two sisters grew green with envy as they passed the flocks of sheep,
and cows, and horses, and heard that the best of each was given to
Helga herself; but when they caught sight of the poor little house
which was to be her home their hearts grew light again.

'I should be ashamed of living in such a place,' whispered each to the
other; and the eldest sister spoke of the carved stone over _her_
doorway, and the second boasted of the number of rooms _she_ had. But
the moment they went inside they were struck dumb with rage at the
splendour of everything, and their faces grew white and cold with fury
when they saw the dress which Habogi had prepared for his bride--a
dress that glittered like sunbeams dancing upon ice.

[Illustration: THE JEALOUS SISTERS SPELL-BOUND IN THE ASH-PIT]

'She _shall_ not look so much finer than us,' they cried
passionately to each other as soon as they were alone; and when night
came they stole out of their rooms, and taking out the wedding-dress,
they laid it in the ash-pit, and heaped ashes upon it. But Habogi, who
knew a little magic, and had guessed what they would do, changed the
ashes into roses, and cast a spell over the sisters, so that they
could not leave the spot for a whole day, and every one who passed by
mocked at them.

The next morning when they all awoke the ugly little tumble-down house
had disappeared, and in its place stood a splendid palace. The guests'
eyes sought in vain for the bridegroom, but could only see a handsome
young man, with a coat of blue velvet and silver and a gold crown upon
his head.

'Who is that?' they asked Helga.

'That is my Habogi,' said she.

[_Neuislaendischen Volksmaerchen._]

_HOW THE LITTLE BROTHER SET FREE HIS BIG BROTHERS_

In a small hut, right in the middle of the forest, lived a man, his
wife, three sons and a daughter. For some reason, all the animals
seemed to have left that part of the country, and food grew very
scarce; so, one morning, after a night of snow, when the tracks of
beasts might be easily seen, the three boys started off to hunt.

They kept together for some time, till they reached a place where the
path they had been following split into two, and one of the brothers
called his dog and went to the left, while the others took the trail
to the right. These had not gone far when their dogs scented a bear,
and drove him out from the thicket. The bear ran across a clearing,
and the elder brother managed to