Fairy Tales From All Nations

by Anthony R. Montalba

One evening Orm returned home bringing news that he had recognised, at a distance, her father's people, and that they had no doubt also descried him, as they could see as clearly as himself. "They will surround this place," continued he, "and not rest till they have found us; we must therefore instantly be off."

They immediately descended the mountain on the other side, and reached the sea-shore, where they fortunately found a boat. Orm pushed off, and the boat was driven into the open sea. They had, it is true, escaped their pursuers, but they were now exposed to perils of another kind. Whither should they turn? They dared not land, for Aslog's father was lord of the whole coast, and they would so fall into his hands. Nothing remained, therefore, for them, but to commit the boat to the winds and waves, which pursued its way all night, so that at day-break the coast had disappeared, and they saw only sky and water; they had not brought any provisions with them, and hunger and thirst began to torture them. Thus they drove on for three days, and Aslog, weak and exhausted, foresaw their certain destruction.

At length, on the evening of the third day, they beheld an island of considerable size, surrounded by a multitude of lesser islets. Orm immediately steered towards it, but, as they approached it, a gale arose and the waves swelled higher and higher; he turned the boat in hopes to be able to land on some other side, but equally without success. Whenever the bark approached the island, it was driven back as if by some invisible force.

Orm, gazing on the unhappy Aslog, who seemed dying from exhaustion, crossed himself, and uttered an exclamation, which had scarcely passed his lips, when the storm ceased, the waves sank, and the little bark landed without further obstruction. He then sprang on shore, and a few mussels which he collected, so revived and strengthened the exhausted Aslog, that in a short time she also was able to quit the boat.

The island was entirely covered with dwarf mushrooms, and appeared to be uninhabited; but when they had penetrated nearly to the centre of it they perceived a house, half of which only was above the ground, and the other half under it. In the hope that they might find human help they joyfully approached it; they listened for some sound, but the deepest silence prevailed all around. At length Orm opened the door and entered with his companion; great was their astonishment, however, when they perceived everything prepared as if for inhabitants, but no living being visible. The fire burnt on the hearth in the middle of the room, and a kettle with fish hung over it, waiting, probably, for some one to make a meal of its contents; beds were ready prepared for the reception of sleepers. Orm and Aslog stood for a time doubtful, and looked fearfully about; at length, impelled by hunger, they took the food and eat it. When they had satisfied their hunger, and, by the last rays of the sun, could not discover any one far and wide, they yielded to fatigue and lay down on the beds, a luxury which they had so long been deprived of.

They had fully expected to be awakened in the night by the return of the owners of the house, but they were deceived in their expectation; throughout the following day, also, no one appeared, and it seemed as if some invisible power had prepared the house for their reception. Thus did they pass the whole summer most happily; it is true they were alone, but the absence of mankind was not felt by them. The eggs of wild-fowl and the fish which they caught afforded them sufficient provision.

When autumn approached, Aslog bore a son, and in the midst of their rejoicing at his arrival they were surprised by a wonderful apparition.—The door opened suddenly, and an old woman entered; she wore a beautiful blue garment, and in her form and manner was something dignified, and at the same time unusual and strange.

"Let not my sudden appearance alarm you," said she. "I am the owner of this house, and I thank you for having kept it so clean and well, and that I now find everything in such good order. I would willingly have come sooner, but I could not until the little heathen there—pointing to the infant—had established himself here. Now I have free access; but do not, I pray you, fetch a priest here from the main-land to baptise him, for then I shall be obliged to go away again. If you fulfil my wish, not only may you remain here, but every good you can desire I will bestow on you; whatever you undertake shall succeed; good fortune shall attend you wherever you go. But if you break this condition, you may assure yourselves that misfortune on misfortune shall visit you, and I will even avenge myself on the child. If you stand in need of anything, or are in danger, you have only to pronounce my name thrice: I will appear and aid you. I am of the race of the ancient giants, and my name is Guru. Beware, however, of pronouncing, in my presence, the name that no giant likes to hear, and never make the sign of the cross, nor cut it in any of the boards in the house. You may live here the year round; only on Yule evening be so kind as to leave the house to me as soon as the sun goes down. Then we celebrate our great festival, the only occasion on which we are permitted to be merry. If, however, you do not like to quit the house, remain as quietly as possible under ground, and, as you value your lives, do not look into the room before midnight; after that hour you may again take possession of all."

When the old woman had thus spoken, she disappeared, and Aslog and Orm, thus rendered easy as to their position, lived on without disturbance contented and happy. Orm never cast his net without a good draught—never shot an arrow that did not hit—in short, whatever he undertook, however trifling it might be, prospered visibly.

When Christmas came they made the house as clean as possible, set everything in order, kindled a fire on the hearth, and on the approach of twilight descended to the under part of the house, where they remained quiet and silent. At length it grew dark, and they fancied they heard a rustling and snorting in the air, like that which the swans make in the winter season. In the wall over the hearth was an aperture that could be opened and shut to admit light, or to let out smoke. Orm raised the lid, which was covered with a skin, and put out his head, when a wonderful spectacle presented itself. The little surrounding islets were illuminated by countless little blue lights, which moved incessantly, danced up and down, then slid along the shore, collected together, and approached nearer and nearer to the island in which Orm and Aslog dwelt. When they reached it they arranged themselves in a circle round a great stone, which stood not very far from the shore, and which was well known to Orm. But how great was his astonishment, when he saw that the stone had assumed a perfectly human form, although of gigantic stature. He could now clearly distinguish that the lights were carried by dwarfs, whose pale earth-coloured faces, with large noses and red eyes, in the form of birds' beaks and owls' eyes, surmounted mis-shapen bodies. They waddled and shuffled here and there, and seemed to be sad and gay at the same time. Suddenly the circle opened, the little people drew back on either side, and Guru, who now appeared as large as the stone, approached with giant steps. She threw her arms around the stony figure, which at that moment received life and movement. At the first indication of this, the little people set up, accompanied by extraordinary grimaces and gestures, such a song, or rather howl, that the whole island resounded and shook with the noise. Orm, quite terrified, drew in his head, and he and Aslog now remained in the dark so quiet, that they scarcely dared to breathe.