Once upon a time there lived two peasants who had three daughters, and,
as generally happens, the youngest was the most beautiful and the best
tempered, and when her sisters wanted to go out she was always ready to
stay at home and do their work.
Years passed quickly with the whole family, and one day the parents
suddenly perceived that all three girls were grown up, and that very
soon they would be thinking of marriage.
“Have you decided what your husband’s name is to be?” said the father,
laughingly, to his eldest daughter, one evening when they were all
sitting at the door of their cottage. “You know that is a very
important point!”
“Yes; I will never wed any man who is not called Sigmund,” answered
she.
“Well, it is lucky for you that there are a great many Sigmunds in this
part of the world,” replied her father, “so that you can take your
choice! And what do YOU say?” he added, turning to the second.
“Oh, I think that there is no name so beautiful as Sigurd,” cried she.
“Then you won’t be an old maid either,” answered he. “There are seven
Sigurds in the next village alone! And you, Helga?”
Helga, who was still the prettiest of the three, looked up. She also
had her favourite name, but, just as she was going to say it, she
seemed to hear a voice whisper: “Marry no one who is not called
Hábogi.”
The girl had never heard of such a name, and did not like it, so she
determined to pay no attention; but as she opened her mouth to tell her
father that her husband must be called Njal, she found herself
answering instead: “If I do marry it will be to no one except Hábogi.”
“Who IS Hábogi?” asked her father and sisters; “We never heard of such
a person.”
“All I can tell you is that he will be my husband, if ever I have one,”
returned Helga; and that was all she would say.
Before very long the young men who lived in the neighbouring villages
or on the sides of the mountains, had heard of this talk of the three
girls, and Sigmunds and Sigurds in scores came to visit the little
cottage. There were other young men too, who bore different names,
though not one of them was called “Hábogi,” and these thought that they
might perhaps gain the heart of the youngest. But though there was more
than one “Njal” amongst them, Helga’s eyes seemed always turned another
way.
At length the two elder sisters made their choice from out of the
Sigurds and the Sigmunds, and it was decided that both weddings should
take place at the same time. Invitations were sent out to the friends
and relations, and when, on the morning of the great day, they were all
assembled, a rough, coarse old peasant left the crowd and came up to
the brides’ father.
“My name is Hábogi, and Helga must be my wife,” was all he said. And
though Helga stood pale and trembling with surprise, she did not try to
run away.
“I cannot talk of such things just now,” answered the father, who could
not bear the thought of giving his favourite daughter to this horrible
old man, and hoped, by putting it off, that something might happen. But
the sisters, who had always been rather jealous of Helga, were secretly
pleased that their bridegrooms should outshine hers.
When the feast was over, Hábogi led up a beautiful horse from a field
where he had left it to graze, and bade Helga jump up on its splendid
saddle, all embroidered in scarlet and gold. “You shall come back
again,” said he; “but now you must see the house that you are to live
in.” And though Helga was very unwilling to go, something inside her
forced her to obey.
The old man settled her comfortably, then sprang up in front of her as
easily as if he had been a boy, and, shaking the reins, they were soon
out of sight.
After some miles they rode through a meadow with grass so green that
Helga’s eyes felt quite dazzled; and feeding on the grass were a
quantity of large fat sheep, with the curliest and whitest wool in the
world.
“What lovely sheep! whose are they?” cried Helga.
“Your Hábogi’s,” answered he, “all that you see belongs to him; but the
finest sheep in the whole herd, which has little golden bells hanging
between its horns, you shall have for yourself.”
This pleased Helga very much, for she had never had anything of her
own; and she smiled quite happily as she thanked Hábogi for his
present.
They soon left the sheep behind them, and entered a large field with a
river running through it, where a number of beautiful grey cows were
standing by a gate waiting for a milk-maid to come and milk them.
“Oh, what lovely cows!” cried Helga again; “I am sure their milk must
be sweeter than any other cows. How I should like to have some! I
wonder to whom they belong?”
