Part 14

"'Maybe, I shall find the second also,' he said to himself, as he crept through the key-hole of a second door. There sat a strange princess combing a hill-ogre's hair who had six heads. So he crept through a third key-hole still, and there sat the youngest princess, combing a hill-ogre's hair with nine heads. Then he crept up her leg and stung her, and so she knew it was the lad who wished to talk to her; and then she begged leave of the hill-ogre to go out.

"When she came out the lad was himself again, and so he told her she must ask the hill-ogre whether she would never get away and go home to her father. Then he turned himself into an ant and sat on her foot, and so the princess went into the house again, and fell to combing the hill-ogre's hair.

"So when she had done this awhile, she fell a-thinking.

"'You're forgetting to comb me,' said the hill-ogre. 'What is it you're thinking of?'

"'Oh, I am doubting whether I shall ever get away from this place, and home to my father's grange,' said the princess.

"'Nay! nay! that you'll never do!' said the hill-ogre; 'not unless you can find the grain of sand which lies under the ninth tongue of the ninth head of the dragon to which your father paid tax; but that no one will ever find, for if that grain of sand came over the rock all the hill-ogres would burst, and the rock itself would become a gilded palace, and the lake green meadows.'

"As soon as the lad heard that he crept out through the keyholes, and through the crack in the rock, till he got outside. Then he turned himself into a falcon, and flew whither the dragon lay. Then he hunted till he found the grain of sand under the ninth tongue of the ninth head, and flew off with it; but when he came to the lake he got so tired, so tired, that he had to sink down and perch on a stone by the strand. And just as he sat there he dozed and nodded for the twinkling of an eye; and, meantime, the grain of sand fell out of his bill down among the sand on the shore. So he searched for it three days before he found it again. But as soon as he had found it he flew straight off to the steep rock with it, and dropped it down the crack. Then all the hill-ogres burst, and the rock was rent, and there stood a gilded castle, which was the grandest castle in all the world; and the lake became the loveliest fields and the greenest meads any one ever saw.

"So they travelled back to the king's grange, and there arose, as you may fancy, joy and gladness. The lad and the youngest princess were to have one another; and they kept up the bridal feast over the whole kingdom for seven full weeks. And if they did not fare well, I only hope you may fare better still."

THE SWEETHEART IN THE WOOD.

"Once on a time there was a man who had a daughter, and she was so pretty her name was spread over many kingdoms, and lovers came to her as thick as autumn leaves. One of these made out that he was richer than all the rest; and grand and handsome he was too; so he was to have her, and after that he came over and over again to see her.

"As time went on, he said he should like her to come to his house and see how he lived; he was sorry he could not fetch her and go with her, but the day she came he would strew peas all along the path right up to his house door; but somehow or other it fell out that he strewed the peas a day too early.

"She set out and walked a long way, through wood and waste, and at last she came to a big grand house, which stood in a green field in the midst of the wood; but her lover was not at home, nor was there a soul in the house either. First, she went into the kitchen, and there she saw nothing but a strange bird which hung in a cage from the roof. Next she went into the parlour, and there everything was so fine it was beyond belief. But as she went into it, the bird called after her,--

"'Pretty maiden, be bold, but not too bold.'

"When she passed on into an inner room, the bird called out the same words. There she saw ever so many chests of drawers, and when she pulled open the drawers, they were filled with gold and silver, and everything that was rich and rare. When she went on into a second room the bird called out again,--

"'Pretty maiden! be bold, but not too bold.'

"In that room the walls were all hung round with women's dresses, till the room was crammed full. She went on into a third room, and then the bird screamed out,--

"'Pretty maiden! Pretty maiden, be bold, but not too bold.'

"And what do you think she saw there? Why! ever so many pails full of blood.

"So she passed on to a fourth room, and then the bird screamed and screeched after her,--

"'Pretty maiden! Pretty maiden, be bold, but not too bold.'

"'That room was full of heaps of dead bodies, and skeletons of slain women, and the girl got so afraid that she was going to run away out of the house, but she had only got as far as the next room, where the pails of blood stood, when the bird called out to her,--

"'Pretty maiden! Pretty maiden! Jump under the bed, jump under the bed, for now he's coming.'

"She was not slow to give heed to the bird, and to hide under the bed. She crept as far back close to the wall as she could, for she was so afraid she would have crept into the wall itself, had she been able!

