Chapter III: Part 3

But she was very woeful, and said to him:

"Why did you not mind what I told you; and why did you not listen to what your father said? Now, I must away home, and as for you, you have had both your wishes."

With that she knitted a ring among his hair with her name on it, and wished herself home, and was off.

Then the young _King_ was cut to the heart, and went, day out day in, thinking and thinking how he should get back to his _Queen_. "I'll just try," he thought, "if I can't learn where Whiteland lies;" and so he went out into the world to ask. So when he had gone a good way, he came to a high hill, and there he met one who was lord over all the beasts of the wood, for they all came home to him when he blew his horn; so the _King_ asked if he knew where Whiteland was.

"No, I don't," said he, "but I'll ask my beasts." Then he blew his horn and called them, and asked if any of them knew where Whiteland lay. But there was no beast that knew.

So the man gave him a pair of snow-shoes.

"When you get on these," he said, "you'll come to my brother, who lives hundreds of miles off; he is lord over all the birds of the air. Ask him. When you reach his house, just turn the shoes so that the toes point this way, and they'll come home of themselves." So when the _King_ reached the house, he turned the shoes as the lord of the beasts had said, and away they went home of themselves.

So he asked again after Whiteland, and the man called all the birds with a blast of his horn, and asked if any of them knew where Whiteland lay; but none of the birds knew. Now, long, long after the rest of the birds came an old eagle, which had been away ten round years, but he couldn't tell any more than the rest.

"Well, well," said the man, "I'll lend you a pair of snow-shoes, and, when you get them on, they'll carry you to my brother, who lives hundreds of miles off; he's lord of all the fish in the sea; you'd better ask him. But don't forget to turn the toes of the shoes this way."

The _King_ was full of thanks, got on the shoes, and when he came to the man who was lord over the fish of the sea, he turned the toes round, and so off they went home like the other pair. After that, he asked again after Whiteland.

So the man called the fish with a blast, but no fish could tell where it lay. At last came an old pike, which they had great work to call home, he was such a way off. So when they asked him he said:

"Know it? I should think I did! I've been cook there ten years, and to-morrow I'm going there again; for now the queen of Whiteland, whose king is away, is going to wed another husband."

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

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

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

They were very willing to do this; but, as soon as he had got the hat, cloak, and boots, he said:

"When we meet next time, I'll tell you my judgment," and with these words he wished himself away.

So as he went along up in the air, he came up with the North wind.

"Whither away?" roared the North Wind.

"To Whiteland," said the _King_; and then he told him all that had befallen him.

"Ah," said the North Wind, "you go faster than I--you do; for you can go straight, while I have to puff and blow round every turn and corner. But when you get there, just place yourself on the stairs by the side of the door, and then I'll come storming in, as though I were going to blow down the whole castle. And then when the prince, who is to have your _Queen_, comes out to see what's the matter, just you take him by the collar and pitch him out of doors; then I'll look after him, and see if I can't carry him off."

Well, the _King_ did as the North Wind said. He took his stand on the stairs, and when the North Wind came, storming and roaring, and took hold of the castle wall, so that it shook again, the prince came out to see what was the matter. But as soon as ever he came, the _King_ caught him by the collar and pitched him out of doors, and then the North Wind caught him up and carried him off. So when there was an end of him, the _King_ went into the castle, and at first his _Queen_ didn't know him, he was so wan and thin, through wandering so far and being so woeful; but when he shewed her the ring, she was as glad as glad could be; and so the rightful wedding was held, and the fame of it spread far and wide.

SORIA MORIA CASTLE

Once on a time there was a poor couple who had a son whose name was _Halvor_. Ever since he was a little boy he would turn his hand to nothing, but just sat there and groped about in the ashes. His father and mother often put him out to learn this trade or that, but _Halvor_ could stay nowhere; for, when he had been there a day or two, he ran away from his master, and never stopped till he was sitting again in the ingle, poking about in the cinders.

