Annabelle The Little Fairy And The Old Troll - Chapter Two
Annabelle The Little Fairy And The Old Troll - Chapter Two


when Annabelle the little fairy knew once upon a time two young men living in a small village fell in love with the same girl during the winter it was all night except for an hour or so about noon when the darkness seemed a little less dark and they used to see which of them could tempt her out for a sleigh ride with the northern lights flashing above them or which could persuade her to come to a dance in some neighbouring barn but when the spring began and the light grew longer the hearts of the villagers leapt at the sight of the sun and a day was fixed for the boats to be brought out and the great nets to be spread in the bays of some islands that lay a few miles to the north everybody went on this expedition and the two young men and the girl went with them they sailed merrily across the sea chattering like a flock of kmagpies or singing their favourite songs and when they reached the shore what an unpacking there was for this was a noted there was for this was a noted fishing ground and here they would live in little wooden huts till autumn and bad weather came around again the maiden and the two young men happened to share the same hut with some friends and fished daily from the same boat and as t time went on one of the youths remarked that the girl took less notice of him than she did of his companion had to what he did not want to see but in spite of his efforts the truth managed to wriggle through and then the young man gave up trying to deceive himself and set about finding some way to get the better of his rival The plan that he hit upon could not be carried out for some months; but the longer the young man thought of it, the more pleased he was with it, so he made no sign of his feelings, and waited patiently till the moment came. This was the very day that they were all going to leave the islands, and sail back to the mainland for the winter. In the bustle and hurry of departure, the cunning fisherman contrived that their boat should be the last to put off, and when everything was ready, and the sails about to be set, he suddenly called out Oh, dear, what shall I do! I have left my best knife behind in the hut. Run, like a good fellow, and get it for me, while I raise the anchor and loosen the tiller. Not thinking any harm, the youth jumped back on shore and made his way up the steep hank. At the door of the hut he stopped and looked back, then started and gazed in horror. The head of the boat stood out to sea, and he was left alone on the island. Yes, there was no doubt of it–he was quite alone; and he had nothing to help him except the knife which his comrade had purposely dropped on the ledge of the window. For some minutes he was too stunned by the treachery of his friend to think about anything at all, but after a while he shook himself awake, and determined that he would manage to keep alive somehow, if it were only to revenge himself. So he put the knife in his pocket and went off to a part of the island which was not so bare as the rest, and had a small grove of trees. From one of these he cut himself a bow, which he strung with a piece of cord that had been left lying about the huts. When this was ready the young man ran down to the shore and shot one or two sea-birds, which he plucked and cooked for supper. In this way the months slipped by, and Christmas came round again. The evening before, the youth went down to the rocks and into the copes, collecting all the drift wood the sea had washed up or the gale had blown down, and he piled it up in a great stack outside the door, so that he might not have to fetch any all the next day.
As soon as his task was done, he paused and looked out towards the mainland, thinking of Christmas Eve last year, and the merry dance they had had. The night was still and cold, and by the help of the Northern Lights he could almost see across to the opposite coast, when, suddenly, he noticed a boat, which seemed steering straight for the island. At first he could hardly stand for joy, the chance of speaking to another man was so delightful; but as the boat drew near there was something, he could not tell what, that was different from the boats which he had been used to all his life, and when it touched the shore he saw that the people that filled it were beings of another world than ours. Then he hastily stepped behind the wood stack, and waited for what might happen next. The strange folk one by one jumped on to the rocks, each bearing a load of something that they wanted. Among the women he remarked two young girls, more beautiful and better dressed than any of the rest, carrying between them two great baskets full of provisions. The young man peeped out cautiously to see what all this crowd could be doing inside the tiny hut, but in a moment he drew back again, as the girls returned, and looked about as if they wanted to find out what sort of a place the island was. Their sharp eyes soon discovered the form of a man crouching behind the bundles of sticks, and at first they felt a little frightened, and started as if they would run away. But the youth remained so still, that they took courage and laughed gaily to each other. ‘What a strange creature, let us try what he is made of,’ said one, and she stooped down and gave him a pinch. Now the young man had a pin sticking in the sleeve of his jacket, and the moment the girl’s hand touched him she pricked it so sharply that the blood came. The girl screamed so loudly that the people all ran out of their huts to see what was the matter. But directly they caught sight of the man they turned and fled in the other direction, and picking up the goods they had brought with them scampered as fast as they could down to the shore. In an instant, boat, people, and goods had vanished completely. In their hurry they had, however, forgotten two things: a bundle of keys which lay on the table, and the girl whom the pin had pricked, and who now stood pale and helpless beside the wood stack. You will have to make me your wife,’ she said at last, ‘for you have drawn my blood, and I belong to you. Why not? I am quite willing,’ answered he. ‘But how do you suppose we can manage to live till summer comes round again?
