Popular Tales from the Norse
by
Sir George Webbe Dasent

Part 8 out of 10



'That gold shall fall from her mouth every time she speaks', said the
third head.

So when the lassie came home looking so lovely, and beaming as the
bright day itself, her stepmother and her stepsister got more and
more cross, and they got worse still when she began to talk, and they
saw how golden guineas fell from her mouth. As for the stepmother,
she got so mad with rage, she chased the lassie into the pigsty. That
was the right place for all her gold stuff, but as for coming into
the house, she wouldn't hear of it.

Well, it wasn't long before the stepmother wished her own daughter to
go to the burn to fetch water. So when she came to the water's edge
with her buckets, up popped the first head.

'Wash me, you lassie', it said.

'The Deil wash you', said the stepdaughter.

So the second head popped up.

'Brush me, you lassie', it said.

'The Deil brush you', said the stepdaughter.

So down it went to the bottom, and the third head popped up.

'Kiss me, you lassie', said the head.

'The Deil kiss you, you pig's-snout', said the girl.

Then the heads chattered together again, and asked what they should
do to the girl who was so spiteful and cross-grained; and they all
agreed she should have a nose four ells long, and a snout three ells
long, and a pine bush right in the midst of her forehead, and every
time she spoke, ashes were to fall out of her mouth.

So when she got home with her buckets, she bawled out to her mother:

'Open the door.'

'Open it yourself, my darling child', said the mother.

'I can't reach it because of my nose', said the daughter.

So, when the mother came out and saw her, you may fancy what a way
she was in, and how she screamed and groaned; but, for all that,
there were the nose and the snout and the pine bush, and they got no
smaller for all her grief.

Now the brother, who had got the place in the King's stable, had
taken a little sketch of his sister, which he carried away with him,
and every morning and every evening he knelt down before the picture
and prayed to Our Lord for his sister, whom he loved so dearly. The
other grooms had heard him praying, so they peeped through the key-hole
of his room, and there they saw him on his knees before the picture.
So they went about saying how the lad every morning and every evening
knelt down and prayed to an idol which he had, and at last they went
to the king himself and begged him only to peep through the key-hole,
and then His Majesty would see the lad, and what things he did. At
first the King wouldn't believe it, but at last they talked him over,
and he crept on tiptoe to the door and peeped in. Yes, there was the
lad on his knees before the picture, which hung on the wall, praying
with clasped hands.

'Open the door!' called out the King; but the lad didn't hear him.

So the King called out in a louder voice, but the lad was so deep in
his prayers he couldn't hear him this time either. 'OPEN THE DOOR, I
SAY!' roared out the King; 'It's I, the King, who want to come in.'

Well, up jumped the lad and ran to the door, and unlocked it, but in
his hurry he forgot to hide the picture. But when the King came in
and saw the picture, he stood there as if he were fettered, and
couldn't stir from the spot, so lovely he thought the picture.

'So lovely a woman there isn't in all the wide world', said the King.

But the lad told him she was his sister whom he had drawn, and if she
wasn't prettier than that, at least she wasn't uglier.

'Well, if she's so lovely', said the King, 'I'll have her for my
queen'; and then he ordered the lad to set off home that minute, and
not be long on the road either. So the lad promised to make as much
haste as he could, and started off from the King's palace.

When the brother came home to fetch his sister, the step-mother and
stepsister said they must go too. So they all set out, and the good
lassie had a casket in which she kept her gold, and a little dog,
whose name was 'Little Flo'; those two things were all her mother
left her. And when they had gone a while, they came to a lake which
they had to cross; so the brother sat down at the helm, and the
stepmother and the two girls sat in the bow foreward, and so they
sailed a long, long way.

At last they caught sight of land.

'There', said the brother, 'where you see the white strand yonder,
there's where we're to land'; and as he said this he pointed across
the water.

'What is it my brother says?' asked the good lassie.

'He says you must throw your casket overboard', said the stepmother.

'Well, when my brother says it, I must do it', said the lassie, and
overboard went the casket.

When they had sailed a bit farther, the brother pointed again across
the lake.

'There you see the castle we're going to.'

'What is it my brother says?' asked the lassie.

'He says now you must throw your little dog overboard', said the
stepmother.

Then the lassie wept and was sore grieved, for Little Flo was the
dearest thing she had in the world, but at last she threw him
overboard.

'When my brother says it, I must do it, but heaven knows how it hurts
me to throw you over, Little Flo', she said.

So they sailed on a good bit still.

'There you see the King coming down to meet us', said the brother,
and pointed towards the strand.

'What is it my brother says', asked the lassie.

'Now he says you must make haste and throw yourself overboard', said
the stepmother.

Well, the lassie wept and moaned; but when her brother told her to do
that, she thought she ought to do it, and so she leapt down into the
lake.

But when they came to the palace, and the King saw the loathly bride,
with a nose four ells long, and a snout three ells long, and a pine-
bush in the midst of her forehead, he was quite scared out of his
wits; but the wedding was all ready, both in brewing and baking, and
there sat all the wedding guests, waiting for the bride; and so the
King couldn't help himself, but was forced to take her for better for
worse. But angry he was, that any one can forgive him, and so he had
the brother thrown into a pit full of snakes.

Well, the first Thursday evening after the wedding, about midnight,
in came a lovely lady into the palace-kitchen, and begged the
kitchen-maid, who slept there, so prettily, to lend her a brush. That
she got, and then she brushed her hair, and as she brushed, down
dropped gold, A little dog was at her heel, and to him she said:

'Run out, Little Flo, and see if it will soon be day.'

This she said three times, and the third time she sent the dog it was
just about the time the dawn begins to peep. Then she had to go, but
as she went she sung:

Out on you, ugly Bushy Bride,
Lying so warm by the King's left side;
While I on sand and gravel sleep,
And over my brother adders creep,
And all without a tear.

'Now I come twice more, and then never again.'

So next morning the kitchen-maid told what she had seen and heard,
and the King said he'd watch himself next Thursday night in the
kitchen, and see if it were true, and as soon as it got dark, out he
went into the kitchen to the kitchen-maid. But all he could do, and
however much he rubbed his eyes and tried to keep himself awake, it
was no good; for the Bushy Bride chaunted and sang till his eyes
closed, and so when the lovely lady came, there he slept and snored.
This time, too, as before, she borrowed a brush, and brushed her hair
till the gold dropped, and sent her dog out three times, and as soon
as it was gray dawn, away she went singing the same words, and
adding:

'Now I come once more, and then never again.'

The third Thursday evening the King said he would watch again; and he
set two men to hold him, one under each arm, who were to shake and
jog him every time he wanted to fall asleep; and two men he set to
watch his Bushy Bride. But when the night wore on, the Bushy Bride
began to chaunt and sing, so that his eyes began to wink, and his
head hung down on his shoulders. Then in came the lovely lady, and
got the brush and brushed her hair, till the gold dropped from it;
after that she sent Little Flo out again to see if it would soon be
day, and this she did three times. The third time it began, to get
gray in the east; then she sang,

Out on you, ugly Bushy Bride,
Lying so warm by the King's left side;
While I on sand and gravel sleep,
And over my brother adders creep,
And all without a tear.

'Now I come back never more', she said, and went towards the door.
But the two men who held the King under the arms, clenched his hands
together, and put a knife into his grasp; and so, somehow or other,
they got him to cut her in her little finger, and drew blood. Then
the true bride was freed, and the King woke up, and she told him now
the whole story, and how her stepmother and sister had deceived her.
So the King sent at once and took her brother out of the pit of
snakes, and the adders hadn't done him the least harm, but the
stepmother and her daughter were thrown into it in his stead.

And now no one can tell how glad the King was to be rid of that ugly
Bushy Bride, and to get a Queen who was as lovely and bright as the
day itself. So the true wedding was held, and every one talked of it
over seven kingdoms; and then the King and Queen drove to church
in their coach, and Little Flo went inside with them too, and when the
blessing was given they drove back again, and after that I saw nothing
more of them.




BOOTS AND HIS BROTHERS

Once on a time there was a man who had three sons, Peter, Paul, and
John. John was Boots, of course, because he was the youngest. I can't
say the man had anything more than these three sons, for he hadn't
one penny to rub against another; and so he told his sons over and
over again they must go out into the world and try to earn their
bread, for there at home there was nothing to be looked for but
starving to death.

Now, a bit off the man's cottage was the king's palace, and you must
know, just against the king's windows a great oak had sprung up,
which was so stout and big that it took away all the light from the
king's palace. The King had said he would give many, many dollars to
the man who could fell the oak, but no one was man enough for that,
for as soon as ever one chip of the oak's trunk flew off, two grew in
its stead. A well, too, the King had dug, which was to hold water for
the whole year; for all his neighbours had wells, but he hadn't any,
and that he thought a shame. So the King said he would give any one
who could dig him such a well as would hold water for a whole year
round, both money and goods; but no one could do it, for the King's
palace lay high, high up on a hill, and they hadn't dug a few inches
before they came upon the living rock.

But as the King had set his heart on having these two things done, he
had it given out far and wide, in all the churches of his kingdom,
that he who could fell the big oak in the king's court-yard, and get
him a well that would hold water the whole year round, should have
the Princess and half the kingdom. Well! you may easily know there
was many a man who came to try his luck; but for all their hacking
and hewing, and all their digging and delving, it was no good. The
oak got bigger and stouter at every stroke, and the rock didn't get
softer either. So one day those three brothers thought they'd set off
and try too, and their father hadn't a word against it; for even if
they didn't get the Princess and half the kingdom, it might happen
they might get a place somewhere with a good master; and that was all
he wanted. So when the brothers said they thought of going to the
palace, their father said 'yes' at once. So Peter, Paul, and Jack
went off from their home.

