-he who dwells in the morass. I saw the trunk turn itself, and
then there was no more trunk--it struck up two long miry branches like
arms; then the poor child became dreadfully alarmed, and she sprang
aside upon the green slimy coating of the marsh; but it could not bear
me, much less her, and she sank immediately in. The trunk of the alder
tree went down with her--it was that which had dragged her down: then
arose to the surface large black bubbles, and all further traces of
her disappeared. She is now buried in 'the wild morass;' and never,
never shall she return to Egypt with the flower she sought. Thou
couldst not have borne to have seen all this, mother."

"Thou hadst no business to tell me such a startling tale at a time
like this. The eggs may suffer. The princess can take care of herself:
she will no doubt be rescued. If it had been me or thee, or any of our
family, it would have been all over with us."

"I will look after her every day, however," said the male stork; and
so he did.

A long time had elapsed, when one day he saw that far down from the
bottom was shooting up a green stem, and when it reached the surface a
leaf grew on it. The leaf became broader and broader; close by it came
a bud; and one morning, when the stork flew over it, the bud opened in
the warm sunshine, and in the centre of it lay a beautiful infant, a
little girl, just as if she had been taken out of a bath. She so
strongly resembled the princess from Egypt, that the stork at first
thought it was herself who had become an infant again; but when he
considered the matter he came to the conclusion that she was the
daughter of the princess and the mud-king, therefore she lay in the
calyx of a water-lily.

"She cannot be left lying there," said the stork to himself; "yet in
my nest we are already too overcrowded. But a thought strikes me. The
Viking's wife has no children; she has much wished to have a pet. I am
often blamed for bringing little ones. I shall now, for once, do so
in reality. I shall fly with this infant to the Viking's wife: it will
be a great pleasure to her."

And the stork took the little girl, flew to the loghouse, knocked with
his beak a hole in the window-pane of stretched bladder, laid the
infant in the arms of the Viking's wife, then flew to his mate, and
unburdened his mind to her; while the little ones listened
attentively, for they were old enough now to do that.

"Only think, the princess is not dead. She