred. Esben said it was a magnificent +whistle, and that the price was a beggarly one; but seeing that she +was the queen, he would let it pass. She was to pay him three hundred +dollars, and for every dollar she was to give him a buss to boot, then +she should have the whistle. And he was paid in full as agreed, since as +regards the busses the queen was not so stingy. + +When she had the whistle in her hands, she tied it fast, and hid it +well, but she fared not a whit better than either of the others; when +she wanted to show the whistle it was gone, and in the evening Esben +came home, driving his hares as though they were a well-trained flock of +sheep. + +"You are stupid women!" said the king. "I suppose I will have to go to +him myself if we really are to obtain this trumpery whistle. There seems +to be nothing else left to do!" And the following day, when Esben was +once more herding his hares, the king followed him, and found him at the +same place where the women had bargained with him. + +They soon became good friends, and Esben showed him the whistle, and +blew into one end and the other, and the king thought the whistle very +pretty, and finally insisted on buying it, even though it cost him a +thousand dollars. + +"Yes, it is a magnificent whistle," said Esben, "and I would not sell it +for money. But do you see that white mare over yonder?" said he, and +pointed into the forest. + +"Yes, she belongs to me, that is my Snow Witch!" cried the king, for he +knew her very well. + +"Well, if you will give me a thousand dollars, and kiss the white mare +that is grazing on the moor by the big pine, to boot, then you can have +my whistle!" said Esben. + +"Is that the only price at which you will sell?" asked the king. + +"Yes," said Esben. + +"But at least may I not put a silken handkerchief between?" asked the +king. + +This was conceded him, and thus he obtained the whistle. He put it in +the purse in his pocket, and carefully buttoned up the pocket. Yet when +he reached the castle, and wanted to take it out, he was in the same +case as the women, for he no longer had the whistle. And in the evening +Esben came home with his herd of hares, and not the least little hare +was missing. + +The king was angry, and furious because he had made a fool of them all, +and had swindled the king's self out of the whistle into the bargain, +and now he wanted to do away with Esben. The queen was of the same +opinion, and said it was best to behead such a knave when he was caught +in the act. + +Esben thought this neither fair nor just; for he had only done what he +had been asked to do, and had defended himself as best he knew how. + +But the king said that this made no difference to him; yet if Esben +could manage to fill the big brewing-cauldron till it ran over, he would +spare his life. + +The job would be neither long nor hard, said Esben, he thought he could +warrant that, and he began to tell about the old woman with her nose +in the tree-trunk, and in between he said, "I must make up plenty of +stories, to fill the cauldron,"--and then he told of the whistle, and +the chamber-maid who came to him and wanted to buy the whistle for a +hundred dollars, and about all the kisses that she had had to give him +to boot, up on the hillock by the forest; and then he told about the +princess, how she had come and kissed him so sweetly for the whistle's +sake, because no one could see or hear it in the forest--"I must make up +plenty of stories, in order to fill the cauldron," said Esben. Then he +told of the queen, and of how stingy she had been with her money, and +how liberal with her busses--"for I must make up plenty of stories in +order to fill the cauldron," said Esben. + +"But I think it must be full now!" said the queen. + +"O, not a sign of it!" said the king. + +Then Esben began to tell how the king had come to him, and about the +white mare who was grazing on the moor, "and since he insisted on having +the whistle he had to--he had to--well, with all due respect, I have to +make up plenty of stories in order to fill the cauldron," said Esben. + +"Stop, stop! It is full, fellow!" cried the king. "Can't you see that it +is running over?" + +The king and the queen were of the opinion that it would be best for +Esben to receive the princess and half the kingdom; there did not seem +anything else to do. + +"Yes, it was a magnificent whistle!" said Esben. + + + NOTE + + "The King's Hares" (Asbjoernsen, N.F.E., p. 190, No. 98. After + different variants from Roeken, Aadal, Bier and Asker, Riugerike + and Hardanger) is the story of the cauldron full of lies, which + has probably found special favor in Norway because of its outcome, + not very flattering for the king and queen. It is noticeable that + in Northern fairy-tales those kings who will not give up their + daughters to the heroes at any cost are handled with considerable + disrespect. + + + + +XXVI + +HELGE-HAL IN THE BLUE HILL + + +Once upon a time there was a sinister old couple, who lived out under +the open sky. All that they had were three sons, an old cook-pot, an old +frying-pan, and an old cat. Then the man died, and after a time his wife +died, too. Now their estate was to be divided. So the oldest took the +old cook-pot, and the second took the old frying-pan, and Ebe Ashpeter +had no choice. He had to take the old cat, and they did not ask him +whether he wanted to or not. + +"Brother Peter can scrape out the cook-pot after he has loaned it out," +said Ebe. "Brother Paul gets a crust of bread when he lends out his +frying-pan; but what am I to do with this wretched cat?" And he was +angry and envious. Yet he scratched the cat and stroked it, and this +pleased the cat so that she began to purr, and raised her tail in the +air. + +"Wait, wait, I'll help you yet," said the cat, "wait, wait, I'll help +you yet!" + +There was nothing to bite or break in the hut. Brother Peter and Brother +Paul had each of them gone off in a different direction. So Ebe set out, +too, with the cat in the lead, himself following; but after a time he +turned and went home again, to see whether the floor had been swept, and +the cat tripped on alone. After she had gone her way, tipp, tapp, tipp, +tapp, for a while, she came to a great rock, and there she met an +enormous herd of reindeer. The cat crept softly around the herd, and +then with one leap sprang between the horns of the finest buck. + +"If you do not go where I want you to, I'll scratch out your eyes, and +drive you over rock and precipice!" said she. So the buck did not dare +do anything save what the cat wished, and off they went over stick and +stone, from cliff to cliff, close by Ebe, who was just polishing the +door-sill of his house, and with one bound right into the castle. + +"I am to deliver a kind greeting from Ebe, and ask whether my lord king +might care to have this buck reindeer to drive," said the cat. Yes, he +could make good use of such a young, handsome animal, some time, when he +had occasion to drive out to visit a neighboring king. + +"This Ebe must be a proud and powerful lord," said the king, "if he can +make me such presents." + +"Yes, he is the greatest lord in all your land and kingdom," said the +cat, but no matter how many questions the king asked, he learned nothing +more. + +"Tell him that I am much obliged," said the king, and he sent him a +whole cart-load of handsome presents. But Ebe looked past them and paid +no attention to them. + +"Brother Peter can scrape out his cook-pot when he has loaned it out, +and Brother Paul gets a crust of bread when he lends out his frying-pan; +but what am I to do with this wretched cat!" said he, and felt angry +and envious; but still he scratched the cat, and stroked her, and this +pleased her so much that she began to purr, and raised her tail in the +air. + +"Wait, wait, I will help you yet," said the cat, "wait, wait, I will +help you yet!" + +The next day they both set out again, the cat in the lead, and Ebe +following. After a while he turned back to see whether the folding-table +at home had been scoured. And the cat tripped on alone. After she had +gone her way, tipp, tapp, tipp, tapp, for a while, she came to a dense +forest slope. There she found an enormous herd of elk. The cat crept +softly up, and suddenly there she sat between the horns of one of the +stateliest of the bull elks. + +"If you do not go where I want you to, I will scratch out your eyes, +and drive you over rock and precipice!" said the cat. The elk did not +dare do anything save what the cat wished, and so off they went, like +lightning, over stick and stone, from cliff to cliff, right past Ebe, +who stood before the house scouring the shutters, and with one bound +into the king's castle. + +"I am to deliver a kind greeting from Ebe, and ask whether my lord king +might not care to have this bull elk for courier service." It was quite +clear that should the king want a swift messenger, some time, he could +not find a swifter in all his kingdom. + +"This Ebe must be a most distinguished lord, since he finds such +presents for me," said the king. + +"Yes, indeed, one might call him a distinguished lord," said the cat, +"his wealth is without end or limit." But no matter how many other +questions the king asked, he received no more explicit information. + +"Tell him that I am much obliged, and to do me the honor to call when +he is passing here some time," said the king, and sent him a robe as +handsome as the one he himself was wearing, and three cartloads of +handsome presents. But Ebe did not even want to put on the royal robe, +and hardly looked at the other presents. + +"Brother Peter can scrape out his cook-pot when he has loaned it out, +Brother Paul gets a crust of bread when he lends out his frying-pan; but +of what use is this wretched cat to me!" he said, in spite of all. Yet +he stroked the cat, and pressed her to his cheek, and scratched her, and +this pleased the cat so very much that she purred more than on the other +occasions, and stuck her tail up into the air as straight as a rod. + +"Wait, wait, I will help you yet," said the cat, "wait, wait, I will +help you yet!" + +On the third day they set out again, the cat in the lead, and Ebe +following. After a time it occurred to him to go back and let the mice +out of the house, so that they would not be altogether starved in the +old hut; and the cat tripped on alone. After she had gone her way, tipp, +tapp, tipp, tapp, for a while, she came to a dense pine forest, and +there she met a father bear, a mother bear and a baby bear. The cat +crept softly up to them, and all at once she was hanging by her claws to +the father bear's head. + +"If you do not go where I want you to, I will scratch out your eyes, and +drive you over rock and precipice!" said the cat, and spit and arched +her back. Then the father bear did not dare do anything save what the +cat wished, and now they dashed past Ebe, who had just carried all the +young mice over the threshold, like a storm, over stick and stone, from +cliff to cliff, so that the earth trembled and shook. The king was just +standing in the hallway, and was not a little surprised to see such +guests arriving. + +"I am to deliver a kind greeting from Ebe, and ask whether my lord king +might not care to have this bear for a general or royal counselor," said +the cat. The king was more than pleased to secure such a creature for +his nearest adviser, who could doubt it. + +"Tell him that I am much obliged, but that I do not at all know how to +show my appreciation," said the king. + +"Well, he would like to marry your youngest daughter!" said the cat. + +"Yes, but that is asking a good deal," said the king. "He really ought +to pay me a visit." + +"Ebe does not enter such plain houses," said the cat. + +"Has he a handsomer castle than this?" asked the king. + +"Handsomer? Why, your castle seems like the shabbiest hut in comparison +with his!" was the cat's reply. + +"You dare come into my presence, and tell me that there is some one +living in my kingdom who is more handsomely housed than I, the king!" +shouted the king, beside himself with rage. He came near wringing the +cat's neck. + +"You might wait until you see it," said the cat. And the king said yes, +he would wait. "But if you have told me a falsehood, you shall die, and +though you had seven lives," said he. + +In the morning the king and the whole court set out to travel to Ebe +Ashpeter's castle. The cat was in the little hut, and called for Ebe, +thinking it would be best if both of them got underway an hour earlier. +After they had gone a while, they met some folk who were herding sheep; +and the sheep were bleating and grazing over the whole plain. They +were as large as full-grown calves, and their wool was so long that it +dragged along the ground after them. "To whom do the sheep belong?" +asked the cat. "To Helge-Hal in the Blue Hill," said the shepherds. + +"The court is coming past in a moment," said the cat, "and if then you +do not at once say that they belong to Ebe, I will scratch out your +eyes, and drive you over rock and precipice!" said the cat, and spat +and arched her back, and showed her teeth. Then the shepherds were so +frightened that they at once promised to do as the cat had ordered. + +"But to whom do all these sheep belong?" asked the king, when he came by +with the court somewhat later. "They are every bit as handsome as my +own!" + +"They belong to Ebe," said the shepherds. + +Then the cat and Ebe wandered on for a while, and came to a dense forest +slope. There they met folk who were tending goats. The goats skipped and +leaped about everywhere, and gave such fine milk that better could no +where be found. + +"To whom do the goats belong?" asked the cat. + +"To Helge-Hal in the Blue Hill," said the herdsmen. Then the cat again +went through her ferocious preparations, and the herdsmen were so +frightened that they did not dare oppose her wishes. + +"Now who in the world can be the owner of so many goats?" asked the +king. "I myself have none finer!" + +"They belong to Ebe," said the herdsmen. + +Then they wandered on for a while, and met folk who were tending cows: +wherever one looked the cows lowed and glistened, and each yielded milk +enough for three. When the cat heard that these herdsmen were also in +the service of Helge-Hal of the Blue Hill, she spat once more, and +arched her back, and then all the herdsmen were ready that moment to +say what she wished. + +"But in heaven's name, to whom do all these beautiful cattle belong?" +asked the king. "There are no such cattle in my whole kingdom!" + +"They belong to Lord Ebe," said the herdsmen. + +Then they wandered on for a long, long time. At last they came to a +great plain, and there they met horse-herders; and horses whinnied and +disported themselves over the whole plain, and their coats were so fine +that they glistened as though gilded, and each horse was worth a whole +castle. + +"For whom do you herd these horses?" asked the cat. + +"For Helge-Hal in the Blue Hill," the herders replied. + +"Well, the court will come by here in a little while," said the cat, +"and if you do not say you are herding them for Ebe, I will scratch out +your eyes, and drive you over rock and precipice!" said the cat, and she +spat, and showed her teeth and claws, and grew so angry her hair stood +up all along her back. Then the herders were terribly frightened, and +did not dare do anything but what the cat wished. + +"But in the name of heaven, to whom do all these horses belong?" asked +the king, when he came by with his court. + +"They belong to Ebe," said the herders. + +"I never have seen or heard anything like it in all my life!" cried the +king. "This Ebe is such a distinguished lord that it is past my +understanding!" + +The cat and Ebe had long since gone on their way, and had wandered far +and ever farther over hill and rock. In the evening, at dusk, they came +to a royal castle that glittered and shimmered as though it were of the +purest silver and gold--which it was. Yet it was gloomy and depressing, +and lonely and barren there, and nowhere was there a sign of life. + +Here