Well, one day a skipper came, and asked _Halvor_ if he hadn't a mind to be with him, and go to sea, and see strange lands. Yes, _Halvor_ would like that very much; so he wasn't long in getting himself ready.

How long they sailed I'm sure I can't tell; but the end of it was, they fell into a great storm, and when it was blown over, and it got still again, they couldn't tell where they were; for they had been driven away to a strange coast, which none of them knew anything about.

Well, as there was just no wind at all, they stayed lying wind-bound there, and _Halvor_ asked the skipper's leave to go on shore and look about him; he would sooner go, he said, than lie there and sleep.

"Do you think now you're fit to show yourself before folk," said the skipper, "why, you've no clothes but those rags you stand in?"

But _Halvor_ stuck to his own, and so at last he got leave, but he was to be sure and come back as soon as ever it began to blow. So off he went and found a lovely land; wherever he came there were fine large flat cornfields and rich meads, but he couldn't catch a glimpse of a living soul. Well, it began to blow, but _Halvor_ thought he hadn't seen enough yet, and he wanted to walk a little farther just to see if he couldn't meet any folk. So after a while he came to a broad high road, so smooth and even, you might easily roll an egg along it. _Halvor_ followed this, and when evening drew on he saw a great castle ever so far off, from which the sunbeams shone. So as he had now walked the whole day and hadn't taken a bit to eat with him, he was as hungry as a hunter, but still the nearer he came to the castle, the more afraid he got.

In the castle kitchen a great fire was blazing, and _Halvor_ went into it, but such a kitchen he had never seen in all his born days. It was so grand and fine; there were vessels of silver and vessels of gold, but still never a living soul. So when _Halvor_ had stood there a while and no one came out, he went and opened a door, and there inside sat a _Princess_ who span upon a spinning-wheel.

"Nay, nay, now!" she called out, "dare Christian folk come hither? But now you'd best be off about your business, if you don't want the _Troll_ to gobble you up; for here lives a _Troll_ with three heads."

"All one to me," said the lad, "I'd be just as glad to hear he had four heads beside; I'd like to see what kind of fellow he is. As for going, I won't go at all. I've done no harm; but meat you must get me, for I'm almost starved to death."

When _Halvor_ had eaten his fill, the _Princess_ told him to try if he could brandish the sword that hung against the wall; no, he couldn't brandish it, he couldn't even lift it up.

"Oh!" said the _Princess_, "now you must go and take a pull of that flask that hangs by its side; that's what the _Troll_ does every time he goes out to use the sword."

So _Halvor_ took a pull, and in the twinkling of an eye he could brandish the sword like nothing; and now he thought it high time the _Troll_ came; and lo! just then up came the _Troll_ puffing and blowing. _Halvor_ jumped behind the door.

"HUTETU," said the _Troll_, as he put his head in at the door, "what a smell of Christian man's blood!"

"Aye," said _Halvor_, "you'll soon know that to your cost," and with that he hewed off all his heads.

Now the _Princess_ was so glad that she was free, she both danced and sang, but then all at once she called her sisters to mind, and so she said:

"Would my sisters were free too!"

"Where are they?" asked _Halvor_.

Well, she told him all about it; one was taken away by a _Troll_ to his Castle which lay fifty miles off, and the other by another _Troll_ to his Castle which was fifty miles further still.

"But now," she said, "you must first help me to get this ugly carcass out of the house."

Yes, _Halvor_ was so strong he swept everything away, and made it all clean and tidy in no time. So they had a good and happy time of it, and next morning he set off at peep of grey dawn; he could take no rest by the way, but ran and walked the whole day. When he first saw the Castle he got a little afraid; it was far grander than the first, but here too there wasn't a living soul to be seen. So _Halvor_ went into the kitchen, and didn't stop there either, but went straight further on into the house.

"Nay, nay," called out the _Princess_, "dare Christian folk come hither? I don't know I'm sure how long it is since I came here, but in all that time I haven't seen a Christian man. 'Twere best you saw how to get away as fast as you came; for here lives a _Troll_ who has six heads."

