"'Oh,' said the prince, 'not so far after all. There it is yonder,' he said, as he pointed to a great hill in the distance.
"So they set off as fast as they could, but as was to be weened it was farther off than it looked, and so they did not reach the hill till far on in the night.
"Then the prince began to knock and knock.
"'WHO IS THAT,' said some one inside the hill, 'that knocks at my door, and spoils my rest?' and that some one was so loud of speech that the earth quaked.
"'Oh! open the door, father, there's a dear,' said the prince. 'It is your son who has come home again.'
"Yes! he opened the door fast and well.
"'I almost thought you lay at the bottom of the sea,' said the grey-beard. 'But you are not alone, I see,' he said.
"'This is the lad who saved me,' said the prince. 'I have asked him hither that you may give him his meed.'
"Yes, he would see to that, said the old fellow.
"'But now you must step in,' he said; 'I am sure you have need of rest."