KING OLAF TRYGGVASON was told that trolls lay on Heidar-skog, so that no one could traverse it. The king called his men together, and asked which of them would go and free the place. One of his vassals, Brynjulf of Thrandheim, a big and stately man, stood up and offered to go. He set out with 60 men, and on nearing the place they stayed all night with one named Thorkell, who showed them the way next morning, and said it was a great pity that the king should have no more profit of such men as they were. They rode on then till they came in sight of a great building, from which they saw three troll-women running; two of them were young, while the third and biggest was all covered with hair like a grey bear, and all three had swords in their hands. Then they saw a tall man, if man he could be called, and two boys with him. He had in his hand a drawn sword, so bright that- sparks seemed to fly from it. A battle immediately began, in which the big man and the shaggy ogress dealt terrible blows, and in the end Brynjulf fell with all his companions except four, who escaped into the wood and returned to tell the story to the king.

Styrkar of Gimsar now spoke to his friend Thorstein Ox-leg, and asked if he would go with him to Heidarskog. Thorstein said he was quite willing, and one morning early they set out on snow-shoes (skier) up the fell, nor did they stop until in the evening they came to a shieling, where they proposed to pass the night. Styrkar proceeded to light a fire, while Thorstein went in search of water, with the pitchers in one hand and a spear in the other. As he came near the water, he saw a girl with pitchers; she was not very tall but stout. On seeing Thorstein she threw down the pitchers and ran off; he also threw down his, and ran after her. Both ran their hardest, and kept the same distance between them, until they came in sight of a house, very big and strongly built. Into this the girl ran, slamming the door behind her, whereupon Thorstein threw his spear after her, with such force that it went through the door. Then he entered the house and found his spear lying on the floor, but no traces of his girl. He went still further in, till he came to a bed-closet where a light was burning, and there he saw a woman lying in the bed, if woman she could be called. She was both tall and stout, with strong features and a colour both black and blue, in every way like a troll. She lay in a silken shirt, which looked as if it had been washed in human blood. The witch was sound asleep, and snored terribly loud. Above her hung a shield and a sword. Thorstein stood up on the bed-stock, took down the sword and drew it. Then he lifted the clothes off the hag, and saw that she was all covered with hair, except a single bare spot under her left arm. Judging that iron would bite on her either there or nowhere, he set the sword's point on that spot, and leaned upon the hilt. It went right through her, so that the point of it pierced the bed. The carline awoke then with no pleasant dream, felt round about her with her hands, and sprang up. In a moment Thorstein had put out the light, and leapt over her into the bed, while she sprang out on the floor, thinking that her assailant would have made for the door, but as she reached it she fell on the sword and died. Thorstein went up to her, and pulled out the sword, which he took with him, and went on till he came to another door, which ran up and down in grooves, and had not been lowered to the bottom. There he saw a big man with strong features, sitting on the bench with his war-gear hanging above him. On one side of him sat a big woman, very ugly but not very old, and two boys were playing on the floor, on whose heads the hair was sprouting. The giantess spoke and said, "Are you sleepy, father Ironshield?" "No, my daughter Skjaldis," said he, "but thoughts of great men lie upon me." He then called the boys by name, the one being Hák and the other Haki, and told them to go and see whether their mother Skjaldvör was asleep or awake. "It is unwise, father," said Skjaldis, "to send young creatures out in the dark, for I can tell you that I saw two men running down from the fell this evening, who are so fleet of foot, that I think there are few of our people who could match them." "I think that of little consequence," said Ironshield, "the only men the king sends here are those that I have little fear of; I am afraid of one man only, and he is called Thorstein, son of Orny, and comes from Iceland, but I feel as if a leaf hung before my eyes with regard to all my destiny, whatever be the reason." "It is very unlikely, father," said she, "that this Thorstein will ever come to Heidarskog." The boys now came to the door, and Thorstein drew away from it. They ran outside and in a little were followed by Skjaldis, who, on reaching the outer door, fell over her dead mother. At this she felt both cold and strange, and ran out of the house; at the same time Thorstein came up and cut off her hand with the sword. She then tried to enter the house again, but Thorstein warded the door against her. She had, however, a short sword in her hand, and fought with that for a time until she fell dead. At that moment Ironshield came out with a drawn sword in his hand, so bright and sharp that Thorstein thought he had never seen the like. He immediately struck at Thorstein, who tried to avoid the blow, but was wounded in the thigh. The sword ran into the ground up to the hilt, and as Ironshield bent down, Thorstein raised his sword and hewed at him, striking him on the shoulder and taking off both the arm and leg. Ironshield fell with that, and Thorstein let little time elapse between his blows, until he had hewed off his head. After this he again entered the house, but before he was aware of it he was suddenly seized and thrown down. This, he found, was the old hag Skjaldvör, now far more difficult to deal with than before. She crouched down over Thorstein, trying to bite his throat asunder, but at that moment it came into his mind that He must be great Who had shaped heaven and earth: many notable things too had he heard of King Olaf and of the faith that he preached. He then of pure heart and whole mind vowed to embrace that faith, and to serve Olaf while he lived; if he escaped whole and alive from all this sorcery. Then as the hag tried to fix her teeth in his throat, a ray of exceeding brightness came into the house, and fell right into her eyes. At this all strength and power forsook her; she began to gasp hideously, and then vomit sprang out of her and down over Thorstein's face, so that he was nearly killed with the evil smell that came from it. Some think it not unlikely that part of it had got into his breast, as it is believed that after that he was not quite of one shape always, whether this was caused by Skjaldvör's vomit, or by his having been exposed as a child. Both of them now lay between life and death, so that neither of them could rise up.

Meanwhile Styrkar was in the shieling, wondering what had delayed Thorstein. He threw himself down on the seat, and after he had lain there for a little, two boys sprang in, each with a sword in his hand, and attacked him at once. Styrkar caught up the seat-stock, and struck with it till he killed them both. Suspecting then what was detaining Thorstein, he went on till he came to the house, and found the two trolls lying dead there, but no signs of Thorstein. He vowed then to the maker of heaven and earth to embrace the faith that King Olaf preached, if he found his fellow alive and whole that night. Entering the house, he found him lying under Skjaldvör, whom he pulled off him, and then Thorstein rose up, though he was very stiff after all the struggle he had had with the trolls, and the embraces of Skjaldvör. They broke the old hag's neck, though that was not so easy, for her neck was terribly thick. Then they dragged together all the trolls, kindled a bale-fire, and burned them to ashes.

IT is said that one time King Olaf went north to Hálogaland, which was so much over-run by trolls that men could stand it no longer, and sent word to the King. He came thither, and laid his ships at anchor, telling his men to remain quiet, and not go ashore until he himself went next morning. Two of the night-watch, however, found it dull on board the ships, and went ashore, and climbed up the mountain. There they saw a fire burning in a cave, at the mouth of which they took their stand. Beside the fire many trolls were sitting, and the men could hear how one of them, who seemed to be the chief among them, spoke up and said: "You must know that King Olaf is come to our land here, and intends to come ashore to-morrow, and come hither to our dwellings and drive us away."

Another troll answered and said, "That is an ill lookout, for I shall tell you that we once came together in this way. I had my home in Gaular-dal, a little south from my friend Earl Hákon, and it was an unpleasant change to me when this one came in his place, for the Earl and I had great fellowship with each other. One time when the King's men were disporting themselves near my dwelling, I disliked their noise and was ill-pleased with them, so I joined in their sports without their noticing me. Before I left them I had broken the arm of one, and on the following day I broke the leg of another, and thought things were looking very well then. The third day I again came to their sports, and intended to do mischief to some of them, but when I laid hands on one of them, he gripped me by the sides: I seemed to burn beneath his touch, and would fain have been away, but could not. Then I knew it was the King, and wherever he laid his hands on me I was burned, and have never been in such a wretched plight. The end was that I made my way down into the ground, and afterwards came away north here."

Then said another devil: "I came to where the king was present at a feast, and meant to beguile him with drink, so I put upon me the form of a beautiful woman, and stood in fine array beside the table with the drinking-horn. During the evening the king noticed, me and held out his hand towards me and the horn. I thought it was all right now, but as soon as he had got the horn he struck me such a blow on the head with it, that I thought my skull would split, and had to betake myself to the nether road. That is what I got by our meeting."

