VII. — MONSTERS.

IN the days of Harald, the Fair-haired, Thorir Oddeson came from Iceland to Norway, and was sent by his uncle Sigmund there to his friend Ulf, north in Hálogaland. One day Thorir and his comrades were out fishing and came home late. Ulf went to meet them, and when they had fixed up their boat for the night, Thorir saw a fire like the light of the moon, over which hovered a blue flame. He asked what light that was. "Better not enquire into that," said Ulf, "it has no human origin." "Why should I not know of it," said Thorir, "though it is caused by trolls?" Ulf said it was a grave-mound fire. Thorir still questioned him, and at length Ulf told him about it, saying, "There was a berserk named Agnar, who made this mound and went into it with all his ship's crew, and much treasure besides. Since then he guards the mound by his trolldom, so that no one may come near it. Many who have come to break into it have died, or some other mishap has befallen them, and we do not know whether the troll is alive or dead." Said Thorir. "Now you have spoken well, and it is more manly to get treasure there, than row out to the fishing. I shall venture it." Ulf tried hard to prevent him, as well as all his comrades, but Thorir declared he would go all the same.

Ketilbjörn alone was willing to go with him, while the others not being bold enough. To reach the mound they had to ascend a hill-slope, and on their coming up on this, there broke upon them such a violent storm that they could not stand before it. They had a rope between them, and Thorir went on foremost as long as he could, but finally the storm lifted both of them and threw them down the slope. The rope caught round a large stone, and they were now so exhausted that they lay there till they fell asleep. Thorir dreamed then that a man came to him, big of body, dressed in a red kirtle, and having a helm on his head and a sword in his hand. He wore a broad belt to which was fixed a good knife, and had gloves on his hands; the man was majestic and stately. He thrust at Thorir with the point of his scabbard, and spoke to him angrily, bidding him wake up, and saying, "There is the making of an ill man in you, when you will rob your kinsmen, but I will do to you better than you deserve, for I am your father's brother and by the same mother as him. I will give you presents to turn back and look elsewhere for treasure. You shall have from me this good kirtle, which will shield you from fire and weapons, and along with it the helm and sword. I shall also give you gloves such as you will not get the like of, for your followers will be free from wounds if you stroke them with these. You shall also wear them when you bind up any man's wounds, and all the pain will soon go out of these. I shall leave here my knife and belt, and these you shall always have with you. I shall also give you twenty marks of gold and twenty of silver." Thorir seemed to himself to answer that he thought this too little from so near and so rich a kinsman, and said that he would not go back for any little bribe, "nor did I know," said he, "that I had trolls so near of kin to me until you told me, and you would have no hope of mercy from me, were it not for our kinship." Agnar said, "Long will it be ere your eyes are filled with treasure, and you may well excuse me for loving my wealth, for you will love it well too before all is done." Thorir said, "I care not for your prophecies of ill, but I will accept your offer of showing me where I may look for greater treasures, if you wish to beg off your own." "I will rather do that than quarrel with you," said Agnar. "There was a viking named Val, who had much gold. This treasure he took into a cave north beside Dumbs Sea, and he and his sons brooded over it then and became flying-dragons. They have helms on their heads, and swords under their arms. Now here is a cup, of which you shall drink two draughts and your comrade one, and then happen whatever may." Then Thorir awoke, and found all these things that Agnar gave him lying there beside him. Ketilbjörn awoke also, and had heard all their talk, and seen where Agnar went; he advised Thorir to take this offer. Thorir then took the cup and drank two draughts of it and Ketilbjörn one; there was still some left in the cup and Thorir set it to his mouth and drank it off. Again sleep fell upon them, and Agnar returned and blamed Thorir for having drunk all that was in the cup, saying that he would pay for this drink the latter part of his life. He also told him many things that befell later, and gave him directions how to win the cave of the viking Val.

