at he never did anything at all, and he was
so ragged that one hole ran into another all over his clothes. Such a
fellow as he was could never turn into such a man as you are, sir.'

In a short time the old woman had to go to the fireplace to stir the
fire, and when the blaze lit up Halvor, as it used to do when he was at
home raking up the ashes, she knew him again.

'Good Heavens! is that you, Halvor?' said she, and such great gladness
fell on the old parents that there were no bounds to it. And now he had
to relate everything that had befallen him, and the old woman was so
delighted with him that she would take him up to the farm at once to
show him to the girls who had formerly looked down on him so. She went
there first, and Halvor followed her. When she got there she told
them how Halvor had come home again, and now they should just see how
magnificent he was. 'He looks like a prince,' she said.

'We shall see that he is just the same ragamuffin that he was before,'
said the girls, tossing their heads.

At that same moment Halvor entered, and the girls were so astonished
that they left their kirtles lying in the chimney corner, and ran away
in nothing but their petticoats. When they came in again they were so
shamefaced that they hardly dared to look at Halvor, towards whom they
had always been so proud and haughty before.

'Ay, ay! you have always thought that you were so pretty and dainty
that no one was equal to you,' said Halvor, 'but you should just see the
eldest Princess whom I set free. You look like herds-women compared with
her, and the second Princess is also much prettier than you; but the
youngest, who is my sweetheart, is more beautiful than either sun or
moon. I wish to Heaven they were here, and then you would see them.'

Scarcely had he said this before they were standing by his side, but
then he was very sorrowful, for the words which they had said to him
came to his mind.

Up at the farm a great feast was made ready for the Princesses, and much
respect paid to them, but they would not stay there.

'We want to go down to your parents,' they said to Halvor, 'so we will
go out and look about us.'

He followed them out, and they came to a large pond outside the
farm-house. Very near the water there was a pretty green bank, and there
the Princesses said they would sit down and while away an hour, for they
thought that it would be pleasant to sit and look out over the water,
they said.

Th