|
she had them, and when the sun rose the
bridal night was past: she had then kept her promise, and could vent her
anger and revenge on both of them. With the first sunbeam she broke into
the room, but there she found no prince and no princess--nothing but the
two pieces of firewood, which lay in the bed, and stared, and spoke not
a word. These she threw on the floor, so that they were splintered into
a thousand pieces, and off she hastened after the fugitives.
With the first sunbeam the princess said to the prince, 'Look round; do
you see anything behind us?'
'Yes, I see a dark cloud, far away,' said he.
'Then throw the flower-pot over your head,' said she. When this was done
there was a large thick forest behind them.
When the witch came to the forest she could not get through it until she
went home and brought her axe to cut a path.
A little after this the princess said again to the prince, 'Look round;
do you see anything behind us?'
'Yes,' said the prince, 'the big black cloud is there again.'
'Then throw the glass of water over your head,' said she.
When he had done this there was a great lake behind them, and this
the witch could not cross until she ran home again and brought her
dough-trough.
Meanwhile the fugitives had reached the castle which was the prince's
home. They climbed over the garden wall, ran across the garden, and
crept in at an open window. By this time the witch was just at their
heels, but the princess stood in the window and blew upon the witch;
hundreds of white doves flew out of her mouth, fluttered and flapped
around the witch's head until she grew so angry that she turned into
flint, and there she stands to this day, in the shape of a large flint
stone, outside the window.
Within the castle there was great rejoicing over the prince and his
bride. His two elder brothers came and knelt before him and confessed
what they had done, and said that he alone should inherit the kingdom,
and they would always be his faithful subjects.
The Troll's Daughter
From the Danish.
There was once a lad who went to look for a place. As he went along he
met a man, who asked him where he was going. He told him his errand, and
the stranger said, 'Then you can serve me; I am just in want of a lad
like you, and I will give you good wages--a bushel of money the first
year, two the second year, and three the third year, for you must serve
me three years, and obey me in everything, h
|