After this they woke and went home. They told Ulf what had befallen them, and bade him direct them to Val's cave. Ulf tried to prevent their going, and offered them money to desist, saying that no one who had gone had ever come back, and he would like ill that those men should be lost whom his friend Sigmund had sent him. Thorir, however, was bent on going at any cost, and soon after with his comrades set out and held north along Finnmark till they came to Blesaberg, which was the name of the fell where Val's cave was. It lies north, beside Dumbs-haf, where a great river falls from the mountain into deep chasms and so out into the sea. Thorir knew then that they had reached the spot to which he was directed. They went up on the fell, and made the preparations that Agnar had taught him. They cut down a great tree, and laid it with its branches hanging over the mountain's edge, piling up stones on its root; then they took a cable and fastened it to the branches. Thorir then offered his comrades the chance to go and keep all the treasure they got, but none of them had any hope of reaching the cave, even though there were no other danger than that, and bade him give up the attempt. "That shall not be," said Thorir, "rather will I try it myself, and have all the treasure that can be found." The others said that they would make no claim on it; he would have plenty to do if he got it. Thorir threw off his clothes and equipped himself lightly, putting on the kirtle he got from Agnar, and taking the gloves, belt and knife, and a slender line that Agnar gave him. He had a javelin that his father gave him, and with this he went out on the tree; from there he shot the javelin across the river and fastened it in the wood on the other side; after that he went down the rope and let the line draw him away under the waterfall. When Ketilbjörn saw this, he declared he would go with Thorir, and let one fate go over them both; so he too went down the rope, followed by Thorhall and Thrand. Thorir had by this time reached the cave, and drew in those who came down. A rocky projection ran out to the sea in front of the waterfall, and up this came Björn and Hyrning, the tent being beside this projection, because no one could stay near the waterfall on account of the shaking and spray. Thorir and his men kindled a light in the cave, and went on till the wind blew against them, and the light went out. Then Thorir called on Agnar for aid, and straightway there came a great flash of light from the door of the cave, by which they went on for some way, until they heard the breathing of the dragons. As soon as the light came over the dragons, they all fell asleep, and then there was no want of light, which shone from the dragons and from the gold they lay upon. They saw swords there with the hilts ready to their hand; these Thorir and his comrades seized at once, and then leaped over the dragons and thrust them under their shoulders to the heart. Thorir got the helm taken off the largest dragon, but at that moment it seized Thrand and flew out of the cave with him, the others following one by one and casting fire and much venom from their mouths. Those who were outside now saw light flashing from the waterfall, and ran out of their tent, while the dragons flew up out of the chasm. Then Björn and the others saw that one of them had a man in its mouth, and supposed that all who entered the cave must be dead. The biggest dragon, which had the man in its mouth, flew furthest, and as they came up over the ledge of rock Björn sprang up and thrust his inlaid spear into it. When it received the wound, there sprang from this a great quantity of blood into his face, so that he died suddenly, and the blood and venom fell on the foot of Hyrning, where it caused such pain that he could scarcely stand. As for Thorir and his comrades, they got great treasure in the cave, so that there was sufficient for many men in gold and precious things. It is said they stayed three days in Val's cave, and there Thorir found the sword Horn-hilt that Val had borne. Thorir then climbed up the rope first, and afterwards drew up his fellows and the treasure. He took Hyrning's foot and stroked it with the gloves, and all the pain left it at once. They then divided the treasure, Thorir receiving the largest share, and returned to Ulf.

In his later days Thorir, being hard pressed by his foes, took the two chests in which he kept this treasure, and with these on his arms sprang into a deep chasm and was never seen again. It was supposed that he had lain upon his gold-chests and turned into a serpent, for long afterwards a dragon was seen flying down into the ravine in which he disappeared.

ONE summer Björn of Hítardal, in the west of Iceland, sailed from Norway to England, and remained there two winters with Knut the Mighty. While he followed this king and was sailing with him off the English coast, a flying dragon flew over the ships, swooped down upon them, and tried to seize a man in its claws. Björn, who was standing by, covered the man with his shield, through which the dragon's claws almost pierced. Then Björn caught the dragon's tail with one hand, and with the other gave it a stroke of his sword behind the wings, cleaving it in two, so that it fell down dead. King Knut rewarded Björn with much money and a good war-ship, with which he set sail for Denmark.