Well! they hadn't gone far before they came to a fir wood, and up
along one side of it rose a steep hill-side, and as they went, they
heard something hewing and hacking away up on-the hill among the
trees.

'I wonder now what it is that is hewing away up yonder?' said Jack.

'You're always so clever with your wonderings', said Peter and Paul
both at once. 'What wonder is it, pray, that a woodcutter should
stand and hack up on a hill-side?'

'Still, I'd like to see what it is, after all', said Jack; and up he
went.

'Oh, if you're such a child, 'twill do you good to go and take a
lesson', bawled out his brothers after him.

But Jack didn't care for what they said; he climbed the steep hill-
side towards where the noise came, and when he reached the place,
what do you think he saw? why, an axe that stood there hacking and
hewing, all of itself, at the trunk of a fir.

'Good day!' said Jack. 'So you stand here all alone and hew, do you?'

'Yes; here I've stood and hewed and hacked a long long time, waiting
for you', said the Axe.

'Well, here I am at last', said Jack, as he took the axe, pulled it
off its haft, and stuffed both head and haft into his wallet.

So when he got down again to his brothers, they began to jeer and
laugh at him.

'And now, what funny thing was it you saw up yonder on the hill-
side?' they said.

'Oh, it was only an axe we heard', said Jack.

So when they had gone a bit farther, they came under a steep spur of
rock, and up there they heard something digging and shovelling.

'I wonder now,' said Jack, 'what it is digging and shovelling up
yonder at the top of the rock.'

'Ah, you're always so clever with your wonderings', said Peter and
Paul again, 'as if you'd never heard a woodpecker hacking and pecking
at a hollow tree.'

'Well, well', said Jack, 'I think it would be a piece of fun just to
see what it really is.'

And so off he set to climb the rock, while the others laughed and
made game of him. But he didn't care a bit for that; up he clomb, and
when he got near the top, what do you think he saw? Why, a spade that
stood there digging and delving.

'Good day!' said Jack. 'So you stand here all alone, and dig and
delve!'

'Yes, that's what I do', said the Spade, 'and that's what I've done
this many a long day, waiting for you.'

'Well, here I am', said Jack again, as he took the spade and knocked
it off its handle, and put it into his wallet, and then down again to
his brothers.

'Well, what was it, so rare and strange', said Peter and Paul, 'that
you saw up there at the top of the rock?'

'Oh,', said Jack, 'nothing more than a spade; that was what we
heard.'

So they went on again a good bit, till they came to a brook. They
were thirsty, all three, after their long walk, and so they lay down
beside the brook to have a drink.

'I wonder now', said Jack, 'where all this water comes from.'

'I wonder if you're right in your head', said Peter and Paul, in one
breath. 'If you're not mad already, you'll go mad very soon, with
your wonderings. Where the brook comes from, indeed! Have you never
heard how water rises from a spring in the earth?'

'Yes! but still I've a great fancy to see where this brook comes
from', said Jack.

So up alongside the brook he went, in spite of all that his brothers
bawled after him. Nothing could stop him. On he went. So, as he went
up and up, the brook got smaller and smaller, and at last, a little
way farther on, what do you think he saw? Why, a great walnut, and
out of that the water trickled.

'Good-day!' said Jack again. 'So you lie here, and trickle and run
down all alone?'

'Yes, I do,' said the Walnut; 'and here have I trickled and run this
many a long day, waiting for you.'

'Well, here I am', said Jack, as he took up a lump of moss and
plugged up the hole, that the water mightn't run out. Then he put the
walnut into his wallet, and ran down to his brothers.

'Well now', said Peter and Paul, 'have you found out where the water
comes from? A rare sight it must have been!'

'Oh, after all, it was only a hole it ran out of', said Jack; and so
the others laughed and made game of him again, but Jack didn't mind
that a bit.

'After all, I had the fun of seeing it', said he. So when they had
gone a bit farther, they came to the king's palace; but as every one
in the kingdom had heard how they might win the Princess and half the
realm, if they could only fell the big oak and dig the king's well,
so many had come to try their luck that the oak was now twice as
stout and big as it had been at first, for two chips grew for every
one they hewed out with their axes, as I daresay you all bear in
mind. So the King had now laid it down as a punishment, that if any
one tried and couldn't fell the oak, he should be put on a barren
island, and both his ears were to be clipped off. But the two
brothers didn't let themselves be scared by that; they were quite
sure they could fell the oak, and Peter, as he was eldest, was to try
his hand first; but it went with him as with all the rest who had
hewn at the oak; for every chip he cut out, two grew in its place. So
the king's men seized him, and clipped off both his ears, and put him
out on the island.

Now Paul, he was to try his luck, but he fared just the same; when he
had hewn two or three strokes, they began to see the oak grow, and so
the king's men seized him too, and clipped his ears, and put him out
on the island; and his ears they clipped closer, because they said he
ought to have taken a lesson from his brother.

So now Jack was to try.

'If you _will_ look like a marked sheep, we're quite ready to
clip your ears at once, and then you'll save yourself some bother',
said the King; for he was angry with him for his brothers' sake.

'Well, I'd like just to try first', said Jack, and so he got leave.
Then he took his axe out of his wallet and fitted it to its haft.

'Hew away!' said he to his axe; and away it hewed, making the chips
fly again, so that it wasn't long before down came the oak.

When that was done, Jack pulled out his spade, and fitted it to its
handle.

'Dig away!' said he to the spade; and so the spade began to dig and
delve till the earth and rock flew out in splinters, and so he had
the well soon dug out, you may think.

And when he had got it as big and deep as he chose, Jack took out his
walnut and laid it in one corner of the well, and pulled the plug of
moss out.

'Trickle and run', said Jack; and so the nut trickled and ran, till
the water gushed out of the hole in a stream, and in a short time the
well was brimfull.

Then Jack had felled the oak which shaded the king's palace, and dug
a well in the palace-yard, and so he got the Princess and half the
kingdom, as the King had said; but it was lucky for Peter and Paul
that they had lost their ears, else they had heard each hour and day,
how every one said, 'Well, after all, Jack wasn't so much out of his
mind when he took to wondering.'




BIG PETER AND LITTLE PETER

Once on a time there were two brothers, both named Peter, and so the
elder was called Big Peter, and the younger Little Peter. When his
father was dead, Big Peter took him a wife with lots of money, but
Little Peter was at home with his mother, and lived on her means till
he grew up. So when he was of age he came into his heritage, and then
Big Peter said he mustn't stay any longer in the old house, and eat
up his mother's substance; 'twere better he should go out into the
world and do something for himself.

Yes; Little Peter thought that no bad plan; so he bought himself a
fine horse and a load of butter and cheese, and set off to the town;
and with the money he got for his goods he bought brandy, and wine,
and beer, and as soon as ever he got home again it was one round of
holiday-keeping and merry-making; he treated all his old friends and
neighbours, and they treated him again; and so he lived in fun and
frolic so long as his money lasted. But when his last shilling was
spent, and Little Peter hadn't a penny in his purse, he went back
home again to his old mother, and brought nothing with him but a
calf. When the spring came he turned out the calf and let it graze on
Big Peter's meadow. Then Big Peter got cross and killed the calf at
one blow; but Little Peter, he flayed the calf, and hung the skin up
in the bath-room till it was thoroughly dry; then he rolled it up,
stuffed it into a sack, and went about the country trying to sell it;
but wherever he came, they only laughed at him, and said they had no
need of smoked calfskin. So when he had walked on a long way, he came
to a farm, and there he turned in and asked for a night's lodging.

'Nay, nay', said the Goody, 'I can't give you lodging, for my husband
is up at the shieling on the hill, and I'm alone in the house. You
must just try to get shelter at our next neighbour's; but still if
they won't take you in, you may come back, for you must have a house
over your head, come what may.'

So as little Peter passed by the parlour window, he saw that there
was a priest in there, with whom the Goody was making merry, and she
was serving him up ale and brandy, and a great bowl of custard. But
just as the priest had sat down to eat and drink, back came the
husband, and as soon as ever the Goody heard him in the passage, she
was not slow; she took the bowl of custard, and put it under the
kitchen grate, and the ale and brandy into the cellar, and as for the
priest, she locked him up in a great chest which stood there. All
this Little Peter stood outside and saw, and as soon as the husband
was well inside Little Peter went up to the door and asked if he
might have a night's lodging.

'Yes, to be sure', said the man, 'we'll take you in'; and so he
begged Little Peter to sit down at the table and eat. Yes, Little
Peter sat down, and took his calfskin with him, and laid it down at
his feet.

So, when they had sat a while, Little Peter began to mutter to his
skin:

'What are you saying now? can't you hold your tongue', said Little
Peter.

'Who is it you're talking with?' asked the man.

'Oh!' answered Little Peter, 'it's only a spae-maiden whom I've got
in my calfskin.'

'And pray what does she spae?' asked the man again.

'Why, she says that no one can say there isn't a bowl of custard
standing under the grate', said Little Peter.

'She may spae as much as she pleases', answered the man, 'but we
haven't had custards in this house for a year and a day.'

But Peter begged him only to look, and he did so; and he found the
custard-bowl. So they began to make merry with it, but just as they
sat and took their ease, Peter muttered something again to the
calfskin.

'Hush!' he said, 'can't you hold your jaw?'

'And pray what does the spae-maiden say now?' asked the man.

'Oh! she says no one can say there isn't brandy and ale standing just
under the trap-door which goes down into the cellar', answered Peter.

'Well! if she never spaed wrong in her life, she spaes wrong now',
said the man. 'Brandy and ale! why, I can't call to mind the day when
we had such things in the house!'