Do not be anxious about that,’ said the girl; ‘if you will only marry me all will be well. I am very rich, and all my family are rich also. Then the young man gave her his promise to make her his wife, and the girl fulfilled her part of the bargain, and food was plentiful on the island all through the long winter months, though he never knew how it got there. And by-and-by it was spring once more, and time for the fisher-folk to sail from the mainland. Where are we to go now?’ asked the girl, one day, when the sun seemed brighter and the wind softer than usual. I do not care where I go,’ answered the young man; ‘what do you think? The girl replied that she would like to go somewhere right at the other end of the island, and build a house, far away from the huts of the fishing-folk. And he consented, and that very day they set off in search of a sheltered spot on the banks of a stream, so that it would be easy to get water. In a tiny bay, on the opposite side of the island they found the very thing, which seemed to have been made on purpose for them; and as they were tired with their long walk, they laid themselves down on a bank of moss among some birches and prepared to have a good night’s rest, so as to be fresh for work next day. But before she went to sleep the girl turned to her husband, and said: ‘If in your dreams you fancy that you hear strange noises, be sure you do not stir, or get up to see what it is. Oh, it is not likely we shall hear any noises in such a quiet place,’ answered he, and fell sound asleep. Suddenly he was awakened by a great clatter about his ears, as if all the workmen in the world were sawing and hammering and building close to him. He was just going to spring up and go to see what it meant, when he luckily remembered his wife’s words and lay still. But the time till morning seemed very long, and with the first ray of sun they both rose, and pushed aside the branches of the birch trees. There, in the very place they had chosen, stood a beautiful house–doors and windows, and everything all complete!Now you must fix on a spot for your cow-stalls,’ said the girl, when they had breakfasted off wild cherries; ‘and take care it is the proper size, neither too large nor too small. ’ And the husband did as he was bid, though he wondered what use a cow-house could be, as they had no cows to put in it. But as he was a little afraid of his wife, who knew so much more than he, he asked no questions. This night also he was awakened by the same sounds as before, and in the morning they found, near the stream, the most beautiful cow-house that ever was seen, with stalls and milk-pails and stools all complete, indeed, everything that a cow-house could possibly want, except the cows. Then the girl bade him measure out the ground for a storehouse, and this, she said, might be as large as he pleased; and when the storehouse was ready she proposed that they should set off to pay her parents a visit. The old people welcomed them heartily, and summoned their neighbours, for many miles round, to a great feast in their honour. In fact, for several weeks there was no work done on the farm at all; and at length the young man and his wife grew tired of so much play, and declared that they must return to their own home. But, before they started on the journey, the wife whispered to her husband: ‘Take care to jump over the threshold as quick as you can, or it will be the worse for you. The young man listened to her words, and sprang over the threshold like an arrow from a bow; and it was well he did, for, no sooner was he on the other side, than his father-in-law threw a great hammer at him, which would have broken both his legs, if it had only touched them. When they had gone some distance on the road home, the girl turned to her husband and said: ‘Till you step inside the house, be sure you do not look back, whatever you may hear or see. And the husband promised, and for a while all was still; and he thought no more about the matter till he noticed at last that the nearer he drew to the house the louder grew the noise of the trampling of feet behind him. As he laid his hand upon the door he thought he was safe, and turned to look. There, sure enough, was a vast herd of cattle, which had been sent after him by his father-in-law when he found that his daughter had been cleverer than he. Half of the herd were already through the fence and cropping the grass on the banks of the stream, but half still remained outside and faded into nothing, even as he watched them. However, enough cattle were left to make the young man rich, and he and his wife lived happily together, except that every now and then the girl vanished from his sight, and never told him where she had been.