STORIES of dragons which fly through the air by night, and vomit fire, are fairly common, and in various places all over the country there are still shown holes in the earth and in the hills, out of which they are seen to come flying like blazing fire, when wars or other troubles are to be expected. When they return to their dwellings, where they brood over immense treasures (which they, as some say, have gathered by night, in the depths of the sea) there can be heard the clang of the great iron doors that close behind them. As they are fierce and vomit terrible fire, it is dangerous to meddle with them. Under Akers Kirk, which rests on four golden pillars, there lies a dragon brooding over immense riches, which, within living memory, shortly before the last war, has been seen to come out of a hole beside the church. At innumerable other places there have been, and still are seen fiery dragons with long tails. That they are not invincible however, can be seen from an old story which relates that a priest of the name of Anders Madsen, (supposed to have lived about 1631), shot a dragon which lay upon silver, in the so-called Drage-fjeld beside Tvede-vand.

DRAGONS brood over gold in the mounds. They are fiery in front like a baker's oven, and have a long tail behind. If any one throws an edged tool over the dragon, the gold will come rattling down to them. There was a man who tried this, but the dragon filled his whole farmyard with horse-dung instead of gold; perhaps that one didn't have any. It is also said that one can compel a dragon to give up its gold, by throwing a stone at its tail, as it comes flying. The tail then falls down as gold, with the exception of the one spot which the stone strikes; that remains unaltered, but when the stone strikes the dragon, it gives forth a shriek which kills the man who threw the stone, if he hears it. In the parish of Saltum, there was a man who saw a dragon. A girl on the farm was grinding with a quern at the time, and he told her to turn it round as fast as possible, which she promised to do. When the dragon came, he threw a stone at it, and was fortunate enough to strike the tail. He at once stuck his fingers into his ears and thrust his head under the quern; by this means he escaped hearing the shriek, and got the tail, which was of pure gold. The girl heard the shriek, but it could do her no harm. Some said that when a dragon was seen, a bunch of keys should be thrown over it, and it would let go its treasure, but the person must be able to hide himself immediately, otherwise it would kill him with the falling gold.

IN the parishes of Ugilt and Taars, there lie some mounds called Ilbjærge. In the largest of these a dragon brooded over an immense treasure. Folk, of course, wished to get hold of this, and one time twelve stout fellows would make an attempt to dig it up. This had to be done on a Thursday at midnight and in deep silence. The first and second Thursday they dug on without finding anything, but the third one they struck a large copper chest, full of gold, and with thick rings on the sides and ends. With immense labour they finally got the chest up on the edge of the hole, and set it down there to rest themselves before carrying it further, but one of the fellows forgot about the silence, and exclaimed, "See there; now we have it." With that the chest fell back again, and they could hear that it rolled much further down than they had dug. The fellow was left standing with an iron ring in his hand, and that was all they got of the treasure. The ring was fixed on the inner side of the door of St. Catherine's church in Hjörring, and is there to this day. When the chest sank, the dragon, spouting fire and venom, flew out of the hole and shrieked –

It then flew off, and dashed down into Sjörup Lake, in Taars parish, so that the water foamed and boiled around it. After it had taken up its residence here, it used to go to some mounds a short distance away, and all along its path, the grass was burned as if by fire. When Kristen Kristensen took the farm there, he decided to build a smithy right in the dragon's path. The neighbours tried to dissuade him, but he built it where he wanted it. After it was erected, a violent storm arose one night, and in the morning the building was level with the ground. In spite of the neighbours' warnings, he again built the smithy on the same spot, and one night it was burned down. It was, of course, the dragon who had set fire to it, because it did not want its path blocked. The man built it a third time on the same spot, and that smithy stands there to this day. The dragon had to give in, and has never been heard of since.

SÖREN MELDGAARD from Haarup was watching his charcoal heaps, a little east from where Sejbæk station now stands. At that time there was a large forest there; there were beeches with eighteen or twenty branches, and four ells in circumference. While there, he saw, coming over the heath, a shape like a headless ox and of a tremendous size, which came striding towards him. He never would believe that there were such spectres down there, although the other burners had said that they could not get their piles left in peace, as there was something that came and scattered them. He had laughed at this, and sworn that it was nothing but sheer lies; but when this spectre came, he said, "Have mercy, Mister Satan." Then there arose a howling and screaming in the air, and the piles were scattered all round about, but he himself received no harm. It was a dragon which came flying from Osterskov, and passed over the lake near by.

