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 An Evening In the Squire*s Kitchen. 261 mortal, except to such as were gifted with second sight ; but whether the hat is there still, I cannot say for certain, for I have not seen it, nor have I had it on either." Yes, these huldres are very smart at thieving, I have always heard that," said old Bertha Tuppenhaug, " but partieularly in the summer time when the cattle are up in the mountains. It's regular holiday time for both huldres and other fairies then, for while the dairymaids go about thinking of their svveethearts, they forget to make crosses over the milk and cream and their food, and then the fairies can take what they like. It isn't often they are seen, but it does happen now and then, as it happened once at the Neberg dairy up here. " There were some wood-cutters up there at work, and as they were going towards the dairy for supper, they heard a voice over in the forest shouting to them : " ' Tell Kilde, both her sonnies fell in the soup-kettle and burnt themselves.' " When the wood-cufters came to the dairy they told the girls o this, and said : 'As wc were going home to supper, just as wc had shouldered our axes, wc heard some one shouting over in the forest : m « h Tell Kilde, both her sonnies fell in the soup-kettle and burnt themselves." ' " ' Oh, they' re my children,' some one shouted in the pantry, and suddenly a huldre rushed out with a milk-pail in her hand, which she dropped as she ran, splashing the milk all about the room" "Ah, welll you hear so many tales," said the smith with a sneer, as if he had his doubts about the truth of this story ; it was, however, perfectly evident that the remark was made out of vexation at being interrupted, when he had once fairly started with his own storiea No one in the whole parish was richer than he in a stock of the most wonderful stories and tales about the huldres and fairies j and his belief in these supernatural beings was on a par with the credulity of the most superstitious. " You hear so many things," he continued., w you cannot believe them all. But what has happened to your own kith and km you are bound to believe f Now, 111 tell you samething that iiappened to my father-ia-law ; he was a