Popular Tales from the Norse Part 14

'No, no! I won't have you', said the woman, as soon as she heard him say that, and off she went on her way.

So, when she had gone a bit further, she met a wolf.

'Whither away, Goody?' asked the Wolf.

'Oh!' said she, 'I'm going out to hire a herdsman.'

'Why not have me for a herdsman?' said the Wolf.

'Well, why not? if you can only call the flock; let me hear?' said she.

'UH, UH!' said the Wolf.

'No, no!' said the woman; 'you'll never do for me.'

Well, after she had gone a while longer, she met a fox.

'Whither away, Goody?' asked the Fox.

'Oh, I'm just going out to hire a herdsman', said the woman.

'Why not have me for your herdsman?' asked the Fox.

'Well, why not?' said she; 'if you only knew how to call the flock; let me hear?'

'DIL-DAL-HOLOM', sung out the Fox, in such a fine clear voice.

'Yes; I'll have you for my herdsman', said the woman; and so she set the Fox to herd her flock.

The first day the Fox was herdsman he ate up all the woman's goats; the next day he made an end of all her sheep; and the third day he ate up all her kine. So, when he came home at even, the woman asked what he had done with all her flocks?

'Oh!' said the Fox, 'their skulls are in the stream, and their bodies in the holt.'

Now, the Goody stood and churned when the fox said this, but she thought she might as well step out and see after her flock; and while she was away the Fox crept into the churn and ate up the cream. So when the Goody came back and saw that, she fell into such a rage, that she s.n.a.t.c.hed up the little morsel of the cream that was left, and threw it at the fox as he ran off, so that he got a dab of it on the end of his tail, and that's the reason why the fox has a white tip to his brush.

THE MASTERMAID

Once on a time there was a king who had several sons--I don't know how many there were--but the youngest had no rest at home, for nothing else would please him but to go out into the world and try his luck, and after a long time the king was forced to give him leave to go. Now, after he had travelled some days, he came one night to a Giant's house, and there he got a place in the Giant's service. In the morning the Giant went off to herd his goats, and as he left the yard, he told the Prince to clean out the stable; 'and after you have done that, you needn't do anything else to-day; for you must know it is an easy master you have come to. But what is set you to do you must do well, and you mustn't think of going into any of the rooms which are beyond that in which you slept, for if you do, I'll take your life.'

'Sure enough, it is an easy master I have got', said the Prince to himself, as he walked up and down the room, and carolled and sang, for he thought there was plenty of time to clean out the stable.

'But still it would be good fun just to peep into his other rooms, for there must be something in them which he is afraid lest I should see, since he won't give me leave to go in.'

So he went into the first room, and there was a pot boiling on a hook by the wall, but the Prince saw no fire underneath it. I wonder what is inside it, he thought; and then he dipped a lock of his hair into it, and the hair seemed as if it were all turned to copper.

'What a dainty broth,' he said; 'if one tasted it, he'd look grand inside his gullet'; and with that he went into the next room. There, too, was a pot hanging by a hook, which bubbled and boiled; but there was no fire under that either.

'I may as well try this too', said the Prince, as he put another lock into the pot, and it came out all silvered.

'They haven't such rich broth in my father's house', said the Prince; 'but it all depends on how it tastes', and with that he went on into the third room. There, too, hung a pot, and boiled just as he had seen in the two other rooms, and the Prince had a mind to try this too, so he dipped a lock of hair into it, and it came out gilded, so that the light gleamed from it.

'"Worse and worse", said the old wife; but I say better and better', said the Prince; 'but if he boils gold here, I wonder what he boils in yonder.'

He thought he might as well see; so he went through the door into the fourth room. Well, there was no pot in there, but there was a Princess, seated on a bench, so lovely, that the Prince had never seen anything like her in his born days.

'Oh! in Heaven's name', she said, 'what do you want here?'

'I got a place here yesterday', said the Prince.

'A place, indeed! Heaven help you out of it.'

'Well, after all, I think I've got an easy master; he hasn't set me much to do to-day, for after I have cleaned out the stable, my day's work is over.'

'Yes, but how will you do it', she said; 'for if you set to work to clean it like other folk, ten pitchforks full will come in for every one you toss out. But I will teach you how to set to work; you must turn the fork upside down, and toss with the handle, and then all the dung will fly out of itself.'

'Yes, he would be sure to do that', said the Prince; and so he sat there the whole day, for he and the Princess were soon great friends, and had made up their minds to have one another, and so the first day of his service with the Giant was not long, you may fancy. But when the evening drew on, she said 'twould be as well if he got the stable cleaned out before the Giant came home; and when he went to the stable, he thought he would just see if what she had said were true, and so he began to work like the grooms in his father's stable; but he soon had enough of that, for he hadn't worked a minute before the stable was so full of dung that he hadn't room to stand. Then he did as the Princess bade him, and turned up the fork and worked with the handle, and lo! in a trice the stable was as clean as if it had been scoured. And when he had done his work, he went back into the room where the Giant had given him leave to be, and began to walk up and down, and to carol and sing. So after a bit, home came the Giant with his goats.

'Have you cleaned the stable?' asked the Giant.

'Yes, now it's all right and tight, master', answered the Prince.

'I'll soon see if it is', growled the Giant, and strode off to the stable, where he found it just as the Prince had said.

'You've been talking to my Mastermaid, I can see', said the Giant; 'for you've not sucked this knowledge out of your own breast.'

'Mastermaid!' said the Prince, who looked as stupid as an owl, 'what sort of thing is that, master? I'd be very glad to see it.'

'Well, well!' said the Giant; 'you'll see her soon enough'.

Next day the Giant set off with his goats again, and before he went he told the Prince to fetch home his horse, which was out at gra.s.s on the hill-side, and when he had done that he might rest all the day.

'For you must know, it is an easy master you have come to', said the Giant; 'but if you go into any of the rooms I spoke of yesterday, I'll wring your head off.'

So off he went with his flock of goats.

'An easy master you are indeed', said the Prince; 'but for all that, I'll just go in and have a chat with your Mastermaid; may be she'll be as soon mine as yours.' So he went in to her, and she asked him what he had to do that day.

'Oh! nothing to be afraid of', said he; 'I've only to go up to the hill-side to fetch his horse.'

'Very well, and how will you set about it?'

'Well, for that matter, there's no great art in riding a horse home.

I fancy I've ridden fresher horses before now', said the Prince.

'Ah, but this isn't so easy a task as you think; but I'll teach you how to do it. When you get near it, fire and flame will come out of its nostrils, as out of a tar barrel; but look out, and take the bit which hangs behind the door yonder, and throw it right into his jaws, and he will grow so tame that you may do what you like with him.'