"
"Because you always wanted them to be so long."
"And when I desired that we should write more about something, then you
changed the subject."
"'I show to the best advantage when you see my tail,'[1] said the
hulder."
[Footnote 1: The hulder in the Norse folk-lore appears like a beautiful
woman, and usually wears a blue petticoat and a white sword; but she
unfortunately has a long tail, like a cow's, which she anxiously
strives to conceal when she is among people. She is fond of cattle,
particularly brindled, of which she possesses a beautiful and thriving
stock. They are without horns. She was once at a merry-making, where
every one was desirous of dancing with the handsome, strange damsel;
but in the midst of the mirth a young man, who had just begun a dance
with her, happened to cast his eye on her tail. Immediately guessing
whom he had gotten for a partner, he was not a little terrified; but,
collecting himself, and unwilling to betray her, he merely said to her
when the dance was over: "Fair maid, you will lose your garter." She
instantly vanished, but afterwards rewarded the silent and considerate
youth with beautiful presents and a good breed of cattle. FAYE'S
_Traditions_.--NOTE BY TRANSLATOR.]
"Ah! that is so. You have never told me how you got rid of Jon
Hatlen."
"I laughed."
"How?"
"Laughed. Do not you know what it is to laugh?"
"Yes; I can laugh.
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