"I shan't go," said _Halvor_, "if he has six heads besides."

"He'll take you up and swallow you down alive," said the _Princess_.

But it was no good, _Halvor_ wouldn't go; he wasn't at all afraid of the _Troll_, but meat and drink he must have, for he was half starved after his long journey. Well, he got as much of that as he wished, but then the _Princess_ wanted him to be off again.

"No," said _Halvor_, "I won't go, I've done no harm, and I've nothing to be afraid about."

"He won't stay to ask that," said the _Princess_, "for he'll take you without law or leave; but as you won't go, just try if you can brandish that sword yonder, which the _Troll_ wields in war."

He couldn't brandish it, and then the _Princess_ said he must take a pull at the flask which hung by its side, and when he had done that he could brandish it.

Just then back came the _Troll_, and he was both stout and big, so that he had to go sideways to get through the door. When the _Troll_ got his first head in he called out:

"HUTETU, what a smell of Christian man's blood!"

But that very moment _Halvor_ hewed off his first head, and so on all the rest as they popped in. The _Princess_ was overjoyed, but just then she came to think of her sisters, and wished out loud they were free. _Halvor_ thought that might easily be done, and wanted to be off at once; but first he had to help the _Princess_ to get the _Troll's_ carcass out of the way, and so he could only set out next morning.

It was a long way to the Castle, and he had to walk fast and run hard to reach it in time; but about nightfall he saw the Castle, which was far finer and grander than either of the others. This time he wasn't the least afraid, but walked straight through the kitchen, and into the Castle. There sat a _Princess_ who was so pretty, there was no end to her loveliness. She too like the others told him there hadn't been Christian folk there ever since she came thither, and bade him go away again, else the _Troll_ would swallow him alive, and do you know, she said, he has nine heads.

"Aye, aye," said _Halvor_, "if he had nine other heads, and nine other heads still, I won't go away," and so he stood fast before the stove. The _Princess_ kept on begging him so prettily to go away, lest the _Troll_ should gobble him up, but _Halvor_ said:

"Let him come as soon as he likes."

So she gave him the _Troll's_ sword, and bade him take a pull at the flask, that he might be able to brandish and wield it.

Just then back came the _Troll_ puffing and blowing and tearing along. He was far bigger and stouter than the other two, and he too had to go on one side to get through the door. So when he got his first head in, he said as the others had said:

"HUTETU, what a smell of Christian man's blood!"

That very moment _Halvor_ hewed off the first head and then all the rest; but the last was the toughest of them all, and it was the hardest bit of work _Halvor_ had to do, to get it hewn off, although he knew very well he had strength enough to do it.

So all the _Princesses_ came together to that Castle, which was called _Soria Moria Castle_, and they were glad and happy as they had never been in all their lives before, and they all were fond of _Halvor_ and _Halvor_ of them, and he might choose the one he liked best for his bride; but the youngest was fondest of him of all the three.

But there after a while, _Halvor_ went about, and was so strange and dull and silent. Then the Princesses asked him what he lacked, and if he didn't like to live with them any longer? Yes, he did, for they had enough and to spare, and he was well off in every way, but still somehow or other he did so long to go home, for his father and mother were alive, and them he had such a great wish to see.

Well, they thought that might be done easily enough.

"You shall go thither and come back hither, safe and unscathed, if you will only follow our advice," said the _Princesses_.

Yes, he'd be sure to mind all they said. So they dressed him up till he was as grand as a king's son, and then they set a ring on his finger, and that was such a ring, he could wish himself thither and hither with it; but they told him to be sure and not take it off, and not to name their names, for there would be an end of all his bravery, and then he'd never see them more.

"If I only stood at home I'd be glad," said _Halvor_; and it was done as he had wished. Then stood _Halvor_ at his father's cottage door before he knew a word about it. Now it was about dusk at even, and so, when they saw such a grand stately lord walk in, the old couple got so afraid they began to bow and scrape. Then _Halvor_ asked if he couldn't stay there, and have a lodging there that night. No; that he couldn't.

