Part 7 (2/2)

”Nothing, nothing,” said the fairy, who had now become so transparent and dim that they could scarcely see her; only the wings on her shoulders remained, and their bright colors had changed to a dusky brown. ”I have long contended with my bitter enemy, the chief of the tribe of the gnomes--the ill-natured, spiteful gnomes. Their desire is as much to do harm to mortals as it is mine to do them good. If now he should find me I shall be at his mercy. It was decreed long ages ago that I should one day lose my wand, and it depends in some degree upon you, little Hulda, whether I shall ever receive it again. Farewell.”

And now nothing was visible but the wings; the fairy had changed into a moth, with large brown wings freckled with dark eyes, and it stood trembling upon the table, till at length, when the children had watched it some time, it fluttered toward the window and beat against the panes, as if it wished to be released, so they opened the cas.e.m.e.nt and let it out in the wind and cold.

Poor little thing! They were very sorry for it; but after a while they nearly forgot it, for they were but children. Little Hulda only remembered it, and she carefully enclosed the beautiful sceptre in a small box. But Midsummer day pa.s.sed by, and several other Midsummer days, and still Hulda saw nothing and heard nothing of the fairy. She then began to fear that she must be dead, and it was a long time since she had looked at the wand, when one day in the middle of the Norway summer, as she was playing on one of the deep bay windows of the castle, she saw a pedlar with a pack on his back coming slowly up the avenue of pine-trees, and singing a merry song.

”Can I speak to the lady of this castle?” he said to Hulda, making at the same time a very low bow.

Hulda did not much like him, he had such restless black eyes and such a cunning smile. His face showed that he was a foreigner; it was as brown as a nut. His dress also was very strange; he wore a red turban, and had large earrings in his ears, and silver chains wound round and round his ankles.

Hulda replied that her mother was gone to the fair at Christiana, and would not be back for several days.

”Can I then speak with the lord of the castle?” asked the pedlar.

”My father is gone out to fish in the fiord,” replied little Hulda; ”he will not return for some time, and the maids and the men are all gone to make hay in the fields; there is no one left at home but me and my old nurse.”

The pedlar was very much delighted to hear this. However, he pretended to be disappointed.

”It is very unfortunate,” he said, ”that your honored parents are not at home, for I have got some things here of such wonderful beauty that nothing could have given them so much pleasure as to have feasted their eyes with the sight of them--rings, bracelets, lockets, pictures--in short, there is nothing beautiful that I have not got in my pack, and if your parents could have seen them they would have given all the money they had in the world rather than not have bought some of them.”

”Good pedlar,” said little Hulda, ”could you not be so very kind as just to let me have a sight of them?”

The pedlar at first pretended to be unwilling, but after he had looked all across the wide heath and seen that there was no one coming, and that the hounds by the doorway were fast asleep in the sun, and the very pigeons on the roof had all got their heads under their wings, he ventured to step across the threshold into the bay window, and begin to open his pack and display all his fine things, taking care to set them out in the suns.h.i.+ne, which, made them glitter like glowworms.

Little Hulda had never seen anything half so splendid before. There were little gla.s.ses set round with diamonds, and hung with small tinkling bells which made delightful music whenever they were shaken; ropes of pearls which had a more fragrant scent than bean-fields or hyacinths; rings, the precious stones of which changed color as you frowned or smiled upon them; silver boxes that could play tunes; pictures of beautiful ladies and gentlemen, set with emeralds, with devices in coral at the back; little golden snakes, with brilliant eyes that would move about; and so many other rare and splendid jewels that Hulda was quite dazzled, and stood looking at them with blus.h.i.+ng cheeks and a beating heart, so much she wished that she might have one of them.

”Well, young lady,” said the cunning pedlar, ”how do you find these jewels? Did I boast too much of their beauty?”

”Oh, no!” said Hulda, ”I did not think there had been anything so beautiful in the world. I did not think even our queen had such fine jewels as these. Thank you, pedlar, for the sight of them.”

”Will you buy something, then, of a poor man?” answered the pedlar.

”I've travelled a great distance, and not sold anything this many a day.”

”I should be very glad to buy,” said little Hulda, ”but I have scarcely any money; not half the price of one of these jewels, I am sure.”

Now there was lying on the table an ancient signet-ring set with a large opal.

”Maybe the young lady would not mind parting with this?” said he, taking it up. ”I could give her a new one for it of the latest fas.h.i.+on.”

”Oh, no, thank you!” cried Hulda, hastily, ”I must not do so. This ring is my mother's, and was left her by my grandmother.”

The pedlar looked disappointed. However, he put the ring down, and said, ”But if my young lady has no money, perhaps she has some old trinkets or toys that she would not mind parting with--a coral and bells, or a silver mug, or a necklace, or, in short, anything that she keeps put away, and that is of no use to her?”

”No,” said the little girl, ”I don't think I have got anything of the kind. Oh, yes! to be sure, I have got somewhere up-stairs a little gold wand, which I was told not to give away; but I'm afraid she who gave it me must have been dead a long while, and it is of no use keeping it any longer.”

Now this pedlar was the fairy's enemy. He had long suspected that the wand must be concealed somewhere in that region, and near the sea, and he had disguised himself, and gone out wandering among the farmhouses and huts and castles to try if he could hear some tidings of it, and get it if possible into his power. The moment he heard Hulda mention her gold wand, he became excessively anxious to see it. He was a gnome, and when his malicious eyes gleamed with delight they shot out a burning ray, which scorched the hound who was lying asleep close at hand, and he sprang up and barked at him.

”Peace, peace, Rhan!” cried little Hulda; ”lie down, you unmannerly hound!” The dog shrank back again growling, and the pedlar said in a careless tone to Hulda:

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