LINDORMS have their abode in waste places, but sometimes go over the country, and lay themselves round church-towers. It happened once that a lindorm laid its head close to the church door, so that no one dared to enter the church, and still less to try to drive it away. During the day it ate grass and turf, and gnawed the wooden crosses off the graves, as well as any young shoots or plants it could find, but by night it was quiet. As the people were afraid that, as soon as it got finished with the churchyard, it would begin to what was outside it, they sought for good advice. They were first advised to poison it with tobacco, and this they hung up in little bundles on some stakes round the churchyard, but the lindorm only butted at these, and ate none of it. They would then try to shoot it, and this of course must be done by moonlight. They planted heavy ordnance against it, and were successful in killing the lindorm, but at the same time they spoiled both church and steeple. So big was the monster, that it took them three days to get the pieces of it carried off and buried, and it was half a year before they got the church put in good condition again.

THERE was once a girl in Tjörne-lunde, who went out to milk her master's cows, and as she went across the fields, she saw a little brindled snake creeping among the grass. She thought it was so pretty, and took it home with her, and kept it in a little box. Every day she gave it sweet milk and other dainties, such as she could get for it. After some time had passed, it grew so big that it could no longer stay in the box, but crawled after the girl wherever she went. Even when she went out to the field to milk the cows, it went with her, and drank out of the pail. Her mistress did not like this, and told the girl that unless she took means to get the snake killed, it would be an unfortunate thing for her. So indeed it turned out, for it was soon evident that it was a young lindorm. It grew larger every day, and finally it would not be content with what was given it, but lay outside the village, and ate up the cattle and whatever else it could find, and became a terrible monster.

There was in the village a "wise woman," who told them to feed up a bull on sweet milk and wheaten bread. This was done, and after the bull had been reared on this for two years, it was taken outside the village to fight the lindorm. It could not hold its own with it, however, and had to be taken home for another year, in order to become strong enough. Meanwhile the lindorm had become so voracious, that a cow or an old horse had to be driven out to it daily, otherwise it took one for itself. When the bull was three years old, it was so big and strong that it was fit to gain the mastery over the lindorm. While the fight was in progress, the lindorm struck a stone with its tail, so hard that it left a deep furrow in it. After the bull had overcome the lindorm, it was so furious that with its horns it tore up a large pool, which is still to be seen to the east of the village. No one could go near it, the folk even crept up on the housetops with fright, so it had to be shot. Considering that the bull had done such a feat in delivering the village and killing the lindorm, the inhabitants named the place after it, and called it Tyrslund (Bull's Grove), but this has since been changed to Tjörne-lunde (Thorn-groves). On a farm close by is still to be seen the stone, with the mark of the lindorm's tail in it.

IT happened once, many generations ago, that the bodies which were laid in Aarhus Cathedral disappeared time after time, without anyone knowing what the cause of this could be. It was then discovered that a lindorm had its hole under the church, and went in by night and ate the bodies. It was also found out that it was undermining the church, so that it would soon be liable to fall in ruins, and against this danger help was sought for in vain. At last there came a wandering glazier to Aarhus, who on learning the straits into which the town had come, gave his promise that he would help them. He made for himself a chest of mirror-glass, with only a single opening in it, and that only large enough for him to thrust out his sword through it. He had the chest placed on the floor of the church during the day-time, and when midnight came, he kindled four wax candles, one of which he placed at each corner. The lindorm now came creeping through the choir-passage, and on seeing the chest and beholding its own image in the glass, it believed it to be its mate, but the glazier thrust his sword through its neck, and killed it at once. The poison and blood, however, which flowed from the wound, were so deadly, that the glazier perished in his chest.

