The Magic Tree Trunks

The king felt he had to go along with her wishes, though he saw to it they had a comfortable and luxurious castle, with servants and carriages and anything they could possibly want.

Soon afterwards, his wife said to him that it was time for him to make a tour of his kingdom and see that his governors were not cheating him of the money that was his due.

"And you need not worry about going," she added, "for I will rule the country while you are away as carefully as you would yourself."

The king had no great desire to go so far away, and for so long, but he was too lazy to fight with his wife over it. So he said nothing and set about his preparations. Still he felt uneasy, and the night before he was to leave he went to the children's palace to say good-bye to his son and daughter.

He had not seen them for some time and they rushed into his arms, for they loved him dearly. After a good deal of merry talk, he said, "There is something important I must tell you. If I should never come back from this journey I fear that it may not be safe for you to stay here anymore. I will tell you a safe place where you can go. If you learn that I have died, then you must leave immediately. Take the road going eastward till you reach a high mountain. Once you cross over the mountain, keep along by the side of a little bay and look carefully for two unusual trees. One is entirely blue and the other is entirely red. These are two magical trees. Each of you can hide inside the trunks of these trees. Only then will you both be safe from your enemies."

With these words the king kissed them goodbye and boarded his ship. In the first few days of his journey, the wind was fair and everything seemed to go smoothly. Then suddenly a gale sprang up and a fearful storm of thunder and lightning such as had never happened before. In spite of the efforts of the frightened sailors, the ship was driven onto the rocks. Not a man on board was saved.

That very night the young prince, Prince Sigurd, had a dream in which he thought his father appeared to him in clothes dripping wet.