"So in came her lover with another girl; and she begged so prettily and so hard he would only spare her life, and then she would never say a word against him, but it was all no good. He tore off all her clothes and jewels, down to a ring which she had on her finger. That he pulled and tore at, but when he couldn't get it off he hacked off her finger, and it rolled away under the bed to the girl who lay there, and she took it up and kept it. Her sweetheart told a little boy who was with him, to creep under the bed and bring out the finger. Yes! he bent down and crept under, and saw the girl lying there; but she squeezed his hand hard, and then he saw what she meant.

"'It lies so far under, I can't reach it,' he cried. 'Let it bide there till to-morrow, and then I'll fetch it out.'

"Early next morning the robber went out, and the boy was left behind to mind the house, and he then went to meet the girl to whom his master was betrothed, and who had come, as you know, by mistake the day before. But before he went, the robber told him to be sure not to let her go into the two farthermost bed-rooms.

"So when he was well off in the wood, the boy went and said she might come out now.

"'You were lucky, that you were,' he said, 'in coming so soon, else he would have killed you like all the others.'

"She did not stay there long, you may fancy, but hurried back home as quick as ever she could, and when her father asked her why she had come so soon, she told him what sort of a man her sweetheart was, and all that she had heard and seen.

"A short time after her lover came passing by that way, and he looked so grand that his raiment shone again, and he came to ask, he said, why she had never paid him that visit as she had promised.

"'Oh!' said her father; 'there came a man in the way with a sledge and scattered the peas, and she couldn't find her way; but now you must just put up with our poor house, and stay the night, for you must know we have guests coming, and it will be just a betrothal feast.'

"So when they had all eaten and drunk, and still sat round the table, the daughter of the house said she had dreamt such a strange dream a few nights before. If they cared to hear it she would tell it them, but they must all promise to sit quite still till she came to the end.

"Yes! They were all ready to hear, and they all promised to sit still, and her sweetheart as well.

"'I dreamt I was walking along a broad path, and it was strewn with peas.'

"'Yes! Yes!' said her sweetheart; 'just as it will be when you go to my house, my love.'

"'Then the path got narrower and narrower, and it went far, far away through wood and waste.'

"'Just like the way to my house, my love,' said her sweetheart.

"'And so I came to a green field, in which stood a big grand house.'

"'Just like my house, my love,' said her sweetheart.

"'So I went into the kitchen, but I saw no living soul, and from the roof hung a strange bird in a cage, and as I passed on into the parlour, it called after me, "Pretty maiden, be bold, but not too bold."'

"'Just like my house that too, my love!' said her sweetheart.

"'So I passed on into a bedroom, and the bird bawled after me the same words, and in there were so many chests of drawers, and when I pulled the drawers out and looked into them, they were filled with gold and silver stuffs, and everything that was grand.'

"'That is just like it is at my house, my love,' said her sweetheart. 'I, too, have many drawers full of gold and silver, and costly things.'

"'So I went on into another bedroom, and the bird screeched out to me the very same words; and that room was all hung round on the walls with fine dresses of women.'

"'Yes, that too, is just as it is in my house,' he said; 'there are dresses and finery there both of silk and satin.'

"'Well! when I passed on to the next bedroom, the bird began to screech and scream--pretty maiden, pretty maiden! be bold, but not too bold; and in this room were casks and pails all round the walls, and they were full of blood.'

"'Fie,' said her sweetheart, 'how nasty. It isn't at all like that in my house, my love,' for now he began to grow uneasy and wished to be off.

"'Why!' said the daughter, 'it's only a dream, you know, that I am telling. Sit still. The least you can do is to hear my dream out.' Then she went on,

"'When I went on into the next bedroom the bird began to scream out as loudly as before, the same words--pretty maiden, pretty maiden! be bold, but not too bold. And there lay many dead bodies and skeletons of slain folk.'

"'No! no,' said her sweetheart, 'there's nothing like that in my house,' and again he tried to run out.

"'Sit still, I say,' she said, 'it is nothing else than a dream, and you may very well hear it out. I, too, thought it dreadful, and ran back again, but I had not got farther than the next room where all those pails of blood stood, when the bird screeched out that I must jump under the bed and hide, for now _He_ was coming; and so he came, and with him he had a girl who was so lovely I thought I had never seen her like before. She prayed and begged so prettily that he would spare her life. But he did not care a pin for all her tears and prayers; he tore off her clothes, and took all she had, and he neither spared her life nor aught else; but on her left hand she had a ring, which he could not tear off, so he hacked off her finger, and it rolled away under the bed to me.'

