But no voice answered them ; and they fell to searching all about , lest perchance their sister might have dropped some clue to guide them . At length their eyes dropped on the thread which lay on the snow , and they set out to follow it . On and on they went , and when at length the thread stopped the brothers knew that another day 's journey would bring them to the Stalos ' dwelling . Of course they did not dare to approach it openly , for the Stalos had the strength of giants , and besides , there were three of them ; so the two Sodnos climbed into a big bushy tree which overhung a well . ` Perhaps our sister may be sent to draw water here , ' they said to each other . But it was not till the moon had risen that the sister came , and as she let down her bucket into the well , the leaves seemed to whisper ` Lyma ! Lyma ! ' The girl started and looked up , but could see nothing , and in a moment the voice came again . ` Be careful -- take no notice , fill your buckets , but listen carefully all the while , and we will tell you what to do so that you may escape yourself and set free the reindeer also . ' So Lyman bent over the well lower than before , and seemed busier than ever . ` You know , ' said her brother , ` that when a Stalo finds that anything has been dropped into his food he will not eat a morsel , but throws it to his dogs . Now , after the pot has been hanging some time over the fire , and the broth is nearly cooked , just rake up the log of wood so that some of the ashes fly into the pot . The Stalo will soon notice this , and will call you to give all the food to the dogs ; but , instead , you must bring it straight to us , as it is three days since we have eaten or drunk . That is all you need do for the present . ' Then Lyma took up her buckets and carried them into the house , and did as her brothers had told her . They were so hungry that they ate the food up greedily without speaking , but when there was nothing left in the pot , the eldest one said : ` Listen carefully to what I have to tell you . After the eldest Stalo has cooked and eaten a fresh supper , he will go to bed and sleep so soundly that not even a witch could wake him . You can hear him snoring a mile off , and then you must go into his room and pull off the iron mantle that covers him , and put it on the fire till it is almost red hot . When that is done , come to us and we will give you further directions . ' ' I will obey you in everything , dear brothers , ' answered Lyman ; and so she did .
It had happened that on this very evening the Stalos had driven in some of the XXXXX from the pasture , and had tied them up to the wall of the house so that they might be handy to kill for next day 's dinner .
Lyma Lyman Sodnos Stalo Stalos day days escape fire reindeer