"We can't do it at all," they said, "for we haven't this thing or that thing which such a lord is used to have; 'twere best your lordship went up to the farm, no long way off, for you can see the chimneys, and there they have lots of everything."

_Halvor_ wouldn't hear of it--he wanted to stop; but the old couple stuck to their own, that he had better go to the farmer's; there he would get both meat and drink; as for them, they hadn't even a chair to offer him to sit down on.

"No," said _Halvor_, "I won't go up there till to-morrow early, but let me just stay here to-night; worst come to the worst, I can sit in the chimney corner."

Well, they couldn't say anything against that; so _Halvor_ sat down by the ingle, and began to poke about in the ashes, just as he used to do when he lay at home in old days, and stretched his lazy bones.

Well, they chattered and talked about many things; and they told _Halvor_ about this thing and that; and so he asked them if they had never had any children.

Yes, yes, they had once a lad whose name was _Halvor_, but they didn't know whither he had wandered; they couldn't even tell whether he were dead or alive.

"Couldn't it be me, now?" said _Halvor_.

"Let me see; I could tell him well enough," said the old wife, and rose up. "Our _Halvor_ was so lazy and dull, he never did a thing; and besides, he was so ragged, that one tatter took hold of the next tatter on him. No; there never was the making of such a fine fellow in him as you are, master."

A little while after the old wife went to the hearth to poke up the fire, and when the blaze fell on _Halvor's_ face, just as when he was at home of old poking about in the ashes, she knew him at once.

"Ah! but it is you after all, _Halvor_?" she cried; and then there was such joy for the old couple, there was no end to it; and he was forced to tell how he had fared, and the old dame was so fond and proud of him, nothing would do but he must go up at once to the farmer's, and show himself to the lassies, who had always looked down on him. And off she went first, and _Halvor_ followed after. So, when she got up there, she told them all how _Halvor_ had come home again, and now they should only just see how grand he was, for, said she, "he looks like nothing but a King's son."

"All very fine," said the lassies, and tossed up their heads. "We'll be bound he's just the same beggarly ragged boy he always was."

Just then in walked _Halvor_, and then the lassies were all so taken aback, they forgot their sarks in the ingle, where they were sitting darning their clothes, and ran out in their smocks. Well, when they were got back again, they were so shamefaced they scarce dared look at _Halvor_, towards whom they had always been proud and haughty.

"Aye, aye," said _Halvor_, "you always thought yourselves so pretty and neat, no one could come near you; but now you should just see the eldest _Princess_ I have set free; against her you look just like milkmaids, and the midmost is prettier still; but the youngest, who is my sweetheart, she's fairer than both sun and moon. Would to Heaven they were only here," said _Halvor_, "then you'd see what you would see."

He had scarce uttered these words before there they stood, but then he felt so sorry, for now what they had said came into his mind. Up at the farm there was a great feast got ready for the _Princesses_, and much was made of them, but they wouldn't stop there.

"No, we want to go down to your father and mother," they said to _Halvor_; "and so we'll go out now and look about us."

So he went down with them, and they came to a great lake just outside the farm. Close by the water was such a lovely green bank; here the _Princesses_ said they would sit and rest a while; they thought it so sweet to sit down and look over the water.

So they sat down there, and when they had sat a while the youngest _Princess_ said:

"I may as well comb your hair a little, _Halvor_."

Well, _Halvor_ laid his head on her lap, and she combed his bonny locks, and it wasn't long before _Halvor_ fell fast asleep. Then she took the ring from his finger, and put another in its stead; and she said:

"Now hold me all together! and now would we were all in _Soria Moria Castle_."

So when _Halvor_ woke up, he could very well tell that he had lost the _Princesses_, and began to weep and wail; and he was so downcast, they couldn't comfort him at all. In spite of all his father and mother said, he wouldn't stop there, but took farewell of them, and said he was safe not to see them again; for if he couldn't find the _Princesses_ again, he thought it not worth while to live.

