hen I was a
child."

The pedlar no sooner heard Hulda boldly demand her rights than he fell
on his knees and began to cry for mercy.

"Mercy rests with this maiden," said the Lizard. At the same time she
darted out her tongue, which was several yards in length and like a
scarlet thread, and with it stripped the ring from the gnome's finger
and gave it to Hulda.

"Speak, maiden, what reparation do you demand of this culprit, and what
shall be his punishment?"

"Great princess," replied Hilda, "let him restore to me a golden wand
which I sold to him, for it belongs to a fairy whom he has long
persecuted."

"Here it is, here it is!" cried the cowardly gnome, putting his hand
into his bosom and pulling it out, shaking all the time, and crying out
most piteously, "Oh, don't let me be banished from the sunshine!"

"After this double crime no mercy can be shown you," said the Lizard,
and she twined her scarlet tongue round him, and drew him through the
hole to herself. At the same instant it closed, and a crack came in the
roof of the cave, through which the sunshine stole, and as Hulda looked
up in flew a brown moth and settled on the magic bracelet. She touched
the moth with the wand, and instantly it stood upon her wrist--a
beautiful and joyous fairy. She took her wand from Hulda's hand, and
stood for a moment looking gratefully in her face without speaking. Then
she said to the wand:

"Art thou my own again, and wilt thou serve me?"

"Try me," said the wand.

So she struck the wall with it, and said, "Cleave, wall!" and a hole
came in the wall large enough for Hulda to creep through, and she found
herself at the foot of a staircase hewn in the rock, and, after walking
up it for three hours, she came out in the old ruined castle, and was
astonished to see that the sun had set. The moment she appeared her
father and mother, who had given her over for lost, clasped her in their
arms and wept for joy as they embraced her.

"My child," said her father, "how happy thou lookest, not as if thou
hadst been down in the dark earth!"

Hulda kissed her parents and smiled upon them; then she turned to look
for the fairy, but she was gone. So they all three walked home in the
twilight, and the next day Hulda set out again with her parents to
return to the old castle in Norway. As for the fairy, she was happy from
that day in the possession of her wand; but the little golden bird
folded its wings and never sang any songs ag