Page:Fairy tales and stories (Andersen, Tegner).djvu/311

Rh eyes. Sorrow seemed to he imprinted upon her as her everlasting heritage.

The king now opened the door to a small chamber close to the one in which she was to sleep; the floor was decked with costly green carpets, but the room was otherwise exactly like the cave in which she had been living; on the floor lay the bundle of flax which she had spun out of the nettles, and from the ceiling hung the shirt of mail which she had finished, — all of which one of the huntsmen had brought with him as curiosities.

"Here you can imagine yourself back in your late home," said the king. "Here is the work you were busy with there; and now in the midst of all the splendor around you it will amuse you to recall that time to your mind."

When Elisa saw that which was so dear to her heart, a smile played round her mouth, and the blood came back into her cheeks; she thought of her brothers' deliverance, and kissed the king's hand; he pressed her to his heart and ordered all the church bells to be rung to announce their wedding festivities. The beautiful dumb maiden from the forest was to be the queen of the land.

The archbishop then whispered wicked words into the king's ears, but they did not penetrate to his heart; the wedding was to take place, and the archbishop himself had to place the crown on her head. He maliciously pressed the narrow ring so tightly down upon her forehead that it hurt her, but a heavier ring lay around her heart, and that was the grief for her brothers, so that she did not feel the bodily pain. Her mouth was sealed, — one single word would cost her brothers their lives; but her eyes told of the deep love she bore for the kind, handsome king, who did everything to make her happy. She loved him with her whole heart and became more and more fond of him every day. Oh, if she only could have dared to confide in him, to tell him of her sufferings! But she must remain dumb, and as dumb she must complete her task. She therefore stole away from his side at night, went into the little private room which was fitted up like the cave, and knitted one shirt of mail after another; but when she began the seventh she had no flax.

She knew that the nettles which she had to use grew in the churchyard, but she herself must gather them; how should she be able to get there?

"Oh, what is the pain in my fingers compared to the anguish which my heart suffers?" she thought; "I must venture upon it. The Lord will not forsake me." With a heart heavy with fear and anxiety, as if she were bent upon some evil deed, she stole down into the garden in the clear moonlight night, walked through the long avenues of trees and along the lonely streets to the churchyard. There, on one of the largest tombstones, she saw some ugly witches sitting in a ring and busy taking off