endid mansion; but, when Thule turned his head only an instant,
she was gone, and no trace of her was to be seen: she seemed to have
melted into sunshine.

The lady of the house received the purse with thanks, and would gladly
have given Thule a piece of the gold; but, much as the boy longed for
it, he put it aside, saying, "No, madam: my mother assures me I must
be honest without the hope of reward. She would not like me to take
wages for not being a thief!"

The next morning the alder-tree had grown another foot; and Thule and
his mother watched the growing leaves, and touched them with reverent
fingers. They were certainly of a tender green, lined with shining
silver.

"May Odin favor my pretty alder!" said Thule; "nor let the frost pinch
it, nor the winds blacken its green buds!"

Then Thule kissed his mother, and trudged off to the forest as usual.
But he seemed doomed to adventures; for this time he was met by three
armed men, who were roaming the country as if seeking something.

"Prithee, little urchin," said one of the men, "can you tell us what
has become of a young alder-tree, whose green leaves are lined with
silver?"

"I dug up an alder-bush, kind sirs," replied the boy, trembling, and
remembering that his mother had said she was almost afraid of that
little tree.

"There are many alder-bushes," said another of the men gruffly; "but
only one is green at this time of year, and has silver-lined leaves.
It was placed here by command of the giant Loki, and no one was to
touch it under pain of death; for, when his mountain-garden should be
laid out in the spring, the tree was to be uprooted, and planted
therein."

Thule grew almost as stiff and white as if a frost-giant had suddenly
breathed on him. He knew that Loki was a pitiless god, feared by all,
and beloved by none,--a god who had an especial grudge against the
whole human race.

"I will hold my peace," thought Thule. "I will never confess that the
tree I carried away has silver-lined leaves. I will hasten home, pluck
up the bush, and burn it: then who will be the wiser?"

But Thule, in spite of his trembling, could not forget his good
mother's counsel:--

"Your words, my boy, let them be truth, and nothing but truth, though
a sword should be swinging over your head."

Then, as soon as his voice returned to him, he confessed that the tree
he had removed was really just such an one as the men described, and
begged for mercy, because, as he