they went in, and the cat stood with a cake of rye meal just below +the door. Suddenly there came a thundering and a thumping so that the +earth trembled, and the whole castle shook, and that was the troll who +was coming home. And suddenly all was quiet again, and before they knew +it, Helge-Hal in the Blue Hill had thrust his three great horrible heads +in at the door. + +"Let me in! Let me in!" he cried, so that every one shivered. "Wait, +wait a bit while I tell you what the rye had to go through before he was +made into this cake," said the cat, and spoke to him in the sweetest +way. "First he was threshed, and then he was beaten, and then he was +pounded, and then he was thumped, and then he was thrown from one wall +to another, and then he was sifted through a sieve...." + +"Let me in! Let me in, you chatterbox!" cried the troll, and he was so +furious that the sparks flew from him. + +"Wait a bit, wait a bit. I will tell you what the rye had to go through +before he was made into this cake!" said the cat, and he spoke to him +still more sweetly. + +"First he was threshed, and then he was beaten, and then he was pounded, +and then he was thumped, and then he was thrown from one wall to +another, and then he was sifted through a sieve, and shaken here and +there, and then he was put on the drying-board, and then in the stove, +until it grew so hot that he puffed up more and more, and wanted to get +out, but could not," said the cat, and took her time. + +"Get out of the way and let me in!" cried the troll once more, and +nearly burst with rage; but the cat acted as though she did not hear +him, and talked down the blue from the sky, and went up and down the +while, and whenever the troll tried to come in, she met him beneath the +door with the cake. + +"O, but do take a look at the shining maiden coming up there behind +the mountain!" said the cat, after she had talked at length about the +sufferings of the rye. And Helge-Hal in the Blue Hill turned his three +heads around in order to see the beautiful maiden, too. Then the sun +rose, and the troll stiffened into stone. Now Ebe obtained all the +riches that the troll had possessed, the sheep and goats, the cows and +all the spirited horses, and the handsome golden castle, and some big +bags of money besides. + +"Here come the king and all his court," said the cat. "Just go out +before the door and receive them!" So Ebe got up and went to meet them. + +"You are indeed a very distinguished lord!" said the king to him. "So +far as I am concerned you may have the youngest princess!" + +Then they started brewing and baking on a large scale in the greatest +haste, and everything was made ready for the wedding. On the first day +of the feast the cat came and begged the bridegroom to cut off her +head. This he did not at all want to do; but the cat spat and showed her +teeth, and then Ebe did not dare disobey her. But when the head fell to +the ground, the cat turned into a most handsome prince. He married the +second princess, and as the wedding procession was on its way to church, +they met a third prince who was looking for a wife, and he took the +oldest princess. Then they all three celebrated their weddings so that +the story went the rounds in twelve kingdoms. + + "Spin, span, spun, + Now our tale is done!" + + + NOTE + + The tale of "Helge-Hal in the Blue Hill" (Bergh, No. 2, p. 19) is + delightfully told. There is the timid, abidingly helpless nit-wit, + and the wise and energetic cat, who is quite at home in the + ancient wisdom that enables her to render trolls harmless. Their + attention must be held through the night by means of some pretext, + a meaningless tale, for instance, until the first ray of the + rising sun falls on them, when they turn to stone, or have to + burst. In the Edda this is what happens to the dwarf Alvis, so + full of sinister lore. + + + + +XXVII + +THE LORD OF THE HILL AND JOHN BLESSOM + + +John Blessom once upon a time had gone down to Copenhagen to carry on a +suit at law, for in those days one could not get justice in the land of +Norroway; and if a man wanted his rights, there was nothing left for him +to do but to travel to Copenhagen. This is what Blessom had done, and +what his son did after him, for he, too, carried on a law-suit. Now it +chanced that on Christmas Eve John had had speech with the gentleman in +authority, and had attended to his business, and was going along the +street in a low-spirited manner, for he was homesick. And as he went +along, a man from Vaage, in a white blouse, with a knapsack, and buttons +as big as silver dollars, passed him. He was a large, heavily-built man. +It seemed to Blessom that he must know him; but he was walking very +fast. + +"You are walking very fast," said John. + +"Yes, but then I'm in a hurry," answered the man. "I have to get back to +Vaage this very evening." + +"I only wish that I could get there!" sighed John. + +"You can stand on the runner of my sledge," said the man, "for I have a +horse that covers a mile in twelve steps." + +So they set out, and Blessom had all that he could do to hold fast to +the runner of the sledge; for they went through weather and wind, and he +could see neither heaven nor earth. + +Once they stopped and rested. He could not tell exactly where it was, +but when they began to hurry on again, he thought that he spied a skull +on a pole. After they had gone on a while, John Blessom began to freeze. + +"Alas, I forgot one of my gloves where we stopped, and now my hand is +freezing!" said he. + +"Well, Blessom, you'll have to make the best of it," said the man. "We +are not far from Vaage now. When we stopped to rest we had covered half +the way." + +When they crossed the Finnebridge, the man stopped and set John down. + +"Now you are not far from home," said he, "but you must promise me that +you will not look around, when you hear a roaring and notice a flare of +light." + +John promised, and thanked him for the quick journey. The man drove off +on his way, and John crossed the hill to his home. As he went he heard +a roaring in the Jutulsberg, and the path before him suddenly grew so +bright that one could have picked a needle from the ground. And he +forgot what he had promised, and turned his head to see what was +happening. There stood the giant gate of the Jutulsberg wide open, and +out of it streamed a light and radiance as of thousands of candles. In +the midst of it all stood the giant, and he was the man with whom he +had driven. But from that time forward John's head was twisted, and so +it remained as long as he lived. + + + NOTE + + "The Lord of the Hill and John Blessom" (Asbjoernsen, + _Huldreeventyr_ I, p. 189. From Gudbrandsdal, told by an old + peasant of the valley) is a tale of one of those kindly beings + among the helpful underground folk, who nevertheless severely + punish any disobedience to their command. + + + + +XXVIII + +THE YOUNG FELLOW AND THE DEVIL + + +Once upon a time there was a young fellow, who was going along cracking +nuts. He found a wormy one, and at the selfsame moment he met the devil. +"Is it true," said the young fellow, "that the devil can make himself +as small as he likes, and can slip through the eye of a needle, as the +people say?" "Yes," answered the devil. "Well, I should certainly like +to see you crawl into that nut!" said the young fellow. The devil did +so. But when he had crawled through the hole, the young fellow stopped +it up with a bit of wood. "Now I've got you!" said he, and put the nut +in his pocket. After he had gone a while, he came to a smithy, and went +in and asked the smith to break the nut for him. "Why, that is a mere +trifle!" said the smith, took his smallest hammer, laid the nut on +the anvil, and struck it; but the nut would not break. Then he took a +somewhat larger hammer; but that was not heavy enough either. Then +he took a still larger one, but could do nothing with it at all, and +thereupon he grew angry, and took his heaviest hammer. "I'll break +you yet!" said he, and struck it with all his might. And then the nut +cracked, so that half the smithy roof was carried away, and there was a +crash as though the whole hut were falling in. "I believe the devil was +in that nut!" said the smith. "And so he was!" answered the young +fellow. + + + NOTE + + This getting the better of the devil, as in "The Young Fellow and + the Devil" (Asbjoernsen and Moe, N.F.E., p. 133, No. 30), already + occurs in the fairy-tale from the "Thousand and One Nights," where + a spirit slips, not into a nut, but into a bottle, in order to + show what he can do. Ibsen, too, allows Per Gynt to dwell on this + fairy-tale. + + + + +XXIX + +FARTHER SOUTH THAN SOUTH, AND FARTHER NORTH THAN NORTH, AND IN THE GREAT +HILL OF GOLD + + +Once upon a time there was a peasant who had a wheat-field, which was +trampled down every Saturday night. Now the peasant had three sons, and +he told each one of them to spend a Saturday night in the field, and to +watch and see who trampled it down. The oldest was to make the first +trial. So he lay down by the upper ridge of the field, and after he had +lain there a while he fell asleep. The following morning the whole field +had been trampled down, and the young fellow was unable to tell how it +had happened. + +Now the second son was to make the attempt; but he had the same +experience. After he had lain a while he fell asleep, and in the morning +he was unable to tell how the field had come to be trampled down. + +Now it was the turn of John by the Ashes. He did not lie down by the +upper ridge of the field; but lower down, and stayed awake. After he had +lain there a while, three doves came flying along. They settled in the +field, and that very moment shook off all their feathers, and turned +into the most beautiful maidens one might wish to see. They danced with +each other over the whole field; and while they did so, the young fellow +gathered up all their feathers. Toward morning they wanted to put on +their feathers again, but could not find them anywhere. Then they were +frightened, and wept and searched and searched and wept. Finally, they +discovered the young fellow, and begged him to give them back their +feathers. "But why do you dance in our wheat-field?" said the young +fellow. "Alas, it is not our fault," said the maidens. "The troll who +has enchanted us sends us here every Saturday night to trample the +field. But now give us our feathers, for morning is near." And they +begged for them in the sweetest way. "I do not know about that," said +the young fellow, "you have trampled down the field so very badly; +perhaps--if I might choose and have one of you?" "That would please us," +returned the maidens, "but it would not be possible; for three trolls +guard us, one with three, one with six and one with nine heads, and they +kill all who come to the mountain." But the young fellow said that one +of them pleased him so very much that he would make the attempt, in +spite of what they had told him. So he chose the middle one, for she +seemed the most beautiful to him, and she gave him a ring and put it on +his finger. And then the maidens at once put on their garments of dove +feathers, and flew back across forest and hill. + +When the young fellow returned home, he told what he had seen. "And now +I must set out and try my luck," said he. "I do not know whether I will +return, but I must make the venture." "O John, John by the Ashes!" said +his brothers, and laughed at him. "Well, it makes no difference, even +though I am worthless," said John by the Ashes. "I must try my luck." So +the young fellow set out to wander to the place where the maidens lived. +They had told him it was farther south than south, and farther north +than north, in the great hill of gold. After he had gone a while, he met +two poor lads who were quarreling with each other about a pair of old +shoes and a bamboo cane, which their mother had left them. The young +fellow said it was not worth quarreling about such things, and that +he had better shoes and better canes at home. "You cannot say that," +returned the brothers, "for whoever has these shoes on can cover a +thousand miles in a single step, and whatever is touched with this cane +must die at once." The young fellow went on to ask whether they would +sell the things. They said that they ought to get a great deal for them. +"But what you say of them is not true at all," the young fellow replied. +"Yes, indeed, it is absolutely true," they answered. "Just let me see +whether the boots will fit me," said the young fellow. So they let him +try them on. But no sooner did the young fellow have the boots on his +feet, and the cane in his hand, than he took a step and off he was, a +thousand miles away. + +A little later he met two young fellows who were quarreling over an old +fiddle, which had been left them. "Now is that worth while doing?" said +the young fellow. "I have a brand-new fiddle at home." "But I doubt if +it has such a tone as ours," said one of the youths, "for if some one +is dead, and you play this fiddle, he will come to life again." "That +really is a good deal," said the young fellow. "May I draw the bow +across the strings?" They told him he might, but no sooner did he have +the fiddle in his hand than he took a step, and suddenly he was a +thousand miles away. + +A little later he met an old man, and him he asked whether he knew where +the place might be that was "farther south than south, and farther north +than north, and in the great hill of gold." The man said yes, he knew +well enough, but it would not do the young fellow much good to get +there, for the troll who lived there killed every one. "O, I have to +make the attempt, whether it lead to life or death," said the young +fellow, for he was fonder than fond of the middle one of the three +maidens. So he learned the way from the old man, and finally reached the +hill. There he had to pass through three rooms, before he came into the +hall to the maidens. And there were locks on every door, and at each +stood a watchman. "Where do you want to go?" asked the first watchman. +"In to the maidens," said the young fellow. "In you may go, but you'll +not get out again," said the watchman, "for now the troll will be along +before long." But the young fellow said that, at any rate, he would make +the attempt, and went on. So he came to the second watchman. "Where do +you want to go?" asked the latter. "In to the maidens," said the +young fellow. "In you may go, but you'll not get out again," said the +watchman, "for the troll will be here any minute." "And yet I will make +the attempt," said the young fellow, and the watchman let him pass. So +he came to the third watchman. "Where do you want to go?" the latter +asked him. "In to the maidens," said the young fellow. "In you may go, +but you'll never get out again, for the troll will be here in three +shakes of a lamb's tail," said the watchman. "And yet I will make the +attempt," said the young fellow, and this watchman also let him pass. +Then he reached the inner chamber where the maidens sat. They were +so beautiful and distinguished, and the room was so full of gold and +silver, that the young fellow never could have imagined anything like +it. Then he showed the ring, and asked whether the maidens recognized +it. Indeed they did recognize him and the ring. "But you poor +unfortunate, this is the end of us and of you!" said they. "The troll +with three heads will be along before long, and you had better hide +behind the door!" "O, I'm so frightened, I'm so frightened!" wailed the +maiden whom the young fellow had chosen. "Just you stop crying," said +the young fellow. "I think fortune will favor us!" + +The troll came that very moment and thrust his three heads into the +door. "Uff, it smells like Christian blood here!" said he. The young +fellow struck at the heads with his bamboo cane, and the troll was dead +in a minute. So they carried out the body and hid it. A little later the +troll with six heads came home. "Uff, it smells like Christian blood +here!" said he. "Some one must have crept into the place! But what has +become of the other