' 'Not so,' answered the gold-crest, as, leaving the eagle's back,
he fluttered upwards, until suddenly he knocked his head against
the sun and set fire to his crest. Stunned by the shock, the little
upstart fell headlong to the ground, but, soon recovering himself, he
immediately flew up on to the royal rock and showed the golden crown
which he had assumed. Unanimously he was proclaimed _fuglekongen_
(king of the birds), and by this name," concludes the legend, "he
has ever since been known, his sunburnt crest remaining as a proof
of his cunning and daring."

In those parts of Norway where the gold-crest is rarely seen the
same story, omitting the part about the sun and the burnt crest,
is told of the common wren, who is said to have broken off his tail
in his great fall. And to this is applied a moral, viz.: Proud and
ambitious people sometimes meet with an unexpected downfall.

Besides the three British woodpeckers, there are four other kinds
resident in Norway, and of these the great black woodpecker is the
largest. The woodmen consider it to be a bird which brings bad luck,
and avoid it as much as possible. They call it "Gertrude's Bird"
because of the following legend: "Our Saviour once called on an old
woman who lived all alone in a little cottage in an extensive forest
in Norway. Her name was Gertrude, and she was a hard, avaricious
old creature, who had not a kind word for anybody, and although she
was not badly off in a worldly point of view, she was too stingy and
selfish to assist any poor wayfarer who by chance passed her cottage
door. One day our Lord happened to come that way, and, being hungry
and thirsty, he asked of Gertrude a morsel of bread to eat and a
cup of cold water to drink. But no, the wicked old woman refused,
and turned our Saviour from the door with revilings and curses. Our
Lord stretched forth His hand towards the aged crone, and, as a
punishment, she was immediately transformed into a black woodpecker;
and ever since that day the wicked old creature has wandered about
the world in the shape of a bird, seeking her daily bread from wood
to wood and from tree to tree." The red head of the bird is supposed
to represent the red nightcap worn by Gertrude.

Legends of this description were doubtless introduced in the early days
of Christianity in order to impress the new religion on the people,
and several have been preserved. Thus the turtle-dove is revered
as a bird which spoke kind words