hould see for themselves on the third day, when they would
come to her wedding.

It was very early in the morning when the party set out, and Helga's
two sisters grew green with envy as they passed the flocks of sheep,
and cows, and horses, and heard that the best of each was given to Helga
herself; but when they caught sight of the poor little house which was
to be her home their hearts grew light again.

'I should be ashamed of living in such a place,' whispered each to the
other; and the eldest sister spoke of the carved stone over HER doorway,
and the second boasted of the number of rooms SHE had. But the moment
they went inside they were struck dumb with rage at the splendour of
everything, and their faces grew white and cold with fury when they
saw the dress which Habogi had prepared for his bride--a dress that
glittered like sunbeams dancing upon ice.

'She SHALL not look so much finer than us,' they cried passionately to
each other as soon as they were alone; and when night came they stole
out of their rooms, and taking out the wedding-dress, they laid it in
the ash-pit, and heaped ashes upon it. But Habogi, who knew a little
magic, and had guessed what they would do, changed the ashes into roses,
and cast a spell over the sisters, so that they could not leave the spot
for a whole day, and every one who passed by mocked at them.

The next morning when they all awoke the ugly tumble-down house had
disappeared, and in its place stood a splendid palace. The guests' eyes
sought in vain for the bridegroom, but could only see a handsome young
man, with a coat of blue velvet and silver and a gold crown upon his
head.

'Who is that?' they asked Helga.

'That is my Habogi,' said she.

[From Neuislandischem Volksmarcher.]

How the Little Brother Set Free His Big Brothers

In a small hut, right in the middle of the forest, lived a man, his
wife, three sons and a daughter. For some reason, all the animals seemed
to have left that part of the country, and food grew very scarce; so,
one morning, after a night of snow, when the tracks of beasts might be
easily seen, the three boys started off to hunt.

They kept together for some time, till they reached a place where the
path they had been following split into two, and one of the brothers
called his dog and went to the left, while the others took the trail to
the right. These had not gone far when their dogs scented a bear, and
drove him out from the thicke