'Just look', said Peter; and the man did so, and there, sure enough,
he found the drink, and you may fancy how merry and jolly he was.

'What did you give for that spae-maiden?' said the man, 'for I must
have her, whatever you ask for her.'

'She was left me by my father', said Peter, 'and so she didn't cost
me much. To tell you the truth, I've no great mind to part with her,
but, all the same, you may have her, if you'll let me have, instead
of her, that old chest that stands in the parlour yonder.'

'The chest's locked and the key lost', screamed the old dame.

'Then I'll take it without the key, that I will', said Peter. And so
he and the man soon struck the bargain. Peter got a rope instead of
the key, and the man helped him to get the chest up on his back, and
then off he stumped with it. So when he had walked a bit he came on
to a bridge, and under the bridge ran a river in such a headlong
stream; it leapt, and foamed, and made such a roar, that the bridge
shook again.

'Ah!' said Peter, 'that brandy-that brandy! Now I can feel I've had a
drop too much. What's the good of my dragging this chest about? If I
hadn't been drunk and mad, I shouldn't have gone and swopped away my
spae-maiden for it. But now this chest shall go out into the river
this very minute.'

And with that he began to untie the rope.

'Au! Au! do for God's sake set me free. The priest's life is at
stake; he it is whom you have got in the chest', screamed out some
one inside.

'This must be the Deil himself', said Peter, 'who wants to make me
believe he has turned priest; but whether he makes himself priest or
clerk, out he goes into the river.' 'Oh no! oh no! 'roared out the
priest. 'The parish priest is at stake. He was on a visit to the
Goody for her soul's health, but her husband is rough and wild, and
so she had to hide me in the chest. Here I have a gold watch and a
silver watch in my fob; you shall have them both, and eight hundred
dollars beside, if you will only let me out.'

'Nay, nay', said Peter; 'is it really your reverence after all'; and
with that he took up a stone, and knocked the lid of the chest to
pieces. Then the priest got out, and off he set home to his parsonage
both fast and light, for he no longer had his watches and money to
weigh him down.

As for Little Peter, he went home again, and said to Big Peter,
'There was a good sale to-day for calfskins at the market.'

'Why, what did you get for your tattered one, now?' asked Big Peter.

'Quite as much as it was worth. I got eight hundred dollars for it,
but bigger and stouter calves-skins fetched twice as much', said
Little Peter, and showed his dollars.

''Twas well you told me this', answered Big Peter, who went and
slaughtered all his kine and calves, and set off on the road to town
with their skins and hides. So when he got to the market, and the
tanners asked what he wanted for his hides, Big Peter said he must
have eight hundred dollars for the small ones, and so on, more and
more for the big ones. But all the folk only laughed and made game of
him, and said he oughtn't to come there; he'd better turn into the
madhouse for a better bargain, and so he soon found out how things
had gone, and that Little Peter had played him a trick. But when he
got home again, he was not very soft-spoken, and he swore and cursed;
so help him, if he wouldn't strike Little Peter dead that very night.
All this Little Peter stood and listened to; and so, when he had gone
to bed with his mother, and the night had worn on a little, he begged
her to change sides with him, for he was well-nigh frozen, he said,
and might be 'twas warmer next the wall. Yes, she did that, and in a
little while came Big Peter with an axe in his hand, and crept up to
the bedside, and at one blow chopped off his mother's head.

Next morning, in went Little Peter into Big Peter's sitting-room.

'Heaven better and help you', he said; 'you who have chopped our
mother's head off. The Sheriff will not be over-pleased to hear that
you pay mother's dower in this way.'

Then Big Peter got so afraid, he begged Little Peter, for God's sake,
to say nothing about what he knew. If he would only do that, he
should have eight hundred dollars.

Well, Little Peter swept up the money; set his mother's head on her
body again; put her on a hand-sledge, and so drew her to market.
There he set her up with an apple-basket on each arm, and an apple in
each hand. By and by came a skipper walking along; he thought she was
an apple-woman, and asked if she had apples to sell, and how many he
might have for a penny. But the old woman made no answer. So the
skipper asked again. No! she hadn't a word to say for herself.

'How many may I have for a penny', he bawled the third time, but the
old dame sat bolt upright, as though she neither saw him, nor heard
what he said. Then the skipper flew into such a rage that he gave her
one under the ear, and so away rolled her head across the market-
place. At that moment, up came Little Peter with a bound; he fell a-
weeping and bewailing, and threatened to make the skipper smart for
it, for having dealt his old mother her death blow.

'Dear friend, only hold your tongue about what you know', said the
skipper, 'and you shall have eight hundred dollars.'

And so they made it up.

When Little Peter got home again, he said to Big Peter:

'Old women fetch a fine price at market to-day. I got eight hundred
dollars for mother; just look', and so he showed him the money.

''Twas well I came to know this', said Big Peter.

Now, you must know he had an old stepmother, so he took and killed
her out of hand, and strode off to sell her. But when they heard how
he went about trying to sell dead bodies, the neighbours were all for
handing him over to the Sheriff, and it was as much as he could do to
get out of the scrape.

When Big Peter got home again, he was so wroth and mad against Little
Peter, he threatened to strike him dead there and then; he needn't
hope for mercy, die he must.

'Well! well!' said Little Peter, 'that's the way we must all trudge,
and betwixt to-day and to-morrow, there's only a night to come. But
if I must set off now, I've only one thing to ask; stuff me into that
sack that hangs yonder, and take and toss me into the river.'

Well! Big Peter had nothing to say against that, he stuffed him into
the sack and set off. But he hadn't gone far on his way, before it
came into his mind that he had forgotten something which he must go
back to fetch; meanwhile, he set the sack down by the road side. Just
then came a man driving a fine fat flock of sheep.

To Kingdom-come, to Paradise.
To Kingdom-come, to Paradise.

roared out Little Peter, who lay inside the sack, and that he kept
bawling and bellowing out.

'Mayn't I get leave to go with you', asked the man who drove the
sheep.

'Of course you may', said Little Peter. 'If you'll only untie the
sack, and creep into it in my stead, you'll soon get there. As for
me, I don't mind biding here till next time, that I don't. But you
must keep on calling out the words I bawled out, else you'll not go
to the right place.'

Then the man untied the sack, and got into it in Little Peter's
place: Peter tied the sack up again and the man began to bawl out:

To Kingdom-come, to Paradise.
To Kingdom-come, to Paradise.

and to that text he stuck.

When Peter had got him well into the sack, he wasn't slow; off he
went with the flock of sheep, and soon put a good bit of the road
behind him. Meantime, back came Big Peter, took the sack on his
shoulders, and bore it across the country to the river, and all the
while he went, the drover sat inside bawling out:

To Kingdom-come, to Paradise.
To Kingdom-come, to Paradise.

'Aye, aye', said Big Peter; 'try now to find the way for yourself';
and with that, he tossed him out into the stream.

So when Big Peter had done that, and was going back home, whom should
he overtake but his brother, who went along driving the flock of
sheep before him. Big Peter could scarce believe his eyes, and asked
how Little Peter had got out of the river, and whence the fine flock
of sheep came.

'Ah!' said Little Peter, 'that just was a good brotherly turn you did
me, when you threw me into the river. I sank right down to the bottom
like a stone, and there I just did see flocks of sheep; you'd scarce
believe now, that they go about down there by thousands, one flock
bigger than the other. And just look here! here are fleeces for you!'

'Well', said Big Peter, 'I'm very glad you told me.'

So off he ran home to his old dame; made her come with him to the
river; crept into a sack, and bade her make haste to tie it up, and
toss him over the bridge.

'I'm going after a flock of sheep', he said, 'but if I stay too long,
and you think I can't get along with the flock by myself, just jump
over and help me; do you hear?'

'Well, don't stay too long', said his wife, 'for my heart is set on
seeing those sheep.'

There she stood and waited a while, but then she thought, perhaps her
husband couldn't keep the flock well together, and so down she jumped
after him.

And so Little Peter was rid of them all, and the farm and fields came
to him as heir, and horses and cattle too; and, besides, he had money
in his pocket to buy milch kine to tether in his byre.




TATTERHOOD

Once on a time there was a king and a queen who had no children, and
that gave the queen much grief; she scarce had one happy hour. She
was always bewailing and bemoaning herself, and saying how dull and
lonesome it was in the palace.

'If we had children there'd be life enough', she said.

Wherever she went in all her realm she found God's blessing in
children, even in the vilest hut; and wherever she came she heard the
Goodies scolding the bairns, and saying how they had done that and
that wrong. All this the queen heard, and thought it would be so nice
to do as other women did. At last the king and queen took into their
palace a stranger lassie to rear up, that they might have her always
with them, to love her if she did well, and scold her if she did
wrong, like their own child.

So one day the little lassie whom they had taken as their own, ran
down into the palace yard, and was playing with a gold apple. Just
then an old beggar wife came by, who had a little girl with her, and
it wasn't long before the little lassie and the beggar's bairn were
great friends, and began to play together, and to toss the gold apple
about between them. When the Queen saw this, as she sat at a window
in the palace, she tapped on the pane for her foster-daughter to come
up. She went at once, but the beggar-girl went up too; and as they
went into the Queen's bower, each held the other by the hand. Then
the Queen began to scold the little lady, and to say:

'You ought to be above running about and playing with a tattered
beggar's brat.'

And so she wanted to drive the lassie downstairs.

'If the Queen only knew my mother's power, she'd not drive me out',
said the little lassie; and when the Queen asked what she meant more
plainly, she told her how her mother could get her children if she
chose. The Queen wouldn't believe it, but the lassie held her own,
and said every word of it was true, and bade the Queen only to try
and make her mother do it. So the Queen sent the lassie down to fetch
up her mother.

