` Where are we to go now ? ' asked the girl , one day , when the sun seemed brighter and the wind softer than usual . ' I do not care where I go , ' answered the young man ; ` what do you think ? ' The girl replied that she would like to go somewhere right at the other end of the island , and build a house , far away from the huts of the fishing-folk . And he consented , and that very day they set off in search of a sheltered spot on the banks of a stream , so that it would be easy to get water . In a tiny bay , on the opposite side of the island they found the very thing , which seemed to have been made on purpose for them ; and as they were tired with their long walk , they laid themselves down on a bank of moss among some birches and prepared to have a good night 's rest , so as to be fresh for work next day . But before she went to sleep the girl turned to her husband , and said : ` If in your dreams you fancy that you hear strange noises , be sure you do not stir , or get up to see what it is . ' ` Oh , it is not likely we shall hear any noises in such a quiet place , ' answered he , and fell sound asleep . Suddenly he was awakened by a great clatter about his ears , as if all the workmen in the world were sawing and hammering and building close to him . He was just going to spring up and go to see what it meant , when he luckily remembered his wife 's words and lay still . But the time till morning seemed very long , and with the first ray of sun they both rose , and pushed aside the branches of the birch trees . There , in the very place they had chosen , stood a beautiful house -- doors and windows , and everything all complete ! ` Now you must fix on a spot for your cow-stalls , ' said the girl , when they had breakfasted off wild cherries ; ` and take care it is the proper size , neither too large nor too small . ' And the husband did as he was bid , though he wondered what use a cow-house could be , as they had no cows to put in it . But as he was a little afraid of his wife , who knew so much more than he , he asked no questions . This night also he was awakened by the same sounds as before , and in the morning they found , near the stream , the most beautiful cow-house that ever was seen , with stalls and milk-pails and stools all complete , indeed , everything that a cow-house could possibly want , except the cows . Then the girl bade him measure out the ground for a storehouse , and this , she said , might be as large as he pleased ; and when the storehouse was ready she proposed that they should set off to pay her parents a visit . The old people welcomed them heartily , and summoned their neighbours , for many miles round , to a great feast in their honour . In fact , for several weeks there was no work done on the farm at all ; and at length the young man and his wife grew tired of so much play , and declared that they must return to their own home . But , before they started on the journey , the wife whispered to her husband : ` Take care to jump over the threshold as quick as you can , or it will be the worse for you . '
The young man listened to her words , and sprang over the threshold like an arrow from a bow ; and it was well he did , XXXXX , no sooner was he on the other side , than his father-in-law threw a great hammer at him , which would have broken both his legs , if it had only touched them .
as at by except for near on though till to