Then said the third troll: "I shall tell you how things went with me. I went into a room where the king was lying in one bed and the bishop in another, and put upon me the form of a beautiful woman. ‘Woman,' said the king, 'come here and scratch my foot.' I did so, and scratched his foot, and made it itch all the more. Then the king fell asleep, and I raised myself up above him and was about to spring upon him, but with that the bishop struck me between the shoulders with his book, so hard that every bone broke, and I had to make use of the nether-road. The bishop then woke the king, and asked to see his foot. By this time there was a pain in it, but the bishop cut out the spot and it healed afterwards. That is my recollection of him."

After hearing this the men went back to the ships, and in the morning told the king and the bishop what they had heard and seen. These recognised the truth of the story, but the king ordered them not to do the like again, saying it was very dangerous. After that they went up on land and sprinkled holy water and sang psalms, and so cleared away all the evil spirits.

OUT from the farm of Firth in Mjóa-firth there lies a gill, called Mjóa-firth Gill, in which once dwelt a hag, who was in the habit of drawing to herself by magic the priests from Firth. This she did by going to the church while the priest was in the pulpit, and holding up one hand outside the window next to it; then the priest went mad and said:

Having said this, they ran out of the church and 'off to the gill, and no more was ever heard of them. Once when a traveller passed the ravine, he saw the hag sitting on a projecting cliff above him, holding something in her hand. He called out to her and asked, "What are you holding there, old wife?" "I'm just picking the last bits off the skull of Sir Snjóki," said she. The man told this story, and his news was not thought good.

The priests went off there one after the other, until matters grew serious, for priests were slow to come to Firth when they knew of the wicked troll in the gill. At last it seemed impossible to get any one, but a certain priest offered to come, although he knew well enough how matters stood. Before he held his first service in Firth, he had instructed his congregation what they were to do, if they saw anything come over him while he was in the pulpit. In that case six men were to spring on him and hold him fast, another six men were to run to the bells and ring them, whtle ten should hold the door, and he selected the men who were to do these various things. As soon as he had mounted the pulpit, the hand was held up outside the window, and waved about; then the priest went mad, and said:

With that he would have run out of the church, but the six men who had been appointed to that task sprang upon him, the other six rang the bells, and the ten held the door. When the hag heard the bells she took to her heels, making a great gap in the churchyard wall with her feet, at which she said, "Stand thou never!" She then ran off into the ravine, and has never been seen since. The gap she made in the churchyard wall has never stood firm since, however well it has been built up.

CLOSE to Kirkju-bæ in Hróars-tunga there are some remarkable cliffs, known by the name of Skersl. In these there is a cave, in which there once lived a troll-carl and a troll-carline. His name was Thorir; hers is not mentioned. These trolls drew to them every year, by sorcery, either the priest or the shepherd at Kirkju-bæ, and this went on for some time, one or other of them disappearing every year, until there came a priest named Eirik. He was the most spiritual of men, and by virtue of his prayers, succeeded in defending both himself and the shepherd so well, that all the attempts of the trolls were in vain. So time passed until Christmas Eve, and late on that evening the hag at last despaired of getting either the priest or the shepherd into her power. She ceased her endeavours and said to her husband, "Now I have tried till I am tired, to charm either the priest or the shepherd hither, but I cannot accomplish it, for every time that I begin my sorcery I feel as if there came against me a hot breath that is like to burn every limb and joint in my body, and so I always have to give over. Now you must go and see about some food for us, for there is nothing left to eat in the cave." The giant was to go, but was finally persuaded into it by the giantess. He set off out of the cave, and held west over the ridge that has since been named after him, and called Thori's Ridge (Thoris-ás), and so out on the lake, since known as Thori's Water. Here he broke a hole in the ice, and lying down there began to fish for trout. There was a keen frost at the time, and when he thought he had caught enough, and tried to rise up to go home with his catch, he found himself frozen to the ice so firmly that he could not rise at all. He struggled hard and long, but all to no purpose, and there he lay on the ice till he died. The giantess thought her husband long in coming, and began to get hungry, so she too left the cave and went over the ridge, in the same direction as he had gone, and found him lying dead there on the ice. She tried long to pull him up from it, but seeing that this could not be done, she caught up the bundle of trout and threw it on her back, saying at the same time, "This spell and charm I lay, that henceforth nothing shall- be caught-in this lake." Her words have taken effect, for there has been no fishing at all there ever since. She then held home to the cave, but just as she reached the brow of the ridge, it happened at one and the same moment that day broke in the east, and the church-bells sounded in her ears, She turned into a stone on the top of the ridge, which has since been called Skessu-stein (The Giantess's Stone).

ONE time the people in Thing-ey went wrong with their calendar, and did not know when Christmas was. They decided to send a man south to Skil-holt to get from the bishop the information required, and one named Olaf was selected for the purpose. — a fearless, venturesome fellow. He rode up Bardar-dale, and south over Spreingisand, and late in the day arrived at Blá-skógar. Not wishing to stay there, he held on his way, and near sunset saw a tremendously big female troll, standing on the mountain named Blá-fell, which lies near the road. She called to him with a hollow voice, and said,

Olaf answered her with

She called again hoarsely,

When Olaf reached Blá-skógar again on his homeward journey, he again met the troll, and thought that she was not half so fearsome as he had imagined. She then gave him the famous "Troll-woman's Rime," and said, "If Christ, son of Mary, had-done as much for us trolls, as you say he has done for you mortals, we would not have forgot the day of his birth." Wt that they parted, and nothing uncanny was ever seen in Blá-skógar after that.

IN Landsveit beside Mount Hekla lies a farm named Botnar, commonly called Lækjar-botnar, where there once lived a man named Gissur. One time in summer he had ridden to the hill to hunt, taking an extra horse with him. When he thought he had a sufficient load on the horse, he mounted and rode homewards. As he came to Kjallaka-túngur over against the Troll-wife's Leap, he heard a terrible voice in Bilden calling,

" Sister, lend me your pot."

An equally terrible voice east in Bj61-fell answered and said,

"What do you want with it?"

The troll-wife in Búrfell said,

"To boil a man in it."

The one Bjól-fell asked,

"Who is he?"

The other answered,

"Gissur of Botnar, — Gissur of Lækjar-botnar."

With that Gissur looked up to Búrfell, and saw a troll-wife rushing down the slope, and making straight for the Troll-wife's Leap. He saw that she was in earnest with her words, and that the quicker he tried to save his life the better. He therefore let go the reins of the led horse, and whipped up the one he was riding, an unusually swift beast. He neither looked back nor slackened the horse's speed, but rode as hard as he could, yet he was sure that the troll was making up on him, for he heard always better and better her heavy breathing as she ran. He held the straightest way over Land, with the troll after him, hoping that the folk in Klofi would both see himself and her, when they came on to Mark-heath.

This luckily happened, and they were not slow in ringing all the church-bells in Klofi as Gissur came inside the home-field fence. When the troll saw she had lost Gissur, she hurled her axe after him, so that as he came up in front of the house the horse fell dead beneath him, the axe being sunk up to the shaft in its loins. Gissur thanked God heartily for his escape, but as for the troll, as soon as she heard the sound of the bells, she grew furious and ran away again with all her might. Her course was seen from various farms in Land, and she was holding much further east than to her own place, apparently up to the Troll-wife's Gill, where she was found a few days later dead from exhaustion, and the place was named after her. Her sister in Bjólfell was never known to do any harm to the district, and it is not very certain what became of her after this. Some think she must have shifted her abode from there to Troll-wife's Gill, as being too near human habitations where she was.

