Page:Hans Andersen's fairy tales (Robinson).djvu/163

 ELFIN-MOUNT 'I can only tell people the truth,' said she. 'Let no one trouble himself about me; I have enough to do to sew my shroud!'

And now came the seventh and last, and what could she do? Why, she could tell fairy tales, as many as any one could wish to hear.

'Here are my five fingers,' said the mountain Chief; 'tell me a story for each finger.'

And the Elfin-maiden took hold of his wrist, and told her stories, and he laughed till his sides ached, and when she came to the finger that wore a gold ring, as though it knew it might be wanted, the mountain Chief suddenly exclaimed, ' Hold fast what thou hast; the hand is thine! I will have thee myself to wife!' But the Elfin-maiden said that she had still two more stories to tell, one for the ring-finger, and another for the little finger.

'Keep them for next winter, we'll hear them then,' replied the mountain Chief. 'And we'll hear about the "Loves of the Fir-Tree and the Birch," about the Valkyria's gifts too, for we all love fairy legends in Norway, and no one there can tell them so charmingly as thou dost. And then we will sit in our rocky halls, whilst the fir-logs are blazing and crackling in the stove, and drink mead out of the golden horns of the old Norse kings; the Neck has taught me a few of his rare old ditties, besides the Garbo will often come and pay us a visit, and he will sing thee all the sweet songs that the mountain maidens sang in days of yore; that will be most delightful! The salmon in the torrent will spring up and beat himself against the rock walls, but in vain, he will not be able to get in. Oh, thou canst not imagine what a happy, glorious life we lead in that dear old Norway! But where are the boys?'

Where were the boys? Why, they were racing about in 129