For a long time he kept silence about it; but one day, when he had been complaining of her absence, she said to him: ‘Dear husband, I am bound to go, even against my will, and there is only one way to stop me. Drive a nail into the threshold, and then I can never pass in or out. And so he did. Several lizards were running about, very quick, in the clefts of an old tree trunk. They could understand one another very well, for they all spoke the lizard language. Dear, what a rumbling and bumbling there is in the old Elf Hill,” said one of the lizards. “I haven’t been able to close an eye the last two nights for the noise. I might just as well have had the toothache all the time, for I don’t get any sleep then. There’s something up there,” said the second lizard, “they stood the hill up on four red stakes right up to cockcrow. It’s had a real good airing, and the Elf girls have learnt some new dances, with stamping in ’me. ” “There’s something up. I’ve been talking to a lob-worm I know,” said the third lizard. “He came straight up out of the hill where he’d been burrowing in the ground for nights and days; he’d heard a lot. He can’t see, poor beast, but he can feel about in front of him and listen, that he can do. They’re expecting visitors to-day in the Elf Hill, visitors of distinction, but whom, the lob-worm wouldn’t say, or else he didn’t know. All the will-o’-t
he-wisps have been summoned to make a torchlight procession—that’s what they call it—and the silver and gold, which there’s a lot of in the hill, is to be polished and set out in the moonlight. Now, who can the visitors be?” said all the lizards. “What can be afoot? Listen! What a bustle, what a hustle! At that very moment the Elf Hill opened, and an old Elf maid (she had no back but was otherwise very well got up) came tripping out. She was the old Elf King’s housekeeper, distantly related to the family, and had an amber heart on her forehead. Her legs went twinkling along. Trip! trip! Bless her heart, how she did trip it—right away down into the marsh, to the night-raven. You are invited to the Elf Hill, yes, and for tonight,” said she, but first you’ll do us a very great service, won’t you? Undertake invitations? You can easily manage it, for you’ve no house to look after. We have some very distinguished guests, Troll folk, who are of great importance, and so the old King is going to show himself off. Who are to be invited?” asked the night raven. Why, to the big ball everybody can come, even humans, if they can talk in their sleep or do any little thing of the kind that belongs to our race; but for the high table there has to be a very strict selection: we want only the most distinguished people. I had quite a quarrel with the King, for I insist that we can’t even have ghosts. The Merman and his daughter must be invited first. They don’t much like coming on the land, but they shall every one of them have a wet stone to sit on, or something better, and in that case I don’t think they’ll refuse this time. All old Trolls of the first class, with tails, the riverman and the nixes, we must have, and I think we can’t pass over the grave-pig, the death-horse and the church brownie. They do belong, properly speaking, to the clergy, who are not of our sort, but that is after all merely official; they are nearly related to us and call on us quite regularly. Bra! said the night-raven, and flew off to invite the guests. The Elf girls were already dancing on the Elf Hill—dancing with long scarves woven of mist and moonshine, which looked exceedingly pretty—to people who like that sort of thing. Inside the Hill the great hall was thoroughly smartened up, the floor washed with moonshine, the walls rubbed down with witches-butter, so that they shone like petals of tulips held up to the light. In the kitchens were quantities of frogs on the spit, snake skins with little children’s fingers in them, salads of toadstool spawn, wet mouse-noses and hemlock, ale of the Marsh woman’s brewing, shining wine of saltpetre from the vault cellars all this very substantial; rusty nails and church-window glass for cracking at dessert.