Well, he had still about sixty pounds left, so he put them into his pocket, and set out on his way. So, when he had walked a while, he met a man with a tidy horse, and he wanted to buy it, and began to chaffer with the man.

"Aye," said the man, "to tell the truth, I never thought of selling him; but if we could strike a bargain perhaps--"

"What do you want for him?" asked _Halvor_.

"I didn't give much for him, nor is he worth much; he's a brave horse to ride, but he can't draw at all; still he's strong enough to carry your knapsack and you too, turn and turn about," said the man.

At last they agreed on the price, and _Halvor_ laid the knapsack on him, and so he walked a bit, and rode a bit, turn and turn about. At night he came to a green plain where stood a great tree, at the roots of which he sat down. There he let the horse loose, but he didn't lie down to sleep, but opened his knapsack and took a meal. At peep of day off he set again, for he could take no rest. So he rode and walked and walked and rode the whole day through the wide wood, where there were so many green spots and glades that shone so bright and lovely between the trees. He didn't know at all where he was or whither he was going, but he gave himself no more time to rest than when his horse cropped a bit of grass, and he took a snack out of his knapsack when they came to one of those green glades. So he went on walking and riding by turns, and as for the wood there seemed to be no end to it.

But at dusk the next day he saw a light gleaming away through the trees.

"Would there were folk hereaway," thought _Halvor_, "that I might warm myself a bit and get a morsel to keep body and soul together."

When he got up to it he saw the light came from a wretched little hut, and through the window he saw an old old, couple inside. They were as grey-headed as a pair of doves, and the old wife had such a nose! why, it was so long she used it for a poker to stir the fire as she sat in the ingle.

"Good evening," said _Halvor_.

"Good evening," said the old wife.

"But what errand can you have in coming hither?" she went on, "for no Christian folk have been here these hundred years and more."

Well, _Halvor_ told her all about himself, and how he wanted to get to _Soria Moria Castle_, and asked if she knew the way thither.

"No," said the old wife, "that I don't, but see now, here comes the Moon, I'll ask her, she'll know all about it, for doesn't she shine on everything?"

So when the Moon stood clear and bright over the tree-tops, the old wife went out.

"THOU MOON, THOU MOON," she screamed, "canst thou tell me the way to _Soria Moria Castle_?"

"No," said the Moon, "that I can't, for the last time I shone there a cloud stood before me."

"Wait a bit still," said the old wife to _Halvor_, "bye and bye comes the West Wind; he's sure to know it, for he puffs and blows round every corner."

"Nay, nay," said the old wife when she went out again, "you don't mean to say you've got a horse too; just turn the poor beastie loose in our 'toun,' and don't let him stand there and starve to death at the door."

Then she ran on:

"But won't you swop him away to me?--we've got an old pair of boots here, with which you can take twenty miles at each stride; those you shall have for your horse, and so you'll get all the sooner to _Soria Moria Castle_."

That _Halvor_ was willing to do at once; and the old wife was so glad at having the horse, she was ready to dance and skip for joy.

"For now," she said, "I shall be able to ride to church. I, too, think of that."

As for _Halvor_, he had no rest, and wanted to be off at once, but the old wife said there was no hurry.

"Lie down on the bench with you and sleep a bit, for we've no bed to offer you, and I'll watch and wake you when the West Wind comes."

So after a while up came the West Wind, roaring and howling along till the walls creaked and groaned again.

Out ran the old wife.

"THOU WEST WIND, THOU WEST WIND! Canst thou tell me the way to _Soria Moria Castle_? Here's one who wants to get thither."

"Yes, I know it very well," said the West Wind, "and now I'm just off thither to dry clothes for the wedding that's to be; if he's swift of foot he can go along with me."

Out ran _Halvor_.

"You'll have to stretch your legs if you mean to keep up," said the West Wind.

So off he set over field and hedge, and hill and fell, and _Halvor_ had hard work to keep up.

