grip till I promised to let him see
the wedding by getting the Wood-Trolls to stop up the Church Fountain.
What was I to do? I was forced to agree, and from that promise comes
all the misery of the Bride and Bridegroom."

The old horse then went on to explain what Terli had done on the
wedding day, while the Bride's mother jumped up from the water-bucket
with a cry of delight.

"All will be well now. You have done us the greatest possible service,
and shall live in leisure for the rest of your life," she said; and
ran out of the stables towards the house, before the astonished
animals could recover themselves.

"I've found it all out," she cried to her husband. "Now all we have to
do is to catch Terli."

"Not so easy, wife," said the Bride's father, but the old woman smiled
in a mysterious manner.

"Leave it to me, husband, _I_ shall manage it. Our children will be
happy again to-morrow, you will see."

CHAPTER III.

The next day at sunrise, the Bride's mother crept off secretly to the
Church Fountain and brought back a large pailful of the water. This
she emptied into a wash-tub and covered with some green pine branches,
and on the top of all she placed a wooden bowl half filled with
butter-milk.

"Terli likes it so much--he will do anything for butter-milk," she
said to herself, as she propped open the kitchen door, and went off
with a light heart to see her daughter.

She carried with her a jug of the Church water, and when she arrived
at the farm house, she gave it to her daughter and son-in-law, and
begged them to bathe their eyes with it immediately.

With much grumbling they obeyed her; but what a change occurred
directly they had done so!

The day, which had seemed cloudy and threatening rain, now appeared
bright and hopeful. The Bride ran over her new house with exclamations
of delight at all the comfortable arrangements, and the Bridegroom
declared he was a lucky man to have married a good wife, and have a
farm that anyone might reasonably be proud of!

"How could we ever have troubled over anything?" said the young Bride,
"I can't understand it! We are young, and we are happy."

The old woman smiled wisely. "It was only the Troll's well-water,"
she said, and went home as fast as her feet would carry her.

As she neared her own door, she heard sounds of splashing and
screaming in a shrill piping voice; and on entering, saw Terli
struggling violently in the tub of Church water, the little b