The old King had his crown polished with powdered slate pencil—sixth form slate pencil—and it is extremely difficult for the Elf King to procure sixth-form slate pencil. In the bedroom they hung the curtains up and made them fast with snail slime. There was a bustle and a hustle, and no mistake. Now we must fumigate with horse-hair and pigs’ bristles,” said the old Elf maid; “and then I think I shall have done my share. Father, darling,” said the youngest of the daughters, “do please tell me who the grand visitors are. Well, well,” said he, “I may as well tell you. Two of my daughters must hold themselves in readiness to be married. Two will certainly be. The old Troll gentleman from up in Norway—he, I mean, who lives in the old Overfell and owns all the great cliff castles built of boulders, and a gold-mine which is better than folk think—he’s coming down here with his two lads; they’re to look out a wife apiece. The old fellow is a regular honest old Norseman, merry and bright. I know him of old when we drank brotherhood. He was down here then to fetch his wife. She’s dead now; she was a daughter of the cliff King of Moen. He took his wife off the chalk (really on tick), as the saying is. Oh, how I do want to see that old Norse Troll fellow again! The boys they say are rather unmannerly youngsters—fit for the stick—but that may be doing them an injustice, and no doubt they will be good enough when they’re a bit seasoned. Let me see that you can teach them how to behave. And when do they get here?” asked one of the daughters. “That depends on wind and weather,” said the King; “they are travelling cheap: they’re coming here by a chance ship. I wanted them to come overland by Sweden, but the old man doesn’t cotton to that side even now. He doesn’t keep up with the times, and I don’t like that. At that moment two will-o’-the-wisps came skipping in, one faster than the other, so he arrived first. They’re coming, they’re coming!” they cried. Give me my crown and let me stand in the moonlight,” said the King. The daughters gathered up their trains and curtsied down to the ground. There stood the old Troll from the Overfell, with a crown of hardened icicles and polished fir cones, and for the rest he had on a bearskin and fur boots.
His sons, on the other hand, went bare-headed and without braces, for they were hardy fellows. That a hill? asked the youngest boy; and pointed at the Elf Hill. “Up in Norway we should call that a hole. Lads,” said the old man, “a hole goes in, a hill sticks out; have you no eyes in your heads? The only thing that surprised them down here, they said, was that they could understand the talk straight off. Don’t make an exhibition of yourselves,” said the old man. “Anyone would think you were no more than half baked. With that they went into the Elf Hill, where a smart company indeed was gathered—in such a hurry one would think they had been blown together—and all the arrangements for everyone were charming and choice. The sea folk sat at table in large tubs of water; they said it was just like being in their own home. Everybody’s table manners were correct except those of the two young Norse Trolls. They put their legs up on the table; but then they imagined that everything they did became them. Feet out of the food!” said the old Troll, and they obeyed, though not quite promptly. They tickled the ladies next them with fir cones that they’d brought in their pockets, and then took off their boots to be more comfortable, and gave them to the ladies to hold. But their father, the old Troll from Overfell, his manners were totally different. He described most delightfully the great Norse fells, and the forces that leapt down them, foaming white, with a booming like the crash of thunder or the peal of an organ. He told of the salmon that leapt up against the rushing water, while the pixie played on his harp of gold. He told of the glistening winter nights when the sleigh bells tinkled and the boys skimmed, with flaming torches, over the bright ice that was so transparent you could see the fish start beneath your feet. Ah, he could tell of it all so that one could see and hear what he described. There were the saw-mills at work, there were the lads and lassies singing ballads and dancing the “Haling”. Hurrah! And with that the Troll gave the old Elf maid a smacking uncle’s kiss, a regular bus—and yet they weren’t related—not a bit. Next the Elf girls had to dance—plain dances and stamping dances, too, and did it well. Then came the figure dances—”treading a measure” as they call it. Bless their hearts! How they did work their legs! You couldn’t tell which was top and which was tail, couldn’t see which was arms and which was legs; they went in and out of each other like wood shavings at the saw-mills, and then they whirled round and round till the death-horse felt sick and had to leave the table. Purr,” said the old Troll; “that’s leg-work if you like. But what can they do besides dance and stretch their legs and turn themselves into whirlwinds?” “That you shall see,” said the Elf King; and called up his youngest daughter. She was as slim and clear as moonshine, the most delicate of all the sisters. She took a white chip in her mouth, and there!—she was clean gone! That was her accomplishment. But the old Troll said that was a trick he didn’t care about in a wife, and he didn’t think his boys would like it either. The second could walk by the side of her own self and look as if she had a shadow, which Troll people don’t have. The third was of quite another sort. She had taken lessons in the Marsh woman’s brewery, and it was she who knew how to lard alder stumps with glow-worms. “She’ll make a good housewife,” said the Troll, and winked his eye at her, for he didn’t care to drink many toasts.