JÓRUN was a farmer's daughter somewhere in Sandvíkhrepp in Flói (S.W. of Iceland), young and promising, but considered to be proud. She kept house for her father. One day it so happened that a horse-fight was held near the farm, and her father owned one of the horses, which Jórun had a great fancy for. She was present at the fight along with other women, and saw that her father's horse was giving way before the other. With that she became so fierce and furious that she sprang at the other horse, tore off one of its hind legs, and ran with this up Olfus River to Lax-foss, where she tugged a huge rock out of the cliffs beside the river, and threw it out to near the middle of the stream. On this stepping-stone she then crossed over, saying:

The place has since been known as the Trollwife's Leap, or Jóra's Leap. After this she held further up to Heingil, where she took up her abode in a cave, since called Jóruhellir, and was the worst troll, doing harm both to men and animals. From a height up there she kept a look out for travellers, whom she robbed or killed, and became so wicked a fury that she laid waste all the district round about her. The inhabitants suffered so much from her, that they assembled in force to put an end to her, but could achieve nothing against her. While they were in these straits, however, there was a young man who was engaged in trade, and spent the winter in Norway. One day he went before the king and told him of this monster, asking him for advice as to how he could destroy the troll. The king told him to come upon Jóra at sunrise on Whitsunday morning, "for there is no being so evil nor troll so powerful that they are not asleep then," said he. "You will find Jóra lying asleep, face downwards. Here is an axe that I shall give you," said the king, giving him a silver-mounted axe, "and you shall strike between the troll's shoulders. She will waken when she feels the wound, turn herself round and say, "Hands cleave to the shaft." You will say, "Then let the head come off." Both of these sayings will take effect, and Jóra will throw herself into the lake that lies not far from Jóru-kleyf, with the axe-head between her shoulders.

The head will afterwards drive up into the river that will be named after it, and there will the Icelanders afterwards choose their thing-stead." The man thanked the king for his advice and for the axe. He went out to Iceland, followed all the king's directions and killed Jóra. The axe came up into the river Oxar-á (Axe-river) where the Icelanders set their Althing.

IN Bleiks-mýrar-dal, which is the hill-pasture of the men of Fnjóska-dal (N. of Iceland), there is a hollow in the fell on the west side of the river, called Loppa's Hollow (Loppu-skál). This is said to take its name from an ogress, who in old time lived there in a cave, and once state a young and promising man, named Jón, while he was gathering moss along with others. Loppa took Jón home to her cave, where her sister also lived, but no more trolls. The two sisters were in the flower of their age, and as Christianity long before this had spread over all the land, and the trolls were dying out, they meant to have Jón as their mate to perpetuate their kin. They were therefore careful to treat him as well as ever they could, and let him want for nothing that could increase his strength. They often took him and rubbed him with some kind of ointment, and tugged him out between them, as well as howled into his ears, in order to make a troll of him. They never left him alone in the cave, and only one at a time went out to get supplies. So some seasons passed, and Jón never saw the sun, nor got any chance to escape, which he had a great desire to do, though he concealed that from them. One time Loppa's sister disappeared; Jón did not know what became of her, but she never came back. Loppa was greatly distressed at losing her sister, for she did not trust her fosterling. She had now to do all the work herself, and leave Jón alone, but she never stayed away so long that he could see a chance of escaping. He then feigned illness, and pretended to be very bad. Loppa was greatly vexed, and asked what would cure him. Jón said the most likely thing to effect a cure, was for him to get a shark twelve years old. Loppa promised to procure this for him, and set out for that purpose. Shortly after, she turned back to see if her fosterling was quiet, and found him so; this made her think there was no fraud intended, and she went her way. In a little Jón rose out of bed, left the cave, and ran down to the river. There he found a stud of horses, one of which he took and rode down the dale, but it soon foundered, for Jón had grown so heavy that no horse could bear him. In this way he held on down to Illuga-stadir, having by that time spoiled three horses, and yet been compelled to walk most of the way. When he got to the south side of the farm, he heard Loppa calling to him from Mid-degis-hóll, and saying, "Here's the twelve-year old shark, Jón! and thirteen-year too; I went to Siglu-ness for it." Jón was overcome by exhaustion, but managed to reach the church, broke up the door with his fist, and told them to ring the bell. By this time Loppa was close to the farm, but on hearing the sound of the bell she turned back. Jón had grown so tall that his head touched the ridgepole of the church when he stood upright in it. He only lived for three days after, and was supposed to have died of exhaustion from the race.

Two men were once out gathering moss, and lay by night in a tent together. One was asleep, and the other awake, when the latter saw the former creep out. He rose and followed him, but could hardly run fast enough to keep up with him. The man made for the glaciers above, and the other then saw a giant hag sitting on a glacier peak, alternately stretching out her crossed hands and drawing them in to her breast, and by this means she was charming the man towards herself. He ran straight into her arms, and she then made off with him. The year after, the people from his district were moss-gathering at the same place, and the man then came to them, but was very silent and reserved, so that scarcely a word could be got out of him. The folk asked him in what he believed, and he said that he believed in God. The next year he came to the same folk again, and was now so troll-like that they were afraid of him. However, they asked him what he believed in, but he gave no answer. On this occasion he stayed with them a shorter time than before. The third year he again came to them, and had now become the greatest troll and hideous to look on. Some one however ventured to ask him in what he believed, and he said he believed in "Trunt, trunt, and the trolls in the fells." After that he disappeared, and was never seen again; indeed no one ventured to go there for moss for some years after.

SOME fishermen from the north were once journeying south, and were caught in a very severe storm on the fells, so that they went astray, and knew not where they were going. At last they came to a cave-mouth, and went into it until they were out of the-wind and rain. Here they struck a light, and made a fire with moss which they pulled off the stones, and soon began to recover themselves and grow warm. They then discussed what they should have to amuse themselves with; some wanted to recite Andra-rímur, and some to sing Hallgrím's psalms. Further in from them they saw a dark cleft, looking as if there was a new turn on the cave there. They then heard a voice saying in the darkness,

They accordingly began to recite Andra-rímur with all their might, and the best reciter among them was one named Björn. This went on for a good part of the evening, until the voice in the darkness said, "Now I am amused but my wife is not: she wants to hear Hallgríms-rímur." They now began to sing the psalms, and finally came to an end of all the verses they knew. The voice said, "Now my wife is entertained, but I am not" Again it said, "Will you lick the inside of my ladle for your reward, reciter Björn?" He assented to this, and a large tub on a shaft was handed out with porridge in it, and all of them could scarcely manage the ladle. The porridge was good to eat, and three of them partook of it and enjoyed it, the other one did not venture to touch it. Then they lay down to sleep, and they slept well and long.

Next day they went to look at the weather, and found it bright and clear, so they decided to resume their journey, but the one who had not ventured to eat on the previous night slept so sound that he could not be wakened. Then one of them said, "It were better to kill our companion, than leave him thus behind in the hands of trolls." With that he struck him on the nose, so that the blood flowed down all over him, but at this he awoke and was able to leave with his fellows, and they at last arrived safe at human habitations. It is supposed that this troll had charmed to himself a woman out of the district, and that to her their escape was due.

ON a farm east in Öræfi (S. of Iceland) lies a ridge called Hremmu- or Hremsu-háls. It is entirely a sandy ridge with fens on each side of it, and covered with small gravel, except for three large stones that lie in the middle of it. The largest of these is said to be a troll-hag, on whom day broke here, and the others a whale-calf and a bear. At the time when this happened, the parish priest had been sent for, to minister to an old woman in the district, who was a witch and had been in league with the troll. When she sent for the priest, she bade the messenger tell him not to be afraid of anything he might see on the way, or it would be all over with her. The priest's road lay over the ridge, and it was night when they crossed it. They saw a huge hag come up from the sea and make towards the fells, carrying a bear on her back, and a whale-calf in front. This was Hremma or Hremsa. She took long strides and breathed heavily, nor did she notice the men till they met each other on the ridge. Then she looked up and glared at them, and at that the messenger was so startled that he fell down dead. The priest began to talk with her, and they continued talking until the hag looked up and cried, "Day in the east, but dead is the carline!" meaning the old woman for whom the priest had been summoned. At the same moment the hag turned to stone. The priest afterwards said that he was not afraid, but had been a little startled when the man fell down dead by his side, and that must have hastened the old woman's death.