'Do you know what your daughter says?' asked the Queen of the old
woman, as soon as ever she came into the room.

No; the beggar wife knew nothing about it.

'Well, she says you can get me children if you will', answered the
Queen.

'Queens shouldn't listen to beggar lassies' silly stories', said the
old wife, and strode out of the room.

Then the Queen got angry, and wanted again to drive out the little
lassie; but she declared it was true every word that she had said.

'Let the Queen only give my mother a drop to drink,' said the lassie;
'when she gets merry she'll soon find out a way to help you.'

The Queen was ready to try this; so the beggar wife was fetched up
again once more, and treated both with wine and mead as much as she
chose; and so it was not long before her tongue began to wag. Then
the Queen came out again with the same question she had asked before.

'One way to help you perhaps I know', said the beggar wife. 'Your
Majesty must make them bring in two pails of water some evening
before you go to bed. In each of them you must wash yourself, and
afterwards throw away the water under the bed. When you look under
the bed next morning, two flowers will have sprung up, one fair and
one ugly. The fair one you must eat, the ugly one you must let stand;
but mind you don't forget the last.'

That was what the beggar wife said.

Yes; the Queen did what the beggar wife advised her to do; she had
the water brought up in two pails, washed herself in them, and
emptied them under the bed; and lo! when she looked under the bed
next morning, there stood two flowers; one was ugly and foul, and had
black leaves; but the other was so bright, and fair, and lovely, she
had never seen its like; so she ate it up at once. But the pretty
flower tasted so sweet, that she couldn't help herself. She ate the
other up too, for, she thought, 'it can't hurt or help one much
either way, I'll be bound'.

Well, sure enough, after a while the Queen was brought to bed. First
of all, she had a girl who had a wooden spoon in her hand, and rode
upon a goat; loathly and ugly she was, and the very moment she came
into the world, she bawled out 'Mamma'.

'If I'm your mamma', said the Queen, 'God give me grace to mend my
ways.'

'Oh, don't be sorry', said the girl, who rode on the goat, 'for one
will soon come after me who is better looking.'

So, after a while, the Queen had another girl, who was so fair and
sweet, no one had ever set eyes on such a lovely child, and with her
you may fancy the Queen was very well pleased. The elder twin they
called 'Tatterhood', because she was always so ugly and ragged, and
because she had a hood which hung about her ears in tatters. The
Queen could scarce bear to look at her, and the nurses tried to shut
her up in a room by herself, but it was all no good; where the
younger twin was, there she must also be, and no one could ever keep
them apart.

Well, one Christmas eve, when they were half grown up, there rose
such a frightful noise and clatter in the gallery outside the Queen's
bower. So Tatterhood asked what it was that dashed and crashed so out
in the passage.

'Oh!' said the Queen, 'it isn't worth asking about.'

But Tatterhood wouldn't give over till she found out all about it and
so the Queen told her it was a pack of Trolls and witches who had
come there to keep Christmas. So Tatterhood said she'd just go out
and drive them away; and in spite of all they could say, and however
much they begged and prayed her to let the Trolls alone, she must and
would go out to drive the witches off; but she begged the Queen to
mind and keep all the doors close shut, so that not one of them came
so much as the least bit ajar. Having said this, off she went with
her wooden spoon, and began to hunt and sweep away the hags; and all
this while there was such a pother out in the gallery, the like of it
was never heard. The whole Palace creaked and groaned as if every
joint and beam were going to be torn out of its place. Now, how it
was, I'm sure I can't tell; but somehow or other one door did get the
least bit ajar, then her twin sister just peeped out to see how
things were going with Tatterhood, and put her head a tiny bit
through the opening. But, POP! up came an old witch, and whipped off
her head, and stuck a calf's head on her shoulders instead; and so
the Princess ran back into the room on all-fours, and began to 'moo'
like a calf. When Tatterhood came back and saw her sister, she
scolded them all round, and was very angry because they hadn't kept
better watch, and asked them what they thought of their heedlessness
now, when her sister was turned into a calf.

'But still I'll see if I can't set her free', she said.

Then she asked the King for a ship in full trim, and well fitted with
stores; but captain and sailors she wouldn't have. No; she would sail
away with her sister all alone; and as there was no holding her back,
at last they let her have her own way.

Then Tatterhood sailed off, and steered her ship right under the land
where the witches dwelt, and when she came to the landing-place, she
told her sister to stay quite still on board the ship; but she
herself rode on her goat up to the witches' castle. When she got
there, one of the windows in the gallery was open, and there she saw
her sister's head hung up on the window frame; so she leapt her goat
through the window into the gallery, snapped up the head, and set off
with it. After her came the witches to try to get the head again, and
they flocked about her as thick as a swarm of bees or a nest of ants;
but the goat snorted, and puffed, and butted with his horns, and
Tatterhood beat and banged them about with her wooden spoon; and so
the pack of witches had to give it up. So Tatterhood got back to her
ship, took the calf's head off her sister, and put her own on again,
and then she became a girl as she had been before. After that she
sailed a long, long way, to a strange king's realm.

Now the king of that land was a widower, and had an only son. So when
he saw the strange sail, he sent messengers down to the strand to
find out whence it came, and who owned it; but when the king's men
came down there, they saw never a living soul on board but
Tatterhood, and there she was, riding round and round the deck on her
goat at full speed, till her elf locks streamed again in the wind.
The folk from the palace were all amazed at this sight, and asked,
were there not more on board? Yes, there were; she had a sister with
her, said Tatterhood. Her, too, they wanted to see, but Tatterhood
said 'No':

'No one shall see her, unless the king comes himself', she said; and
so she began to gallop about on her goat till the deck thundered
again.

So when the servants got back to the palace, and told what they had
seen and heard down at the ship, the king was for setting out at
once, that he might see the lassie that rode on the goat. When he got
down, Tatterhood led out her sister, and she was so fair and gentle,
the king fell over head and ears in love with her as he stood. He
brought them both back with him to the Palace, and wanted to have the
sister for his queen; but Tatterhood said 'No'; the king couldn't
have her in any way, unless the king's son chose to have Tatterhood.
That you may fancy the prince was very loath to do, such an ugly
hussy as Tatterhood was; but at last the king and all the others in
the palace talked him over, and he yielded, giving his word to take
her for his queen; but it went sore against the grain, and he was a
doleful man.

Now they set about the wedding, both with brewing and baking; and
when all was ready, they were to go to church; but the prince thought
it the weariest churching he had ever had in all his life. First, the
king drove off with his bride, and she was so lovely and so grand,
all the people stopped to look after her all along the road, and they
stared at her till she was out of sight. After them came the prince
on horseback by the side of Tatterhood, who trotted along on her goat
with her wooden spoon in her fist, and to look at him, it was more
like going to a burial than a wedding, and that his own; so sorrowful
he seemed, and with never a word to say.

'Why don't you talk?' asked Tatterhood, when they had ridden a bit.

'Why, what should I talk about?' answered the prince.

'Well, you might at least ask me why I ride upon this ugly goat',
said Tatterhood.

'Why do you ride on that ugly goat?' asked the prince.

'Is it an ugly goat? why, it's the grandest horse bride ever rode
on', answered Tatterhood; and in a trice the goat became a horse, and
that the finest the prince had ever set eyes on.

Then they rode on again a bit, but the prince was just as woeful as
before, and couldn't get a word out. So Tatterhood asked him again
why he didn't talk, and when the Prince answered he didn't know what
to talk about, she said:

'You can at least ask me why I ride with this ugly spoon in my fist.'

'Why do you ride with that ugly spoon? 'asked the prince.

'Is it an ugly spoon? why, it's the loveliest silver wand bride ever
bore', said Tatterhood; and in a trice it became a silver wand, so
dazzling bright, the sunbeams glistened from it.

So they rode on another bit, but the Prince was just as sorrowful,
and said never a word. In a little while, Tatterhood asked him again
why he didn't talk, and bade him ask why she wore that ugly grey hood
on her head.

'Why do you wear that ugly grey hood on your head?' asked the Prince.

'Is it an ugly hood? why, it's the brightest golden crown bride ever
wore', answered Tatterhood, and it became a crown on the spot.

Now, they rode on a long while again, and the Prince was so woeful,
that he sat without sound or speech just as before. So his bride
asked him again why he didn't talk, and bade him ask now, why her
face was so ugly and ashen-grey?

'Ah!' asked the Prince, 'why is your face so ugly and ashen-grey?'

'I ugly', said the bride; 'you think my sister pretty, but I am ten
times prettier'; and lo! when the Prince looked at her, she was so
lovely, he thought there never was so lovely a woman in all the
world. After that, I shouldn't wonder if the Prince found his tongue,
and no longer rode along hanging down his head.

So they drank the bridal cup both deep and long, and, after that,
both Prince and King set out with their brides to the Princess's
father's palace, and there they had another bridal feast, and drank
anew, both deep and long. There was no end to the fun; and, if you
make haste and run to the King's palace, I dare say you'll find
there's still a drop of the bridal ale left for you.




THE COCK AND HEN THAT WENT TO THE DOVREFELL

Once on a time there was a Hen that had flown up, and perched on an
oak-tree for the night. When the night came, she dreamed that unless
she got to the Dovrefell, the world would come to an end. So that
very minute she jumped down, and set out on her way. When she had
walked a bit she met a Cock.

'Good day, Cocky-Locky', said the Hen.

'Good day, Henny-Penny', said the Cock, 'whither away so early.'

'Oh, I'm going to the Dovrefell, that the world mayn't come to an
end', said the Hen.

'Who told you that, Henny-Penny', said the Cock.

'I sat in the oak and dreamt it last night', said the Hen.

'I'll go with you', said the Cock.

