e heath, and defying the devil;
when he was suddenly seized by the feet and dragged down into the
ground, crying for help.

THE WONDERFUL HAYCOCK.

(JANNSEN.)

One autumn evening a girl was going home across a frozen heath, but
though she walked fast, she shivered. Presently she was pestered by a
moving haycock without a band, which pressed upon her so closely that
the hay pricked her face. This continued till midnight; but when a cock
crew in the village, the haycock vanished, and the girl made her way
home exhausted, and died within a week. Since then, the people say that
cries for help have been heard from the heath by night. But they are
very particular that every haycock shall be tied with a band. If thus
secured, no evil spirit can interfere with it.

THE MAGIC EGG.

(JANNSEN.)

In former days, people used to find bits of leather, and fragments of
old gloves, shoes, and hats on the moor; but if anybody took them home,
some misfortune befell him. One day a man found what he thought was a
duck's egg, and boiled and ate it; but the more he ate, the more there
seemed to be, and he could not finish it. Next morning the portion left
proved to be not an egg, but half his neighbour's cat.

SECTION VII

_LAKE LEGENDS._

Although Esthonia is not so distinctly a lake-country as Finland,[47]
which is often called "The Land of Ten Thousand Lakes," yet it is a low
swampy country, with many small lakes besides the great Lake Peipus, on
the south-east, and lake stories of various kinds are numerous in
Esthonian tales.

Jannsen relates that Lake Korkuell or Oiso, in the district of Fellin in
Livonia, stands on the site of a castle, the lord of which insisted on
marrying his sister. He bribed a priest to perform the ceremony, but the
castle sank into the ground with all present, and a lake arose in its
stead.

We add a selection of Esthonian lake-stories.

[Footnote 47: Finland itself means Fenland, and is only a translation of
the native name Suomi.]

LAKE PEIPUS.

(JANNSEN.)

In former ages, a great and famous king named Karkus ruled over
Esthonia. In his days, fierce bears and bison lurked in the thick
forests, and elk and wild horses careered swiftly through the bushes. No
merchants had yet arrived in ships from foreign parts, nor invading
hosts with sharp swords, to set up the cross of the Christian God, and
the people still lived in perfect freedom.

The palace of King K