ON Bogö they had at one time a terrible number of snakes, vipers, and creeping things of that kind. At Sort-sö in Falster there lived a man who could clear out such pests, and to him the folk of Bogö sent a message, asking him to come and free them from all this. Accordingly he came over to Bogö and made a bargain with the inhabitants, taking upon himself the task of destroying all this vermin, if they for their part would assure him that there was no lindorm in the island. No one knew of any such creature being there, but the man had a feeling that there was one, and so he had three iron chests made, one inside the other with a space between each. These chests he took down to the beach right opposite Stubbe-köbing, and then lighted a huge fire, in which all the snakes, vipers and other reptiles were to be burned, and as soon as the fire blazed up, all these did come and crawl into it. The man, however, could feel that a lindorm was on its way to the fire now, so he laid himself in the innermost of the three chests, and told the bystanders to close him up in them. They did so, and then hurried aside, knowing that something was far wrong. Then came the lindorm, and crawled round the fire three times before entering it. He had to be burned, but he had power to take the man along with him, and this he did, wrapping himself round the chest and dragging it into the fire along with him. When he had entered the fire, however, the men of Bogö came with fire-hooks and whatever else was handy, and pulled out the chest, which they then dragged down to the beach and opened, and so the man was saved. He received his payment, and went home to Sort-sö.

After a year or two had passed, he took a fancy to see whether he had cleared out all the reptiles on Bogö, and went over there again. He went down to the beach to see the place where he had kindled the fire, but there a mishap befell him. One of its sharp bones which lay hid among the ashes pierced his thin shoe and entered the sole of his foot. The wound swelled up, and finally caused his death. He had, however, cleared out the reptiles over there so well that fifty years ago there was neither snake nor viper on Bogö. What there may be now, I don't know. Where the lindorm was buried there is now a landing-stage called Linde-bro, after this very lindorm.

IN Klöv-bakke, north from Thisted, there lies a monster lindorm. There was once a doctor in Thisted who undertook to dig it out, if the people would only do as he wanted them, and there were plenty who offered to help him in the work, as otherwise it might come out upon them some day, for of course it would break out some time, and then terrible things would happen. The doctor had a little bottle with some kind of blue drops, and that was the only thing that could kill the lindorm, and even that could only do it if they could hit it on the right spot; in that case three drops were enough, and if they were of no avail, neither would a greater number help. The doctor showed the people where the lindorm's neck lay, and where they were to dig; then he kindled three fires beside the mound, and said to them, "Now, I shall stand here beside the hole, with the bottle in my hand, so as to be able to pour the drops on the neck, as soon as it comes in view. Whenever the lindorm feels them, he will come out of his hole and make the earth shake, but he must go through the three fires, and if his tail falls before he gets through them, everything will be well, and we shall be freed. But if it does not fall, things are wrong, and the drops have not gone home, and you must look after yourselves if you can, for it will go out into the world, and nothing will stand before it. There will be mischief so great that one can hardly imagine it, — the whole world almost will be laid waste. Now you know it before it happens." But after this information the digging did not go very far; they slipped away one after the other, and since that time there is no one that has dared to meddle with the lindorm in Klöv.

A MAN in the district of Silkeborg once found a viper-king. It was a tremendously big serpent, with a mane like a horse. He killed it, and took it home with him, and boiled the fat out of it. This he put into a bowl and set it aside in a cupboard, as he knew that the first person who tasted it would become so clear-sighted that they would be able to see much that was hid from other people; but just then he had to go out to the field, and thought that he could taste it another time. He had however a daughter who found this bowl with the fat in it, while her father was out in the field. She thought it was ordinary fat, which she was very fond of, so she spread some of it on a piece of bread and ate it. When the man came home, he also spread a piece of bread with it, and ate it, but he could not discover that he could see any more than he did before. In the evening, when the cows were being driven home, the girl came out and said, "Look, father, there's a big red-speckled bull-calf in the black-faced cow." He could see well enough then that she had tasted the fat of the viper-king before him, and had thus got all the wisdom, in place of himself.

WHEN mead has been kept in a barrel for twenty years without being opened, a basilisk is formed there. It once happened in Randers, where there was a great store of mead, that a barrel was forgot in the cellar, and when it had lain there a long time, a basilisk was produced. It first drank the mead, until there was no more left; then it began to growl, and the noise grew louder and louder, until the folk in the house heard it. They could not understand what was the matter with the barrel, but there was a "wise man" who knew all about it, and he advised them to get it buried in the ground, otherwise the time would soon come when the animal would break it in pieces, and come out, and such a monster no one could overcome. They did as he advised, and since that time nothing has been heard of that basilisk.