"'Indeed! my love,' said her sweetheart, 'there's nothing like that in my house.'

"'Yes, it was in your house,' she said, 'and here is the finger and the ring, and you are the man who hacked it off.'

"So they laid hands on him, and put him to death, and burnt both his body and his house in the wood."

HOW THEY GOT HAIRLOCK HOME.

"Once on a time there was a goody who had three sons. The first was called Peter, the second Paul, and the third Osborn Boots. One single nanny-goat she had who was called Hairlock and she never would come home in time for tea.

"Peter and Paul both went out to get her home, but they found no nanny-goat, so Boots had to set off, and when he had walked a while he saw Hairlock high, high upon a crag.

"'Dear Hairlock, pretty Hairlock,' he cried, 'you can't stand any longer on yon crag, for you must come home in good time for tea, to-day.'

"'No, no, that I shan't,' said Hairlock, 'I won't wet my socks for any one, and if you want me you must carry me.'

"But Osborn Boots would not do that, so he went and told his mother.

"'Well!' said his mother, 'go to the fox and beg him to bite Hairlock.'

"So the lad went to the fox.

"'My dear fox, bite Hairlock, for Hairlock won't come home in good time for tea to-day.'

"'No,' said the fox, 'I won't blunt my snout on pig's bristles and goat's beards.'

"So the lad went and told his mother.

"'Well, then!' she said, 'go to Graylegs, the wolf.'

"So the lad said to Graylegs,--

"'Dear Graylegs! do, Graylegs, tear the fox, for the fox won't bite Hairlock, and Hairlock won't come home in good time for tea to-day.'

"'No,' said Graylegs, 'I won't wear out my paws and teeth on a dry fox's carcass.'

"So the lad went and told his mother.

"'Well then, go to the bear,' said his mother, 'and beg him to slay Graylegs.'

"So the lad said to the bear,--

"'My dear bear, do, bear, slay Graylegs, for Graylegs won't tear the fox, and the fox won't bite Hairlock, and Hairlock won't come home in good time for tea to-day.'

"'No, I won't,' said the bear, 'I won't blunt my claws in that work, that I won't.'

"So the lad told his mother.

"'Well then,' she said, 'go to the Finn and beg him shoot the bear.'

"So the lad said to the Finn,--

"'Dear Finn! do, Finn, shoot the bear, the bear won't slay Graylegs, Graylegs won't tear the fox, the fox won't bite Hairlock, and Hairlock won't come home in good time for tea to-day.'

"'No! that I won't,' said the Finn, 'I'm not going to shoot away my bullets for that.'

"So the lad told his mother.

"'Well then,' she said, 'go to the fir, and beg him fall on the Finn.'

"So the lad said to the fir,--

"'My dear fir! fir, do fall on the Finn, the Finn won't shoot the bear, the bear won't slay the wolf, the wolf won't tear the fox, the fox won't bite Hairlock, and Hairlock won't come home in good time to tea to-day.'

"'No! that I won't,' said the fir, 'I'm not going to break off my boughs for that.'

"So the lad told his mother.

"'Well then,' said she, 'go to the fire and beg it to burn the fir.'

"So the lad said to the fire, 'My dear fire! do, fire, burn the fir, the fir won't fall on the Finn, the Finn won't shoot the bear, the bear won't slay the wolf, the wolf won't tear the fox, the fox won't bite Hairlock, and Hairlock won't come home in good time to tea to-day.'

"'No! that I won't,' said the fire, 'I'm not going to burn myself out for that, that I won't.'

"So the lad told his mother.

"'Well then,' she said, 'go to the water and beg it to quench the fire.'

"So the lad said to the water,--

"'My dear water! do, water, quench the fire, the fire won't burn the fir, the fir won't fall on the Finn, the Finn won't shoot the bear, the bear won't slay the wolf, the wolf won't tear the fox, the fox won't bite Hairlock, and Hairlock won't come home in good time to tea to-day.'

"No, I won't,' said the water, 'I'm not going to run to waste for that, be sure.'