troll?" said he, when he did not see the troll with +three heads. "He has not yet come home," said the maidens. "He must have +come home," said the troll. "Perhaps he has gone to look for the fellow +who crept in here." At that moment the young fellow struck all six of +his heads with his bamboo cane, and the troll at once fell dead to the +ground. Then they dragged out the corpse. + +A while later came the troll with nine heads. "Uff, it smells like +Christian blood here!" said he, and grew very angry. "But where are the +two others?" said he. "They have not yet come home," said the maidens. +"Indeed they have come," said the troll, "but they are probably looking +for the Christian who has crept in here!" At that moment, the young +fellow sprang from behind the door, and struck one head after another +with his bamboo cane. But he had no more than reached the eighth than it +seemed to him that the troll was getting the upper hand, and he ran out +of the door. The troll was so furious that he came near bursting. He +seized all the maidens and killed them, and then out he flew after the +young fellow. The latter had hidden behind a big rock, and when the +troll came darting up, showering sparks in his rage, he struck at his +ninth head, too, and the troll fell on his back, dead. Then the young +fellow ran in again, took his fiddle and played, and all the maidens +came back to life. Now they wanted to go home; but did not know how to +find the long road back. "I know what we must do," said the young +fellow, "I will take you on my back, one by one, and then the journey +will not be long for us." And this he did. He carried home all the gold +and silver he found in the hill, and then celebrated his wedding with +the middle one of the maidens, and if they have not died, they are +living this very day. + + + NOTE + + "Farther South Than South, and Farther North Than North, and in + the Great Hill of Gold" (Janson, No. 12, p. 39) begins with the + story of three maidens in feather dress who have to keep their + human form if robbed of their feathers. The legend of Wieland and + Smith introduces three similar maidens in swan's plumage, one of + whom he wins for himself; yet when she finds her swan dress again + after long years, yearning overpowers her, and she flies away. Our + fairy-tale is kindlier, and allows the young fellow to gain his + dove princess after strenuous adventures. + + + + +XXX + +LUCKY ANDREW + + +There was once a rich peasant who had two sons, named John Nicholas and +Lucky Andrew. The oldest was one of those fellows of whom one never can +quite make head or tail. He was a most unpleasant customer to deal with, +and he was more grasping and greedy than the folk of the Northland are, +as a rule, though it is only too rare to find them unblessed with +these attractive qualities. The other, Lucky Andrew, was wild and high +spirited, but always good natured, and no matter how badly off he might +be, he would always insist that he had been born under a lucky star. +When the eagle, in order to defend his nest, belabored his head and face +till the blood ran, he would still maintain that he was born under a +lucky star, if only he managed to bring home a single eaglet. Did his +boat capsize, which occasionally happened, and did they discover him +hanging to it, quite overcome with the water, cold and exertion, and +asked him how he felt, he would reply: "O, quite well. I have been +saved. I surely am in luck!" + +When their father died, both of them were of age, and not long after +they both had to go out to the sand-banks to fetch some fishing-nets, +which had been left there since the summer fishing. It was late in +the fall, after the time when most fishermen are busy with the summer +fishing. Andrew had his gun along, which he carried with him wherever he +went. John Nicholas did not say much while they were underway; but he +thought all the harder. They were not ready to set out for home again +until near evening. + +"Hark, Lucky Andrew, do you know there will be a storm to-night?" said +John Nicholas, and looked out across the sea. "I think it would be best +if we stayed here until morning!" + +"There'll be no storm," said Andrew. "The Seven Sisters have not put on +their fog-caps, so you may be quite at rest." + +But his brother complained of being weary, and at length they decided to +remain there for the night. When Andrew awoke he found himself alone; +and he saw neither brother nor boat, until he came to the highest point +of the island. Then he discovered him far out, darting for land like a +sea-gull. Andrew did not understand the whole affair. There were still +provisions there, as well as a dish of curd, his gun and various other +things. So Andrew wasted but little time in thought. "He will come back +this evening," said he. "Only a fool loses heart so long as he can eat." +But in the evening there was no brother to be seen, and Andrew waited +day by day, and week by week; until at last, he realized that his +brother had marooned him on this barren island in order to be able to +keep their inheritance for himself, and not have to divide it. And +such was the case, for when John Nicholas came in sight of land on his +homeward trip, he had capsized the boat, and declared that Lucky Andrew +had been drowned. + +But the latter did not lose heart. He gathered drift-wood along the +strand, shot sea-birds, and looked for mussels and roots. He built +himself a raft of drift-timber, and fished with a pole that had also +been left behind. One day, while he was at work, he happened to notice a +depression or hollow in the sand, as though made by the keel of a large +Northland schooner, and he could plainly trace the braidings of the +hawsers from the strand up to the top of the island. Then he thought to +himself that he was in no danger, for he saw there was truth in the +report he had often heard, that the meer-folk made the island their +abode, and did much business with their ships. + +"God be praised for good company! That was just what I needed. Yes, it +is true, as I have always said, that I was born under a lucky star," +thought Andrew to himself; perhaps he said so too, for occasionally he +really had to talk a little. So he lived through the fall. Once he saw a +boat, and hung a rag on a pole and waved with it; but that very moment +the sail dropped, and the crew took to the oars and rowed away at top +speed, for they thought the meer-trolls were making signs and waving. + +On Christmas Eve Andrew heard fiddles and music far out at sea; and when +he came out, he saw a glow of light that came from a great Northland +schooner, which was gliding toward the land--yet such a ship he had +never yet seen. It has a main-sail of uncommon size, which looked to him +to be of silk, and the most delicate tackling, as thin as though woven +of steel wire, and everything else was in proportion, as fine and +handsome as any Northlander might wish to have. The whole schooner was +filled with little people dressed in blue, but the girl who stood at the +helm was adorned like a bride, and looked as splendid as a queen, for +she wore a crown and costly garments. Yet any one could see that she was +a human being, for she was tall, and handsomer than the meer-folk. In +fact, Lucky Andrew thought that she was handsomer than any girl he ever +had seen. The schooner headed for the land where Andrew stood; but with +his usual presence of mind, he hurried to the fisherman's hut, pulled +down his gun from the wall, and crept up into the large loft and hid +himself, so that he could see all that passed in the hut. He soon +noticed that the whole room was alive with people. They filled it +completely and more, and still more of them came in. Then the walls +began to crack, and the little hut spread out at all corners, and grew +so splendid and magnificent that the wealthiest merchant could not have +had its equal; it was almost like being in a royal castle. Tables were +covered with the most exquisite silver and gold. When they had eaten +they began to dance. Under cover of the noise, Andrew crept to the +look-out at the side of the roof, and climbed down. Then he ran to the +schooner, threw his flint-stone over it, and in order to make certain, +cut a cross into it with his sharp-cutting knife. When he came back +again, the dance was in full swing. The tables were dancing and the +benches and chairs--everything else in the room was dancing, too. The +only one who did not dance was the bride; she only sat there and looked +on, and when the bridegroom came to fetch her, she sent him away. For +the moment there was no thought of stopping. The fiddler knew neither +rest nor repose, and did not pass his cap, but played merrily on with +his left hand, and beat time with his foot, until he was dripping with +sweat, and the fiddle was hidden by the dust and smoke. When Andrew +noticed that his own feet began to twitch where he was standing, he +thought to himself: "Now I had better shoot away, or else he will play +me right off the ground!" So he turned his gun, thrust it through the +window, and shot it off over the bride's head; but upside down, +otherwise the bullet would have hit him. The moment the shot crashed, +all the troll-folk tumbled out of the door together; but when they saw +that the schooner was banned on the shore, they wailed and crept into a +hole in the hill. But all the gold and silver dishes were left behind, +and the bride, too, was still sitting there. She told Lucky Andrew that +she had been carried into the hill when she was only a small child. +Once, when her mother had gone to the pen to attend to the milking, she +had taken her along; but when she had to go home for a moment, she left +the child sitting under a juniper-bush, and told her that she might eat +the berries if she only repeated three times: + + "I eat juniper-berries blue, + Wherein Jesu's cross I view. + I eat whortle-berries red, + Since 'twas for my sake He bled!" + +But after her mother had gone, she found so many berries that she forgot +to say her verse, and so she was enchanted and taken into the hill. And +there no harm had been done her, save that she had lost the top joint of +the little finger of her left hand, and the goblins had been kind to +her; yet it had always seemed to her as though something were not as it +should be, she felt as though something weighed upon her, and she had +suffered greatly from the advances of the dwarf who had been chosen for +her husband. When Andrew learned who her mother and her people were, he +saw that they were related to him, and they became very good friends. So +Andrew could truly say he had been born under a lucky star. Then they +sailed home, and took along the schooner, and all the gold and silver, +and all the treasure which had been left in the hut, and then Andrew was +far wealthier than his brother. + +But the latter, who suspected where all this wealth had come from, did +not wish to be any poorer than Andrew. He knew that trolls and goblins +walk mainly on Christmas Eve, and for that reason he sailed out to the +sand banks at that time. And on Christmas Eve he did see a light or +fire, but it seemed to be like will-o'-the-wisps fluttering about. When +he came nearer he heard splashes, horrible howls, and cold, piercing +cries, and there was a smell of slime and sea-weed, as at ebb-tide. +Terrified, he ran up into the hut, from whence he could see the trolls +on the shore. They were short and thick like hay-ricks, completely +covered with fur, with kirtles of skins, fishing boots, and enormous +fist-gloves. In place of head and hair they had bundles of sea-weed. +When they crawled up from the strand there was a gleam behind them like +that of rotting wood, and when they shook themselves they showered +sparks about them. When they drew nearer, John Nicholas crawled up into +the loft as his brother had done. The goblins dragged a great stone into +the hut, and began to beat their gloves dry against it, and meanwhile +they screamed so that John Nicholas's blood turned to ice in his +hiding-place. Then one of them sneezed into the ashes on the hearth +in order to make the fire burn again; while the others carried in +heather-grass and drift-wood, as coarse and heavy as lead. The smoke and +the heat nearly killed the eavesdropper in the loft, and in order to +catch his breath and get some fresh air, he tried to crawl out of the +look-out in the roof; yet he was of much heavier build than his brother, +stuck fast and could move neither in nor out. Then he grew frightened +and began to scream; but the goblins screamed much louder, and roared +and howled, and thumped and clamored inside and outside the hut. But +when the cock crowed they disappeared, and John Nicholas freed himself, +too. Yet when he returned home from his trip, he had lost his reason, +and after that the same cold, sinister screams which are the mark of the +troll in the Northland, might often be heard sounding from store-rooms +and lofts where he happened to be. Before his death, however, his reason +returned, and he was buried in consecrated ground, as they say. But +after that time no human foot ever trod the sand-banks again. They sank, +and the meer-folk, it is believed, went to the Lekang Islands. Andrew's +luck held good; no ship made more successful trips than his own; but +whenever he came to the Lekang Islands he lay becalmed--the goblins went +aboard or ashore with their goods--but after a time he had fair winds, +whether he happened to want to go to Bergen, or sail home. He had many +children, and all of them were bright and vigorous, yet every one of +them lacked the upper joint of the little finger of his left hand. + + + NOTE + + "Lucky Andrew" (Asbjoernsen, _Huldreeventyr_, I, p. 286. From + Heligoland) is one of a type which is a favorite character in the + fairy-tale, care-free, brave and always happy, though he dwells in + awful loneliness in the midst of the sea, and comes across the + most sinister goblins. + + + + +XXXI + +THE PASTOR AND THE SEXTON + + +Once upon a time there was a pastor who was such a boor that when any +one was driving toward him along the highway, he would shout to them, +while still some distance off: "Get out of the way! Get out of the +pastor's way!" One day, while he was doing this, along came the king. +"Get out of the way! Get out of the way!" shouted the pastor. But the +king drove as he had a mind to, and he drove so fast that this time it +was the pastor who had to get out of the way, and when the king passed +him, he called out: "See that you come to me at the castle to-morrow, +and if you cannot answer three questions I put to you, then you will +have to take off your pastor's gown as a punishment for your arrogance!" + +This sounded different from what the pastor was used to hearing. Shout +and bluster, and completely forget himself in his arrogance, that he +knew how to do; but returning a plain answer to a plain question was not +his strong point. So he went to the sexton, who was supposed to have +more in his upper story than the pastor. He told him he did not venture +to go to the castle, because "a fool can ask more than ten wise men can +answer," said he, and he induced the sexton to go in his stead. + +The sexton set forth, and came to the castle dressed in the pastor's +gown and ruff. The king received him out in the entrance with crown and +scepter, and was so splendidly dressed that he fairly gleamed and shone. + +"Well, are you here?" Yes, indeed, there he was. "First tell me," said +the king, "the distance from East to West." "It is one day's journey," +said the sexton. + +"And how is that?" asked the king. "Well, the sun rises in the East and +goes down in the West, and manages to do so nicely in the course of a +single day," said the sexton. + +"Good," said the king, "but now tell me how much I am worth, just as I +stand." + +"Well, if our Lord Christ himself was valued at thirty pieces of silver, +then I can hardly value you at more than twenty-nine," said the sexton. + +"Well and good," said the king, "but since you are so wondrous wise, +tell me what I am thinking now." + +"Ah, my lord