"Well," said the West Wind, "now I've no time to stay with you any longer, for I've got to go away yonder and tear down a strip of spruce wood first before I go to the bleaching-ground to dry the clothes; but if you go alongside the hill you'll come to a lot of lassies standing washing clothes, and then you've not far to go to _Soria Moria Castle_."

In a little while _Halvor_ came upon the lassies who stood washing, and they asked if he had seen anything of the West Wind who was to come and dry the clothes for the wedding.

"Aye, aye, that I have," said _Halvor_, "he's only gone to tear down a strip of spruce wood. It'll not be long before he's here," and then he asked them the way to _Soria Moria Castle_.

So they put him into the right way, and when he got to the Castle it was full of folk and horses; so full it made one giddy to look at them. But _Halvor_ was so ragged and torn from having followed the West Wind through bush and brier and bog, that he kept on one side, and wouldn't show himself till the last day when the bridal feast was to be.

So when all, as was then right and fitting, were to drink the bride and bridegroom's health and wish them luck, and when the cupbearer was to drink to them all again, both knights and squires, last of all he came in turn to _Halvor_. He drank their health, but let the ring which the _Princess_ had put upon his finger as he lay by the lake fall into the glass, and bade the cupbearer go and greet the bride and hand her the glass.

Then up rose the _Princess_ from the board at once.

"Who is most worthy to have one of us," she said, "he that has set us free, or he that here sits by me as bridegroom?"

Well they all said there could be but one voice and will as to that, and when _Halvor_ heard that he wasn't long in throwing off his beggar's rags, and arraying himself as bridegroom.

"Aye, aye, here is the right one after all," said the youngest _Princess_ as soon as she saw him, and so she tossed the other one out of the window, and held her wedding with _Halvor_.

THE GIANT WHO HAD NO HEART IN HIS BODY

Once on a time there was a _King_ who had _seven sons_, and he loved them so much that he could never bear to be without them all at once, but one must always be with him. Now, when they were grown up, six were to set off to woo, but as for the youngest, his father kept him at home, and the others were to bring back a princess for him to the palace. So the _King_ gave the six the finest clothes you ever set eyes on, so fine that the light gleamed from them a long way off, and each had his horse, which cost many, many hundred pounds, and so they set off. Now, when they had been to many palaces, and seen many princesses, at last they came to a _King_ who had _six daughters_; such lovely king's daughters they had never seen, and so they fell to wooing them, each one, and when they had got them for sweethearts, they set off home again, but they quite forgot that they were to bring back with them a sweetheart for _Boots_, their brother, who stayed at home, for they were over head and ears in love with their own sweethearts.

But when they had gone a good bit on their way, they passed close by a steep hill-side, like a wall, where the _Giant's_ house was, and there the _Giant_ came out, and set his eyes upon them, and turned them all into stone, princes and princesses and all. Now the _King_ waited and waited for his _six sons_, but the more he waited, the longer they stayed away; so he fell into great trouble, and said he should never know what it was to be glad again.

"And if I had not you left," he said to _Boots_, "I would live no longer, so full of sorrow am I for the loss of your brothers."

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

"Nay, nay!" said his father; "that leave you shall never get, for then you would stay away too."

But _Boots_ had set his heart upon it; go he would; and he begged and prayed so long that the _King_ was forced to let him go. Now, you must know the _King_ had no other horse to give _Boots_ but an old broken-down jade, for his six other sons and their train had carried off all his horses; but _Boots_ did not care a pin for that, he sprang up on his sorry old steed.

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

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

"Oh, dear friend," said the _Raven_, "give me a little food, and I'll help you again at your utmost need."

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

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

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

"Oh, dear friend," said the _Salmon_ to the _Prince_; "shove me out into the water again, and I'll help you again at your utmost need."

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

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

"Dear friend, do let me have your horse," said the _Wolf_; "I'm so hungry the wind whistles through my ribs; I've had nothing to eat these two years."

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

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

"Well! the help I shall get from you will not be great, I'll be bound," said the _Prince_; "but you may take my horse, since you are in such need."