Well! they walked on a good bit, and then they met a Duck.

'Good day, Ducky-Lucky', said the Cock.

'Good day, Cocky-Locky', said the Duck, 'whither away so early?'

'Oh, I'm going to the Dovrefell, that the world mayn't come to an
end', said the Cock.

'Who told you that, Cocky-Locky?'

'Henny-Penny', said the Cock.

'Who told you that, Henny-Penny?' said the Duck.

'I sat in the oak and dreamt it last night', said the Hen.

'I'll go with you', said the Duck.

So they went off together, and after a bit they met a Goose.

'Good day, Goosey-Poosey', said the Duck.

'Good day, Ducky-Lucky', said the Goose, 'whither away so early?'

'I'm going to the Dovrefell, that the world mayn't come to an end',
said the Duck.

'Who told you that, Ducky-Lucky?' asked the Goose.

'Cocky-Locky.'

'Who told you that, Cocky-Locky?'

'Henny-Penny.'

'How you do know that, Henny-Penny?' said the Goose.

'I sat in the oak and dreamt it last night, Goosey-Poosey', said the
Hen.

'I'll go with you', said the Goose.

Now when they had all walked along for a bit, a Fox met them.

'Good day, Foxsy-Cocksy', said the Goose.

'Good day, Goosey-Poosey.'

'Whither away, Foxy-Cocksy?'

'Whither away yourself, Goosey-Poosey?'

'I'm going to the Dovrefell that the world mayn't come to an end',
said the Goose.

'Who told you that, Goosey-Poosey?' asked the Fox.

'Ducky-Lucky.'

'Who told you that, Ducky-Lucky?'

'Cocky-Locky.'

'Who told you that, Cocky-Locky?'

'Henny-Penny.'

'How do you know that, Henny-Penny?'

'I sat in the oak and dreamt last night, that if we don't get to the
Dovrefell, the world will come to an end', said the Hen.

'Stuff and nonsense', said the Fox; 'the world won't come to an end
if you don't get thither. No! come home with me to my earth. That's
far better, for it's warm and jolly there.'

Well, they went home with the Fox to his earth, and when they got in,
the Fox laid on lots of fuel, so that they all got very sleepy.

The Duck and the Goose, they settled themselves down in a corner, but
the Cock and Hen flew up on a post. So when the Goose and Duck were
well asleep, the Fox, took the Goose and laid him on the embers, and
roasted him. The Hen smelt the strong roast meat, and sprang up to a
higher peg, and said, half asleep:

Faugh, what a nasty smell!
What a nasty smell!

'Oh, stuff', said the Fox; 'it's only the smoke driven down the
chimney; go to sleep again, and hold your tongue.' So the Hen went
off to sleep again.

Now the Fox had hardly got the Goose well down his throat, before he
did the very same with the Duck. He took and laid him on the embers,
and roasted him for a dainty bit. Then the hen woke up again, and
sprung up to a higher peg still.

Faugh, what a nasty smell!
What a nasty smell!

She said again, and then she got her eyes open, and came to see how
the Fox had eaten both the twain, goose and duck; so she flew up to
the highest peg of all, and perched there, and peeped up through the
chimney.

'Nay, nay; just see what a lovely lot of geese flying yonder', she
said to the Fox.

Out ran Reynard to fetch a fat roast. But while he was gone, the Hen
woke up the Cock, and told him how it had gone with Goosey-Poosey and
Ducky-Lucky; and so Cocky-Lucky and Henny-Penny flew out through the
chimney, and if they hadn't got to the Dovrefell, it surely would
have been all over with the world.




KATIE WOODENCLOAK

Once on a time there was a King who had become a widower. By his
Queen he had one daughter, who was so clever and lovely, there wasn't
a cleverer or lovelier Princess in all the world. So the King went on
a long time sorrowing for the Queen, whom he had loved so much, but
at last he got weary of living alone, and married another Queen, who
was a widow, and had, too, an only daughter; but this daughter was
just as bad and ugly as the other was kind, and clever, and lovely,
The stepmother and her daughter were jealous of the Princess, because
she was so lovely; but so long as the King was at home, they daredn't
do her any harm, he was so fond of her.

Well, after a time, he fell into war with another King, and went out
to battle with his host, and then the stepmother thought she might do
as she pleased; and so she both starved and beat the Princess, and
was after her in every hole and corner of the house. At last she
thought everything too good for her, and turned her out to herd
cattle. So there she went about with the cattle, and herded them in
the woods and on the fells. As for food, she got little or none, and
she grew thin and wan, and was always sobbing and sorrowful. Now in
the herd there was a great dun bull, which always kept himself so
neat and sleek, and often and often he came up to the Princess, and
let her pat him. So one day when she sat there, sad, and sobbing, and
sorrowful, he came up to her and asked her outright why she was
always in such grief. She answered nothing, but went on weeping.

'Ah!' said the Bull, 'I know all about it quite well, though you
won't tell me; you weep because the Queen is bad to you, and because
she is ready to starve you to death. But food you've no need to fret
about, for in my left ear lies a cloth, and when you take and spread
it out, you may have as many dishes as you please.'

So she did that, took the cloth and spread it out on the grass, and
lo! it served up the nicest dishes one could wish to have; there was
wine too, and mead, and sweet cake. Well, she soon got up her flesh
again, and grew so plump, and rosy, and white, that the Queen and her
scrawny chip of a daughter turned blue and yellow for spite. The
Queen couldn't at all make out how her stepdaughter got to look so
well on such bad fare, so she told one of her maids to go after her in the
wood, and watch and see how it all was, for she thought some of the
servants in the house must give her food. So the maid went after her,
and watched in the wood, and then she saw how the stepdaughter took
the cloth out of the Bull's ear, and spread it out, and how it served
up the nicest dishes, which the stepdaughter ate and made good cheer
over. All this the maid told the Queen when she went home.

And now the King came home from war, and had won the fight against
the other king with whom he went out to battle. So there was great
joy throughout the palace, and no one was gladder than the King's
daughter. But the Queen shammed sick, and took to her bed, and paid
the doctor a great fee to get him to say she could never be well
again unless she had some of the Dun Bull's flesh to eat. Both the
king's daughter and the folk in the palace asked the doctor if
nothing else would help her, and prayed hard for the Bull, for every
one was fond of him, and they all said there wasn't that Bull's match
in all the land. But, no; he must and should be slaughtered, nothing
else would do. When the king's daughter heard that, she got very
sorrowful, and went down into the byre to the Bull. There, too, he
stood and hung down his head, and looked so downcast that she began
to weep over him.

'What are you weeping for?' asked the Bull.

So she told him how the King had come home again, and how the Queen
had shammed sick and got the doctor to say she could never be well
and sound again unless she got some of the Dun Bull's flesh to eat,
and so now he was to be slaughtered.

'If they get me killed first', said the Bull, 'they'll soon take your
life too. Now, if you're of my mind, we'll just start off, and go
away to-night.'

Well, the Princess thought it bad, you may be sure, to go and leave
her father, but she thought it still worse to be in the house with
the Queen; and so she gave her word to the Bull to come to him.

At night, when all had gone to bed, the Princess stole down to the
byre to the Bull, and so he took her on his back, and set off from
the homestead as fast as ever he could. And when the folk got up at
cockcrow next morning to slaughter the Bull, why, he was gone; and
when the King got up and asked for his daughter, she was gone too. He
sent out messengers on all sides to hunt for them, and gave them out
in all the parish churches; but there was no one who had caught a
glimpse of them. Meanwhile, the Bull went through many lands with the
King's daughter on his back, and so one day they came to a great
copper-wood, where both the trees, and branches, and leaves, and
flowers, and everything, were nothing but copper.

But before they went into the wood, the Bull said to the King's
daughter:

'Now, when we get into this wood, mind you take care not to touch
even a leaf of it, else it's all over both with me and you, for here
dwells a Troll with three heads who owns this wood.'

No, bless her, she'd be sure to take care not to touch anything.
Well, she was very careful, and leant this way and that to miss the
boughs, and put them gently aside with her hands; but it was such a
thick wood, 'twas scarce possible to get through; and so, with all
her pains, somehow or other she tore off a leaf, which she held in
her hand.

'AU! AU! what have you done now?' said the Bull; 'there's nothing for
it now but to fight for life or death; but mind you keep the leaf
safe.'

Soon after they got to the end of the wood, and a Troll with three
heads came running up:

'Who is this that touches my wood?' said the Troll.

'It's just as much mine as yours', said the Bull.

'Ah!' roared the Troll, 'we'll try a fall about that.'

'As you choose', said the Bull.

So they rushed at one another, and fought; and the Bull he butted,
and gored, and kicked with all his might and main; but the Troll gave
him as good as he brought, and it lasted the whole day before the
Bull got the mastery; and then he was so full of wounds, and so worn
out, he could scarce lift a leg. Then they were forced to stay there
a day to rest, and then the Bull bade the King's daughter to take the
horn of ointment which hung at the Troll's belt, and rub him with it.
Then he came to himself again, and the day after they trudged on
again. So they travelled many, many days, until, after a long long
time, they came to a silver wood, where both the trees, and branches,
and leaves, and flowers, and everything, were silvern.

Before the Bull went into the wood, he said to the King's daughter:

'Now, when we get into this wood, for heaven's sake mind you take
good care; you mustn't touch anything, and not pluck off so much as
one leaf, else it is all over both with me and you; for here is a
Troll with six heads who owns it, and him I don't think I should be
able to master.'

'No', said the King's daughter; 'I'll take good care and not touch
anything you don't wish me to touch.'

But when they got into the wood, it was so close and thick, they
could scarce get along. She was as careful as careful could be, and
leant to this side and that to miss the boughs, and put them on one
side with her hands, but every minute the branches struck her across
the eyes, and in spite of all her pains, it so happened she tore off
a leaf.