“To your Hábogi,” replied he; “and some day you shall have as much milk
as you like, but we cannot stop now. Do you see that big grey one, with
the silver bells between her horns? That is to be yours, and you can
have her milked every morning the moment you wake.”
And Helga’s eyes shone, and though she did not say anything, she
thought that she would learn to milk the cow herself.
A mile further on they came to a wide common, with short, springy turf,
where horses of all colours, with skins of satin, were kicking up their
heels in play. The sight of them so delighted Helga that she nearly
sprang from her saddle with a shriek of joy.
“Whose are they?” Oh! whose are they?” she asked. “How happy any man
must be who is the master of such lovely creatures!”
“They are your Hábogi’s,” replied he, “and the one which you think the
most beautiful of all you shall have for yourself, and learn to ride
him.”
At this Helga quite forgot the sheep and the cow.
“A horse of my own!” said she. “Oh, stop one moment, and let me see
which I will choose. The white one? No. The chestnut? No. I think,
after all, I like the coal-black one best, with the little white star
on his forehead. Oh, do stop, just for a minute.”
But Hábogi would not stop or listen. “When you are married you will
have plenty of time to choose one,” was all he answered, and they rode
on two or three miles further.
At length Hábogi drew rein before a small house, very ugly and
mean-looking, and that seemed on the point of tumbling to pieces.
“This is my house, and is to be yours,” said Hábogi, as he jumped down
and held out his arms to lift Helga from the horse. The girl’s heart
sank a little, as she thought that the man who possessed such wonderful
sheep, and cows, and horses, might have built himself a prettier place
to live in; but she did not say so. And, taking her arm, he led her up
the steps.
But when she got inside, she stood quite bewildered at the beauty of
all around her. None of her friends owned such things, not even the
miller, who was the richest man she knew. There were carpets
everywhere, thick and soft, and of deep rich colours; and the cushions
were of silk, and made you sleepy even to look at them; and curious
little figures in china were scattered about. Helga felt as if it would
take her all her life to see everything properly, and it only seemed a
second since she had entered the house, when Hábogi came up to her.
“I must begin the preparations for our wedding at once,” he said; “but
my foster-brother will take you home, as I promised. In three days he
will bring you back here, with your parents and sisters, and any guests
you may invite, in your company. By that time the feast will be ready.”
Helga had so much to think about, that the ride home appeared very
short. Her father and mother were delighted to see her, as they did not
feel sure that so ugly and cross-looking a man as Hábogi might not have
played her some cruel trick. And after they had given her some supper
they begged her to tell them all she had done. But Helga only told them
that they should see for themselves on the third day, when they would
come to her wedding.
It was very early in the morning when the party set out, and Helga’s
two sisters grew green with envy as they passed the flocks of sheep,
and cows, and horses, and heard that the best of each was given to
Helga herself; but when they caught sight of the poor little house
which was to be her home their hearts grew light again.
“I should be ashamed of living in such a place,” whispered each to the
other; and the eldest sister spoke of the carved stone over HER
doorway, and the second boasted of the number of rooms SHE had. But the
moment they went inside they were struck dumb with rage at the
splendour of everything, and their faces grew white and cold with fury
when they saw the dress which Hábogi had prepared for his bride—a dress
that glittered like sunbeams dancing upon ice.
“She SHALL not look so much finer than us,” they cried passionately to
each other as soon as they were alone; and when night came they stole
out of their rooms, and taking out the wedding-dress, they laid it in
the ash-pit, and heaped ashes upon it. But Hábogi, who knew a little
magic, and had guessed what they would do, changed the ashes into
roses, and cast a spell over the sisters, so that they could not leave
the spot for a whole day, and every one who passed by mocked at them.
The next morning when they all awoke the ugly tumble-down house had
disappeared, and in its place stood a splendid palace. The guests’ eyes
sought in vain for the bridegroom, but could only see a handsome young
man, with a coat of blue velvet and silver and a gold crown upon his
head.
“Who is that?” they asked Helga.
“That is my Hábogi,” said she.
[From Neuislandischem Volksmärchen.]