When they heard the voice coming from the coffin the other people suddenly stopped laughing , and stood as if they had been turned into stone . Then they rushed with one accord to the coffin , and lifted the lid so that the man could step out amongst them . ` Were you really not dead after all ? ' asked they . ` And if not , why did you let yourself be buried ? ' At this the wives both confessed that they had each wished to prove that her husband was stupider than the other . But the villagers declared that they could not decide which was the most foolish -- the man who allowed himself to be persuaded that he was wearing fine clothes when he was dressed in nothing , or the man who let himself be buried when he was alive and well . So the women quarrelled just as much as they did before , and no one ever knew whose husband was the most foolish . -LSB- Adapted from the Neuislandische Volksmarchen . -RSB- Asmund and Signy Long , long ago , in the days when fairies , witches , giants and ogres still visited the earth , there lived a king who reigned over a great and beautiful country . He was married to a wife whom he dearly loved , and had two most promising children -- a son called Asmund , and a daughter who was named Signy . The king and queen were very anxious to bring their children up well , and the young prince and princess were taught everything likely to make them clever and accomplished . They lived at home in their father 's palace , and he spared no pains to make their lives happy . Prince Asmund dearly loved all outdoor sports and an open-air life , and from his earliest childhood he had longed to live entirely in the forest close by . After many arguments and entreaties he succeeded in persuading the king to give him two great oak trees for his very own . ` Now , ' said he to his sister , ' I will have the trees hollowed out , and then I will make rooms in them and furnish them so that I shall be able to live out in the forest . ' ` Oh , Asmund ! ' exclaimed Signy , ` what a delightful idea ! Do let me come too , and live in one of your trees . I will bring all my pretty things and ornaments , and the trees are so near home we shall be quite safe in them . '
XXXXX , who was extremely fond of his sister , readily consented , and they had a very happy time together , carrying over all their pet treasures , and Signy 's jewels and other ornaments , and arranging them in the pretty little rooms inside the trees .
Asmund Long Signy Volksmarchen days entreaties ogres ornaments queen rooms