So when the _Wolf_ had eaten the horse, _Boots_ took the bit and put it into the _Wolf's_ jaw, and laid the saddle on his back; and now the _Wolf_ was so strong, after what he had got inside, that he set off with the _Prince_ like nothing. So fast he had never ridden before.

"When we have gone a bit farther," said _Graylegs_, "I'll show you the _Giant's_ house."

So after a while they came to it.

"See, here is the _Giant's_ house," said the _Wolf_; "and see, here are your six brothers, whom the _Giant_ has turned into stone; and see, here are their six brides, and away yonder is the door, and in that door you must go."

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

"No! no!" said the _Wolf_; "when you get in you'll find a _Princess_, and she'll tell you what to do to make an end of the _Giant_. Only mind and do as she bids you."

Well! _Boots_ went in, but, truth to say, he was very much afraid. When he came in the _Giant_ was away, but in one of the rooms sat the _Princess_, just as the _Wolf_ had said, and so lovely a princess _Boots_ had never yet set eyes on.

"Oh! heaven help you! whence have you come?" said the _Princess_, as she saw him; "it will surely be your death. No one can make an end of the _Giant_ who lives here, for he has no heart in his body."

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

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

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

"Ha!" roared the _Giant_, "what a smell of Christian blood there is in the house!"

"Yes, I know there is," said the _Princess_, "for there came a magpie flying with a man's bone, and let it fall down the chimney. I made all the haste I could to get it out, but all one can do, the smell doesn't go off so soon."

So the _Giant_ said no more about it, and when night came, they went to bed. After they had lain a while, the _Princess_ said:

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

"What thing is that?" asked the _Giant_.

"Only where it is you keep your heart, since you don't carry it about you," said the _Princess_.

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

"Ho! ho!" said _Boots_ to himself under the bed, "then we'll soon see if we can't find it."

Next morning the _Giant_ got up cruelly early, and strode off to the wood; but he was hardly out of the house before _Boots_ and the _Princess_ set to work to look under the door-sill for his heart; but the more they dug, and the more they hunted, the more they couldn't find it.

"He has baulked us this time," said the _Princess_, "but we'll try him once more."

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

Snuff--snuff, went the _Giant's_ nose. "My eyes and limbs, what a smell of Christian blood there is in here," said he.

"I know there is," said the _Princess_, "for there came a magpie flying with a man's bone in his bill, and let it fall down the chimney. I made as much haste as I could to get it out, but I daresay it's that you smell."

So the _Giant_ held his peace, and said no more about it. A little while after, he asked who it was that had strewed flowers about the door-sill.

"Oh, I, of course," said the _Princess_.

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

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

"You don't say so," said the _Giant_; "but after all it doesn't lie there at all."

So when they went to bed again in the evening, the _Princess_ asked the _Giant_ again where his heart was, for she said she would so like to know.

"Well," said the _Giant_, "if you must know, it lies away yonder in the cupboard against the wall."

"So, so!" thought _Boots_ and the _Princess_; "then we'll soon try to find it."

Next morning the _Giant_ was away early, and strode off to the wood, and so soon as he was gone _Boots_ and the _Princess_ were in the cupboard hunting for his heart, but the more they sought for it, the less they found it.

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

So she decked out the cupboard with flowers and garlands, and when the time came for the _Giant_ to come home, _Boots_ crept under the bed again.

Then back came the _Giant_.

Snuff--snuff! "My eyes and limbs, what a smell of Christian blood there is in here!"

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

When the _Giant_ heard that, he said no more about it; but a little while after, he saw how the cupboard was all decked about with flowers and garlands; so he asked who it was that had done that? Who could it be but the _Princess_?

"And, pray, what's the meaning of all this tomfoolery?" asked the _Giant_.

"Oh, I'm so fond of you, I couldn't help doing it when I knew that your heart lay there," said the _Princess_.

"How can you be so silly as to believe any such thing?" said the _Giant_.