THERE was a man named Bergthor who lived in a cave on Blá-fell, along with his wife Hrefna. The land was all heathen at that time, which was in the days of the giantess Hít, after whom Hítar-dal is named. Bergthor was among the guests, when she invited all the trolls of the country to a feast in Hunda-hellir. After the feasting was over, Hít bade them devise some entertainment, so they tried feats of strength, and Bergthor always came out the strongest. Bergthor did no harm to men, if he was not meddled with, and was believed to be wise and far-seeing. After the land became Christian, Hrefna thought it unpleasant to live in Blá-fell and look over Christian habitations, and so much was the change against her liking, that she wished to remove their dwelling north over Hvít-á (White River). Bergthor however said that he did not mind the new faith, and would stay just where he was. Hrefna took her own way though, and removed north across the river, where she built herself a hall under a fell, a place since known as Hrefna's Booths. After this she and Bergthor only met when trout-fishing in White River Lake. Bergthor often went out to Eyrar-bakkar to buy meal, especially in winter when the rivers were frozen over, and always carried two barrels of it. One time he was going up the district with his load, and on coming up below the home-field at Berg-stadir, in Biskupstungur, he met the farmer and asked him to give him something to drink. He said he would wait there while the farmer went to the house for it, and laid down his burden beside the berg or rock from which the farm takes its name. While waiting there he picked a hole in the rock with the pike of his staff, and when the farmer returned with the drink, he told him that he should use this hole to keep his sour whey in; water would never mix with it there, nor would it freeze in winter, and it would cost him dear if he did not use it. He then thanked the farmer and held on his way.

When Bergthor was far advanced in years, he came one time to the farmer of Hauka-dal, and said he wished to be buried in a place where he could hear the ringing of bells and saying of prayers, and therefore asked him to bring him to Hauka-dal when he died. For his trouble the farmer should have what he found in the kettle beside his bed; and the token of his death would be that his walking-staff would be found beside the door of the farmhouse. The farmer promised this, and so they parted. Time passed, and no word was heard of Bergthor, until one morning, when the folks at Hauka-dal came downstairs, they found a huge walking-staff at the outer door. They told this to the farmer, who said little, but went outside and saw that it was Bergthor's staff. He then had a big coffin made, and set off with some other men north to Blá-fell. Nothing is told of them until they reached the cave, where they found Bergthor lying dead in his bed. They placed him in the coffin, and thought him wonderfully light compared with his size. The farmer noticed a large kettle standing beside the bed, and gave a look to see what might be in it. He saw nothing there but leaves,and gave no heed to it, thinking that Bergthor had made a fool of him. One of his companions however filled both his gloves with the leaves, and they then carried Bergthor's body out of the cave and down the mountain. When they had got down to level ground, the man looked into his gloves and found them full of money. The farmer and his men turned back at once to get the kettle, but could not find the cave anywhere, and it has never been found since. They had therefore just to turn back again, and took Bergthor's body down to Hauka-dal, where he was buried on the north side of the church. The ring of his staff is said to have been fixed in the church-door, and the spike of it to have been long used for the church-mattock, and here ends the story of Bergthor in Blá-fell.

IN former days two night-trolls, an old man and old woman, had their home on Hegra-ness, but little was heard of them until the following event happened. One time their cow was in heat, and whether it was that they had no one else to send, or that they trusted themselves best, they went and led the cow themselves, not to let her miss her time. The man led her, and the wife drove her from behind, as is the custom. In this way they held with the cow out Hegra-ness, and out into Skaga-firth a good way, but when they still wanted no little distance of being half across the firth, they saw day beginning to dawn over the hill-tops on the east side of it. As it is sudden death to night trolls if day breaks upon them, th dawning was their destruction, so that.each of them became a pillar of rock, and are now those which stand there, the one out from Dráng-ey and the other in from it; the former is the man, the latter the woman, and from that they are still called to this day Karl and Kerling. Out of the cow was formed the island Dráng-ey itself.

It is an ancient practice still observed, that all who go to Drimg-ey for the first time in spring, salute it as well as the Karl and Kerling. The captain on each boat begins by saying, "Whole and well, Dráng-ey mine, and all your followers! Whole and well, Kerling mine, and all your followers! Whole and well, Karl mine, and all your followers!" Then each sailor in the boat repeats the same formula, though now perhaps more in jest than earnest.

IT is said that a troll-wife once thought of wading from Norway to Iceland. She was aware indeed of the fact that there were deep channels on the way, but she is reported to have said to another troll-wife, her neighbour, who tried to prevent her from going, "Deep are Iceland's channels, but yet they can well be waded." At the same time, she admitted that there was one narrow channel in mid-sea, so deep that it would wet her crown. After this she set out, and came to the channel that she was most afraid of. There she tried to lay hold of a ship that was sailing past, to steady herself in stepping over, but she missed the ship and stepped too short, and so fell into the channel and was drowned. It was her body that once drove up on Rauda-sand, and was so large that a man on horseback could not with his whip reach up to the bend of her knees, as she lay stiff and dead on the shore.

A little above Maelifell in Skagafirth, is a strip of fen between two ridges, called "the Hag's Bed," the story being that a troll-wife slept there, and that this hollow is her lair. It is evident where her head lay. The fen is deepest where her shoulder and thigh-bone sunk in, for she had lain on her side and drawn up her knees a little: the mark of her shoes can also be seen. The hollow is undoubtedly well on to two hundred fathoms in length, and that shows of what size men have imagined the trolls to be.

IT is said that the trolls are fain to get a human habitation to stay in and enjoy themselves on Twelfth Night. North from Nugvu-ness in Borgar-dale, on the island of Mikines, there is built a little house for the shepherds to lie in at certain seasons of the year, as the pastures are far from any habitations, and they have to watch the sheep to hold them to their own ground, to keep them in about the shelters, and help them when buried in the snow. One night a shepherd was making his way east to the pastures in Borgar-dale, when a fierce storm came on him at this spot, so he decided to seek shelter in this house, but as he drew near it he heard noise and din coming from the inside. He therefore went first to the window to peep in, and discovered that the house was crammed full a trolls who made themselves merry, and danced and sang, "Trum, trum, trallalei; it is cold in the fells among the trolls; it is better in the house on the brae at Skála-vellir; trum, trum, tralalei; dance close to the door."

Worse, however, is said to have happened at Tröllaness, the most northerly inhabited spot in Kalsö, for there they came on Twelfth Night every year, trooping from every direction, in such numbers that the inhabitants had always to flee to Mikladal, and stay there over the festival, while these gentry enjoyed them at TröIlaness, which got its name from them. On one occasion, it so happened that an old woman was unable to go away with the others, and so had to stay at home on Twelfth Night: she lay down under a table in the kitchen, and hid herself there so that the trolls might not see her. As the evening wore on, she saw them come thronging in at the door, like sheep being driven into the fold, so many that she could not count them. They straightway began to dance and. play, but just as they were at their merriest, and the dance thundering at its hardest, the old woman grew frightened, and cried, "Jesus have mercy on me!" When the trolls heard the blessed name, which they all hate and fear, they all began to howl, and shout,"Gydja has broken up the dance," and struggled to get out of doors as quick as possible, and have never since ventured to trouble the district by visiting Tröllaness. When the folk came north again from Mikladal, they expected to find old Gydja dead, but she was on her legs and could tell them how she had got on with the trolls, and how they disappeared when they heard the name of Jesus.

IN Höiegaard in old days no one could stay over Christmas Eve: All the folk had to go down to the oldfarm in Rönnebæk, which has long been given up, and stay there till Christmas morning, for every Christmas Eve there came an ugly troll from Dragehöi, with a sackful of toads on his back, which he roasted at the fire in the sitting room, and ate one after another; but if any one ventured to stay there over night, he might be pared to be torn in pieces by the troll. One time, just as the folk were leaving the farm, there came a man who went about with a bear, exhibiting it. They told him why they had to leave, and advised him also to get away from there; but the man begged to be allowed to stay overnight, and as he was bent on doing so they finally gave him leave. Towards evening, the troll came with his sack on his back, sat down by the fire, opened it and pulled out the one toad after the other, took each by a hind leg and held it over the fire till it was roasted, and then swallowed it. So one toad after the other went into him for some time, till he began to be satisfied. Then he turned to the man, and said, "What's your dog's name?" "Toad," said the man. The troll took a toad, roasted it, and held it out to the bear, saying, "Toad shall have a toad," but the bear growled, and began to rise. "Yes," said the man to the troll, "just you take care, and not make him angry, or he'll tear you in pieces." The troll looked quite frightened, and asked, "Have you any more like him?" "Yes," said the man, "this one has five young ones, which are lying outside on the baking oven." The troll made haste to tie up the toads he had left in the sack, threw it on his back, and went out at the door in a hurry. Next morning, when the people of the farm came home, the man was lying all right in the bed, and the bear beside the fire, both quite comfortable. When the man told them how he had got on, they were very glad, and bade him come again next Christmas Eve, which he did, but the troll did not come, and has never shown himself there since.