"So the lad told his mother.

"'Well then,' she said, 'go to the ox, and beg him to drink up the water.'

"So the lad said to the ox,--

"'My dear ox! do, ox, drink up the water, for the water won't quench the fire, the fire won't burn the fir, the fir won't fall on the Finn, the Finn won't shoot the bear, the bear won't slay the wolf, the wolf won't tear the fox, the fox won't bite Hairlock, and Hairlock won't come home in good time to tea to-day.'

"'No! I won't,' said the ox, 'I'm not going to burst asunder in doing that, I trow.'

"So the lad told his mother.

"'Well then,' said she, 'you must go to the yoke, and beg him to pinch the ox.'

"So the lad said to the yoke,--

"'My dear yoke! yoke, do pinch the ox, for the ox won't drink up the water, the water won't quench the fire, the fire won't burn the fir, the fir won't fall on the Finn, the Finn won't shoot the bear, the bear won't slay the wolf, the wolf won't tear the fox, the fox won't bite Hairlock, and Hairlock won't come home in good time to tea to-day.'

"'No, that I won't,' said the yoke, 'I'm not going to break myself in two in doing that.'

"So the lad told his mother.

"'Well then,' she said, 'you must go to the axe, and beg him to chop the yoke.'

"So the lad said to the axe,--

"'My dear axe, do, axe, chop the yoke, for the yoke won't pinch the ox, the ox won't drink up the water, the water won't quench the fire, the fire won't burn the fir, the fir won't fall on the Finn, the Finn won't shoot the bear, the bear won't slay the wolf, the wolf won't tear the fox, the fox won't bite Hairlock, and Hairlock won't come home in good time to tea to-day.'

"'No, that I won't,' said the axe, 'I'm not going to spoil my edge for that, that I won't.'

"So the lad told his mother.

"'Well then,' she said, 'go to the smith, and beg him to hammer the axe.'

"So the lad said to the smith,--

"'My dear smith! do, smith, hammer the axe, for the axe won't chop the yoke, the yoke won't pinch the ox, the ox won't drink up the water, the water won't quench the fire, the fire won't burn the fir, the fir won't fall on the Finn, the Finn won't shoot the bear, the bear won't slay the wolf, the wolf won't tear the fox, the fox won't bite Hairlock, and Hairlock won't come home in good time to tea to-day.'

"'No, I won't,' said the smith, 'I'm not going to burn up my coal, and wear out my sledge hammer for that,' he said.

"So the lad told his mother.

"'Well then,' she said, 'you must go to the rope, and beg it to hang the smith.'

"So the lad said to the rope,--

"'My dear rope! do, rope, hang the smith, for the smith won't hammer the axe, the axe won't chop the yoke, the yoke won't pinch the ox, the ox won't drink up the water, the water won't quench the fire, the fire won't burn the fir, the fir won't fall on the Finn, the Finn won't shoot the bear, the bear won't slay the wolf, the wolf won't tear the fox, the fox won't bite Hairlock, and Hairlock won't come home in good time to tea to-day.'

"'No!' said the rope, 'that I won't, I'm not going to fray myself out for that.'

"So the lad told his mother.

"'Well then!' she said, 'you must go to the mouse, and beg him to gnaw the rope.'

"So the lad said to the mouse,--

"'My dear mouse! do, mouse, gnaw the rope, for the rope won't hang the smith, the smith won't hammer the axe, the axe won't chop the yoke, the yoke won't pinch the ox, the ox won't drink up the water, the water won't quench the fire, the fire won't burn the fir, the fir won't fall on the Finn, the Finn won't shoot the bear, the bear won't slay the wolf, the wolf won't tear the fox, the fox won't bite Hairlock, and Hairlock won't come home in good time to tea to-day.'

"'No! I won't,' said the mouse, 'I'm not going to wear down my teeth for that.'

"So the lad told his mother.

"'Well then,' she said, 'you must go to the cat, and beg her to catch the mouse.'

"So the lad said to the cat,--

"'My dear cat! do, cat, catch the mouse, for the mouse won't gnaw the rope, the rope won't hang the smith, the smith won't hammer the axe, the axe won't chop the yoke the yoke won't pinch the ox, the ox won't drink up the water, the water won't quench the fire, the fire won't burn the fir, the fir won't fall on the Finn, the Finn won't shoot the bear, the bear won't slay the wolf, the wolf won't tear the fox, the fox won't bite Hairlock, and Hairlock won't come home in good time to tea to-day.'

