Page:Popular Tales and Romances of the Northern Nations (Volume 3).djvu/50

38 box, Zerina bade the young stranger prepare herself to witness something still more surprising. Upon this, she buried two fir-apples in the ground, and stamped them firmly down.—“Fear not,” said she to Maria, “but clasp me firmly.” The latter did as commanded, and immediately found herself borne upwards to a considerable heigthheight [sic], by two pine trees which arose from the ground, and carried them up on their topmost boughs. And while the two children thus stood waving backwards and forwards with the motion of the lofty trees, as they sported with the evening zephyrs, their companions sportively climbed up the tapering stems, and attacked Zerina and Maria, uttering all the while, loud exclamation of frolic mirth. During this contest, some of them slipped and fell, but instead of being precipitated head-long, sank gently to the earth, wavering to and fro as a light feather drops to the ground. At length, Maria became alarmed at her situation; her companion, therefore, sang a few words, and the trees forthwith sank again in the same manner in which they