IN Vinje in Thelemark lies a lake called Totak, which seldom freezes before Yule. Beside this lake, on the farm of Vaa, there once lived a man named Dyre, who had the reputation of being afraid of nothing in the world. It happened once late on a Yule Eve, that the folks in Vaa heard something howling frightfully on the other side of the lake. The others were terrified, but Dyre went calmly down to the water to see what was going on. He took his boat and rowed over to the place from which the sound came. Although it was dark, he made out that it was a huge berg-troll that was shouting, but he could not see him. The troll immediately asked him who he was. "It's Dyre Vaa," said he, and in turn asked the troll where he came from. "From Aas-haug," was the answer. "And where are you going?" continued Dyre. "To Gloms-haug, to my girl," said the troll; "will you set me over?" Dyre agreed to do so, but when the troll set his foot into the boat, it was like to sink. "Lighten yourself, you great troll," shouted Dyre. "Yes, I'll do that," said the troll. As they rowed over the lake Dyre said to him, "Show yourself to me, and let me see how big you are." "No, that I won't," said the troll, "but I will leave a mark in the boat." Early on Christmas morning Dyre went down to the lake to look for the promised mark, and found in the boat the thumb of the troll's glove. He took this home and it certainly was not small, for it held four bushels good measure.

ON a croft up in Vaage in Gudbrands-dal there lived in old days a pair of poor people. They had many children, and two of the sons, who were about half-grown, had always to wander about the district and beg. In this way they were well acquainted with all the roads and paths round about; they also knew the straight way to Hedal, and one time they decided to go there.

They had heard, however, that some falconers had built themselves a hut beside Mwla, so they decided to go that way and see the birds and how they caught them, so they took the straight road over Lang-myrer. But by this time it was so far on in the year, that all the dairy-maids had gone home from the shielings, and they could nowhere find either shelter or food. They had therefore to hold on the way to Hedal, but this was only a faint track, which they lost when the darkness fell upon them, and before they knew, they were in the thick of Bjiil-stad Forest. When they saw that they could not get on any further, they began to break off branches and make a fire, as well as to build a little hut, for they had an axe with them. Then they tore up heather and moss, and made a bed of that. Some time after they had lain down, they heard some one snuffing loudly with the nose, and listened attentively, to see whether it was a beast or a wood-troll. The snuffing was repeated, still stronger than before, and a voice said, "There is the smell of Christian blood here." Then they heard steps so heavy that the earth shook beneath them, and knew that the trolls were out.

"God help us; what are we to do now?" said the youngest boy to his brother.

"Oh, just you stay under the fir-tree where you are, and be ready to lift the bags and take to your heels as soon as you see them come; I shall take the axe," said the other.

At that same moment they saw the trolls approaching, so tall and stout that their, heads were as high as the fir-tops, but they had only one eye between the three of them, which they took turns of using. They had a hole in the forehead, in which they set it, and guided it with the hand. The one who went in front had to get it, and the other two came behind and hung on by him.

"Take to your heels," said the oldest of the boys, "but don't run too far until you see what happens. Since they have their eye so high up, they will have difficulty in seeing me when I come up behind them."

His brother ran on ahead and the trolls followed him, but the eldest boy came behind, and hacked at the hind-most troll's ankle-joint, so that he set up an awful howl. At this the foremost one was so alarmed that he started and let go the eye, which the boy was not slow in snapping up. It was as large as two quart-bowls laid together, and so clear that although it was a pitch-dark night, it became as bright as day when he looked through it. When the trolls discovered that he had taken the eye from them, and done mischief to one of their number, they began to threaten him with all possible evils unless he returned it at once.

"I am not afraid of trolls and threats," said the boy; "I have three eyes now, and you three have none, and two of you must carry the third."

"If we do not get our eye again this minute, you shall turn to stock and stone," screamed the trolls, but the boy thought it would hardly go so far as that; he was afraid neither of boasts nor of trolldom, he said, and if he was not left in peace, he would hack at all the three of them, so that they would come to creep on the ground like reptiles and vermin. When the trolls heard this they were frightened, and began to speak him fair. They earnestly begged him to give them the eye again, and he should get both gold and silver and all that he could wish for. The boy thought this was very fine, but he would have the gold and silver first, so he said that if one of them would go home, and bring as much gold and silver as would fill his and his brother's bags, and give them two good steel-bows as well, they should have the eye, but until that he would keep it

The trolls protested and said that none of them could go, when they did not have the eye to see with, but at last one of them began to shout for the old woman, for all three had an old woman in common as well. In a little he was answered from a crag far away to the north. The trolls told her to come with two steel-bows and two buckets full of goldand silver, nor was it long before she was there. When she heard how things had gone, she too began to threaten, but the others were frightened and entreated her to take care of the little wasp; she could not be certain that he would not take her eye as well. So she threw the buckets of gold and silver along with the steel-bows to the boys, and went off home with the trolls, nor since that time has any one heard of their going about in Hedal Forest smelling after Christian blood.

ON a man's land in Vivild there was a high bank in.. which-there Tived three trolls. Every Valborg evening they came out, and took something of what was nearest them. The man who owned the ground had once forgot two harrows and a plough on the field, and these they took and burned, but they could not take anything that was marked with the cross. Another Valborg evening it happened that the ploughs and harrows were standing outside, and the farmer was not at home. In order not to lose them again, his man was sent out to make the mark of the cross upon them. He went accordingly, but when he came to the first, and was about to bend down to make the sign, the first troll gave him a box on the ear. He went to the other to try if thingsere the same way there, and the second troll laid his hand on his neck, dragged the coat off him and kept it. He then fled home without accomplishing anything. The little boy then came to his mother, and asked if he might go. "Can you do it?" asked his mother. Yes, he was sure he could. "You know what you have in your pocket?" Yes, it was a piece of chalk and a pin of rowan-tree. Off he went merrily, but when he had gone part of the way, he began to think what he should do to get the better of the trolls. He had the chalk in his pocket, so he first marked a cross on his cheek, for the trolls were afraid of the cross, and so he was sure to escape the box on the ear. Next he considered that the second troll had taken the man by the neck, so he wrapped the rowan-tree pin in his handkerchief and tied it on the back of his neck. With that he had arrived at the first harrow, and bent down to make the mark. At the same moment the first troll gave him one on the ear, but the cross on his cheek burned through his hand, so he screamed and ran away. When the boy got to the second harrow and was bending down over it, the second troll came and seized him by the neck, but with that his hand withered. He had now to go and make the cross on the plough, and having seen what effect the rowan-pin had on the second troll, he decided to take it and show it to the third one. As he came up, he held the pin out, and said, "Do you know that? That is a chip of Jesus' cross." Then the third troll turned to coal, of which the boy took a bit home with him, and said to his mother with great delight, "Did you see, I stood against the trolls? and the chip I had was indeed a piece of Jesus' cross as my grandfather said. When I grow big, I can go wherever I please, for the trolls are afraid of me."

WHILE King Halfdan the Black sat in peace at home in the Uplands, it befell that much treasure and valuable things disappeared from his treasury, and no one knew who was to blame. The King was greatly troubled, for he thought that this would not be the only visit of the thief. He then had things so arranged with cunning devices and powerful spells, that whatever man entered the house to take the treasure would have to stay there till some one came to him. He guessed that the one who did the mischief would be both big and strong, so he ordered men to make ponderous fetters of the hardest steel, and twisted leaden bands. One morning early when they came to the treasury, they found there a huge giant, both tall and stout. They fell on him in a body, and put the fetters on him, but he was exceedingly strong, and sixty men were needed before he was secured with the fetters. Then they bound his hands firmly behind his back with the leaden bonds, and after that he became quieter. King Halfdan asked him his name; he said he was called Dofri, and lived in the fell that is named after him. The King asked whether he had stolen his gold; he admitted it, and asked for pardon, promising to repay it threefold, but the King said he would never pardon him, he should stay there bound until the Thing could be summoned, and there he should be condemned to a shameful death. He said too that he would give him no food, and whoever did so should lose his life. Then the King went home, and Dofri remained there in bonds.

