Page:Popular tales from the Norse (1912).djvu/377

 Rh "but you may have your choice, either to be the loveliest woman in the world, and not to be able to speak, or to keep your speech and be the ugliest of all women; but away from me you must go."

And the lassie said, "I would sooner be lovely." So she became all at once wondrous fair, but from that day forth she was dumb.

So when she went away from her foster-mother she walked and wandered through a great, great wood; but the farther she went, the farther off the end seemed to be. So, when the evening came on, she clomb up into a tall tree, which grew over a spring, and there she made herself up to sleep that night. Close by lay a castle, and from that castle came early every morning a maid to draw water, to make the Prince's tea, from the spring over which the lassie was sitting. So the maid looked down into the spring, saw the lovely face in the water, and thought it was her own; then she flung away the pitcher, and ran home; and when she got there, she tossed up herh ead, and said, "If I'm so pretty I'm far too good to go and fetch water."

So another maid had to go for the water, but the same thing happened to her; she went back and said she was far too pretty and too good to fetch water from the spring for the Prince. Then the Prince went himself, for he had a mind to see what all this could mean. So, when he reached the spring, he too saw the image in the water; but he looked up at once, and became aware of the lovely lassie who sate there up in the tree. Then he coaxed her down and took her home; and at last made up his mind to have her for his queen, because she was so lovely; but his mother, who was still alive, was against it.