'AU! AU! what have you done now?' said the Bull. 'There's nothing for
it now but to fight for life and death, for this Troll has six heads,
and is twice as strong as the other, but mind you keep the leaf safe,
and don't lose it.'

Just as he said that, up came the Troll:

'Who is this', he said, 'that touches my wood?'

'It's as much mine as yours', said the Bull.

'That we'll try a fall about', roared the Troll.

'As you choose', said the Bull, and rushed at the Troll, and gored
out his eyes, and drove his horns right through his body, so that the
entrails gushed out; but the Troll was almost a match for him, and it
lasted three whole days before the Bull got the life gored out of
him. But then he, too, was so weak and wretched, it was as much as he
could do to stir a limb, and so full of wounds, that the blood
streamed from him. So he said to the King's daughter she must take
the horn of ointment that hung at the Troll's belt, and rub him with
it. Then she did that, and he came to himself; but they were forced
to stay there a week to rest before the Bull had strength enough to
go on.

At last they set off again, but the Bull was still poorly, and they
went rather slowly at first. So, to spare time, the King's daughter
said, as she was young and light of foot, she could very well walk,
but she couldn't get leave to do that. No; she must seat herself up
on his back again. So on they travelled through many lands a long
time, and the King's daughter did not know in the least whither they
went; but after a long, long time they came to a gold wood. It was so
grand, the gold dropped from every twig, and all the trees, and
boughs, and flowers, and leaves, were of pure gold. Here, too, the
same thing happened as had happened in the silver wood and copper
wood. The Bull told the King's daughter she mustn't touch it for
anything, for there was a Troll with nine heads who owned it, and he
was much bigger and stouter than both the others put together; and he
didn't think he could get the better of him. No; she'd be sure to
take heed not to touch it; that he might know very well. But when
they got into the wood, it was far thicker and closer than the silver
wood, and the deeper they went into it, the worse it got. The wood
went on, getting thicker and thicker, and closer and closer; and at
last she thought there was no way at all to get through it. She was
in such an awful fright of plucking off anything, that she sat, and
twisted, and turned herself this way and that, and hither and
thither, to keep clear of the boughs, and she put them on one side
with her hands; but every moment the branches struck her across the
eyes, so that she couldn't see what she was clutching at; and lo!
before she knew how it came about, she had a gold apple in her hand.
Then she was so bitterly sorry, she burst into tears, and wanted to
throw it away; but the Bull said, she must keep it safe and watch it
well, and comforted her as well as he could; but he thought it would
be a hard tussle, and he doubted how it would go.

Just then up came the Troll with the nine heads, and he was so ugly,
the King's daughter scarcely dared to look at him.

'WHO IS THIS THAT TOUCHES MY WOOD?' he roared.

'It's just as much mine as yours', said the Bull.

'That we'll try a fall about', roared the Troll again.

'Just as you choose', said the Bull; and so they rushed at one
another, and fought, and it was such a dreadful sight, the King's
daughter was ready to swoon away. The Bull gored out the Troll's
eyes, and drove his horns through and through his body, till the
entrails came tumbling out; but the Troll fought bravely; and when
the Bull got one head gored to death, the rest breathed life into it
again, and so it lasted a whole week before the Bull was able to get
the life out of them all. But then he was utterly worn out and
wretched. He couldn't stir a foot, and his body was all one wound. He
couldn't so much as ask the King's daughter to take the horn of
ointment which hung at the Troll's belt, and rub it over him. But she
did it all the same, and then he came to himself by little and
little; but they had to lie there and rest three weeks before he was
fit to go on again.

Then they set off at a snail's pace, for the Bull said they had still
a little further to go, and so they crossed over many high hills and
thick woods. So after awhile they got upon the fells.

'Do you see anything?' asked the Bull.

'No, I see nothing but the sky, and the wild fell', said the King's
daughter.

So when they clomb higher up, the fell got smoother, and they could
see further off.

'Do you see anything now?' asked the Bull.

'Yes, I see a little castle far, far away', said the Princess.

'That's not so little though', said the Bull.

After a long, long time, they came to a great cairn, where there was
a spur of the fell that stood sheer across the way.

'Do you see anything now?' asked the Bull.

'Yes, now I see the castle close by', said the King's daughter, 'and
now it is much, much bigger.'

'Thither you're to go', said the Bull. 'Right underneath the castle
is a pig-sty, where you are to dwell. When you come thither you'll
find a wooden cloak, all made of strips of lath; that you must put
on, and go up to the castle and say your name is "Katie Woodencloak",
and ask for a place. But before you go, you must take your penknife
and cut my head off, and then you must flay me, and roll up the hide,
and lay it under the wall of rock yonder, and under the hide you must
lay the copper leaf, and the silver leaf, and the golden apple.
Yonder, up against the rock, stands a stick; and when you want
anything, you've only got to knock on the wall of rock with that
stick.'

At first she wouldn't do anything of the kind; but when the Bull said
it was the only thanks he would have for what he had done for her,
she couldn't help herself. So, however much it grieved her heart, she
hacked and cut away with her knife at the big beast till she got both
his head and his hide off, and then she laid the hide up under the
wall of rock, and put the copper leaf, and the silvern leaf, and the
golden apple inside it.

So when she had done that, she went over to the pig-sty, but all the
while she went she sobbed and wept. There she put on the wooden
cloak, and so went up to the palace. When she came into the kitchen
she begged for a place, and told them her name was Katie Woodencloak.
Yes, the cook said she might have a place--she might have leave to be
there in the scullery, and wash up, for the lassie who did that work
before had just gone away.

'But as soon as you get weary of being here, you'll go your way too,
I'll be bound.'

No; she was sure she wouldn't do that.

So there she was, behaving so well, and washing up so handily. The
Sunday after there were to be strange guests at the palace, so Katie
asked if she might have leave to carry up water for the Prince's
bath; but all the rest laughed at her, and said:

'What should you do there? Do you think the Prince will care to look
at you, you who are such a fright!'

But she wouldn't give it up, and kept on begging and praying; and at
last she got leave. So when she went up the stairs, her wooden cloak
made such a clatter, the Prince came out and asked:

'Pray who are you?'

'Oh! I was just going to bring up water for your Royal Highness's
bath', said Katie.

'Do you think now', said the Prince, 'I'd have anything to do with
the water you bring?' and with that he threw the water over her.

So she had to put up with that, but then she asked leave to go to
church; well, she got that leave too, for the church lay close by.
But, first of all, she went to the rock, and knocked on its face with
the stick which stood there, just as the Bull had said. And
straightway out came a man, who said:

'What's your will?'

So the Princess said she had got leave to go to church and hear the
priest preach, but she had no clothes to go in. So he brought out a
kirtle, which was as bright as the copper wood, and she got a horse
and saddle beside. Now, when she got to the church she was so lovely
and grand, all wondered who she could be, and scarce one of them
listened to what the priest said, for they looked too much at her. As
for the Prince, he fell so deep in love with her, he didn't take his
eyes off her for a single moment.

So, as she went out of church, the Prince ran after her, and held the
church door open for her; and so he got hold of one of her gloves,
which was caught in the door. When she went away and mounted her
horse, the Prince went up to her again, and asked whence she came.

'Oh! I'm from Bath', said Katie; and while the Prince took out the
glove to give it to her, she said:

Bright before and dark behind,
Clouds come rolling on the wind;
That this Prince may never see
Where my good steed goes with me.

The Prince had never seen the like of that glove, and went about far
and wide asking after the land whence the proud lady, who rode off
without her glove, said she came; but there was no one who could tell
where 'Bath' lay.

Next Sunday some one had to go up to the Prince with a towel.

'Oh! may I have leave to go up with it?' said Katie.

'What's the good of your going?' said the others; 'you saw how it
fared with you last time.'

But Katie wouldn't give in; she kept on begging and praying, till she
got leave; and then she ran up the stairs, so that her wooden cloak
made a great clatter. Out came the Prince, and when he saw it was
Katie, he tore the towel out of her hand, and threw it into her face.

'Pack yourself off, you ugly Troll', he cried; 'do you think I'd have
a towel which you have touched with your smutty fingers?'

After that the Prince set off to church, and Katie begged for leave
to go too. They all asked what business she had at church--she who
had nothing to put on but that wooden cloak, which was so black and
ugly. But Katie said the priest was such a brave man to preach, what
he said did her so much good; and so she at last got leave. Now she
went again to the rock and knocked, and so out came the man, and gave
her a kirtle far finer than the first one; it was all covered with
silver, and it shone like the silver wood; and she got besides a
noble steed, with a saddle-cloth broidered with silver, and a silver
bit.

So when the King's daughter got to the church, the folk were still
standing about in the churchyard. And all wondered and wondered who
she could be, and the Prince was soon on the spot, and came and
wished to hold her horse for her while she got off. But she jumped
down, and said there was no need, for her horse was so well broke, it
stood still when she bid it, and came when she called it. So they all
went into church; but there was scarce a soul that listened to what
the priest said, for they looked at her a deal too much; and the
Prince fell still deeper in love than the first time.

When the sermon was over, and she went out of church and was going to
mount her horse, up came the Prince again, and asked her whence she
came.

'Oh! I'm from Towelland', said the King's daughter; and as she said
that, she dropped her riding-whip, and when the Prince stooped to
pick it up, she said:

Bright before and dark behind,
Clouds come rolling on the wind;
That this Prince may never see
Where my good steed goes with me.

So away she was again; and the Prince couldn't tell what had become
of her. He went about far and wide asking after the land whence she
said she came, but there was no one who could tell him where it lay;
and so the Prince had to make the best he could of it.