Soon after this, Halfdan's son Harald came home, and learned all these tidings, and what his father had said. He was then five years old. Going to where Dofri was sitting, with a Grím and gloomy look, Harald spoke to him, and said, "Hard stead are you: will you accept your life from me?" "I am not sure," said Dofri, "whether, after what your father said, I ought to bring you into so great danger." "What does that concern you?" said Harald, and with that he drew his short sword, which was of the best steel, and cut the fetters and leaden bands off Dofri. He, as soon as he was freed, thanked Harald for giving him his life, and betook himself off at once: he took no long time to tie his shoes, laid his tail on his back, and set off so that neither wind norsmoke of him was seen.

When Halfdan discovered this, he was so angry that he drove Harald away, saying he could go and look for help from the troll Dofri. Harald wandered about for four days in the woods, and on the fifth as he stood in a clearing, worn out with hunger and thirst, he saw a huge fellow coming along in whom he thought he knew the troll Dofri. "You are in no good plight either, prince, as things are now," said Dofri, "and all this, one may say, you have fallen into on my account: will you go with me to my home?" Harald agreed, and the giant, taking him up in his arms, carried him swiftly along till he came to a large cave. In entering this he stooped rather less than he intended, and struck the boy's head so hard on the rock that he was at once made unconscious. Dofri thought it would be a terrible accident if he had killed the boy, and was so deeply grieved that he sat down and cried over him. As he sat shaking his head and making wry faces Harald recovered, and looked up at him and saw his mouth distorted, his cheeks swollen, and the whites of his eyes turned up: — "It is a true saying, foster-father," said he, "that 'few are fair that greet,' for now you seem to me very ugly. Be merry, for I am not hurt."

Dofri fostered Harald for five years, and loved him so much that he could oppose him in nothing. Dofri taught him much both of learning and of feats of skill, and Harald increased greatly both in size and strength. There he stayed until the death of his father Halfdan, when Dofri sent him to succeed him as king. "I charge you," he said, "never to cut your hair or nails until you are sole king over Norway. I shall be present to assist you in your battles, and that will be of service to you, for I shall do all the more harm, in that I shall not be easily seen. Farewell now, and may everything turn out for your glory and good fortune, no less than if you had stayed with me."

IN Denmark lived a man named Virvill, who had a son called Asbjörn, surnamed "the Proud." It was the custom at that time for women called völvur (sybils) to go about the country and fore-tell men their fate, and the kind of season it would be, and other things that they wished to know. One of these came to Virvill, and was well received and entertained with the best. In the evening the sybil was asked to tell their fortunes. She said that Virvill would live there till old age, and be greatly esteemed; "but as for that young man that sits beside you, it is good for him to hear his fate: he will travel widely, and be most thought of where he is best known, and perform many exploits, and die of old age if he never comes to North Mæri in Norway, or further north in that country." "I expect," said Asbjörn, "that I shall be no more fey there than here." "You will not have the settling of that, whatever you may think," said the witch.

When Asbjörn grew up he visited various lands, and was highly esteemed by great men. His mother's folk were in Norway, in Hördaland and North Mæri, and among the former of these he stayed a long time. There he became friendly with an Icelander named Orm, a man of immense strength, and the two swore to each other foster-brothership after the old fashion, promising that if either of them was slain the longest-liver would avenge him. In the Spring Asbjörn said to Orm that he intended going north to Mxri to visit his kindred; "I am also curious to know," he said, "whether the life will drop out of me the moment I get there, as the wretched witch said." Orm was willing, and they went north to Mæri with two ships, and were well received. This was in the later days of Earl Hákon. There Asbjörn learned that off the coast of Mæri lay two islands, both named Saudey, over the outer of which ruled a giant named Brusi, who was a great troll and man-eater. It was thought that he could not be overcome by mortal men, however many they were, but his mother was still worse to deal with, and that was a coal-black cat, as big as the biggest ox. Those on the mainland could get no good of either of the islands for these monsters. Asbjörn would fain have gone to the islands, but Orm dissuaded him, and they returned to Denmark.

The second year after this they came back to Norway, and spent the winter there: in the spring Orm went home to Iceland. Not long after that Asbjörn sailed north to Saudey with other 23 men. It was late in the day when they arrived there; they went ashore and pitched their tent, but noticed nothing all that night. Early in the morning Asbjörn rose, and dressed himself, and taking his weapons went up on the island, telling his men to wait there for him. Not long after he had left them, they discovered that a fearsome cat stood in the tent-door, coal-black in hue and fearfully grim, for fire seemed to burn from her nostrils and mouth, and her eyes were fierce and cruel. At this sight they were greatly astonished and terrified. Then the cat sprang in upon them, and seized one after the other; some she devoured and some she tore to death with teeth and claws. Twenty men she killed there in a little while and only three escaped to the ship, and immediately put off from the shore.

Meanwhile Asbjörn went on till he came to the cave of Brusi, and straightway turned into it. It was very dark inside so that he could not see clearly, and the first thing he knew he was caught up, and thrown down with a force that astonished him. Then he saw that the giant had come upon him, and was of a huge size. "Very eager were you to visit me here," said Brusi, "and now you will accomplish your errand, for you shall perish here with such torments as will hinder other men from coming to assail me." With that he stripped Asbjörn of his clothes, for he was so much stronger that he might do with him as he pleased. After this he put him to death in a most horrible fashion, while Asbjörn repeated verses recalling his old exploits and companions, and looking to Orm to revenge him.

When Orm heard of his death he came from Iceland to avenge it. He and his men landed on the inner Saudey in the evening and spent the night there. As he slept a woman came to him, and said that she had the same father as Brusi, but her mother was of mortal birth. She told him all about Asbjörn's death, and how Brusi was afraid of his coming, and had closed the mouth of his cave with a rock that no man could move. To remove this she gave him a pair of gloves, asking him to give Saudey to her after he had overcome Brusi. When Orm awoke he found the gloves beside him, and by means of these was able to remove the stone, and to kill first the cat and then the giant, whom he tortured by cutting the "blood-eagle" on him. After that he burned the bodies of both, and carried off from the cave two chests full of gold and silver, the rest he left to Brusi's sister.

WEST from Sandsbygd there is a large cave in the earth, called Gívrinarhol (the Giantess's cave), in which a giantess lives. The story goes that a man from Sand went down to the bottom of the cave to find the giantess. He managed this successfully, and saw there a huge old woman standing and grinding gold in a quern, while a little child sat beside her playing with a golden baton. The old woman being blind, the man ventured to go cautiously up to the quern and took some of the gold for himself. The giantess, though she neither saw nor heard him, felt that some mischief was on foot, and said, "It is either a mouse making meal, or a thief trying to steal — or else this old thing isn't running right." The man now went away from her with the gold, took the gold baton from the child and struck it on the head with it, so that it began to cry loudly. When the giantess heard this, she suspected mischief, and, springing to her feet, felt for him all round the cave, but found no one, for the man had by this time got out of the cave, mounted his horse, set both spurs to it, and rode home as fast as he could with the gold.

The giantess cried as loudly as she could on her neighbour, told her of her trouble, and asked her to help her to take the thief. She was not slow in getting to her feet to run after him, and stepped across the lake so hard that her footprints are still to be seen in the rock, one on each side of the lake, and are called "the Giantess's footprints." The man had got so good a start, that there was a long way between them until he had reached Volis-myre, when the giantess had got so close to him that she managed to catch the horse by the tail. She kept her hold of that, and stopped the horse in its course, but the man urged it on so hard, that it made one bound forward, and the tail came off, for the giantess had a firm foothold and was able to hold against it. The horse then fell and threw the man forward off its back, but with that the church came in view and the man was saved; the giantess had no more power over him, and had to turn back again. One may still at Givrinarhol hear the blind old giantess grinding gold in the deep cavern.

