Pleased and excited the six elder sisters at once followed the boy , but the youngest , who was busy , and who did not care about strangers , stayed behind , to finish the work she was doing . The king welcomed the girls eagerly , and asked them all manner of questions about the tree , but as they had never even heard of its existence , they could tell him nothing . ` And if we , who live close by the forest , do not know , you may be sure no one does , ' added the eldest , who was rather cross at finding this was all that the king wanted of them . ` But the boy told me there were seven of you , and there are only six here , ' said the king . ` Oh , the youngest is at home , but she is always half asleep , and is of no use except to cut wood for the fire , ' replied they in a breath . ` That may be , but perhaps she dreams , ' answered the king . ` Anyway , I will speak to her also . ' Then he signed to one of his attendants , who followed the path that the boy had taken to the hut . Soon the man returned , with the girl walking behind him . And as soon as she reached the tree it bowed itself to the earth before her , and she stretched out her hand and picked some of its leaves and flowers and gave them to the king . ` The maiden who can work such wonders is fitted to be the wife of the greatest chief , ' he said , and so he married her , and took her with him across the sea to his own home , where they lived happily for ever after . From ` Folk Lore , ' by A. F. Mackenzie . The Sea King 's Gift There was once a fisherman who was called Salmon , and his Christian name was Matte . He lived by the shore of the big sea ; where else could he live ? He had a wife called Maie ; could you find a better name for her ? In winter they dwelt in a little cottage by the shore , but in spring they flitted to a red rock out in the sea and stayed there the whole summer until it was autumn . The cottage on the rock was even smaller than the other ; it had a wooden bolt instead of an iron lock to the door , a stone hearth , a flagstaff , and a weather-cock on the roof . The rock was called Ahtola , and was not larger than the market-place of a town . Between the crevices there grew a little rowan tree and four alder bushes . Heaven only knows how they ever came there ; perhaps they were brought by the winter storms .
Besides that , there flourished some tufts of velvety grass , some scattered reeds , two plants of the yellow herb called tansy , four of a red flower , and a pretty white one ; but the treasures of the rock consisted XXXXX three roots of garlic , which Maie had put in a cleft .
From across as before by of on than that with