Popular Tales from the Norse Part 54

Well, as soon as she had done washing it, up popped another head out of the pool, and this was uglier still.

'Brush me, you la.s.sie', said the head.

'Yes, with all my heart I'll brush you.'

And with that she took in hand the matted locks, and you may fancy she hadn't very pleasant work with them. But when she had got over that, if a third head didn't pop up out of the pool, and this was far more ugly and loathsome than both the others put together.

'Kiss me, you la.s.sie!'

'Yes, I'll kiss you', said the la.s.sie, and she did it too, though she thought it the worst work she had ever had to do in her life.

Then the heads began to chatter together, and each asked what they should do for the la.s.sie who was so kind and gentle.

'That she be the prettiest la.s.sie in the world, and as fair as the bright day', said the first head.

'That gold shall drop from her hair, every time she brushes it', said the second head.

'That gold shall fall from her mouth every time she speaks', said the third head.

So when the la.s.sie came home looking so lovely, and beaming as the bright day itself, her stepmother and her stepsister got more and more cross, and they got worse still when she began to talk, and they saw how golden guineas fell from her mouth. As for the stepmother, she got so mad with rage, she chased the la.s.sie into the pigsty. That was the right place for all her gold stuff, but as for coming into the house, she wouldn't hear of it.

Well, it wasn't long before the stepmother wished her own daughter to go to the burn to fetch water. So when she came to the water's edge with her buckets, up popped the first head.

'Wash me, you la.s.sie', it said.

'The Deil wash you', said the stepdaughter.

So the second head popped up.

'Brush me, you la.s.sie', it said.

'The Deil brush you', said the stepdaughter.

So down it went to the bottom, and the third head popped up.

'Kiss me, you la.s.sie', said the head.

'The Deil kiss you, you pig's-snout', said the girl.

Then the heads chattered together again, and asked what they should do to the girl who was so spiteful and cross-grained; and they all agreed she should have a nose four ells long, and a snout three ells long, and a pine bush right in the midst of her forehead, and every time she spoke, ashes were to fall out of her mouth.

So when she got home with her buckets, she bawled out to her mother:

'Open the door.'

'Open it yourself, my darling child', said the mother.

'I can't reach it because of my nose', said the daughter.

So, when the mother came out and saw her, you may fancy what a way she was in, and how she screamed and groaned; but, for all that, there were the nose and the snout and the pine bush, and they got no smaller for all her grief.

Now the brother, who had got the place in the King's stable, had taken a little sketch of his sister, which he carried away with him, and every morning and every evening he knelt down before the picture and prayed to Our Lord for his sister, whom he loved so dearly. The other grooms had heard him praying, so they peeped through the key-hole of his room, and there they saw him on his knees before the picture.

So they went about saying how the lad every morning and every evening knelt down and prayed to an idol which he had, and at last they went to the king himself and begged him only to peep through the key-hole, and then His Majesty would see the lad, and what things he did. At first the King wouldn't believe it, but at last they talked him over, and he crept on tiptoe to the door and peeped in. Yes, there was the lad on his knees before the picture, which hung on the wall, praying with clasped hands.

'Open the door!' called out the King; but the lad didn't hear him.

So the King called out in a louder voice, but the lad was so deep in his prayers he couldn't hear him this time either. 'OPEN THE DOOR, I SAY!' roared out the King; 'It's I, the King, who want to come in.'

Well, up jumped the lad and ran to the door, and unlocked it, but in his hurry he forgot to hide the picture. But when the King came in and saw the picture, he stood there as if he were fettered, and couldn't stir from the spot, so lovely he thought the picture.

'So lovely a woman there isn't in all the wide world', said the King.

But the lad told him she was his sister whom he had drawn, and if she wasn't prettier than that, at least she wasn't uglier.

'Well, if she's so lovely', said the King, 'I'll have her for my queen'; and then he ordered the lad to set off home that minute, and not be long on the road either. So the lad promised to make as much haste as he could, and started off from the King's palace.

When the brother came home to fetch his sister, the step-mother and stepsister said they must go too. So they all set out, and the good la.s.sie had a casket in which she kept her gold, and a little dog, whose name was 'Little Flo'; those two things were all her mother left her. And when they had gone a while, they came to a lake which they had to cross; so the brother sat down at the helm, and the stepmother and the two girls sat in the bow foreward, and so they sailed a long, long way.

At last they caught sight of land.

'There', said the brother, 'where you see the white strand yonder, there's where we're to land'; and as he said this he pointed across the water.

'What is it my brother says?' asked the good la.s.sie.

'He says you must throw your casket overboard', said the stepmother.

'Well, when my brother says it, I must do it', said the la.s.sie, and overboard went the casket.

When they had sailed a bit farther, the brother pointed again across the lake.

'There you see the castle we're going to.'

'What is it my brother says?' asked the la.s.sie.

'He says now you must throw your little dog overboard', said the stepmother.

Then the la.s.sie wept and was sore grieved, for Little Flo was the dearest thing she had in the world, but at last she threw him overboard.

'When my brother says it, I must do it, but heaven knows how it hurts me to throw you over, Little Flo', she said.

So they sailed on a good bit still.

'There you see the King coming down to meet us', said the brother, and pointed towards the strand.

'What is it my brother says', asked the la.s.sie.

'Now he says you must make haste and throw yourself overboard', said the stepmother.