The citizen. (Frederick City, Md.) 1895-1923, 1901-01-25
). The Three Si2ferS Who
Fell Into the h0uDi0iIl.
A Story to BE Taken
"With n Grain of Salt"
FROM THE NORWEGIAN.

There was once an old widow who lived
far from any village. away under the
ridge of a hill, with her three daughters.
She was so poor that she possessed moth
ing but hen. and that she held as dear
as her eyesight. She cackled for it and
tended it both early and late. But one
day, sure enough. the hen was lost. Then
the woman went round about the place.
and sought and called for it, but the hen
was gone, clean gone.
You must 20 out and try to find our
hem she said to the eldest daughter.
We must have it again, even if we have
to 20 into the mountain for it." SO the
daughter said she would go and look aft
er it, and she ran hither and thither and
sought and shouted, but no hen could
she find. But just then she heard a voice
calling, as it appeared. from long way
in the mountain:
"The hens running about in the mountain!
The hens scratching about in the mountain!'
Away she went to see where the voice
came from, but at the foot of a prccipice
she fell right through Il trapdoor, deep,
deep down into a vault underground.
She wandered through many chambers,
each one finer than the last, and when
she reached the farthest one a great ugly
mountain troll came up to her and said:
"Nill you be my sweetheart?'
mo, she said, Indeed | will not" and
she wanted to go up again at once to sec
after her hen. At this the troll was so
angry that he took her and twisted her
head off and threw her body and head.
too. down into the cellar.
The mother sat at home waiting and
waiting, but no daughter came back.
She waited a good long time, but when
she could neither hear nor see anything
about her she said to the middle daugh-
ter that she would have to 20 out and
look after her sister, "and you may call
after the hen at the same time" she said.
So the second sister went out, and it
happened with her just as with the first {:
she went and sought and shouted, and
she, too, heard the voice calling far off
In the mountain:
''rhe hens running about in the mountain
The hens scratching about in the mountain!"
That was queer, she thought, and she
would go and see what it was. SO she
fell through the trapdoor, too, deep, deep
down into the vault. There she went
through all the chambers, and in the far
thest one the mountain troll came to her
and asked her if she would be his sweet
heart. No, indeed, she would not, for
she wanted to go up again at once to look
after the hen that had strayed away.
So then the troll was angry. took her and
fJviS aI oG th H., 1
and her body, too, down into the cellar.
Now. when the woman had sat and
waited for the second daughter ever so
long and she could neither hear nor see
anything of her she said to the youngest:
NOW you'll have to go out and look after
your sisters. Ii was a bad job that the
hen went away, but it would be worse
still if we should never find your sisters
again. But you can be calling for the
hen at the same time that you are look
ing for them"
She went the same road as her sisters
and fell through the trap and saw them
lying there in the vault. Just as she had
shut the door the troll came to her.
''Will you be my sweetheartT" he ask
ed.
"Yes. willingly | will" said the girl,
for she knew well enough what had be-
come of her sisters
When the troll heard it, he gave her
beautiful clothes, the most delightful she
could wish for, and everything else she
could desire, 50 happy was he that at
last some one would be his sweetheart.
When she had been there some time, it
happened one day that she was more low
spirited and quiet than she generally was,
so the troll asked her what she was mop
ing about.
oh" said the girl. ''it is because /
cannot go to see my mother. and she is
certain to be both hungry and thirsty,
and there is no one with her"
''Well, you can't go to her." said the
troll, but you can stuff some food in a
sack, and I'll take it to her"
She thanked him and said she would
do so, but at the bottom of the sack she
put lot of gold and silver and then lit
tie food on the top. and then she told the
troll the sack was ready, but he must not
look into it. He promised her that he
would not. and when the troll went out
she watched him through hole in the
trapdoor. and when he had gone part
of the way he said:
'This sack is so heavy will just look
what there is in it," and he was about to
unite the string when the girl called out:
81 see you still. see you stilr'
"Bother your eyes. and you. too" said
the troll, but he dared not try it again.
So at last he came to where the widow
lived. threw the sack in at the door and
said:
There's some food from your daugh-
ter, and she's all right. You make your
mind easy about that"
After the girl had been in the mountain
some time longer it happened that goat
fell down through the trapdoor.
"Who sent for you, You long haired
beast?" said the troll, and he was SO mad
that he took the goat. twisted its head
off and threw it down into the cellar.
"Oh. dear. whatever did you do that
for?" said the girl II should like to have
had that goat down. here to amuse me-"
"You don't med TO pull such a face
about it," said the troll. 81 can soon
bring the life back into the goat" Then
he took down pot that hung on the wall,
stncR tss head on 81. goat, smeared II
with the stuff from the pot, and it was
Ill .s..I.A