During the winter , it was all night except for an hour or so about noon , when the darkness seemed a little less dark , and then they used to see which of them could tempt her out for a sleigh ride with the Northern Lights flashing above them , or which could persuade her to come to a dance in some neighbouring barn . But when the spring began , and the light grew longer , the hearts of the villagers leapt at the sight of the sun , and a day was fixed for the boats to be brought out , and the great nets to be spread in the bays of some islands that lay a few miles to the north . Everybody went on this expedition , and the two young men and the girl went with them . They all sailed merrily across the sea chattering like a flock of magpies , or singing their favourite songs . And when they reached the shore , what an unpacking there was ! For this was a noted fishing ground , and here they would live , in little wooden huts , till autumn and bad weather came round again . The maiden and the two young men happened to share the same hut with some friends , and fished daily from the same boat . And as time went on , one of the youths remarked that the girl took less notice of him than she did of his companion . At first he tried to think that he was dreaming , and for a long while he kept his eyes shut very tight to what he did not want to see , but in spite of his efforts , the truth managed to wriggle through , and then the young man gave up trying to deceive himself , and set about finding some way to get the better of his rival . The plan that he hit upon could not be carried out for some months ; but the longer the young man thought of it , the more pleased he was with it , so he made no sign of his feelings , and waited patiently till the moment came . This was the very day that they were all going to leave the islands , and sail back to the mainland for the winter . In the bustle and hurry of departure , the cunning fisherman contrived that their boat should be the last to put off , and when everything was ready , and the sails about to be set , he suddenly called out : ` Oh , dear , what shall I do ! I have left my best knife behind in the hut . Run , like a good fellow , and get it for me , while I raise the anchor and loosen the tiller . ' Not thinking any harm , the youth jumped back on shore and made his way up the steep hank . At the door of the hut he stopped and looked back , then started and gazed in horror . The head of the boat stood out to sea , and he was left alone on the island . Yes , there was no doubt of it -- he was quite alone ; and he had nothing to help him except the knife which his comrade had purposely dropped on the ledge of the window . For some minutes he was too stunned by the treachery of his friend to think about anything at all , but after a while he shook himself awake , and determined that he would manage to keep alive somehow , if it were only to revenge himself . So he put the knife in his pocket and went off to a part of the island which was not so bare as the rest , and had a small grove of trees .
From one of these he cut himself a bow , which he strung with a piece XXXXX cord that had been left lying about the huts .
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