IN far back times there lived in Goosedale in Vaagö a giant named Torur the strong, and in Miki-nes (Myggenæs) at the same time dwelt a man called Oli the strong. Torur, the dalesman, meant to kill the Mikines-man, and get the island for himself, so he went up out of the dale on to Liraberg, and from there sprang across the sound and landed in Borgar-cleft at the eastern extremity of Mikines. His footprints still remain in the cliffs on both sides of the firth. The Mikines man had his home in the west of the island, so that Torur had a long way to go over hill and dale before he found him, but it was not such a long way for him, he could easily step west with his long legs. The Mikines man saw him as he came striding down the cliff, and fear fell upon him, for this big giant was terrible to behold. He therefore sprang to his feet, and ran away west the island as fast as he could, but when he had got to the westmost point there was not far between them. Oli's heart began to come into his mouth, he grew terribly afraid, and shouted in his extremity, "Split cleft!" and then it was that Mikines-holm was separated from the main island, and the sound came between them. It is evident from the cliffs on both sides of the strait, that the holm and the island must have formerly been fast to each other, for where there are caves in the cliffs of the one, there are projecting rocks right opposite on the other. When the giant saw this opening of more than twenty fathoms wide before him, and the holm separating from the island, he shouted, "Cleave what cleave will, I shall leap after." So he sprang across, and out there on the holm the two began to fight, for Oli saw that he had now no choice before him but to meet the giant and try his might and main. They wrestled long and fiercely, and cast up the earth about their ankles; the place is called Trakk (treading) and no grass has grown there since, though otherwise the holm is all thick with long grass from the highest point down to the sea-cliffs. At long length the Mikines man brought the giant to his knees, knocked one of his eyes out, and threatened to kill him. But the giant was loath to lose his life, and began to beg himself off, promising Oli three rare things if he would give him his life. The first thing he would give him to save his life was a large whale, which would come every year into Whale-goe (Hvalagjógv) on Mikines; the second was that a large tree should spring up in a cleft not far from that, called Woodcave-goe (Vidarhellisgjógv), and the third was a bird that would not settle or make its nest on any other isle on the Færöes except Mikines-holm. To these gifts, however, he attached the condition that no one who settled on the island in the future, and wished to have the good of them, should ever depreciate or mock them. Oli agreed to the conditions and accepted Torur's offer; so the two were reconciled to each other, and lived together all their lives. When they died, they were buried in two grave-mounds in the west of the island, on the point that runs out toward the holm, and to this day the northmost of the two, where the Mikines-man is buried, is called "Oli rami," and the other, where the Dale man lies, has the name of "Torur rami."

The giant kept his promise well: every day during the hay-time the big whale came into Whalegoe, but it does not come now, for the men of Mikines forgot that they must not say any ill about it, and so mocked at it because it had only one eye (being a "döglingur"), and spoke ill of it because the flesh of it made them sick. So the whale disappeared and never came again.

The tree came in spring, but soon went the same way as the whale, for they abused the wood as being crooked and twisted, and wished it out of their sight, for they had to use it every year to build a chapel, and every spring, when the drift-wood came, this was blown down by the wind and carried over the cliff. They thought this gift was no good to them, and so it disappeared.

The bird, which was the third thing the giant had promised, was the solan-goose, which comes in large flocks to the holm and the rocks beside it; but no Mikines man will speak an ill word about the solan-goose, to make them lose that, for it is a great help to those who have no good landing-place and can seldom get to sea to fish. If any one from the mainland ever happens to come to Mikines, and speaks ill of the bird, saying that its feathers have a bad smell, or anything of that kind, then the native who hears him makes it good, and says, "A good bird it is all the same, and a high-born bird that says træl (i.e., thrall) to every man." The solan never settles on any other island than Mikines-holm, unless it is about to die, and then it may be seen flying all over the firths between the islands. It comes to the holm in the end of January, and stays there till about Martinmas, when the young are well fledged: then it is away all the early part of the winter.

ACCORDING to tradition Mikines was a floating island. A man in Sörvaag, who was in the habit of going out to fish, was very much afraid of the big whales out at sea, and having no beaver's scent to drive them away with, he used for that purpose bull's dung, which he threw into the sea when the whales came near the boat. Once as he sat in his boat and was driving along the west side of Vaagö, he saw a large island come out of the mist. All the fishermen drew up their lines, and rowed towards it as fast as they could. The man from Sörvaag, who had first caught sight of it, threw the dung up on a ness which they came to, and then went ashore himself. The island was made fast by the dung that was thrown up on the ness, and from that it is said to have got the name of Mykju-ness (muck-ness). Others however call it Mikiness from the "meikle" ness at the eastern extremity, which has the name of Nugvu-ness.

Other traditions relate that there was once a giant, who wished to live in the Færöes, but the islands he liked best were too small, and so he thought of putting several of them together. First of all he came to Koltur, and laid it where it is now. Then he went to Skuö, to drag it up beside Koltur, but the folk of Skuö asked him if he really could think of living in the island that "Little Calf" had owned. When the giant heard that a calf had owned Skuö, he would not have it, and thanked them for telling him this, gave them valuable gifts in return and went away. To the north of the Færöes he next found a large island, which he thought would be good for him to live on; so he brought it southwards through the sea, but when he came right west from Vaagö, he was unable to get it any further. He lay there for a week, striving to get the island south to Koltur, but without success, he could not move it out of the spot. Then he grew angry, and said, "My life, my life, if I could have got the island past here, I could easily have got this one under the sea," for he did not want anyone to have Mikines to live on but himself. To this day men are said to have sometimes seen an island north from Vaagö; high fells are visible on it, deep dales and white waterfalls. These are mainly Sörvaag men, who have often seen it clearly while watching sheep on the out-pastures where the North Sea is in view. No wonder though the men of Mikines are depressed when word is brought out to them that anyone has seen this island again; who knows but what the giant is living yet, and may sink Mikines to the bottom in order to get his island brought south and fixed where he wishes it to be?

ON Hestmandö in Lurö in Northland, lies a mountain which at a distance resembles a horseman with a big mantle over him. This mountain was formerly a giant who lived at this place. Twelve miles further south, on Lekö, in Nummedal, lived at the same time a maid whom he wooed, but she was so proud that she gave him a scornful refusal, and was besides so accomplished in all kinds of magic that she transformed all his messengers to stone, and they may still be seen in the reefs lying around the northern corner of the island. Enraged at this conduct, the giant bent his bow, intending to avenge this insult. The mighty arrow flew forth and went right through the high mountain Torgehatten, where one may still see the great hole which the arrow made for itself through the hard rock. "That straw came in the way," said the giant; but impeded in its flight by this, the arrow did not quite reach its destination. It fell down at the maiden's feet on the northern corner of Leith, and still lies there in the shape of a large long stone. By mutual trolldom they were both transformed to stone, and shall sit thus and look at each other till Doomsday. Even in our own day, a northland sailor seldom sails past without taking off his hat to the maid of Lekö.

OUT of a cave in the high mountain, which rises above the farm of Mo-laup on the shores of Jörgensfirth in Söndmör, come sometimes fire and smoke, together with loud noises, which were formerly attributed to a troll who lived in the fell. The story relates that a giantess or female troll had her abode here, and was wooed by the giant in Raamandsgill, which is in the neighbourhood. She sailed thither to have a look at her suitor, but on arriving there found him so little and raw (useless) that she in contempt spat upon him. By this he was transformed to stone, and may still be seen on the mountain in the shape of a man; and is known by the name of "Raamand." On the return journey she was overtaken by a violent storm, which nearly stranded her between the farms of Ness and Mo-laup, but by a vigorous push with one of her feet against the beach, the trace of which is still shown, she gave the boat such an impetus that it went right over the firth to the farm of Stavsæt. Here it struck against a cliff, in which may still be seen the hole made by the collision. With this both troll and ship sank, and formed there a blind reef, which is one of the best fishing places in the whole firth.

IN Dunkeraberg in Fosen, there lived a giant of the name of Dunker. He once fell in love with a Christian girl, whom he carried off into the mountain. Here she sat in grief and tears, while the giant prepared the wedding feast. On the evening before the marriage Dunker drank merrily, and became very jolly. The girl, who often in vain had tried to get the giant's name from him and free herself thereby, for Christian    folks can kill giants by calling their name, took advantage of the opportunity, got the troll to lay his head in her lap, and made him so happy, that at last he sprang up, danced, and sang:—

Then the girl joyfully exclaimed, "No, poor Herr Dunker," and with that Dunker burst, fell down so heavily that the mountain split, and the girl came out safe.     