Then came the fourth Elf girl. She had a great gold harp to play on, and when she struck the first string everybody lifted up their left leg Troll folk are left-legged), and when she struck the second string, they all had to do what she wanted. That’s a dangerous woman,” said the Troll; but the two sons went off outside the Hill, for they were bored with the proceedings. And what can the next daughter do?” inquired the Troll. I have learnt to love all that is Norse,” said she; “and I shall never marry unless I can go to Norway. But the littlest of the sisters whispered to the old Troll: “That’s only because she’s heard, in a Norse ballad, that when the world comes to an end the Norse cliffs will still stand, for gravestones, and so she wants to go there; she’s so frightened of being destroyed. Oh ho!” said the Troll; “that cat’s out of the bag. But what can the seventh and last do? The sixth comes before the seventh,” said the Elf King, for he could count. But the sixth wouldn’t come forward properly. I can only tell people the truth,” she said. “Nobody cares about me, and I’ve quite enough to do to make my own grave-clothes. Then came the seventh and last; and what could she do? Why! She could tell stories, as many as ever she liked. Here are all my five fingers,” said the old Troll; “tell me one for each of ’me. And the Elf Maid took him by the wrist, and he laughed till he choked, and when she came to Gold Band, that had a gold ring about his waist, as if he knew there was to be a betrothal, the Troll said: “Stick to what you’ve got, the hand is yours: I’ll take you for a wife myself. The Elf Maid said there were still stories to tell about Gold Band and little Peter Play man. “We’ll hear them in the winter time,” said the Troll; “and we’ll hear about the fir and the birch and the fairy gifts and the ringing frost. You’ll have lots to tell, for there’s no one up there that can do it properly, and we’ll sit in the stone hall where the fir chips blaze, and drink mead out of the golden horns of the old Norse Kings—the Nickie’s given me a couple of them; and while we sit there the Garbo will come and pay us a visit. He’ll sing you all the herd-girls’ songs; it will be jolly. The salmon will leap in the force and dash against the stone walls, but they won’t get in. Ah, you may take it from me, there are good times in dear old Norway. But where are the boys? the world was very sweet Ah! Where were the boys?
They were running about in the marsh, blowing out the will-o’-the-wisps, who had come so obligingly, and were to make a torchlight procession. the wind was quite loud the old troll said gadding about like that I've got a mother for you and now you may take an aunt for yourselves Annabelle the little fairy to say it but the boys said they had rather make speechies and drink brotherhood marrying? no they didn't care about that so they did make speeches and drank brotherhood and hung the glasses on their fingertips to show they'd drunk them out and then took off their coats and lay down on the table to sleep for tjhey had no false modesty but the old troll danced round the room with his young bride and exchanged boots with her which is more distinging than exchanged rings the story was real that the old elf maid said there's the cock crowing who was housekeeper we must shut the Shutters now to keep the sun from burning us alive Annabelle the little fairy could see so the hill shut now Annabelle the little fairy saw it now but outside the lizards still ran up and down the old split tree and one said to the other oh how I do like that old norse troll to be sure Annabelle the little fairy saw that the lob worm said but then of course he couldn't see poor beast