n her heart she conceived a
bitter hatred for her stepdaughter. When she now heard that there was in
the king's palace a lindorm which tore in pieces all the women that were
married to him, and demanded a beautiful maiden for his bride, she went
to the king, and said that her stepdaughter wished to wed the lindorm,
so that the country's only prince might travel and seek a bride. At
this the king was greatly delighted, and gave orders that the young girl
should be brought to the palace.

When the messengers came to fetch her she was terribly frightened, for
she knew that it was her wicked stepmother who in this way was aiming at
her life. She begged that she might be allowed to spend another night in
her father's house. This was granted her, and she went to her mother's
grave. There she lamented her hard fate in being given over to the
lindorm, and earnestly prayed her mother for counsel. How long she lay
there by the grave and wept one cannot tell, but sure it is that she
fell asleep and slept until the sun rose. Then she rose up from the
grave, quite happy at heart, and began to search about in the fields.
There she found three nuts, which she carefully put away in her pocket.

'When I come into very great danger I must break one of these,' she said
to herself. Then she went home, and set out quite willingly with the
king's messengers.

When these arrived at the palace with the beautiful young maiden
everyone pitied her fate; but she herself was of good courage, and asked
the queen for another bridal chamber than the one the lindorm had had
before. She got this, and then she requested them to put a pot full of
strong lye on the fire and lay down three new scrubbing brushes. The
queen gave orders that everything should be done as she desired; and
then the maiden dressed herself in seven clean snow-white shirts, and
held her wedding with the lindorm.

When they were left alone in the bridal chamber the lindorm, in a
threatening voice, ordered her to undress herself.

'Undress yourself first!' said she.

'None of the others bade me do that,' said he in surprise.

'But I bid you,' said she.

Then the lindorm began to writhe, and groan, and breathe heavily; and
after a little he had cast his outer skin, which lay on the floor,
hideous to behold. Then his bride took off one of her snow-white shirts,
and cast it on the lindorm's skin. Again he ordered her to undress,
and again she commanded him to do so first. He had