oon told to the King up at the palace, and when he heard
what sorrow the woman was in, and the reason of it, he said that he
himself would take the child and see if he could not save it. The baby
was a boy, and the King took him at once and brought him up as his own
son until the lad grew up. Then one day he begged to have leave to go
out with his father to fish; he had a strong desire to do this, he said.
The King was very unwilling to permit it, but at last the lad got leave.
He stayed with his father, and all went prosperously and well with them
the whole day, until they came back to land in the evening. Then the lad
found that he had lost his pocket-handkerchief, and would go out in the
boat after it; but no sooner had he got into the boat than it began to
move off with him so quickly that the water foamed all round about, and
all that the lad did to keep the boat back with the oars was done to no
purpose, for it went on and on the whole night through, and at last he
came to a white strand that lay far, far away. There he landed, and when
he had walked on for some distance he met an old man with a long white
beard.

'What is the name of this country?' said the youth.

'Whiteland,' answered the man, and then he begged the youth to tell him
whence he came and what he was going to do, and the youth did so.

'Well, then,' said the man, 'if you walk on farther along the seashore
here, you will come to three princesses who are standing in the earth so
that their heads alone are out of it. Then the first of them will call
you--she is the eldest--and will beg you very prettily to come to her
and help her, and the second will do the same, but you must not go near
either of them. Hurry past, as if you neither saw nor heard them; but
you shall go to the third and do what she bids you; it will bring you
good fortune.'

When the youth came to the first princess, she called to him and begged
him to come to her very prettily, but he walked on as if he did not even
see her, and he passed by the second in the same way, but he went up to
the third.

'If thou wilt do what I tell thee, thou shalt choose among us three,'
said the Princess.

So the lad said that he was most willing, and she told him that three
Trolls had planted them all three there in the earth, but that formerly
they had dwelt in the castle which he could see at some distance in the
wood.

'Now,' she said, 'thou shalt go into the castle, and let the Trolls beat