"'Well!' said the cat, 'just give me a drop of milk for my kittens and then----' that's what the cat said, and the lad said, 'yes, she should have it.'

"So the cat bit mouse, and mouse gnawed rope, and rope hanged smith, and smith hammered axe, and axe chopped yoke, and yoke pinched ox, and ox drank water, and water quenched fire, and fire burnt fir, and fir felled Finn, and Finn shot bear, and bear slew graylegs, and graylegs tore fox, and fox bit Hairlock, so that she sprang home and knocked off one of her hind legs against the barn wall.

"So there lay the nanny-goat, and if she's not dead she limps about on three legs.

"But as for Osborn Boots, he said it served her just right, because she would not come home in good time for tea that very day."

OSBORN BOOTS AND MR. GLIBTONGUE.

"Once on a time there was a king who had many hundred sheep, and many hundred goats and kine; and many hundred horses he had too, and silver and gold in great heaps. But for all that he was so given to grief, that he seldom or ever saw folk, and much less say a word to them. Such he had been ever since his youngest daughter was lost, and if he had never lost her it would still have been bad enough, for there was a troll who was for ever making such waste and worry there that folk could hardly pass to the king's grange in peace. Now the troll let all the horses loose, and they trampled down mead and corn-field, and ate up the crops; now he tore the heads off the king's ducks and geese; sometimes he killed the king's kine in the byre, sometimes he drove the king's sheep and goats down the rocks and broke their necks, and every time they went to fish in the mill-dam he had hunted all the fish to land and left them lying there dead.

"Well! there was a couple of old folk who had three sons, the first was called Peter, the second Paul, and the third Osborn Boots, for he always lay and grubbed about in the ashes.

"They were hopeful youths, but Peter, who was the eldest, was said to be the hopefullest, and so he asked his father if he might have leave to go out into the world and try his luck.

"'Yes! you shall have it,' said the old fellow. 'Better late than never, my boy.'

"So he got brandy in a flask, and food in his wallet, and then he threw his fare on his back and toddled down the hill. And when he had walked a while, he fell upon an old wife who lay by the road side.

"'Ah! my dear boy, give me a morsel of food to-day,' said the old wife.

"But Peter hardly so much as looked on one side, and then he held his head straight and went on his way.

"'Ay, ay,' said the old wife, 'go along, and you shall see what you shall see.'

"So Peter went far and farther than far, till he came at last to the king's grange. There stood the king in the gallery, feeding the cocks and hens.

"'Good evening and God bless your majesty," said Peter.

"'Chick-a-biddy! chick-a-biddy!' said the king, and scattered corn both east and west, and took no heed of Peter.

"'Well!' said Peter to himself, 'you may just stand there and scatter corn and cackle chicken-tongue till you turn into a bear,' and so he went into the kitchen and sat down on the bench as though he were a great man.

"'What sort of a stripling are you,' said the cook, for Peter had not yet got his beard. That he thought jibes and mocking, and so he fell to beating and banging the kitchen-maid. But while he was hard at it, in came the king, and made them cut three red stripes out of his back, and then they rubbed salt into the wound, and sent him home again the same way he came.

"Now as soon as Peter was well home, Paul must set off in his turn. Well! well! he too got brandy in his flask and food in his wallet, and he threw his fare over his back and toddled down the hill. When he had got on his way he, too, met the old wife, who begged for food, but he strode past her and made no answer; and at the king's grange he did not fare a pin better than Peter. The king called 'chick-a-biddy,' and the kitchen-maid called him a clumsy boy, and when he was going to bang and beat her for that, in came the king with a butcher's knife, and cut three red stripes out of him, and rubbed hot embers in, and sent him home again with a sore back.

"Then Boots crept out the cinders, and fell to shaking himself. The first day he shook all the ashes off him, the second he washed and combed himself, and the third he dressed himself in his Sunday best.

"'Nay! nay! just look at him,' said Peter. 'Now we have got a new sun shining here. I'll be bound you are off to the king's grange to win his daughter and half the kingdom. Far better bide in the dusthole and lie in the ashes, that you had.'

"But Boots was deaf in that ear, and he went in to his father and asked leave to go out a little into the world.