The Fairy Mythology - Thomas Keightley

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And her mother saluteth her with eyes joyfúl,

       But that grief is heavy I know.

      "And where hast thou so long stayed?"

       Time with me goes slow.—

       "I have been in the flowery meads,"

       But that grief is heavy I know.

      "What veil is that thou wearest on thy hair?"

       Time with me goes slow.—

       "Such as women and mothers use to wear,"

       But that grief is heavy I know.

      "Well may I wear a veil on my head,"

       Time with me goes slow.—

       "Me hath the hill-king both wooed and wed,"

       But that grief is heavy I know.

      "In the hill have I been these eight round years,"

       Time with me goes slow.—

       "There have I two sons and a daughter so fair,"

       But that grief is heavy I know.

      "There have I two sons and a daughter so fair,"

       Time with me goes slow.—

       "The loveliest maiden the world doth bear,"

       But that grief is heavy I know.

      "And hear thou, proud Margaret, what I say unto thee,"

       Time with me goes slow.—

       "Can I go with thee home thy children to see?"

       But that grief is heavy I know.

      And the hill-king stept now in at the door,

       Time with me goes slow.—

       And Margaret thereat fell down on the floor,

       But that grief is heavy I know.

      "And stayest thou now here complaining of me,"

       Time with me goes slow.—

       "Camest thou not of thyself into the hill to me?"

       But that grief is heavy I know.

      "And stayest thou now here and thy fate dost deplore?"

       Time with me goes slow.—

       "Camest thou not of thyself in at my door?"

       But that grief is heavy I know.

      The hill-king struck her on the cheek rosie,

       Time with me goes slow.—

       "And pack to the hill to thy children wee,"

       But that grief is heavy I know.

      The hill-king struck her with a twisted root,

       Time with me goes slow.—

       "And pack to the hill without any dispute,"

       But that grief is heavy I know.

      And the hill-king her in his arms has ta'en,

       Time with me goes slow.—

       And lifted her into the gilded wain,

       But that grief is heavy I know.

      "And hear thou my footpage what I unto thee say,"

       Time with me goes slow.—

       "Thou now shalt drive her to my dwelling straightway,"

       But that grief is heavy I know.

      Proud Margaret stept in at the hill door,

       Time with me goes slow.—

       And her little children rejoiced therefòre,

       But that grief is heavy I know.

      "It is not worth while rejoicing for me,"

       Time with me goes slow.—

       "Christ grant that I never a mother had been,"

       But that grief is heavy I know.

      The one brought out a gilded chair,

       Time with me goes slow.—

       "O rest you, my sorrow-bound mother, there,"

       But that grief is heavy I know.

      The one brought out a filled up horn,

       Time with me goes slow.—

       The other put therein a gilded corn,

       But that grief is heavy I know.

      The first drink she drank out of the horn,

       Time with me goes slow.—

       She forgot straightway both heaven and earth,

       But that grief is heavy I know.

      The second drink she drank out of the horn,

       Time with me goes slow.—

       She forgot straightway both God and his word,

       But that grief is heavy I know.

      The third drink she drank out of the horn,

       Time with me goes slow.—

       She forgot straightway both sister and brother,

       But that grief is heavy I know.

      She forgot straightway both sister and brother,

       Time with me goes slow.—

       But she never forgot her sorrow-bound mother,

       But that grief is heavy I know.[168]

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      The grandfather of Reor, who dwelt at Fuglekärr (i.e. Bird-marsh), in the parish of Svartsborg (Black-castle), lived close to a hill, and one time, in the broad daylight, he saw sitting there on a stone a comely maiden. He wished to intercept her, and for this purpose he threw steel between her and the hill; whereupon her father laughed within the hill, and opening the hill-door asked him if he would have his daughter. He replied in the affirmative and as she was stark naked he took some of his own clothes and covered her with them, and he afterwards had her christened. As he was going away, her father said to him, "When you are going to have your wedding (bröllup) you must provide twelve barrels of beer and bake a heap of bread and the flesh of four oxen, and drive to the barrow or hill where I keep, and when the bridal gifts are to be bestowed, depend on it I will give mine." This also came to pass; for when others were giving he raised the cover of the cart and cast into it so large a bag of money that the body of it nearly broke, saying at the same time:—"This is my gift!" He said, moreover, "When you want to have your wife's portion (hemmagifta),[169] you must drive to the hill with four horses, and get your share. When he came there afterwards at his desire he got copper-pots, the one larger than the other till the largest pot of all was filled with the smaller ones. He also gave him other things,[170] which were helmets, of that colour and fashion which are large and thick, and which are still remaining in the country, being preserved at the parsonage of Tanum. This man Reor's father surnamed I Foglekärsten, had a number of children by this wife of his, whom he fetched out of the hill, among whom was the aforesaid Reor. Olaf Stenson also in Stora Rijk, who died last year, was Reor's sister's son.[171]

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      Between the villages of Marup and Aagerup in Zealand, there is said to have lain a great castle, the ruins of which are still to be seen near the strand. Tradition relates that a great treasure is concealed among them, and that a dragon there watches over three kings' ransoms.[172] Here, too, people frequently happen to get a

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