king, you are probably thinking that this is the pastor who +is standing before you, but there you are greatly mistaken, for I am the +sexton." + +"Then drive straight home, and be the pastor, and the pastor shall be +the sexton," said the king, and that is what happened, too. + + NOTE + + The droll tale of "The Pastor and the Sexton" is widely known and + emphasizes in humorous guise the value of politeness and + consideration, as well as a ready wit. (Asbjoernsen, N.F.E., + p. 126, No. 86. From Valsers.) + + + + +XXXII + +THE SKIPPER AND SIR URIAN + + +Once upon a time there was a master mariner who had the most unheard of +good fortune in all that he undertook; none had such splendid cargoes, +and none earned so much money as he did, for everything seemed to come +to him. And it is quite certain that there were none who could risk +taking the trips he did, for wherever he sailed he had fair winds, yes, +it was even said that when he turned around his cap, the wind turned +with it, to suit his wish. + +Thus he sailed for many years with cargoes of lumber, and even went as +far as China, and earned money like hay. But once he sailed the North +Sea with all sails set, as though he had stolen ship and cargo. But the +one who was after him sailed even more swiftly. And that was Sir Urian, +the devil! With him the master mariner, as you may imagine, had made +a bargain, and that very day and hour the contract expired, and the +mariner had to be prepared, from moment to moment, to see him arrive to +fetch him. + +So he came up on deck, out of the cabin, and took a look at the weather. +Then he called the ship's carpenter and several others, and told them to +go down at once into the ship's hold, and bore two holes in the ship's +bottom. Then they were to take the pumps from out their frames, and set +them closely over the holes, so that the water would rise quite high in +the pipes. + +The men were surprised, and thought his orders passing strange, yet they +did as he told them. They bored the holes, and set up the pumps closely +over them, so that not even a drop of water could get at the cargo; yet +the North Sea stood seven feet high in the pumps. + +No more had they cast overboard their chips and litter than Sir Urian +came along in a squall, and grabbed the master mariner by the collar. +"Wait, old boy, the matter is not so terribly urgent!" said he, and +began to defend himself, and pry loose the claws that held him with an +awl. "Did you not bind yourself in your contract always to keep my ship +tight and dry?" said the master mariner. "You are a nice article! Just +take a look at the pumps! The water stands seven feet high in the pipes! +Pump, devil, pump my ship dry, then you may take me to have and to hold +as long as ever you wish!" + +The devil was fool enough, and allowed himself to be hoaxed. He worked +and sweat, and the perspiration ran down his cheeks in such streams that +one might have run a mill with them, but he merely kept on pumping out +of the North Sea into the North Sea. At last he had enough of it, and +when he could pump no longer, he flew home to his grandmother to rest. +He let the master mariner stay master mariner as long as he might +choose, and if he has not died he is still sailing the seas at his own +sweet will, and letting the wind blow according to how he turns his cap. + + + NOTE + + In the story of "The Skipper and Sir Urian" (Asbjoernsen, N.F.E., + p. 33, No. 69. From the vicinity of Drontheim) we once more have + the devil, "Old Eric," as the Norwegians call him, playing the + part of the dupe, this time as the victim of a cunning old + sea-dog. + + + + +XXXIII + +THE YOUTH WHO WAS TO SERVE THREE YEARS WITHOUT PAY + + +Once upon a time there was a poor man, who had only one son; but one who +was so lazy and clumsy that he did not want to do a stroke of work. "If +I am not to feed this bean-pole for the rest of my life, I'll have to +send him far away, where not a soul knows him," thought the father. +"Once he is knocking about in the world, he will not be so likely to +come home again." So he took his son and led him about in the world, far +and wide, and tried to get him taken on as a serving man; but no one +would have him. Finally, after wandering a long time, they came to a +rich man, of whom it was said that he turned every shilling around seven +times before he could make up his mind to part with it. He was willing +to take the youth for a servant, and he was to work three years without +pay. But at the end of the three years, his master was to go into town, +two days in succession, and buy the first thing he saw, and on the third +morning the youth himself was to go to town and also buy the first thing +he met. And all this he was to receive in lieu of his wage. + +So the youth served out his three years, and did better than they had +expected him to do. He was by no means a model serving-man; but then +his master was none of the best, either, for he let him go all that time +in the same clothes he had worn when he entered his service, until, +finally, one patch elbowed the other. + +Now when his master was to go to do his buying, he set out as early as +possible in the morning. "Costly wares are only to be seen by day," said +he, "they are not drifting about the street so early. It will probably +cost me enough as it is, for what I find is a matter of purest chance." +The first thing he saw on the street was an old woman, who was carrying +a covered basket. "Good-day, granny," said the man. "And good-day to +you, daddy," said the old woman. + +"What have you in your basket?" asked the man. "Would you like to know?" +said the woman. "Yes," said the man, "for I have to buy the first thing +that comes my way." "Well, if you want to know, buy it!" said the old +woman. "What does it cost?" asked the man. She must have four shillings +for it, declared the woman. This did not seem such a tremendous price to +him, he would let it go at that, said he, and raised the cover. And +there lay a pup in the basket. When the man got home from his journey to +town, there stood the youth full of impatience and curiosity, wondering +what his wage for the first year might be. "Are you back already, +master?" asked the youth. "Yes, indeed," said his master. "And what have +you bought?" asked the youth. "What I have bought is nothing so very +rare," said the man. "I don't even know whether I ought to show it to +you; but I bought the first thing to be had, and that was a pup," said +he. "And I thank you most kindly for it," said the youth. "I have always +been fond of dogs." + +The following morning it was no better. The man set out as early as +possible, and had not as yet reached town before he met the old woman +with the basket. "Good-day, granny," said the man. "And good-day to you, +daddy," said the old woman. "What have you in your basket to-day?" asked +the man. "If you want to know, then buy it!" was again the answer. "What +does it cost?" asked the man. She wanted four shillings for it, she had +only the one price. The man said he would buy it, for he thought that +this time he would make a better purchase. He raised the cover, and this +time a kitten lay in the basket. When he reached home, there stood the +youth, waiting to see what he was to get in lieu of his second year's +wages. "Are you back again, master!" said he. "Yes, indeed," said the +master. "What did you buy to-day?" asked the youth. "Alas, nothing +better than I did yesterday," said the man, "but I did as we agreed, and +bought the first thing I came across, and that was this kitten." "You +could not have hit on anything better," said the youth, "for all my life +long I have been fond of cats as well as of dogs." "I do not fare so +badly this way," thought the man, "but when he sets out for himself, +then the matter will probably turn out differently." + +So the third morning the youth set out for himself, and when he entered +town, he came across the same old woman with her basket on her arm. +"Good morning, granny," said he. "And good morning to you, my boy," said +the old woman. "What have you in your basket?" asked the youth. "If you +want to know, then buy it!" answered the old woman. "Do you want to sell +it?" asked the youth. Yes, indeed, and it would cost four shillings, +said the old woman. That is a bargain, thought the youth, and wanted to +take it, for he had to buy the first thing that came his way. "Well, you +can take the whole blessed lot," said the old woman, "the basket and all +that's in it. But do not look into it before you get home, do you hear!" +No, indeed, he would be sure not to look in the basket, said he. But on +the way, he kept wondering as to what might be in the basket, and +willy-nilly--he could not keep from raising the cover a little, and +looking through the crack. But that very minute a little lizard popped +out of the crack, and ran across the road so quickly that it fairly +hummed--and aside from the lizard there was nothing in the basket. +"Stop, wait a minute, and don't run away! I just bought you," said the +youth. "Stab me in the neck! Stab me in the neck!" cried the lizard. The +youth did not have to be told twice. He ran after the lizard and stabbed +it in the neck just as it was slipping into a hole in a wall. And that +very moment it turned into a man, as handsome and splendid as the +handsomest prince, and a prince he was, if truth be told. + +"Now you have delivered me," said he, "for the old woman, with whom you +and your master have been dealing, is a witch, and she turned me into a +lizard, and my brother and sister into a dog and cat." The youth thought +this a remarkable tale. "Yes, indeed," said the prince. "She was +actually on the way to throw us into the sea and drown us; but if any +one were to appear and want to buy us, she had to sell us for four +shillings apiece, that had been agreed upon. And now you shall go home +with me to my father, and be rewarded for your good deed." "Your home +must be a good way off," said the youth. "O, it is not so far," declared +the prince, "there it is!" And he pointed to a high hill in the +distance. + +They marched along as fast as they could, but still it was farther away +than it seemed. So it was late at night before they reached their goal. +The prince knocked. "Who is knocking at my door, and disturbing my +sleep?" came a voice within the hill. And the voice was so powerful that +the earth trembled. "Open, father, your son has come home!" cried the +prince. Then the father was glad to open the door quickly. "I thought +you were already lying at the bottom of the sea," said the old man. +"But you are not alone?" "This is the chap who delivered me," said the +prince, "and I asked him to come with me so that you could reward him." +That he would attend to, said the old man. "Now you must come right in," +said he, "for here you may rest in safety." They went in and sat down, +and the old man laid an armful of wood and a couple of big logs on the +fire, until every corner was as bright as day, and wherever they looked +everything was indescribably splendid. The youth had never seen anything +like it, and such fine things to eat and drink as the old man served up +to him, he had never yet tasted. And the bowls and dishes, and goblets +and plates, were all of pure silver and shining gold. + +There was no need to urge the young folk. They ate and drank and enjoyed +themselves, and then slept far into the next day. The youth was still +asleep when the old man came and offered him a morning draft in a golden +goblet. And when he had put on his rags and breakfasted, he was allowed +to pick out what he wanted, as a reward for delivering the prince. There +was much to see and still more to take, as you may believe. "Well, what +do you want?" asked the king. "You may take what you will; for as you +see there is enough from which to choose." The youth said he would have +to think it over a bit, and speak to the prince. And that he was allowed +to do. "Well, I suppose you have seen all sorts of beautiful things?" +asked the prince. "That is a fact," said the youth. "But tell me, what +ought I to choose among all these magnificent things? Your father said I +might pick out whatever I wished." "You must choose none among all the +things you have seen," answered the prince, "but my father wears a ring +on his little finger, and you must ask him for that." This the youth +did, and begged the king for the ring on his finger. "It is dearer to +me than anything else I have," said the king, "but my son is just as +dear to me, and therefore I will give you the ring. Do you know what +powers it has?" No, that the youth did not know. "While you wear it on +your finger, you can get everything that you want to have," said the +king. The youth thanked him most kindly, and the king and the prince +wished him all manner of luck on his journey, and charged him to take +the best care of the ring. + +He had not been long underway before it occurred to him to test what the +ring could do. So he wished to be dressed in new clothes from head to +toe, and no more had he uttered the wish than there he was in them. And +he looked as handsome and bright as a new nickel. Then he thought to +himself it would be pleasant to play a trick on his father. "He was none +too friendly to me while I was still at home." And so the youth wished +he were standing before his father's door, just as ragged as he had been +before. And that very minute there he stood. + +"Good-day, father, and many thanks for the last time!" said the youth. +But when his father saw he had come home far more tattered and torn than +when he had gone away, he grew angry and began to scold: "There is +nothing to be made of you, if during all the long years of your service +you have not even been able to earn a suit of clothes to your back." + +"Now do not be so angry, father," said the youth. "You need not take for +granted that a fellow is a vagabond because he goes about in rags. Now +I want you to go to the king as my proxy, and ask his daughter's hand +for me." "Come, come, why, that is utter folly and nonsense!" cried his +father. But the youth insisted that it was gospel truth, and took a +birch bough, and drove his father to the king's castle-gate. And the +latter came stumbling right in to the king, and wept so that the tears +just tumbled out. + +"Well, what has happened to you, my dear fellow?" asked the king. "If a +wrong has been done you, I will see that you get your rights." No, no +wrong had been done him, said the man, but he had a son who gave him a +great deal of trouble: it was impossible to make a man of him, and now +he had evidently lost what few senses he did possess. "Because he has +just chased me to the castle-gate with a birch bough, and threatened me, +if I do not get him the king's daughter for a bride," said the man. "Set +your mind at rest, my good fellow," said the king, "and send your son to +me. Then we will see whether we can come to an understanding." + +The youth came rushing in to the king, so that his rags fairly +fluttered. "Do I get your daughter?" he cried. "Well, that is just what +we are going to discuss," said the king, "perhaps she would not answer +for you, and perhaps you would not answer for her," said he. That might +be the case, said the youth. + +Now a great ship from abroad had shortly before come into port, and one +could see it from the castle window. "Now we'll see," said the king. "If +you can build a ship that is the exact counterpart of the one outside, +and just as handsome, in the space of an hour or two, then, perhaps, you +may get my daughter," said the king. + +"If it be no more than that ..." said the youth. Then he went down to +the shore and sat on a sand-pile, and when he had sat there long enough, +he wished that a ship might lie out in the fjord, completely equipped +with masts and sails and all that goes with them, and that it might +resemble the ship already lying there in every particular. And that very +minute there lay the ship, and when the king saw that there were two +ships at anchor instead of one, he came down to the shore himself to +look more closely into