Next Sunday some one had to go up to the Prince with a comb. Katie
begged for leave to go up with it, but the others put her in mind how
she had fared the last time, and scolded her for wishing to go before
the Prince--such a black and ugly fright as she was in her wooden
cloak. But she wouldn't leave off asking till they let her go up to
the Prince with his comb. So, when she came clattering up the stairs
again, out came the Prince, and took the comb, and threw it at her,
and bade her be off as fast as she could. After that the Prince went
to church, and Katie begged for leave to go too. They asked again
what business she had there, she who was so foul and black, and who
had no clothes to show herself in. Might be the Prince or some one
else would see her, and then both she and all the others would smart
for it; but Katie said they had something else to do than to look at
her; and she wouldn't leave off begging and praying till they gave
her leave to go.

So the same thing happened now as had happened twice before. She went
to the rock and knocked with the stick, and then the man came out and
gave her a kirtle which was far grander than either of the others. It
was almost all pure gold, and studded with diamonds; and she got
besides a noble steed, with a gold broidered saddle-cloth and a
golden bit.

Now when the King's daughter got to the church, there stood the
priest and all the people in the churchyard waiting for her. Up came
the Prince running, and wanted to hold her horse, but she jumped off,
and said:

'No; thanks--there's no need, for my horse is so well broke, it
stands still when I bid him.'

So they all hastened into church, and the priest got into the pulpit,
but no one listened to a word he said; for they all looked too much
at her, and wondered whence she came; and the Prince, he was far
deeper in love than either of the former times. He had no eyes, or
ears, or sense for anything, but just to sit and stare at her.

So when the sermon was over, and the King's daughter was to go out of
the church, the Prince had got a firkin of pitch poured out in the
porch, that he might come and help her over it; but she didn't care a
bit--she just put her foot right down into the midst of the pitch,
and jumped across it; but then one of her golden shoes stuck fast in
it, and as she got on her horse, up came the Prince running out of
the church, and asked whence she came.

'I'm from Combland', said Katie. But when the Prince wanted to reach
her the gold shoe, she said,

Bright before and dark behind,
Clouds come rolling on the wind;
That this Prince may never see
Where my good steed goes with me.

So the Prince couldn't tell still what had become of her, and he went
about a weary time all over the world asking for 'Combland'; but when
no one could tell him where it lay, he ordered it to be given out
everywhere that he would wed the woman whose foot could fit the gold
shoe.

So many came of all sorts from all sides, fair and ugly alike; but
there was no one who had so small a foot as to be able to get on the
gold shoe. And after a long, long time, who should come but Katie's
wicked stepmother, and her daughter, too, and her the gold shoe
fitted; but ugly she was, and so loathly she looked, the Prince only
kept his word sore against his will. Still they got ready the
wedding-feast, and she was dressed up and decked out as a bride; but
as they rode to church, a little bird sat upon a tree and sang:

A bit off her heel,
And a bit off her toe;
Katie Woodencloak's tiny shoe
Is full of blood--that's all I know.

And, sure enough, when they looked to it the bird told the truth, for
blood gushed out of the shoe.

Then all the maids and women who were about the palace had to go up
to try on the shoe, but there was none of them whom it would fit at
all.

'But where's Katie Woodencloak?' asked the Prince, when all the rest
had tried the shoe, for he understood the song of birds very well,
and bore in mind what the little bird had said.

'Oh! she think of that!' said the rest; 'it's no good her coming
forward. Why, she's legs like a horse.'

'Very true, I daresay', said the Prince; 'but since all the others
have tried, Katie may as well try too.'

'Katie', he bawled out through the door; and Katie came trampling
upstairs, and her wooden cloak clattered as if a whole regiment of
dragoons were charging up.

'Now, you must try the shoe on, and be a Princess, you too,' said the
other maids, and laughed and made game of her.

So Katie took up the shoe, and put her foot into it like nothing, and
threw off her wooden cloak; and so there she stood in her gold
kirtle, and it shone so that the sunbeams glistened from her; and,
lo! on her other foot she had the fellow to the gold shoe.

So when the Prince knew her again, he grew so glad, he ran up to her
and threw his arms round her, and gave her a kiss; and when he heard
she was a King's daughter, he got gladder still, and then came the
wedding feast; and so,

Snip, snip, snover,
This story's over.




THUMBIKIN

Once on a time there was a woman who had an only son, and he was no
taller than your thumb; and so they called him Thumbikin.

Now, when he had come to be old enough to know right and wrong, his
mother told him to go out and woo him a bride, for now she said it
was high time he thought about getting a wife. When Thumbikin heard
that, he was very glad; so they got their driving gear in order and
set off, and his mother put him into her bosom. Now they were going
to a palace where there was an awfully big Princess, but when they
had gone a bit of the way, Thumbikin was lost and gone. His mother
hunted for him everywhere, and bawled to him, and wept because he was
lost, and she couldn't find him again.

'_Pip, Pip_', said Thumbikin, 'here I am'; and he had hidden
himself in the horse's mane.

So he came out, and had to give his word to his mother that he
wouldn't do so any more. But when they had driven a bit further on,
Thumbikin was lost again. His mother hunted for him, and called him,
and wept; but gone he was, and gone he stayed.

'_Pip, Pip_', said Thumbikin at last; and then she heard how he
laughed and tittered, but she couldn't find him at all for the life
of her.

'_Pip, Pip_, why, here I am now!' said Thumbikin, and came out
of the horse's ear.

So he had to give his word that he wouldn't hide himself again; but
they had scarce driven a bit further before he was gone again. He
couldn't help it. As for his mother, she hunted, and wept, and called
him by name; but gone he was, and gone he stayed; and the more she
hunted, the less she could find him in any way.

'_Pip, Pip_, here I am then', said Thumbikin.

But she couldn't make out at all where he was, his voice sounded so
dull, and muffled.

So she hunted, and he kept on saying, 'Pip, here I am', and laughed
and chuckled, but she couldn't find him; but all at once the horse
snorted, and it snorted Thumbikin out, for he had crept up one of his
nostrils.

Then his mother took him and put him into a bag; she knew no other
way, for she saw well enough he couldn't help hiding himself.

So, when they came to the palace, the match was soon made, for the
Princess thought him a pretty little chap, and it wasn't long before
the wedding came on too.

Now, when they were going to sit down to the wedding-feast, Thumbikin
sat at the table by the Princess's side; but he had worse than no
seat, for when he was to eat he couldn't reach up to the table; and
so if the Princess hadn't helped him up on to it, he wouldn't have
got a bit to eat.

Now it went good and well so long as he had to eat off a plate, but
then there came a great bowl of porridge--that he couldn't reach up
to; but Thumbikin soon found out a way to help himself; he climbed up
and sat on the lip of the bowl. But then there was a pat of melting
butter right in the middle of the bowl, and that he couldn't reach to
dip his porridge into it, and so he went on and took his seat at the
edge of the melting butter; but just then who should come but the
Princess, with a great spoonful of porridge to dip it into the
butter; and, alas! she went too near to Thumbikin, and tipped him
over; and so he fell over head and ears, and was drowned in the
melted butter.




DOLL I' THE GRASS

Once on a time there was a King who had twelve sons. When they were
grown big he told them they must go out into the world and win
themselves wives, but these wives must each be able to spin, and
weave, and sew a shirt in one day, else he wouldn't have them for
daughters-in-law.

To each he gave a horse and a new suit of mail, and they went out
into the world to look after their brides; but when they had gone a
bit of the way, they said they wouldn't have Boots, their youngest
brother, with them--he wasn't fit for anything.

Well, Boots had to stay behind, and he didn't know what to do or
whither to turn; and so he grew so downcast, he got off his horse,
and sat down in the tall grass to weep. But when he had sat a little
while, one of the tufts in the grass began to stir and move, and out
of it came a little white thing, and when it came nearer, Boots saw
it was a charming little lassie, only such a tiny bit of a thing. So
the lassie went up to him, and asked if he would come down below and
see 'Doll i' the Grass'.

Yes, he'd be very happy, and so he went.

Now, when he got down; there sat Doll i' the Grass on a chair; she
was so lovely and so smart, and she asked Boots whither he was going,
and what was his business.

So he told her how there were twelve brothers of them, and how the
King had given them horses and mail, and said they must each go out
into the world and find them a wife who could spin, and weave, and
sew a shirt in a day.

'But if you'll only say at once you'll be my wife, I'll not go a step
further', said Boots to Doll i' the Grass.

Well, she was willing enough, and so she made haste and span, and
wove, and sewed the shirt, but it was so tiny, tiny little. It wasn't
longer than so--------long.

So Boots set off home with it, but when he brought it out he was
almost ashamed, it was so small. Still the King said he should have
her, and so Boots set off, glad and happy to fetch his little
sweetheart. So when he got to Doll i' the Grass, he wished to take
her up before him on his horse; but she wouldn't have that, for she
said she would sit and drive along in a silver spoon, and that she
had two small white horses to draw her. So off they set, he on his
horse and she on her silver spoon, and the two horses that drew her
were two tiny white mice; but Boots always kept the other side of the
road, he was so afraid lest he should ride over her, she was so
little. So, when they had gone a bit of the way, they came to a great
piece of water. Here Boots' horse got frightened, and shied across
the road and upset the spoon, and Doll i' the Grass tumbled into the
water. Then Boots got so sorrowful because he didn't know how to get
her out again; but in a little while up came a merman with her, and
now she was as well and full grown as other men and women, and far
lovelier than she had been before. So he took her up before him on
his horse, and rode home.

