if it had been you orI, or one of our people, it would have been all over with us."
  I mean to go every day," said he, "to see if anything comes topass;" and so he did.
  A long time went by, but at last he saw a green stalk shootingup out of the deep, marshy ground. As it reached the surface of themarsh, a leaf spread out, and unfolded itself broader and broader, andclose to it came forth a bud.
  One morning, when the stork-papa was flying over the stem, hesaw that the power of the sun's rays had caused the bud to open, andin the cup of the flower lay a charming child- a little maiden,looking as if she had just come out of a bath. The little one was solike the Egyptian princess, that the stork, at the first moment,thought it must be the princess herself, but after a little reflectionhe decided that it was much more likely to be the daughter of theprincess and the Marsh King; and this explained also her beingplaced in the cup of a water-lily. "But she cannot be left to liehere," thought the stork, "and in my nest there are already so many.But stay, I have thought of something: the wife of the Viking has nochildren, and how often she has wished for a little one. People alwayssay the stork brings the little ones; I will do so in earnest thistime. I shall fly with the child to the Viking's wife; whatrejoicing there will be!"
  And then the stork lifted the little girl out of the flower-cup,flew to the castle, picked a hole with his beak in thebladder-covered, window, and laid the beautiful child in the bosomof the Viking's wife. Then he flew back quickly to the stork-mamma andtold her what he had seen and done; and the little storks listenedto it all, for they were then quite old enough to do so. "So you see,"he continued, "that the princess is not dead, for she must have senther little one up here; and now I have found a home for her."
  "Ah, I said it would be so from the first," replied thestork-mamma; "but now think a little of your own family. Ourtravelling time draws near, and I sometimes feel a little irritationalready under the wings. The cuckoos and the nightingale are alreadygone, and I heard the quails say they should go too as soon as thewind was favorable. Our youngsters will go through all themanoeuvres at the review very well, or I am much mistaken in them."
  The Viking's wife was above measure delighted when she awoke thenext morning and found the beautiful little child lying in herbosom. She kissed it and caressed it; but it cried terribly, andstruck out with its arms and legs, and did not seem to be pleased atall. At last it cried itself to sleep; and as it lay there so stilland quiet, it was a most beautiful sight to see. The Viking's wife wasso delighted, that body and soul were full of joy. Her heart felt solight within her, that it seemed as if her husband and his soldiers,who were absent, must come home as suddenly and unexpectedly as thelittle child had done. She and her whole household therefore busiedthemselves in preparing everything for the reception of her lord.The long, colored tapestry, on which she and her maidens had workedpictures of their idols, Odin, Thor, and Friga, was hung up. Theslaves polished the old shields that served as ornaments; cushionswere placed on the seats, and dry wood laid on the fireplaces in thecentre of the hall, so that the flames might be fanned up at amoment's notice. The Viking's wife herself assisted in the work, sothat at night she felt very tired, and quickly fell into a soundsleep. When she awoke, just before morning, she was terribly alarmedto find that the infant had vanished. She sprang from her couch,lighted a pine-chip, and searched all round the room, when, at last,in that part of the bed where her feet had been, lay, not the child,but a great, ugly frog. She was quite disgusted at this sight, andseized a heavy stick to kill the frog; but the creature looked ather with such strange, mournful eyes, that she was unable to strikethe blow. Once more she searched round the room; then she started athearing the frog utter a low, painful croak. She sprang from the couchand opened the window hastily; at the same moment the sun rose, andthrew its beams through the window, till it rested on the couchwhere the great frog lay. Suddenly it appeared as if the frog'sbroad mouth contracted, and became small and red. The limbs movedand stretched out and extended themselves till they took a beautifulshape; and behold there was the pretty child lying before her, and theugly frog was gone. "How is this?"