the matter. And then he saw the youth. He was +standing in a boat, with a broom in one hand, as though he meant to give +the ship a final cleaning; but when he saw the king coming, he threw +away the broom and cried: "Now the ship is finished. Do I get your +daughter now?" + +"That is all very fine," said the king, "but you must stand yet another +test. If you can build a castle that is just like mine in every +particular within an hour or so, then we will go further into the +matter." + +"No more than that?" cried the youth. After he had strolled around for a +long while, and the time set was nearly over, he wished that a castle +might stand there that resembled the king's castle in every particular. +And before long there it stood, as you may believe. And it did not +take long, either, before the king, together with the queen and the +princess, came to look at the new castle. The youth stood there with his +broom again, and swept and cleaned. "Now the castle is in apple-pie +order. Do I get her now?" he cried. + +"That's all very fine," declared the king, "just come in and we'll talk +it over," said he, for he had noticed that the youth knew a thing or +two, and he was thinking over how he might get rid of him. The king went +on ahead, and after him the queen, and then went the princess, just in +advance of the youth. Then he at once wished to be the handsomest man in +the world, and so he was, that very minute. When the princess saw what +a splendid figure he suddenly cut, she nudged the queen, who in turn +nudged the king, and after they had stared at him long enough, they at +last realized that the youth was more than he had at first appeared to +be, in his rags. So they decided that the princess was to treat him +nicely, in order to find out how matters really stood, and the princess +was as sweet and amiable as sugar-bread, and flattered the youth, and +said that she could not do without him, night or day. And when it came +toward the end of the first evening, she said: "Since you and I are to +be married in any case, I am sure you will have no secrets from me, and +you will not want to hide from me how you managed to do all these fine +things." + +"O, yes," said the youth. "You shall know about it, but first of all let +us be married; before that nothing counts!" + +The following evening the princess pretended to be quite unhappy. She +was well aware, said she, that he did not attach much importance to her +love, when he would not even tell her what she wanted so much to know. +If he could not even oblige her in such a small matter, his love could +not amount to a great deal. Then the youth fell into despair, and to +make up with her again, he told her everything. She lost no time, and +let the king and queen know all about it. Thereupon they agreed as to +how they would go about getting the youth's ring away from him, and +then, thought they, it would not really be hard to get rid of him. + +In the evening the princess came with a sleeping potion, and said she +wanted to give her lover a drink that would increase his love for her, +since it was plain he did not love her enough. The youth suspected +nothing, and drank, and at once fell so fast asleep that they could have +pulled down the house over his head. Then the princess drew the ring +from his finger, put it on herself, and wished the youth might be lying +on the garbage-pile in the street, just as tattered and torn as he had +come to them, and in his place she wanted the handsomest prince in the +world. And that very minute everything happened just as she wished. +After a time the youth woke up, out on the garbage-pile, and at +first thought he was dreaming: but when he saw the ring was gone, he +understood how it all had happened, and fell into such despair that he +got up and wanted to jump right into the sea. + +But then he met the cat his master had bought for him. "Where are you +going?" she asked. "To throw myself into the sea and drown," was the +youth's reply. + +"Do not do so on any account," said the cat. "You will get your ring +again." + +"Yes, if that were so, then ..." said the youth. + +The cat ran away. Suddenly a rat crossed her path. "Now I will pounce on +you!" said the cat. "O do not do that," said the rat, "you shall have +the ring again!" + +"Well, if that is so, then ..." said the cat. + +When the folk at the castle had gone to bed, the rat crept around, and +sniffed and spied out the room of the prince and princess; and at last +he found a little hole through which he crawled. Then he heard the +prince and princess talking to each other, and saw that the prince was +wearing the ring on his finger. Before she went, the princess said: +"Good night. And see that you take good care of the ring, my dearest!" + +"Pooh! no one will come in through the walls for the sake of a ring," +said the prince, "but if you think it is not safe enough on my hand, +why, I can put it in my mouth." + +After a time he lay down on his back, and prepared to go to sleep. But +just then the ring slipped down his throat, and he had to cough, so +that the ring flew out and rolled along the ground. Swish!--the rat had +caught it, and crept out with it to the cat, who was waiting at the +rat-hole. But in the meantime the king had caught the youth, and had had +him put in a great tower and condemned to death, because he had made a +mock of his daughter--so the king said. And the youth was to sit in the +tower until he was beheaded. But the cat kept prowling around the tower +all the time, trying to sneak in with the ring. And then an eagle came +along, caught her up in his claws and flew across the sea with her. And +suddenly a hawk appeared, and flung himself on the eagle, and the eagle +let the cat fall into the sea. When she felt the water, she grew afraid, +let the ring fall, and swam to land. No sooner had she shaken the water +from her fur than she met the dog whom the youth's master had bought for +him. + +"Well, what am I to do now?" said the cat, and wept and lamented. "The +ring is gone, and they want to murder the youth." "That I do not know," +said the dog, "but what I do know is that I have the very worst kind of +an ache in my stomach," said he. + +"There you have it. You have surely over-eaten," said the cat. + +"I never eat more than I need," said the dog, "and just now I have eaten +nothing at all, save a dead fish that was left here by the ebb-tide." + +"Could the fish have swallowed the ring?" asked the cat. "And must you, +also, lose your life, because you cannot digest gold?" + +"That may well be the case," said the dog. "But then it would be best +if I died at once, for then the youth might still be saved." + +"O, that is not necessary!" said the rat--who was there, too--"I do not +need a very large opening through which to crawl, and if the ring is +really there, I am sure I can find it." So the rat slipped down into the +dog, and before very long he came out again with the ring. And then the +cat made her way to the tower, and clawed her way up till she found a +hole through which she could thrust her paw, and thus brought back the +ring to the youth. + +No sooner was it on his finger than he wished that the tower might break +down, and that very moment he was standing just before the tower-gate, +and reviling the king and the queen and the king's daughter as though +they were the lowest of the low. The king hastily called together his +army, and told it to surround the tower, and take the youth prisoner, +dead or alive. But the youth only wished the whole army might be +sticking up to their necks in the big swamp in the hills, and there they +had trouble enough getting out--those among them who did not stick fast. +Then he went right on reviling where he had stopped, and finally, when +he had told them all just what he thought of them, he wished that the +king, the queen and the king's daughter might sit for the rest of their +lives in the tower into which they had thrust him. And when they were +sitting there, he took possession of the king's land and country on his +own account. Then the dog changed into a prince, and the cat into a +princess, and he made the latter his wife, and they were married and +celebrated their wedding long and profusely. + + + NOTE + + In "The Youth Who Was to Serve Three Years Without Pay" + (Asbjoernsen, N.F.E., No. 63, p. 8. From Gudbrandsdal) we have the + tale of a magic ring, whose possessor is robbed of it by a + faithless woman, and which is brought back to him by faithful + animals, after various vicissitudes. + + + + +XXXIV + +THE YOUTH WHO WANTED TO WIN THE DAUGHTER OF THE MOTHER IN THE CORNER + + +Once upon a time there was a woman who had a son, and he was so lazy and +slow that there was not a single blessed useful thing he would do. But +he liked to sing and to dance, and that is what he did all day long, and +far into the night as well. The longer this went on, the worse off his +mother was. The youth was growing, and he wanted so much to eat that it +was barely possible to find it, and more and more went for his clothes +the older he grew, since his clothes did not last long, as you may +imagine, because the youth skipped and dance about without stopping, +through forest and field. + +At length it was too much for his mother, so one day she told the young +fellow that he ought at last to get to work, and really do something, or +both of them would have to starve to death. But the youth had no mind to +do so, he said, and would rather try to win the daughter of the mother +in the corner, for if he got her, then he would live happily ever after, +and could sing and dance, and would not have to plague himself with +work. + +When the mother heard that she thought it might not be such a bad idea +after all, and she dressed up the youth as well as she could, so that +he would make a good showing when he came to the mother in the corner, +and then he set forth. + +When he stepped out the sun was shining bright and warm; but it had +rained during the night, and the ground was soft and full of water +puddles. The youth took the shortest path to the mother in the corner, +and sang and danced, as he always did. But suddenly, as he was hopping +and skipping along, he came to a swamp, and there were only some logs +laid down to cross it; and from the one log he had to jump over a puddle +to a clump of grass, unless he wanted to dirty his shoes. And then he +went kerflop! The very moment he set foot on the clump of grass, he went +down and down until he was standing in a dark, ugly hole. At first he +could see nothing at all, but when he had been there a little while, he +saw that there was a rat, who was wiggling and waggling around, and had +a bunch of keys hanging from her tail. + +"Have you come, my boy?" said the rat. "I must thank you for coming to +visit me: I have been expecting you for a long time. I am sure you have +come to win me, and I can well imagine that you are in a great hurry. +But you must have a little patience. I am to receive a large dower, and +am not yet ready for the wedding; but I will do my best to see that we +are married soon." + +When she had said this, she produced a couple of egg-shells, with all +sorts of eatables such as rats eat, and set them down before the youth, +and said: "Now you must sit down and help yourself, for I am sure you +are tired and hungry." + +The youth had no great appetite for this food. "If I were only away and +up above again," thought he, but he said nothing. + +"Now I think you must surely want to get home again," said the rat. "I +am well aware that you are waiting impatiently for the wedding, and I +will hurry all I can. Take this linen thread along, and when you get up +above, you must not turn around, but must go straight home, and as you +go you must keep repeating: 'Short before and long behind!'" and with +that she laid a linen thread in his hand. + +"Heaven be praised!" said the youth when he was up above once more. +"I'll not go down there again in a hurry." But he held the thread in his +hand, and danced and sang as usual. And although he no longer had the +rat-hole in mind, he began to hum: + + "Short before and long behind! + Short before and long behind!" + +When he stood before the door at home, he turned around; and there lay +many, many hundred yards of the finest linen, finer than the most +skillful weaver could have spun. + +"Mother, come out, come out!" called and cried the youth. His mother +came darting out, and asked what was the matter. And when she saw the +linen, stretching as far as she could see, and then a bit, she could +not believe her eyes, until the youth told her how it all happened. But +when she had heard that, and had tested the linen between her fingers, +she was so pleased that she, too, began to sing and dance. + +Then she took the linen, cut it, and sewed shirts from it for her son +and herself, and the remainder she took to town and sold for a good +price. Then for a time they lived in all joy and comfort. But when that +was over the woman had not a bite to eat in the house, and so she told +her son that it was the highest time for him to take service, and really +do something, or else both of them would have to starve to death. + +But the youth preferred to go to the mother in the corner, and try to +win her daughter. His mother did not think this such a bad idea, for now +the youth was handsomely dressed, and made a good showing. + +So she brushed him, and furbished him up as well as she could, and he +himself took a pair of new shoes, and polished them till they shone like +a mirror, and when he had done so, off he went. Everything happened as +before. When he stepped out, the sun was shining bright and warm; but it +had rained during the night, and the road was soft and muddy, and every +puddle was full of water. The youth took the shortest way to the mother +in the corner, and sang and danced and danced and sang, as he always +did. He followed another road, not the one he had taken before; but as +he was hopping and skipping along, he suddenly came to the log across +the swamp, and from the log he had to jump over a puddle to a clump of +grass, unless he wanted to dirty his shoes. And then he went kerflop. +And he sank down and could not stop, until he reached a horrible, dark, +ugly hole. At first he could see nothing; but after he had stood there a +while, he discovered a rat with a bunch of keys at the end of her tail, +which she was wiggling and waggling in front of him. + +"Have you come, my boy?" said the rat. "You are welcome among us! It was +kind of you to come and visit me again so soon; no doubt you are very +impatient, I can well imagine it. But you must really be patient a +little while longer; for my trousseau is not quite complete, but by the +time you come again all shall be ready." When she had said this she +offered him egg-shells containing all sorts of food such as rats like. +But it looked to the youth like food that had been eaten, and he said +that he had no appetite. "If I were only safely away, and up above +again," thought he, but he said nothing. After a time the rat said: "Now +I think you must surely want to get up above again. I will hurry on the +wedding as quickly as I can. And now take this woolen thread along, and +when you get up above, you must not turn around, but go straight home, +and underway you must keep on repeating: 'Short before and long +behind!'" and with that she laid the woolen thread in his hand. + +"Thank heaven, I have escaped!" said the youth to himself. "I am sure +I'll never go there again," and then he sang and danced again as usual. +He thought no more of the rat-hole, but fell to humming, and sang +without stopping: + + "Short before and long behind! + Short before and long behind!" + +When he stood at the door of the house, he happened to look around; and +there lay the finest woolen goods, many hundred yards of it, stretching +for half a mile, and so fine that no city counselor wore a coat of finer +cloth. + +"Mother, mother, come out, come out!" cried the youth. His mother came +to the door, clasped her hands together over her head, and nearly +fainted with joy when she saw all