"Oh yes; how can I help believing it, when you say it?" said the _Princess_.

"You're a goose," said the _Giant_; "where my heart is, you will never come."

"Well," said the _Princess_; "but for all that, 'twould be such a pleasure to know where it really lies."

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

"Far, far away in a lake lies an island; on that island stands a church; in that church is a well; in that well swims a duck; in that duck there is an egg, and in that egg there lies my heart,--you darling!"

In the morning early, while it was still grey dawn, the _Giant_ strode off to the wood.

"Yes! now I must set off too," said _Boots_; "if I only knew how to find the way." He took a long, long farewell of the _Princess_, and when he got out of the _Giant's_ door, there stood the _Wolf_ waiting for him. So _Boots_ told him all that had happened inside the house, and said now he wished to ride to the well in the church, if he only knew the way. So the _Wolf_ bade him jump on his back, he'd soon find the way; and away they went, till the wind whistled after them, over hedge and field, over hill and dale. After they had travelled many, many days, they came at last to the lake. Then the _Prince_ did not know how to get over it, but the _Wolf_ bade him only not be afraid, but stick on, and so he jumped into the lake with the _Prince_ on his back, and swam over to the island. So they came to the church; but the church keys hung high, high up on the top of the tower, and at first the _Prince_ did not know how to get them down.

"You must call on the raven," said the _Wolf_.

So the _Prince_ called on the raven, and in a trice the raven came, and flew up and fetched the keys, and so the _Prince_ got into the church. But when he came to the well, there lay the duck, and swam about backwards and forwards, just as the _Giant_ had said. So the _Prince_ stood and coaxed it, till it came to him, and he grasped it in his hand; but just as he lifted it up from the water the duck dropped the egg into the well, and then _Boots_ was beside himself to know how to get it out again.

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

Then the _Wolf_ told him to squeeze the egg, and as soon as ever he squeezed it the _Giant_ screamed out.

"Squeeze it again," said the _Wolf_; and when the _Prince_ did so, the _Giant_ screamed still more piteously, and begged and prayed so prettily to be spared, saying he would do all that the _Prince_ wished if he would only not squeeze his heart in two.

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

"Now, squeeze the egg in two," said the _Wolf_. So _Boots_ squeezed the egg to pieces, and the _Giant_ burst at once.

Now, when he had made an end of the _Giant_, _Boots_ rode back again on the _Wolf_ to the _Giant's_ house, and there stood all his six brothers alive and merry, with their brides. Then _Boots_ went into the hill-side after his bride, and so they all set off home again to their father's house. And you may fancy how glad the old king was when he saw all his seven sons come back, each with his bride--"But the loveliest bride of all is the bride of _Boots_, after all," said the king, "and he shall sit uppermost at the table, with her by his side."

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

THE PRINCESS ON THE GLASS HILL

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

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

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

Next year the turn came to _Boots_; but when he made ready to go, the other two began to laugh and to make game of him, saying:

"You're just the man to watch the hay, that you are; you, who have done nothing all your life but sit in the ashes and toast yourself by the fire."

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

"Well," said _Boots_ to himself, "if it isn't worse than this, I can stand it well enough."

A little while after came another creak and an earthquake, so that the litter in the barn flew about the lad's ears. "Oh!" said _Boots_ to himself, "if it isn't worse than this, I daresay I can stand it out."

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

"It'll come again, I'll be bound," thought _Boots_; but no, it didn't come again; still it was, and still it stayed; but after he had lain a little while, he heard a noise as if a horse were standing just outside the barn-door, and cropping the grass. He stole to the door, and peeped through a chink, and there stood a horse feeding away. So big, and fat, and grand a horse, _Boots_ had never set eyes on; by his side on the grass lay a saddle and bridle, and a full set of armour for a knight, all of brass, so bright that the light gleamed from it.

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

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

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

"Well," said _Boots_, "all I can say is, I lay in the barn till the sun rose, and neither saw nor heard anything; I can't think what there was in the barn to make you both so afraid."

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