Page:Round the Yule Log.djvu/47

Rh a horrible shriek, ivbich frightened and gave the first troll such a start that the eye fell out of his forehead. But the lad was not slow in picking it up. It was larger than two pint basins put together, and it was so bright, that although the night was pitch dark, he could see as clearly as by daylight, when he looked through it. When the trolls found that he had taken their eye from them and that he had wounded one of them, they began to threaten him with every kind of evil in existence, if he did not return them the eye at once. I have got three eyes all to myself and you three haven't got any." " If we don't get our eye back this minute, we'll turn you into stocks and stones," screeched the trolls. But the lad thought there was no hurry ; he wasn't afraid of witchcraft or their bragging words. If they didn't leave him alone, he would cut away at them all three till they had to crawl along the ground like snakes. When the trolls heard this they became frightened, and began to use more polite words. They begged him very nicely to give them their eye back again and he should have both silver and gold and everything he wished for. Well, the lad thought that was very fair, but he wanted all the gold and silver first ; and so he said, if one of them would go home and fetch as much gold and silver as he and his brother could fill their bags with and give them two good cross-bows of steel in the bargain, they should have their eye again, but until they did this he would keep it. The trolls screamed and wailed, and said that none of them could go home when they hadn't any eye to see with, but one of them began to bawl out for their old woman, for they also had a gudewife among the three of them. After a while somebody up in the mountains a good way off to the north answered. So the trolls said that she must come with two steel cross-bows and two buckets full of gold and silver, and before very long she was there, I can tell you. When she heard what had happened, she also commenced to threaten them with witchcraft. But the trolls wers
 * I am not afraid of trolls or threats either/' said the lad, " now