the fine goods. And then the youth had +to tell her how it had come to him, and all that had taken place, from +beginning to end. This brought them a small fortune, as you may imagine. +The youth had new clothes, and his mother went to town and sold the +goods, yard by yard, and was handsomely paid for them. And then she +decorated her room, and she herself, in her old days, went about in such +style that she might have been taken for some lady of distinction. So +they lived splendidly and happily, but finally this money, too, came to +an end; and one day the woman had not a bite to eat left in the house, +and told her son that now he had better look for work, and really do +something, or both of them would starve to death. + +But the youth thought it would be much better to go to the mother in the +corner and try to win her daughter. This time his mother again agreed +with him, and did not contradict the youth; for now he had fine new +clothes, and looked so distinguished that it seemed out of the question +to her that such a good-looking fellow would be refused. So she +furbished him up and tricked him out in the handsomest way, and he +himself took out his new shoes and polished them so brightly that you +could see yourself in them, and when he had done so he set forth. + +This time he did not choose the shortest road; but took a roundabout +way, the longest he could find, for he did not want to go down to the +rat again because he was sick of her eternal wiggling and waggling, and +the talk about marriage. The weather and the road were exactly the same +as when he had gone before. The sun shone, the swamp and the puddles +gleamed, and the youth sang and danced as usual. And in the midst of his +skipping and jumping, before he knew it, there he stood at the same +crossing which led across the swamp. There he had to jump over a puddle +to a clump of grass, unless he wanted to dirty his brightly polished +shoes. "Kerflop!" and down he went, and did not stop until he stood once +more in the same dark, ugly, dirty hole. At first he was pleased because +he could see nothing. But after he had stood there a while, he once more +discovered the ugly rat who was so repulsive to him, with the bunch of +keys hanging from her tail. + +"Good-day, my boy," said the rat. "You are welcome! I see that you can +no longer live without me, and I thank you. And now everything is in +readiness for our wedding, and we will go straight to church." Nothing +will come of that, thought the youth, but he did not say a word. Then +the rat whistled, and at once every corner was alive with swarms of mice +and small rats, and six large rats came dragging along a frying-pan. Two +mice sat up behind as grooms, and two sprang up in front to drive the +coach. Several seated themselves within, and the rat with the bunch of +keys took her place in their midst. To the youth she said: "The road +is a little narrow here, so you will have to walk beside the coach, +sweetheart, until the road is broader. And then you may sit beside me in +the coach." + +"How fine that will be!" thought the youth. "If I were only safely up +above once more, I would run away from the whole pack of them," thought +he, but he said nothing. He went along with the procession as well as he +could; at times he had to crawl, at others he had to stoop, for the way +was very narrow. But when it grew better, he walked in advance, and +looked about to see how he might most easily steal away and make off. +And then he suddenly heard a clear, beautiful voice behind him say: "Now +the road is good! Come, sweetheart, and get into the coach!" + +The youth turned around quickly, and was so astonished that his nose and +ears nearly fell off. There stood a magnificent coach with six white +horses, and in the coach sat a maiden as fair and beautiful as the sun, +and about her were sitting others, as bright and kindly as the stars. It +was a princess and her playmates, who had all been enchanted together. +But now they were delivered, because he had come down to them, and had +never contradicted. + +"Come along now!" said the princess. Then the youth got into the coach, +and drove to church with her. And when they drove away from the church, +the princess said: "Now we will first drive to my home, and then we will +send for your mother." + +"That's all very fine," thought the youth--he said nothing, but he +thought it would be better, after all, to drive to his home, instead of +down into the hideous rat-hole. But suddenly they came to a beautiful +castle, and there they turned in, for there it was they were to live. +And at once a fine coach with six horses was sent for the youth's +mother, and when she came the wedding festivities began. They celebrated +for fourteen days, and perhaps they are celebrating yet. We must hurry, +and perhaps we may still get there in time, and can drink the groom's +health and dance with the bride! + + + NOTE + + Told with much charm and wealth of detail is the story of "The + Youth Who Wanted to Win the Daughter of the Mother in the Corner" + (Asbjoernsen, N.F.E., No. 77, p. 73). It is another tale of a + deliverance from enchantment, and the conditions are silence and + lack of contradiction on the part of the deliverer. + + + + +XXXV + +THE CHRONICLE OF THE PANCAKE + + +Once upon a time there was a woman who had seven hungry children, and +she was baking pancakes for them. There was dough made with new milk, +and it lay in the pan, and was rising so plumply and comfortably, that +it was a pleasure to watch it. The children stood around it, and their +grandfather sat and looked on. + +"Give me a little bit of pancake, mother, I'm so hungry!" said one of +the children. + +"Dear mother!" said the second. + +"Dear, sweet mother!" said the third. + +"Dear, sweet, good mother!" said the fourth. + +"Dear, best, sweet, good mother!" said the fifth. + +"Dear, best, sweet, good, dearest mother!" said the sixth. + +"Dear, best, sweet, good, dearest, sweetest mother!" said the seventh, +and so they all begged around the pancake, one more sweetly than the +other, for they were all so hungry and so well-behaved. + +"Yes, children, wait until it turns around," said she--until I have +turned it around, she should have said--"then you shall all have a +pancake, a lovely best-milk pancake. Just see how fat and comfortable it +is lying there!" + + [Illustration: "'HEY THERE!' THE WOMAN WAS AFTER IT WITH THE PAN IN + ONE HAND AND THE SPOON IN THE OTHER." + --_Page 275_] + +When the pancake heard that it was frightened, turned itself around +suddenly, and wanted to get out of the pan; but it only fell on its +other side, and when this had baked a little, so that it took shape and +grew firmer, it leaped out on the floor, and rolled off like a wheel, +out of the door, and down the street. + +Hey there! The woman was after it with the pan in one hand, and the +spoon in the other, as fast as she could, and after her came the +children, and last of all, their grandfather came hobbling along. + +"Will you wait! Halt! Catch it! Hold it!" they all cried together, and +wanted to catch up with it and grab it on the run; but the pancake +rolled and rolled, and sure enough, it got so far ahead of them that +they could no longer see it, for it had nimbler legs than all of them. +After it had rolled a while it met a man. + +"Good-day, pancake," said the man. + +"Good-day, Man Tan," said the pancake. + +"Dear, good pancake, don't roll so fast; but wait a little and let me +eat you!" said the man. + +"Mother Gray and grandpa I've left behind, and the seven squallers, too, +you'll find, so I think I can leave you as well, Man Tan!" said the +pancake, and rolled and rolled until it met a hen. + +"Good-day, pancake," said the hen. + +"Good-day, Hen Glen," said the pancake. + +"Dear, good pancake, don't roll so fast, wait a little and I will eat +you up!" said the hen. + +"Mother Gray and grandpa I've left behind, and the seven squallers, +too, you'll find, and Man Tan, so I think I can leave you as well, Hen +Glen!" said the pancake, and rolled along the road like a wheel. Then it +met a rooster. + +"Good-day, pancake," said the rooster. + +"Good-day, Rooster Booster," said the pancake. + +"Dear, good pancake, don't roll so fast. Wait a little and I will eat +you up!" said the rooster. + +"Mother Gray and grandpa I've left behind, and the seven squallers, too, +you'll find, and Man Tan and Hen Glen, and so I think I can leave you as +well, Rooster Booster," said the pancake, and rolled and rolled as fast +as ever it could. And after it had rolled a long time it met a duck. + +"Good-day, pancake," said the duck. + +"Good-day, Duck Tuck," said the pancake. + +"Dear, good pancake, don't roll so fast. Wait a little and I will eat +you up!" said the duck. + +"Mother Gray and grandpa I've left behind, and the seven squallers, too, +you'll find, and Man Tan, and Hen Glen and Rooster Booster, so I think I +can leave you as well," said the pancake, and rolled on as fast as ever +it could. After it had rolled a long, long time, it met a goose. + +"Good-day, pancake," said the goose. + +"Good-day, Goose Loose," said the pancake. + +"Dear, good pancake, don't roll so fast. Wait a little and I will eat +you up!" said the goose. + +"Mother Gray and grandpa I've left behind, and the seven squallers, too, +you'll find, and Man Tan and Hen Glen and Rooster Booster and Duck +Tuck, and I think I can leave you as well, Goose Loose," said the +pancake, and rolled away. + +After it had again rolled for a long, long time, it met a gander. + +"Good-day, pancake," said the gander. + +"Good-day, Gander Meander," said the pancake. + +"Dear, good pancake, don't roll so fast. Wait a little and I will eat +you up!" said the gander. + +"Mother Gray and grandpa I've left behind, and the seven squallers, too, +you'll find, and Man Tan and Hen Glen and Rooster Booster and Duck Tuck +and Goose Loose, and I think I can leave you as well, Gander Meander," +said the pancake, and began to roll as fast as ever it could. + +After it had rolled a long, long time, it met a pig. + +"Good-day, pancake," said the pig. + +"Good-day, Pig Snig," said the pancake, and began to roll as fast as +ever it could. + +"Now wait a little," said the pig. "You need not hurry so, for we can +keep each other company going through the forest and take our time, for +it is said to be haunted." The pancake thought that such was quite apt +to be the case, and so they started off; but after they had gone a while +they came to a brook. + +The pig swam across on his own bacon, which was easy enough; but the +pancake could not get across. + +"Sit down on my snout," said the pig, "and I will carry you over that +way." The pancake did so. + +"Uff, uff!" said the pig, and swallowed the pancake in one mouthful. + + "And now, since the pancake no further goes, + This little chronicle comes to a close." + + + NOTE + + "The Chronicle of the Pancake" (Asbjoernsen, N.F.E., No. 104, + p. 233. From Sell, Froen and Faaberg) is a merry, harmless, + nursery tale, belonging to the type of "The House That Jack + Built," in an accumulation of repeated sentences and + characteristic names. + + + + +XXXVI + +SORIA-MORIA CASTLE + + +Once upon a time there was a couple who had an only son named Halvor. +While he was still but a little lad, he would do nothing at all; but +was always sitting at the hearth, digging in the ashes. His parents +apprenticed him here and apprenticed him there, to be taught something, +but Halvor never stayed. When he had been anywhere for a few days, he +ran away again, went back home, sat down at the hearth, and dug in the +ashes. But once a master mariner came along and asked whether Halvor +would not like to go with him, and sail the seas, and see foreign lands. +Indeed, Halvor would like to do so very much, and it did not take him +long to make up his mind. + +How long they sailed the seas I do not know, but suddenly a powerful +storm arose, and when it had passed, and all had grown quiet once more, +they did not know where they were. They had been driven off their course +to a foreign shore, which none among them recognized. + +And then, since not a breeze was stirring, they lay there, and Halvor +begged the master mariner for permission to go ashore, and look around, +for he would rather do that than lie down and sleep. "Do you think you +are fit to appear before people?" asked the master mariner. "The only +clothes you have are the rags in which you stand and walk!" Yet Halvor +insisted, and finally he was given permission. But he was to come back +when the wind blew up. Halvor went, and it was a fair land. No matter +where he came, there were great plains, with fields and pastures; but he +saw no people at all. The wind blew up again, but Halvor decided that +he had not yet seen enough, and wanted to go a little further, and see +whether there were no people to be found at all. After a time he came to +a great highway, which was so even one could have rolled an egg along it +with ease. Halvor went on along this highway, and as evening drew near, +he saw a great castle in the distance, that shone afar. Since he had +been wandering all day long, without much in the way of food, he had a +fine appetite; but the nearer he came to the castle, the more frightened +he grew. + +In the castle there was a fire on the hearth, and Halvor went into the +kitchen, which was beautiful. The kitchenware was all of silver and +gold; but there were no human beings to be seen. After Halvor had waited +a while, and no one came out, he went and opened a door. There he saw a +princess sitting and spinning. "Alas, no!" cried she. "Has a Christian +soul really come here! But it would be best for you to go again, if you +do not want the troll to swallow you; for a troll with three heads lives +here." + +"And though he had four, I should like to see him," said the youth. "And +I am not going away, for I have done no wrong. But you must give me +something to eat, for I am terribly hungry." When Halvor had eaten his +fill, the princess told him to try and see whether he could swing the +sword that hung on the wall. But he could not swing it, nor even raise +it. "Well," said the princess, "you must take a swallow from the bottle +that hangs beside it, for that is what the troll does when he wants to +use the sword." Halvor took the swallow, and then could swing the sword +at once as though it were nothing at all. Now, thought he, the troll +could just come along any time. And sure enough, he did come along, +roaring. Halvor placed himself behind the door. "Hu! it smells like +Christian blood here!" said the troll, and poked his head in through the +door. "Yes, you shall find out it is here and at once," cried Halvor, +and hewed off all his heads. The princess was filled with joy at her +deliverance, and danced and sang. But then she happened to think of her +sisters, and said: "If only my sisters could also be delivered!" "Where +are they?" asked Halvor. So she told him that one of them had been +carried off by a troll to a castle six miles further away, and the other +to a castle that lay nine miles away from the other. + +"But now," said she, "you must first help me get this body out." Halvor +was very strong, so he quickly cleared everything out, cleaned up, and +put all in order. Then they ate, and the following morning he started +off at dawn. He did not rest for a moment, but wandered all day long. +When he spied the castle, he once more felt a little afraid; it was +even handsomer than the other one; but here, too, there was not a human +being to be seen. Then Halvor went into the kitchen, yet did not stop at +all, but stepped right into the next room. "No, it cannot be possible +that a Christian should venture here!" cried the princess. "I do not +know how long I have been here; but during all that time I have not seen +a single Christian soul. It would probably be best if you went away +quickly; for a troll with six heads lives here." "No, I am not going," +said Halvor, "not even if he had six heads more." "He will seize you and +swallow you alive!" said the princess. But that made no difference, +Halvor would