This monster is properly a treasure-watcher, and lies and broods over heaps of gold. For the most part it has its abode in mounds, where a light is seen burning by night, and it is known then that the treasure lies there. If any one digs for it, he may always be certain of meeting a ghoul, and that is hard to deal with. Its back is as sharp as a knife, and it is seldom that any one escapes from it alive. As soon as one begins to dig in the mound, it comes out and says, "What are you doing there?" The treasure-hunter must then answer, "I want to get a little money, and it's that I am digging for, if you won't be angry." With this the ghoul must content itself, and they make a bargain. "If you are finished," it says, "when I come for the third time, then all you find is yours, but if you are not finished by then, I shall spring upon you and destroy you." If the man has courage to make this compact, he must lose no time, for if the ghoul comes for the third time, before he has finished, it runs between his legs and splits him in two with its sharp back. Old Peter Smith in Taaderup, who is now dead, had the reputation of having got his wealth in this fashion; he and another young fellow were desirous of digging for treasure, and went one night to a mound where they knew that there was a ghoul. When they began to dig, it came up and asked what they wanted, and then fixed a certain time within which they were to be finished. They worked now with all their might, and finally got hold of a big chest which they dragged out as fast as they could, but before they had got quite clear of the mound, — Peter Smith had still one of his legs in the hole — the ghoul came for the third time and managed to rub itself against Peter's legs. Although it only touched him slightly, he had got enough for all his life, for however wealthy he was, his legs were always so feeble that he could neither stand nor walk.

THE Nidagrísur is little, thick and rounded, like a little child in swaddling clothes or a big ball of yarn, and of a dark reddish-brown colour. It is said to appear where new-born illegitimate children have been killed and buried, without having received a name. It lies and rolls about before men's feet to lead them astray from the road, and if it gets between any one's legs, he will not see another year. In the field beside the village of Skáli on Östertö stands a stone, called Loddasa-stone, and here a nidagrísur often lay before the feet of those who went that way in the dark, until once a man who was passing and was annoyed by it, grew angry and said "Loddasi there," upon which it buried itself in the earth beside the stone, and was never seen again, for now it had got a name.

WHEN a woman is about to become a mother for the first time, and is afraid of the pains of childbirth, she can escape from these if she chooses. She must go before daybreak to some place where there is a horse's skeleton, or the membrane that encloses a foal before its birth. If she sets up this, and creeps naked through it three times in the Devil's name, she will never feel any pains, but to her first born there clings the curse, that it becomes half a brute; if the child is a boy, he will be a were-wolf, if a girl, she will be a night-mare. This can be prevented, however, if any one discovers the woman while she is performing the charm, and hinders her from completing it; then the child goes free, and the woman herself becomes the were-wolf.

Early on the morning of Tuesday in Whitsuntide a man at Pedersgaard, beside Kalve-have, was going along a dike between a forest and a field, in which the cows were at grass. He could see that the servant girls must be in the field, as their milk-pails were standing there, but the girls themselves were not to be seen. The mare had just foaled, and was busy licking its young one. He then caught sight of the girls a little way off from the milking-place, quite naked and in the act of creeping through the foal's caul, one by one. The man immediately cut a long supple hazel-switch, untethered one of the other horses, sprang on its back, and rode down upon the girls, whom he drove home to the farm, naked as they were. They had to leave the place after that. This happened within the present century.

The children who are born in this way are just like other children, except that their eyebrows meet over the nose, but they are also born with a little hairy lump between the shoulders. The mother carefully keeps this concealed, while the child is little, but when it grows up, she lets it know the meaning of the mark, so that it may be careful not to expose it in the presence of others. When the child is full grown, the curse comes out in it, and the animal nature breaks forth. As soon as darkness falls, the unfortunate being retires from human presence, the spot between the shoulders expands until the whole body is covered with hair, and at the same time assumes an animal shape, either of a were-wolf or a night-mare, according as it is a man or a woman. If the were-wolf can succeed in tearing a child living out of its mother's body, and killing it, or eating its heart, the curse is at once removed, and he is henceforward like other men. Many assert, however, that this only happens if the child is a male, and some say that it requires the heart's blood of twelve to free the were-wolf.

