e got to the place where the light had come from, he saw a
wretched little cottage, and through a small pane of glass he saw a
couple of old folks inside. They were very old, and as grey-headed as
a pigeon, and the old woman had such a long nose that she sat in the
chimney corner and used it to stir the fire.

'Good evening I good evening!' said the old hag; 'but what errand have
you that can bring you here? No Christian folk have been here for more
than a hundred years.'

So Halvor told her that he wanted to get to Soria Moria Castle, and
inquired if she knew the way thither.

'No,' said the old woman, 'that I do not, but the Moon will be here
presently, and I will ask her, and she will know. She can easily see it,
for she shines on all things.'

So when the Moon stood clear and bright above the tree-tops the old
woman went out. 'Moon! Moon!' she screamed. 'Canst thou tell me the way
to Soria Moria Castle?'

'No,' said the Moon, 'that I can't, for when I shone there, there was a
cloud before me.'

'Wait a little longer,' said the old woman to Halvor, 'for the West Wind
will presently be here, and he will know it, for he breathes gently or
blows into every corner.'

'What! have you a horse too?' she said when she came in again. 'Oh! let
the poor creature loose in our bit of fenced-in pasture, and don't let
it stand there starving at our very door. But won't you exchange him
with me? We have a pair of old boots here with which you can go fifteen
quarters of a mile at each step. You shall have them for the horse, and
then you will be able to get sooner to Soria Moria Castle.'

Halvor consented to this at once, and the old woman was so delighted
with the horse that she was ready to dance. 'For now I, too, shall be
able to ride to church,' she said. Halvor could take no rest, and wanted
to set off immediately; but the old woman said that there was no need to
hasten. 'Lie down on the bench and sleep a little, for we have no bed
to offer you,' said she, 'and I will watch for the coming of the West
Wind.'

Ere long came the West Wind, roaring so loud that the walls creaked.

The old woman went out and cried:

'West Wind! West Wind! Canst thou tell me the way to Soria Moria Castle?
Here is one who would go thither.'

'Yes, I know it well,' said the West Wind. 'I am just on my way there to
dry the clothes for the wedding which is to take place. If he is fleet
of foot he can go with me.'

Out ran Halvor.

'You