IN Tindfell, there has lived from time immemorial a giant of the largest kind. Once he was in a hurry and had no time to go up to the end of Tind Lake, so he thought it would be quite possible for him to stride over the little bit of water. For this purpose, he planted his foot on its west side, but was unfortunate enough to slip, and so made a great rift in the Fell. As he slipped in this way, he landed with one of his feet in the water, but deep as it is, it did not reach higher than his belt, and with the next step he was up in the East Fells, "I have been in many deep waters," said he, "but never in one deeper than that."

Another time he had got something in his eye that caused him pain; his fingers, even the little one, were far too thick to poke after it with. After long searching he found a corn sheaf, with the help of which he got out the thing in his eye. It was a fir-cone. "Who would have thought that such a little thing could hurt so much," said he.

IN the district of Ness, in Vermeland, there once lived a giant who was on a friendly footing with a peasant on a neighbouring farm. One time, the peasant, along with another man, was returning from his work in the wood, when he saw the giant sitting beside a large stone. In this there was a cavity like a room, in which the giant lived.

"Will you exchange with me," said he to the peasant; "I will give you six she-goats and a billy for a cow?"

"Yes!" answered the peasant.

Next morning, when the peasant's wife went into the byre, she saw that the cow was gone, and that there were goats in its place, and that was greatly to their advantage, for they had a good profit out of them when they killed them.

Once, when the peasant's folk were out in the field, they saw straight before them a cow in calf. The peasant's wife was sorry for the heavy brute, and tied a woollen band round its body. In the evening the giant came to the farm, and bade the woman come out and loose what she had tied. The woman went along with him to the stone, and saw then that the cow was no other than the giant's wife, who had assumed this shape. She took the band off, and so delivered her. As a reward for this service, the giant bade her come with a sack, into which he poured as much silver coin as she could carry. One Easter evening the peasant went past the stone and sitting beside it he saw the giant, who said to him, "Will you come inside and take bread and milk with me?"

"No," said the peasant, "if you have more than you can eat, keep the rest till to-morrow."

"Thanks," said the giant, "if I had known that sooner, I should be rich now."

After that time the giant was never seen again.

BESIDE Lagga Kirk, in Upland there is a mound, where, according to tradition, trolls lived until the Reformation in the time of King Gustav, when the church, and the bell along with it, were shifted.

An old giant at that time was still living in the hill all by himself. A peasant in Lagga, named Jacob, came one morning to the neighbourhood of the hill, and heard the giant say, "Come in, Jacob, and eat porridge with me." But Jacob, who was rather surprised at this invitation, answered, "If you have more than you can eat, keep it till to-morrow." Then he heard the following mournful words, "I can't stay here till to-morrow, I must go away now, on account of this kling-klang, bear to hear it." "When will you tome back again?" asked the peasant. "When Lagga Firth becomes ploughed land, and Ostuna Lake a meadow," was the giant's answer.

CLOSE to Tolne Kirk in the neighbourhood of Frederickshavn lies a huge grave-mound called "The Berg," where in far back days there lived giants of a tremendous size, who ruled over all the little berg-folk that lived in the other mounds round about. When folk were about to build Tolne Kirk, they at first thought of placing it on the "Stone mound," a mound in the neighbourhood of the Berg, containing two grave-chambers, and surrounded by about 40 large stones arranged in an elongated circle; one of these is at least three to four ells in height. The giants however would have no such neighbour as this, and so every night they destroyed all that was built during the day. The church had accordingly to be moved further south to the spot where it now stands; there it was beyond the reach of the trolls, for a wise and holy man had consecrated the place before the building was commenced. The church was finished in the autumn, about the time that folk went for their herring to Sundby beside Limfjord. A man from Tolne had been at Sundby for herring, and on the homeward way he met, in Slagsted Forest, a man over ten ells in height, who was pushing a wheel-barrow far larger than the peasant's cart. On the barrow was piled a large quantity of luggage, and on top of this sat an old giant, so old that three large iron hoops were fastened round his head to keep it from falling in pieces. "Well, are you getting home, Peter?" said the troll. "Yes," said the peasant, "but how do you happen to know me?" "We have been neighbours for many a year," said the troll, "for I have lived in Tolne Berg well nigh on to two hundred years, but now I must flit, for they have built this blessed Church, and got that Dingdong, and I can't bear to hear it. I am going off just now with my old father; my wife and children are coming behind." The peasant then noticed for the first time that there were a great many others along with him, all carrying baggage, but before he could say a word they had all disappeared.

BESIDE Limfjord there is a small hill called Rön-bjærg, of the origin of which the following legend is told. In Himmerland there once lived a berg-man and his wife. The man went over to Livö and took service as a cattle-man, but wanted to get home to his wife every evening, and so had to wade across Limfjord. In no long time he grew tired of all this wading back and forward, so he and his wife decided to build a dam between Livö and Himmerland, on which he might walk across. The arrangement was that on a certain evening they should begin work, each from their own side of the firth, and meet in the middle. The night however was so misty that they could not see each other, and that proved rather unfortunate, for when the man on Livö had got a sackfull of earth and was about to begin work, he heard some one blowing a horn on the south side of the firth. Thinking that it was his wife who was calling on him, he went in that direction and deposited the earth. Meanwhile his wife over in Himmerland had got her apron full of earth, and had gone down to the right place on the firth, but there was a hole in her apron, through which she let fall a handful here and there, and so formed the three or four mounds that are still to be seen. Just as she got down to the firth, however, the mist began to lift, and she saw that her husband had made his dam far out to the south, at which she was so annoyed that she threw down all the earth she had in her apron, and in this way Rön-bjærg hill was formed. At the place where she took the earth from, there is still a great deep hole, large enough to hold a house.

A giant's wife went outside the mound to look about her. Close by there were some people ploughing, so she took up the horses, folk and plough together in her apron, and went back into the mound to her husband, to ask what this was that was wriggling in her apron. "Let them go again," said he, "for they will drive us out in time."

CLOSE beside Gudum Cloister, on the field belonging to the parsonage, lie two mounds, one of which is of an immense size and bears the name of Raa-bjærg mound; the other is much smaller. Of these it is told that in old days there was a giant, who had now and again to cross Oddesund, but he had so much trouble in getting ferried over it, that he conceived the idea of doing without a ferry by building a dam across the sound. Accordingly he went out on Cloister-heath, and filled his big glove with sand for that purpose. On the way to the sound, however, he was overtaken by mist and could not see where he was going, and so kept more to the east than he intended. This was not the only misfortune that befell him either, for as he was going along, a hole formed in the thumb of his glove and all the sand in it fell out; that formed the little mound. However, he went boldly on, holding the end of the thumb firmly with his other hand to prevent any more falling out, but another hole came in the part for the fingers, and all the sand in the glove rushed out. That was the origin of Raa-bjærg mound. The story says that out on the heath there is still a large hole from which he took the sand, and from what I have heard, it is of exactly the same size as both the mounds put together, and its circumference at the top is just the same as that of both mounds at the bottom. They are both overgrown with heather, and consist of sandy earth, which is remarkable enough, and points to the truth of the story, as they are surrounded on every side by good clay-land.

ON the fields of Hede-gaard in the parish of Vrads lies a long grave-mound, which goes under the name of "The Giantess." In this mound a giantess is said to be buried, and away on the fields of Vinding, a little west from Vinding Church, are two smaller mounds side by side, where her two sons are said to lie. There was a big giant who was angry with her, and pursued them. He first caught up with the boys, who could not keep pace with her; these were killed by him and buried on the spot where they fell. Four miles further west he came up to her as well, and killed her on the spot where she now lies. She was so stout that she could throw her breasts back over her shoulders, and let the sons suck her as they ran behind.

One time a man planned to dig through the mound. On one side of it was a pool and on the other a hollow, so he thought to kill two flies with one blow, namely, drain the pool and dig through the mound at the same time. But when he got into it as far as where the giantess's knees would lie, he had the ill-luck that his cows died, and believing that the digging must be to some extent to blame for that, he gave up the undertaking.