And the wind bore it blazing out to sea , flaming into the dark . So there were Sigurd and Brynhild burned together , and the curse of the dwarf Andvari was fulfilled . A TALE OF THE TONTLAWALD Long , long ago there stood in the midst of a country covered with lakes a vast stretch of moorland called the Tontlawald , on which no man ever dared set foot . From time to time a few bold spirits had been drawn by curiosity to its borders , and on their return had reported that they had caught a glimpse of a ruined house in a grove of thick trees , and round about it were a crowd of beings resembling men , swarming over the grass like bees . The men were as dirty and ragged as gipsies , and there were besides a quantity of old women and half-naked children . One night a peasant who was returning home from a feast wandered a little farther into the Tontlawald , and came back with the same story . A countless number of women and children were gathered round a huge fire , and some were seated on the ground , while others danced strange dances on the smooth grass . One old crone had a broad iron ladle in her hand , with which every now and then she stirred the fire , but the moment she touched the glowing ashes the children rushed away , shrieking like night owls , and it was a long while before they ventured to steal back . And besides all this there had once or twice been seen a little old man with a long beard creeping out of the forest , carrying a sack bigger than himself . The women and children ran by his side , weeping and trying to drag the sack from off his back , but he shook them off , and went on his way . There was also a tale of a magnificent black cat as large as a foal , but men could not believe all the wonders told by the peasant , and it was difficult to make out what was true and what was false in his story . However , the fact remained that strange things did happen there , and the King of Sweden , to whom this part of the country belonged , more than once gave orders to cut down the haunted wood , but there was no one with courage enough to obey his commands . At length one man , bolder than the rest , struck his axe into a tree , but his blow was followed by a stream of blood and shrieks as of a human creature in pain . The terrified woodcutter fled as fast as his legs would carry him , and after that neither orders nor threats would drive anybody to the enchanted moor . A few miles from the Tontlawald was a large village , where dwelt a peasant who had recently married a young wife . As not uncommonly happens in such cases , she turned the whole house upside down , and the two quarrelled and fought all day long . By his first wife the peasant had a daughter called Elsa , a good quiet girl , who only wanted to live in peace , but this her stepmother would not allow . She beat and cuffed the poor child from morning till night , but as the stepmother had the whip-hand of her husband there was no remedy . For two years Elsa suffered all this ill-treatment , when one day she went out with the other village children to pluck strawberries . Carelessly they wandered on , till at last they reached the edge of the Tontlawald , where the finest strawberries grew , making the grass red with their colour .
The children flung themselves down on the ground , and , XXXXX eating as many as they wanted , began to pile up their baskets , when suddenly a cry arose from one of the older boys : ` Run , run as fast as you can !
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