not go, and he did not fear the troll. But he would have to +eat and drink, for he was hungry and thirsty after his long tramp. He +had as much as he wanted; and then the princess wanted to send him away +again. "No," cried Halvor, "I am not going. I have done no wrong, and +need not fear any one." + +"That will not worry the troll," said the princess. "He will seize you +without any questions asked. Yet, if you positively will not go, why, +try and see whether you can swing the sword that the troll uses in war." +He could not swing it; but then the princess told him to take a swallow +from the bottle that hung beside it, and when he had done so he could +swing the sword. Suddenly the troll came, and he was so large and so fat +that he had to move sideways in order to get through the door. When he +had thrust in his first head, he cried: "Huhu! I smell the blood of a +Christian!" And that very moment Halvor hewed off his first head, and +then all the rest. The princess was pleased beyond measure; but then she +happened to think of her sisters, and she wished that they also might be +delivered. Halvor thought this might be done, and wanted to start out at +once. But first he had to help the princess get the dead troll out of +the way and then, the following morning, he set out. It was a long way +to the castle, and he hurried and ran in order to get there in good +time. Toward evening he spied the castle, and it was much handsomer than +both the others. This time he felt hardly any fear at all; but went +through the kitchen and right on in. There sat a princess who was +extraordinarily beautiful. Like the others, she said that no Christian +soul had ever come to the castle since she had been there, and told him +to go away again, as otherwise the troll would swallow him alive, for he +had nine heads. "And though he had nine more, and nine on top of those, +I will not go," said Halvor, and stood by the stove. The princess +earnestly begged him to go, so that the troll would not devour him, but +Halvor said: "Let him come whenever he wishes!" Then she gave him the +troll sword, and told him to take a swallow from the bottle, so that he +could swing it. + +Suddenly the troll came roaring along. He was even larger and more +powerful than both the others, and he also had to squeeze himself in at +the door sideways. "Hu! I smell the blood of a Christian!" That very +moment Halvor hewed off his first head, and then all of the others; but +the last clung to life most toughly, and it cost Halvor a good deal of +trouble to cut it off, though he found himself so very strong. + +Now all the princesses met at the castle, and were happy as they never +had been before, in all their lives, and they fell in love with Halvor +and he with them, and he was to choose the one whom he loved best; but +it was the youngest who loved him the most of all. Yet Halvor acted +strangely, and grew quite silent and uncommunicative; so the princess +asked him what he was longing for, and whether he did not enjoy being +with them. Yes, he enjoyed it very much, for they had enough to live on, +and he was well enough off, but yet he was homesick, for his parents +were still living, and he would like to see them again. That could +easily be arranged, said the princess. "You shall go and return without +harm, if you will follow our advice." Indeed, and he would surely do +nothing against their wishes, said Halvor. Then they dressed him up +until he looked as handsome as a king's son, and put a ring on his +finger that made it possible for the one wearing it to wish himself +away, and back again. But he must not throw the ring away, and he must +not mention their names, said the princesses, otherwise its power would +be gone, all their joy would come to an end, and he would never see them +again. + +"I wish I might be back at the house at home!" said Halvor, and his +wish was at once realized, and he was standing in front of his parents' +house before he knew it. It was dusk, and when the old folk saw such a +handsome, well-dressed stranger coming, it embarrassed them so that it +seemed as though their bowing and scraping would never end. Halvor now +asked them whether they could not give him a night's lodging. "No, +they really could not do so, for they were quite unprepared for it," +said they, "and we are lacking one thing, and another, which such a +distinguished gentleman would wish to have. It would be best if the +gentleman went up to the castle, whose chimney he can see from here, +where the folk are well prepared." "No," said Halvor, "I'll not go there +until to-morrow morning. And now let me stay here overnight. I will be +content to sit by the hearth." The old folk could make no objection +to this, and so Halvor sat down by the hearth, and began to dig in +the ashes, as he used to when he was the lazybones at home. Then they +chatted about all sorts of matters, and told Halvor about one thing and +another, and finally he asked them whether they had no children. Yes, +they had a son; but did not know whither he had wandered, or even +whether he were still alive, or already dead. + +"Could I not be this Halvor?" said Halvor. + +"No, I am quite sure you could not," said the woman, starting up. +"Halvor was so slow and lazy, and never wanted to do anything, and +beside, he was so tattered that one rag got in the way of the other. He +could never have turned into so fine a looking gentleman as yourself." + +After a time the woman had to go to the hearth, and rake the fire, and +as the firelight fell on Halvor, just as it used to when he dug in the +ashes, she recognized him. + +"No, can it really be you, Halvor?" she cried, and then the two old folk +were happy beyond all power of words, and Halvor had to tell all that +had happened to him, while his mother was so pleased with him, that she +wanted to take him up to the castle at once, and show him to the girls +who had always been so proud, and had turned up their noses at her son. +So she went first and Halvor followed. When they came up, she told how +Halvor had come back, and that they ought to see how fine he looked, +just like a prince, said she. "We can imagine that," said the girls, and +tossed their heads. "He is probably the same ragged fellow that he used +to be." At that moment Halvor stepped in, and then the girls were so +embarrassed that they ran out of the house without their caps. And when +they came in again, they were so ashamed that they did not venture +to look at Halvor, whom they had always treated with such scorn and +contempt. "Well, you always acted as though you were so fine and +handsome that no one on earth could compare with you. But you ought +to see the oldest princess, whom I delivered," said Halvor. "Compared +to her you look like dairy-maids, and the middle princess is still +handsomer; while the youngest princess, who is my sweetheart, is more +beautiful than the sun and moon. Would to God she were here, so that you +might see her!" said Halvor. + +No sooner had he finished speaking than there they stood; but then he +was very much upset, for now he remembered what they had told him. + +At the castle they gave a great feast in honor of the princesses, and +made a great deal of them. But they would not stay. "We want to go to +your parents," they said to Halvor, "and then we want to go out and look +around." He went with them, and they came to a big sheet of water beyond +the court-yard. Close beside it was a fair green hill, and there the +princesses decided to sit and rest a while, "for it was so pleasant to +look out over the water," said they. They sat down, and after they had +rested a while, the youngest princess said: "Let me stroke your hair a +little, Halvor!" Halvor laid his head in her lap, and she stroked his +hair, and before very long Halvor fell asleep. Then she drew the ring +from his finger, and gave him another in place of it, and said: "All +hold on to me--I wish we were in Soria-Moria Castle!" + +When Halvor woke up he saw very well that he had lost the princesses, +and began to weep and wail, and was so beside himself with despair that +no one could comfort him. And no matter how hard his parents begged him, +he would not stay at home, but bade them farewell, and said that he +would probably never see them again, for if he did not find his +princesses, then it would not be worth his while to go on living. + +He still had three hundred dollars, and these he put in his pocket and +started out. After he had gone a while he met a man with a nice-looking +horse. He decided to buy it, and began to talk with the man. "It is +true I did not intend to sell the horse," said the man, "but perhaps we +can come to an understanding." Halvor asked him what he wanted for it. +"I did not pay much for it, nor is it worth very much: it is a good +saddle horse, but as a draft horse it does not amount to much. Yet it +could carry you and your knapsack without difficulty, if you were to +walk a bit from time to time," said the man. At last they agreed on the +price, and Halvor slung his knapsack across the horse, and from time to +time he walked, and then he rode again. Toward evening he came to a +green hill on which stood a large tree, beneath which he seated himself. +He turned the horse loose, yet did not lie down to sleep, but took out +his knapsack instead. When day came he wandered on again, for it seemed +to him as though there were no place in which he could rest. He walked +and rode all day long through a great forest, in which were many green +clearings, that shimmered cheerfully among the trees. He did not know +where he was, nor did he know whither he was going; but he allowed +himself no more time to rest than his horse needed to feed in one of the +green clearings, and himself to eat from his knapsack. He walked and +rode, on and on, and thought the forest would never end. + +But on the evening of the following day he saw something gleaming among +the trees. "If the people there are still up, I could warm myself a +little, and get something to eat!" thought Halvor. When he got there it +was a wretched little hut, and through the window he saw an old couple +sitting in it, as ancient and gray-headed as doves, and the woman had so +long a nose that she used it at the hearth for a poker. "Good evening! +Good evening!" said the old woman. "But what are you doing here? No +Christian soul has come this way for the past hundred years." Halvor +told her he was looking for Soria-Moria Castle, and asked whether she +knew the way to it. "No," was the woman's answer, "I do not know, but +here comes the moon, I will ask him. He ought to know, for he shines on +everything." And then, when the moon rose bright and clear above the +tree-tops, the woman went out. "You moon, you moon," she cried, "can you +tell me the way to Soria-Moria Castle?" "No," said the moon, "I cannot +do that, because when I was shining there, a cloud lay in my way." + +"Just wait a little while," said the old woman to Halvor. "The West Wind +will be right along, and he is sure to know, for he sweeps and blows +about in every corner. Well, I declare, you have a horse, too!" said the +old woman when she came in again. "Now don't let the poor beast stand +by the door there and starve to death; but take it out to the pasture +instead. Or would you like to change with me? We have a pair of old +boots, that carry you twelve miles further with every step. I will +give them to you in exchange for the horse, and then you will reach +Soria-Moria Castle more quickly." Halvor at once agreed, and the old +woman was so pleased with the horse, that she almost started dancing +then and there. "For now I can ride to church, too," said she. + +Halvor was very restless, and wanted to go right on again, but the woman +said there was no need to hurry. "Lie down on the bench by the stove, +and take a nap, for we have no bed for you," said she. "I will watch for +the West Wind's coming." + +All of a sudden the West Wind came rushing along so that the walls +creaked. The woman ran out: "You West Wind! You West Wind! Can you tell +me the way to Soria-Moria Castle? There is a fellow here who wants to +know." "Yes, indeed," said the West Wind, "I have to go to that very +place, and dry the wash for the wedding soon to be held. If he is quick +afoot, he may come along with me." Halvor ran out. "You must hurry if +you are going with me," said the West Wind; and at once he was up and +off over hill and dale, land and sea, so that Halvor could hardly keep +up with him. "Now I have no more time to keep you company," said the +West Wind, "because I have first to tear down a stretch of pine forest, +before I come to the bleaching-field and dry the wash. But if you keep +going along the hills, you will meet some girls standing there and +washing, and then you will not be far from Soria-Moria Castle." + +After a time Halvor came to the girls who were washing, and they asked +him whether he had seen anything of the West Wind, who was to come and +dry the clothes for the wedding. "Yes," said Halvor. "He is only +tearing down a stretch of pine forest, and will soon be here," and then +he asked the way to Soria-Moria Castle. They showed it to him, and when +he reached the castle it was fairly alive with men and horses. But +Halvor was so tattered and torn because he had followed the West Wind +over stick and stone, and through thick and thin, that he kept to one +side, and could not come forward until the last day of the feast. Then +all the folk, as was the custom, had to drink the health of the bride +and groom, and the cupbearer had to pledge all of them in turn, knights +and serving-men. So at length they came to Halvor. Halvor drank the +health, and then let the ring which the princess had put on his finger +when he lay by the water fall into the glass, and told the cupbearer to +greet the bride, and bring her the ring. And the princess at once rose +from the table. "Who do you think has first claim to the hand of one of +us," she asked, "the man who delivered us, or the one who now sits here +in the bridegroom's place?" There was only one opinion as to that, +and when Halvor heard it, he did not delay, but cast off his rags and +dressed himself as a bridegroom. "Yes, he is the right one!" cried the +youngest princess when she caught sight of him, and she drove the other +one away, and celebrated her wedding with Halvor. + + + NOTE + + The "Soria-Moria Castle" (Asbjoernsen and Moe, N.F.E., No. 27, + p. 115) occurs in Ibsen's Per Gynt as a fabled fairy-palace. The + hero cannot hold his tongue at the right time, and as a result + loses the princess for whom he had so strenuously fought. The + recognition of Halvor by his mother by the flickering light of the + hearth-fire, in whose ashes Halvor was always digging when a boy, + is touchingly told. + + + + +XXXVII + +THE PLAYER ON THE JEW'S-HARP + + +Some two or three generations ago, a three-year-old ox, belonging to +some people who lived in an alpine meadow in Westfjall, disappeared. And +look for him as they would, they could not find him, and in the fall +they moved down into the valley again. But while the grandmother was +skimming the cream from the milk-pans in the lean-to the day before +their departure, and the oldest maid in the hut was scooping the cheese +out of the big kettle, a little shepherd girl came running up, and +called out that the big ox was standing at the salt-lick, and licking +the salt. When the mother stepped out for a moment, she saw nothing that +looked at all like an ox. So she thought the little girl had probably +been mistaken; but the little one insisted that the big ox had been +there. + +"I saw the white spot he had on his forehead, and he had broken off one +of his horns," said she. The man himself and his two sons were each out +searching in a different direction, and they searched and searched; but +all three came back at evening, and none of them had found anything. +When they heard the little girl's story, one of the sons flung himself +on his horse, and rode home at full gallop, in order to fetch his +gun; loaded it with small splinters from a steel arrow, hurried back +posthaste, and shot it off cross-wise over the salt-lick. "If the ox is +bewitched, he ought to appear now," said he. But it was of no use, the +ox was gone and he stayed gone. + +The oldest son was to go up on the hill once more, and take a good look +all around. And he searched in every direction, far and near, until he +thought he could smell the ox; yet in spite of this, he could see no +sign of a living being anywhere, all day long. Finally he grew angry, +and swore that for his part, the bewitched beast might go to the end of +the world; if he did not want to join the rest of the herd, he could +please himself. With that he turned around, and went to the herdsman's +hut as fast as he could, meaning to take home with him the bear he had +shot. + +And there, at the fence of the herdsman's hut, stood the great ox +licking salt. And one of his horns had been broken off. Where he had +been knocking about so long he himself probably knew, the young fellow +did not. + +But now day was so nearly over that he could just about reach home if he +went as he was, and hurried as fast as he could. But if he had to lead +and pull along the ox besides, it would have been pitch-dark before he +had fairly started. And let me tell you, the fall nights are really +dark, and cold besides, and it is not wise to camp under the open sky in +the mountains. For this reason he decided to wait until morning, though +a night at the herdsman's hut would be bleak and lonely. So he chopped a +good armful of birch-boughs, laid them on the hearth, and soon the hut +grew warm and comfortable, and as bright as a room lit with Christmas +candles. When he had eaten his supper, he threw himself down on the bed +of planks, pulled his jew's-harp out of his waistcoat pocket, and began +to play the "Bells of St. Thomas" round. But he had not been playing +long before he fell asleep, with the instrument in his mouth. Suddenly +he woke again, and it seemed to him that he could hear something +rustling softly at the other end of the hut. He turned his head +slightly, and saw a beautiful young girl standing by the table, braiding +her hair. It was so long that it fell down over her hips, and as lovely +and shiny as though it had been gilded. At first the young fellow could +not see her face, but once, when she happened to turn in his direction, +it seemed to him that she was the fairest and finest-looking maiden he +had ever laid eyes on. Her like could not have been found far or near, +and he knew every girl in the parish, well-to-do or otherwise. The young +fellow did not dare address her, for she thought herself alone, and +looked so dear and trustful that he dreaded frightening her away. So he +lay there as still as a mouse, and did not venture to move so much as a +foot. + +Suddenly in came another girl; but she appeared to be coarser, and had a +large mouth and dark complexion, not as clear and fresh as that of the +first girl; and she did not please him as well. Both were dressed alike, +in green jackets and bodices of red satin, blue stockings, and with +bright silver buckles on their shoes. The younger maiden had white +sleeves, that were so fresh and clean they fairly shone. Her bodice was +cut low, and showed a handsome round clasp, which tinkled delicately +whenever the maiden made the slightest move. And now the young fellow +realized what sort of maidens these were, and could not get over his +astonishment that there were such beautiful women among the underground +folk. It was Saturday evening, and this was probably the reason they +were dressing and adorning themselves so busily: no doubt they were +expecting company or suitors. The young fellow could not make out what +they said to each other, for they whispered so softly that he only +caught a word now and then. Once they spoke of a little white lamb that +had gone lame that day. + +"Yes, it is the fault of that young fellow who has been rushing around +in all the empty huts among the hills, looking for his fire-red ox. I +saw him throw a stone at the little lamb," said the older girl, the one +with the large mouth and dark skin. "He really should be punished for +that!" said she. + +"Yes, but he never knew it was a lamb," replied the younger one, the +beauty with the red cheeks. "And it was not right of grandmother to hide +his ox, and make him hunt for it far and near." + +"He might have taken his ox, for it was standing just beside the hut, +and he ran right past it," said the other girl. + +"Yes, but you know he took it to be a rat," the younger one answered. + +"O, how stupid those people are," said the older one again, and laughed +until she shook. "They pretend to be wiser than wise, and cannot even +tell a fire-red ox from a rat! Ha, ha, ha!" and she laughed so heartily +that her sister was also carried away, and the young fellow himself +could not help but smile a bit. + +After a time he began to play a boisterous dance-tune. And what a fright +it gave the girls! They screamed, ran off helter-skelter in their +terror, and were gone in a flash. But the young fellow kept on playing. +After a little while one of them thrust in her head at the door, and +when they saw what had frightened them so, they began to whisper and +giggle outside, in front of the hut. And after a time they ventured in +again, and began to dance to the music. And those girls could really +swing around and use their legs. They almost flew over the uneven floor, +and were so sure of the time that every step they took was in place. + +When they had danced a while, and the young fellow had made their +acquaintance--or thought that he had--he unclasped his belt, and passing +it around the handsomer of the two, drew her to him. And she allowed him +to do so. This angered the young fellow, for he would not have believed +that so dainty and lovely a girl would have allowed him to act so +familiarly on such short acquaintance. And as though by chance, he let +go one end of his belt and swish!--off she was. Her sister ran after +her, and slammed the door behind her. + +Now the young fellow was angry with himself because he had been angry +with her. But he thought he was probably not worthy of obtaining the +hand of so fair and loveable a maiden, for there is an old saw to the +effect that none may escape their fate. Finally he thought that perhaps +he could coax her back again with his music, and he played one tune +after another, the most beautiful ones he knew. But the _huldra_ maidens +did not appear again. At last his hands and mouth grew so tired that he +had to stop. And then he happened to think of "The Blue Melody," which a +minstrel from his part of the country had learned in ancient times from +the underground folk. No sooner had he commenced it than both girls came +sweeping in once more. + +"You play beautifully, you do!" said the younger. + +"One has to play beautifully when one has such beautiful listeners," +returned the young fellow. + +"Yes, that's what the cat said when she caught a mouse," laughed the +maiden. + +"Come here, and I will teach you 'The Blue Melody'!" said he. So they +came to him, and watched while he played. After a time the younger one +put her hand in his waistcoat pocket. + +"And what is that, is it liquorice?" she asked, as she pulled out a roll +of tobacco. + +"Yes, try it!" the young fellow answered. She bit off a little piece, +but spat it right out on the floor again. + +"Yes, it is liquorice that bites," said she, and she wiped her tongue on +her sleeve. + +"Is it really so biting?" asked the other one, and also wanted to try +it. So the young fellow gave her some as well, and she had the same +experience. They never wanted to taste such liquorice again in their +lives, so they assured him. + +"Well, I can tell you how to get good liquorice," said the one. "You +must boil the root of a plant called merilian, and you must pour the +water into juniper-berry juice, and then you will have a liquorice that +is so sweet and good that it will even cure a toothache." The young +fellow said he would try it, some time, when he had found the plant. + +Toward evening the girls wanted to leave. Yet that drove him to despair, +and he begged them to stay for a little while. But the girls simply +would not. Their mother would not allow it, said they. When the young +fellow saw that they were really going, he went quite out of his mind. +He had grown so very fond of the younger _huldra_ maiden, and now he +was never to see her again. Without knowing what he did, he threw the +jew's-harp at her, and hit her on the head, just as she was passing +through the door. And with that she came in again. + +"Mother, mother! A Christian has won sister Sireld!" cried the other, +out in front of the hut. Soon after a very ancient woman came hobbling +and shuffling into the hut. Her face was so wrinkled and dark that her +yellow teeth shone out from it, for teeth she had, in spite of her age. +"Now you may keep her, since you have won her, for now she is no longer +bewitched," said the old woman to the young fellow. "And if you are +kind to her, you shall never lack food or clothing, and you shall have +all that you need, both Sundays and workdays. But if you treat her +unkindly, you shall pay for it!" said the old woman, and raised her cane +as though she were about to use it on the young fellow. Then she hobbled +out again. + +It seemed to him that he had won a wife very quickly, after all, in this +manner, and he asked her how it all came to be. + +"The jew's-harp struck my head with such force, that a drop of blood +flowed," said the girl, "and it was the best thing you could have done, +for I would much rather live with Christians than with the underground +folk," said she. + +He still thought the world and all of her, and yet it seemed to him as +though he could have done nothing worse: all had happened so quickly, +and he had nothing on which to marry; but after all, what was done was +done. The following morning she went home with him. His family were much +surprised to see him come back in such company, and were angry with +him, and looked for excuses to find fault with the girl: but there was +nothing to object to about her, except that she had yellow teeth, and +after all, this was no such great matter. In her dealings with others +she was uncommonly amiable, and there was not a girl that went to church +who could equal her in beauty. + +But after the wedding he gradually began to ill-treat her. For you must +know that he could never forget she was not a Christian. He sulked, and +was always angry and ill-natured, and never gave her a kind word. And +he refused to grant her least request. Though it might be the merest +trifle, he never had more than a short "No" for anything she asked. And +in spite of this she was kind and friendly, and acted as though she did +not hear his angry words, and was always helpful and amiable. But it +made no difference, he grew worse from day to day. And they began to go +downhill, for strife in the home drives luck away. At last it seemed as +though they would have to take the beggar's bowl and staff, and wander +from one farm-stead to another like any other beggars. + +One day she did not know what to give the people to eat, for there was +not even a crust of bread in the house. And then she grew sad, for all +might have been different for them had he but treated her better. He was +standing in the smithy at the moment, about to shoe a horse, and she +went out to him. + +"Won't you build me the pen now, the one I have so often, often asked +you for?" she begged. "Do it now, and I will shoe the horse!" And she +tore the red-hot horse-shoe from the anvil, and bent it in shape with +her bare hands. When he saw that she was mistress of such arts, he grew +frightened, and actually built her a fine, big pen back of the stable, +set in a post, and drove a hook into it, just as she had said. The +following morning the pen filled with fire-red cattle, big, fat, +handsome beasts, that gave a great deal of milk. Such fine cows had +never been seen anywhere. And on the hook hung a copper milk-pail, and +a pair of horns of salt, with a silver ring from which to hang them. And +now it was not long, as you may imagine, before they were more than +prosperous at the farm-stead again. + +For a time everything went well. He let her work and command in the +house, and she had unfailing luck in all she undertook, so that wealth +flowed in to them from every side. But at length he once more began to +ill-treat her. Wherever he went he remembered that she was no Christian, +no matter how kind, and amiable and obedient she might be, and just like +any one else, save that she was far, far handsomer. Once he reached down +the poker from the wall, and was about to beat her. She jumped up and +begged him insistently not to touch her: "For else both of us will be +unhappy!" But he would not listen to her, and beat her about the head, +until the blood ran over the poker and fell on his hand. And then she +suddenly disappeared from his sight. It seemed as though she had floated +through the wall, or sunk into the ground. He saw nothing, but he heard +a woman sob and weep, very quietly and softly, and painfully, and with a +deadly sadness. After a little while all was silent--and then he heard +no more. He searched day in, day out, here and there, hither and yon, +and his neighbors, too, went along and helped him search; but to no +avail, for he did not find her, and could not even discover a trace of +her. When he was in the hill pastures during the summer, and the rest +of the folk were up there as well, and even after they had gone, he +would sit night after night, and play "The Blue Melody"; yet he never +saw her again, nor any of her folk. + +In the summer his little girl was old enough to begin going to school. +And one day she said to her father, when he came up to the hills: "I am +to bring you a kind greeting from mother!" + +"Ah, no, my little girl, is that really the truth? Where did you speak +to her?" he asked. + +"She and two others came here the day that Guro fetched the sheep, and +since then she often comes here," answered the little one, "and they +gave me their clasps, too," said she, and showed him three handsome +round clasps. + +"Won't she come back home to us?" he asked, as well you may imagine. + +"She said that she really could not do that, and that she had to protect +you continually against folk who wanted to harm you!" said the little +one. + +Sadness had been his portion before this, and now it did not grow any +less. And it was a blessing that before many years had passed the earth +closed over him. + + + NOTE + + Touching in its simplicity, and characteristically local is this + final fairy-tale of "The Player on the Jew's-Harp" (Bergh, p. 38). + In its cheerful beginning, and toward its sad close sounds the + magic music of "The Blue Melody," which some one caught from the + underground folk in ancient times. From primal days folk-lore + has glorified the irresistible power of music as magic of + supernatural origin. Horand in the "Hegeling Saga" is credited + with having learned this melody on the wild wave, from a + water-spirit; and the legend that his compelling art was a gift of + the underground folk was even current of the Norwegian fiddler Ole + Bull (1880). + + + + +Transcriber's notes + +The illustrations have been moved slightly for reader convenience. A +few obvious printer's errors have been corrected. Otherwise the original +text has been preserved, including inconsistent spelling and +hyphenation. + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's The Norwegian Fairy Book, by Clara Stroebe + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE NORWEGIAN FAIRY BOOK *** + +***** This file should be named 38070.txt or 38070.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/3/8/0/7/38070/ + +Produced by David Edwards, eagkw and the Online Distributed +Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was +produced from images generously made available by The +Internet Archive) + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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