When a were-wolf goes about, it hops on three legs, while the fourth sticks out behind it like a tail. Dogs are always furious against it, and run howling and barking after it; as it has only three legs, they have no difficulty in overtaking it, and it has to seek refuge among thick bushes and thorns, where the dogs will not venture to follow it. If a man is a were-wolf, it is always easy to see when the dogs have been after him, as his face is then so badly scratched and torn.

In the shoemaker's house in Taaderup there has lived a were-wolf within living memory. Andrew Weaver's mother served, in her youth, with the parish clerk in Tingsted, and she often saw in the evenings how all the dogs of Taaderup and Tingsted came running and barked at the were-wolf. She could never see the wolf itself, indeed, but saw how all the dogs snapped and growled at it. The priest's old cattleman could also tell a great deal about the were-wolf in Taaderup, and could see him in the shape of the dog with three legs.

The were-wolf, however, can be freed if any one has the courage to say to his face 'You are a were-wolf,' but if the were-wolf then answers, "Now you can be that just as long as I was," then the other is doomed to become one, until he has the good fortune to be freed from it. It is, therefore, very seldom that they are delivered in this way, as folks are afraid of bringing the spell upon themselves.

It is also told that there was once a man who had been in Stubbe-köbing with his wife, and was driving home late in the evening. When they came to a hollow way, he got out of the waggon, gave the woman the reins, and went into the forest, telling her that if anything came to her while he was away, she had only to strike out well with his handkerchief, which he gave her. A little after the man had gone there came a were-wolf, which tried to spring into the waggon beside the poor woman; however, she did as her husband had told her, and struck out boldly with the handkerchief. The were-wolf then attacked the waggon, and bit the shafts and everything else he could reach, but did no harm to the woman. Finally he ran away, and not before time, for she had only a rag of the handkerchief left. Soon after this the man came back and seated himself again, and the woman told him how she had defended herself against the furious beast that came while he was away. "You did quite right," said the man, and they drove home. Next morning as they sat at breakfast, the woman saw some threads of the handkerchief among her husband's teeth; "Jesus, man," she cried, "you are a were-wolf." "Thanks," said the man, "I shall never be so again, since you have said it to me so openly."

VANLANDI, the son of Svegdir, took the kingdom after his father, and ruled over Uppsala; he was a great warrior, and went over many lands. He stayed one winter in Finland with King Snow and got from him his daughter Drift to wife. In the spring he went away, and promised to come back again in three years, but he did not come in ten. Drift then sent for the sorceress Huld, and bargained with her either to bring Vanlandi back to Finland by means of her witch-craft, or else to kill him. When the charm was performed, Vanlandi was at Uppsala, and became eager to go to Finland, but his friends and advisers prevented him, saying that his eagerness must be due to some magic of the Finns. He then became heavy with sleep, and lay down to slumber, but he had not slept long before he called out and said that Mara was treading him. His men came to him, and tried to assist him, but when they took hold of his head, she trod his legs, so that they nearly broke; then they turned to his feet, and she depressed his head, so that he died.

Marra resembles a beautiful girl, but is the worst kind of troll. During the night-time, when folks lie asleep, she comes in and lays herself above them, pressing so hard on the breast that they can neither draw breath nor move a limb. She puts her fingers into their mouth to count their teeth, and if time is given her to do this, they at once give up the ghost. They must therefore try to get her away from them and drive her out, and if they are able to call out, "Jesus," she must flee, and disappears at once. Folks often seem to themselves to lie quite awake and see Marra enter the room, come forward to the bed, lie down above the bed-clothes, and proceed to feel in their mouth for their teeth, and yet they can do nothing to defend themselves against her. In the evening she may be in the room and yet not be seen, but this can be found out by taking a knife and rolling it up in a handkerchief or garter, which has been twice folded in two. The knife is then passed from one hand to the other three times round the body, repeating these words,

If the knife is lying inside the fold of the doubled cloth or garter when it is opened up again, then Marra is inside, and the same ceremony with the knife and cloth must be repeated to get her driven out again. It is also said to be a good plan to prevent her coming up into the bed, to place one's shoes at bed-time so that the heels are turned to the bed, and the points out to the floor: then Marra will have difficulty in getting into it.

