At last one morning, while the smith was standing idly at his forge, with no heart for work, he was surprised to see a Wise-man, who lived at some distance, enter his shop. The smith hastened to tell him about his son, and to ask his advice.
The Wise-man listened gravely, then said: “The boy has been carried away by the Little People, and they have left a Changeling in his place.”
“Alas! And what am I to do?” asked the smith. “How am I ever to see my own son again?”
“I will tell you how,” answered the Wise-man. “But first, to make sure that it is not your own son you have, gather together all the egg-shells you can get. Go into the room where the boy is, and spread them out carefully before him. Then pour water in them, and carry them carefully in your hands, two by two. Carry them as though they were very heavy, and arrange them around the fireplace.”
The smith, accordingly, collected as many egg-shells as he could find. He went into the room, and did as the Wise-man had said.
He had not been long at work, before there came from the bed where the boy lay, a great shout of laughter, and the boy cried out:—
“I am now eight hundred years old, and I have never seen the like of that before!”
The smith hurried back, and told this to the Wise-man.
“Did I not assure you,” said the Wise-man, “that it is not your son whom you have? Your son is in a Fairy Mound not far from here. Get rid as soon as possible of this Changeling, and I think I may promise you your son again.
“You must light a very great and bright fire before the bed on which this stranger is lying. He will ask you why you are doing so. Answer him at once: ‘You shall see presently when I lay you upon it.’ If you do this, the Changeling will become frightened and fly through the roof.”