Then she returned to Halfman and told him to go and claim his bride . He jumped up hastily from his seat , and took the road to his father 's house . As he drew near he heard sounds of weeping and lamentations , and he said to a man he met : ` What is the matter ? ' ` The judge 's eldest son was married yesterday , and died suddenly before night . ' ` Well , ' thought Halfman , ` my conscience is clear anyway , for it is quite plain he coveted my wife , and that is why he tried to drown me . ' He went at once to his father 's room , and found him sitting in tears on the floor . ` Dear father , ' said Halfman , ` are you not glad to see me ? You weep for my brother , but I am your son too , and he stole my bride from me and tried to drown me in the brook . If he is dead , I at least am alive . ' ` No , no , he was better than you ! ' moaned the father . ` Why , dear father ? ' ` He told me you had behaved very ill , ' said he . ` Well , call my brothers , ' answered Halfman , ` as I have a story to tell them . ' So the father called them all into his presence . Then Halfman began : ` After we were twelve days ' journey from home , we met an ogress , who gave us greeting and said , `` Why have you been so long coming ? The daughters of your uncle have waited for you in vain , '' and she bade us follow her to the house , saying , `` Now there need be no more delay ; you can marry your cousins as soon as you please , and take them with you to your own home . '' But I warned my brothers that the man was not our uncle , but an ogre . ` When we lay down to sleep , she spread a red cloth over us , and covered her daughters with a white one ; but I changed the cloths , and when the ogress came back in the middle of the night , and looked at the cloths , she mistook her own daughters for my brothers , and killed them one by one , all but the youngest . Then I woke my brothers , and we all stole softly from the house , and we rode like the wind to our real uncle .
` And when he saw us , he bade us welcome , and married us to his twelve daughters , the eldest XXXXX the eldest , and so on to me , whose bride was the youngest of all and also the prettiest .
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