THE Marre is some unknown person who is secretly in love with one. There was once a man who served on the farm of Taanum beside Randers, and with whom a girl in Helstrup was in love, but he would have nothing to do with her. On account of this she used to come and lie heavy on him by night, so that he could not remain in bed for her. He complained of this trouble, and some people advised him to place his wooden shoes the wrong way beside the bed when he went into it in the evening. He did this, and heard the shoes rattling during the night, but his visitor could come no further. One evening he took a scythe, and made it fast to the front of the bed; then he heard her say —

In the morning this girl was found lying dead in her bed.

THERE was once a young fellow who was ridden by "Marre" every night, and although he sprinkled flax-seed outside the door, and placed his shoes the wrong way before his bed, it was all of no avail, and he was at a loss what to do. He asked a wise woman for advice, who at once said that she knew what would help him. "When you go home," she said, "you must stop up all holes and chinks that there are in your room; the keyholes and windows must also be made fast. When that is done, you must bore a little hole in the door, and cut a pin to fit it exactly; this hole you must leave open to-night, but as soon as Marre has come in by it, spring to it and put in the pin, then she is in your power." The man did as the woman told him. During the night Marre came in by the hole, which he immediately stopped up, to her great alarm. She went round about from keyhole to window, and made herself both small and thin to get out, but every place was closed fast, so that she could not get out, however many tricks she tried. When she saw that all her trouble was in vain, she besought him to take the little pin out of the door, and let her go as she had come, and she would never come again. Meanwhile he had been standing looking at her, and saw that she was a pretty girl, so he would not let her go in that way, but asked if she would be his sweetheart, and everything would be all right. "Yes," said she, "if you will really marry me, the mischief is over; let me out now like any other person." She was a girl from the next village, and when he knew that, he let her out at the door. Shortly after they had their wedding, and she was never Marre again.

IT is often the case that in the morning the horses are found standing in the stable dripping with sweat, although they have been there the whole night. In that case it is Marre who has ridden them, and it is generally very bad for the horses. Marre also often plaits the horses' manes and tails into "Marre-locks," which it is impossible to comb out. Sometimes Marre selects one horse in the stable, and confines herself to that; thus the priest Heynet had a horse called Young Holger, which Marre rode every night, so that it was covered with foam when they went to feed it in the morning. In spite of that, Young Holger was the most thriving of all the priest's horses. The surest means to hinder Marre in this is to fasten a chopping knife on the horse's back, edge upwards. When she, as usual, tries to spring up on the horse's back to ride, she cuts herself in two, and will never again plague man or beast. But as it is well known that Marre is a human being, who is condemned to act as she does, whether she will or not, there are few that care to use this means, as they thereby deprive a fellow-creature of life. At Korselitse there was, many years ago, a big white horse, which every night was ridden by Marre. On a farm in the neighbourhood there was a girl who was said to be a Marre, and the man suspected that it was she who rode the horse. To put a stop to this he fixed a knife on its back one evening, and when he came in the morning to feed it, the girl was hanging in two pieces, one on each side of the horse, and had thus met her death.

If one takes a bucket of cold water and throws it over any one who is plagued with the night-mare, the person who is in love with him will become visible, and one can then discover who it is. A story is told of a queen, who was a great lover of horses; in particular she had one horse which was dearest of all to her, and filled her thoughts both sleeping and waking. The stable-man had noticed several times that there was something wrong with the horse, and came to the conclusion that it was being ridden by a night-mare, so one time he seized a bucket of water and threw it over it, and lo and behold, the queen herself was sitting on its back!

In another instance, where the horses were plagued by the night-mare, and this same process was adopted, there was disclosed a naked woman, who said, "Oh, why did you do that? Now I must cross both sea and salt water to my little children." The people helped her to reach home again, and she never came back as Marre.