When Boots got home all his brothers had come back each with his
sweetheart, but these were all so ugly, and foul, and wicked, that
they had done nothing but fight with one another on the way home, and
on their heads they had a kind of hat that was daubed over with tar
and soot, and so the rain had run down off the hats on to their
faces, till they got far uglier and nastier than they had been
before. When his brothers saw Boots and his sweetheart, they were all
as jealous as jealous could be of her; but the King was so overjoyed
with them both, that he drove all the others away, and so Boots held
his wedding-feast with Doll i' the Grass, and after that they lived
well and happily together a long long time, and if they're not dead,
why they're alive still.




THE LAD AND THE DEIL

Once on a time there was a lad who was walking along a road cracking
nuts, so he found one that was worm-eaten, and just at that very
moment he met the Deil.

'Is it true, now', said the lad, 'what they say, that the Deil can
make himself as small as he chooses, and thrust himself in through a
pinhole?'

'Yes it is', said the Deil.

'Oh! it is, is it? then let me see you do it, and just creep into
this nut', said the lad.

So the Deil did it.

Now, when he had crept well in through the worm's hole, the lad
stopped it up with a pin.

'Now, I've got you safe', he said, and put the nut into his pocket.

So when he had walked on a bit, he came to a smithy, and he turned in
and asked the smith if he'd be good enough to crack that nut for him.

'Aye, that'll be an easy job', said the smith, and took his smallest
hammer, laid the nut on the anvil, and gave it a blow, but it
wouldn't break.

So he took another hammer a little bigger, but that wasn't heavy
enough either.

Then he took one bigger still, but it was still the same story; and
so the smith got wroth, and grasped his great sledge-hammer.

'Now, I'll crack you to bits', he said, and let drive at the nut with
all his might and main. And so the nut flew to pieces with a bang
that blew off half the roof of the smithy, and the whole house
creaked and groaned as though it were ready to fall.

'Why! if I don't think the Deil must have been in that nut', said the
smith.

'So he was; you're quite right', said the lad, as he went away
laughing.




THE COCK AND HEN A-NUTTING

Once on a time the cock and the hen went out into the hazel-wood to
pick nuts; and so the hen got a nutshell in her throat, and lay on
her back, flapping her wings.

Off went the cock to fetch water for her; so he came to the Spring
and said:

'Dear good friend Spring give me a drop of water, that I may give it
to Dame Partlet, my mate, who lies at death's door in the hazel-
wood.'

But the Spring answered:

'You'll get no water from me until I get leaves from you.'

So the Cock ran to the Linden, and said:

'Dear good friend Linden, give me some of your leaves, the leaves
I'll give to the Spring, and the Spring'll give me water to give to
Dame Partlet my mate, who lies at death's door in the hazel-wood.'

'You'll get no leaves from me', said the Linden, 'until I get a red
ribbon with a golden edge from you.'

So the Cock ran to the Virgin Mary.

'Dear good Virgin Mary, give me a red ribbon with a golden edge, and
I'll give the red ribbon to the Linden, the Linden'll give me leaves,
the leaves I'll give to the Spring, the Spring'll give me water, and
the water I'll give to Dame Partlet my mate, who lies at death's
door, in the hazel-wood.'

'You'll get no red ribbon from me', answered the Virgin Mary, 'until
I get shoes from you.'

So the Cock ran to the Shoemaker and said

'Dear good friend Shoemaker, give me shoes, and I'll give the shoes
to the Virgin Mary, the Virgin Mary'll give me a red ribbon, the red
ribbon I'll give to the Linden, the Linden'll give me leaves, the
leaves I'll give to the Spring, the Spring'll give me water, the
water I'll give to Dame Partlet my mate, who lies at death's door in
the hazel-wood.'

'You'll get no shoes from me', said the Shoemaker, 'until I get
bristles from you.'

So the Cock ran to the Sow and said:

'Dear good friend Sow, give me bristles, the bristles I'll give to
the Shoemaker, the Shoemaker'll give me shoes, the shoes I'll give to
the Virgin Mary, the Virgin Mary'll give me a red ribbon, the red
ribbon I'll give to the Linden, the Linden'll give me leaves, the
leaves I'll give to the Spring, the Spring'll give me water, the
water I'll give to Dame Partlet my mate, who lies at death's door in
the hazel-wood.'

'You'll get no bristles from me', said the Sow, 'until I get corn
from you.'

So the Cock ran to the Thresher and said:

'Dear good friend Thresher, give me corn, the corn I'll give to the
Sow, the Sow'll give me bristles, the bristles I'll give to the
Shoemaker, the Shoemaker'll give me shoes, the shoes I'll give to the
Virgin Mary, the Virgin Mary'll give me a red ribbon, the red ribbon
I'll give to the Linden, the Linden'll give me leaves, the leaves
I'll give to the Spring, the Spring'll give me water, the water I'll
give to Dame Partlet my mate, who lies at death's door in the hazel-
wood.'

'You'll get no corn from me', said the Thresher, 'until I get a
bannock from you.'

So the Cock ran to the Baker's wife and said:

'Dear good friend Mrs. Baker, give me a bannock, the bannock I'll
give to the Thresher, the Thresher'll give me corn, the corn I'll
give to the Sow, the Sow'll give me bristles, the bristles I'll give
to the Shoemaker, the Shoemaker'll give me shoes, the shoes I'll give
to the Virgin Mary, the Virgin Mary'll give me a red ribbon, the red
ribbon I'll give to the Linden, the Linden'll give me leaves, the
leaves I'll give to the Spring, the Spring'll give me water, the
water I'll give to Dame Partlet my mate, who lies at death's door in
the hazel-wood.'

'You'll get no bannock from me', said the Baker's wife, until I get
wood from you.'

So the Cock ran to the Woodcutter and said:

'Dear good friend Woodcutter, give me wood, the wood I'll give to the
Baker's wife, the Baker's wife'll give me a bannock, the bannock I'll
give to the Thresher, the Thresher'll give me corn, the corn I'll
give to the Sow, the Sow'll give me bristles, the bristles I'll give
to the Shoemaker, the Shoemaker'll give me shoes, the shoes I'll give
to the Virgin Mary, the Virgin Mary'll give me a red ribbon, the red
ribbon I'll give to the Linden, the Linden'll give me leaves, the
leaves I'll give to the Spring, the Spring'll give me water, the
water I'll give to Dame Partlet my mate, who lies at death's door in
the hazel-wood.'

'You'll get no wood from me', answered the Woodcutter, 'until I get
an axe from you.'

So the Cock ran to the Smith and said:

'Dear good friend Smith, give me an axe, the axe I'll give to the
Woodcutter, the Woodcutter'll give me wood, the wood I'll give to the
Baker's wife, the Baker's wife'll give me a bannock, the bannock I'll
give to the Thresher, the Thresher'll give me corn, the corn I'll
give to the Sow, the Sow'll give me bristles, the bristles I'll give
to the Shoemaker, the Shoemaker'll give me shoes, the shoes I'll give
to the Virgin Mary, the Virgin Mary'll give me a red ribbon, the red
ribbon I'll give to the Linden, the Linden'll give me leaves, the
leaves I'll give to the Spring, the Spring'll give me water, the
water I'll give to Dame Partlet my mate, who lies at death's door in
the hazel-wood.'

'You'll get no axe from me', answered the Smith, 'until I get
charcoal of you.'

So the Cock ran to the Charcoal-burner and said

'Dear good friend Charcoal-burner, give me charcoal, the charcoal
I'll give to the Smith, the Smith'll give me an axe, the axe I'll
give to the Woodcutter, the Woodcutter'll give me wood, the wood I'll
give to the Baker's wife, the Baker's wife'll give me a bannock, the
bannock I'll give to the Thresher, the Thresher'll give me corn, the
corn I'll give to the Sow, the Sow'll give me bristles, the bristles
I'll give to the Shoemaker, the Shoemaker'll give me shoes, the shoes
I'll give to the Virgin Mary, the Virgin Mary'll give me a red
ribbon, the red ribbon I'll give to the Linden, the Linden'll give me
leaves, the leaves I'll give to the Spring, the Spring'll give me
water, the water I'll give to Dame Partlet my mate, who lies at
death's door in the hazel-wood.

So the Charcoal-burner took pity on the Cock, and gave him a bit of
charcoal, and then the Smith got his coal, and the Woodcutter his
axe, and the Baker's wife her wood, and the Thresher his bannock, and
the Sow her corn, and the Shoemaker his bristles, and the Virgin Mary
her shoes, and the Linden its red ribbon with a golden edge, and the
Spring its leaves, and the Cock his drop of water, and he gave it to
Dame Partlet, his mate, who lay there at death's door in the hazel-
wood, and so she got all right again.




THE BIG BIRD DAN

Once on a time there was a king who had twelve daughters, and he was
so fond of them they must always be at his side; but every day at
noon, while the king slept, the Princesses went out to take a walk.
So once, while the king was taking his noontide nap, and the
Princesses had gone to take their walk, all at once they were
missing, and worse, they never came home again. Then there was great
grief and sorrow all over the land, but the most sorry of all was the
king. He sent messengers out throughout his own and other realms, and
gave out their names in all the churches, and had the bells tolled
for them in all the steeples; but gone the Princesses were, and gone
they stayed, and none could tell what was become of them. So it was
as clear as day that they must have been carried off by some
witchcraft.

Well, it wasn't long before these tidings spread far and wide, over
land and town, aye, over many lands; and so the news came to a king
ever so many lands off, who had twelve sons. So when these Princes
heard of the twelve king's daughters, they asked leave of their
father to go out and seek them. They had hard work to get his leave,
for he was afraid lest he should never see them again, but they all
fell down on their knees before the king, and begged so long, at last
he was forced to let them go after all.

He fitted out a ship for them, and gave them Ritter Red, who was


 


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