Page:Tales from the Fjeld.djvu/404

382 back, and she was so dead tired, that she let go her hold and lost her wits. When she came to herself she was in a great wood, and then she set off again, but she could not tell whither she was going. So after a long, long time she came to a hut, and there she saw two women, an old woman and a pretty little girl. Then the princess asked, had they seen anything of King Valemon, the white bear.

"Yes," they said; "he passed by here this morning early, but he went so fast you'll never be able to catch him up."

As for the girl, she ran about clipping in the air and playing with a pair of golden scissors, which were of that kind that silk and satin stuffs flew all about her if she only clipped the air with them. Where they were, there was never any want of clothes.

"But this woman," said the little lass, "who is to go so far and on such bad ways, she will suffer much; she may well have more need of these scissors than I to cut out her clothes with."

And as she said this she begged her mother so hard, that at last she got leave to give her the scissors.

So away travelled the princess through the wood, which seemed never to come to an end, both day and night, and next morning she came to another hut. In it there were also two women, an old wife and a young girl.

"Good-day!" said the princess; "have you seen anything of King Valemon, the white bear?" That was what she asked them.

"Was it you, maybe, who was to have him?" said the old wife.