f joy.
'Whose are they?' Oh! whose are they?' she asked. 'How happy any man
must be who is the master of such lovely creatures!'
'They are your Habogi's,' replied he, 'and the one which you think the
most beautiful of all you shall have for yourself, and learn to ride
him.'
At this Helga quite forgot the sheep and the cow.
'A horse of my own!' said she. 'Oh, stop one moment, and let me see
which I will choose. The white one? No. The chestnut? No. I think, after
all, I like the coal-black one best, with the little white star on his
forehead. Oh, do stop, just for a minute.'
But Habogi would not stop or listen. 'When you are married you will have
plenty of time to choose one,' was all he answered, and they rode on two
or three miles further.
At length Habogi drew rein before a small house, very ugly and
mean-looking, and that seemed on the point of tumbling to pieces.
'This is my house, and is to be yours,' said Habogi, as he jumped down
and held out his arms to lift Helga from the horse. The girl's heart
sank a little, as she thought that the man who possessed such wonderful
sheep, and cows, and horses, might have built himself a prettier place
to live in; but she did not say so. And, taking her arm, he led her up
the steps.
But when she got inside, she stood quite bewildered at the beauty of all
around her. None of her friends owned such things, not even the miller,
who was the richest man she knew. There were carpets everywhere, thick
and soft, and of deep rich colours; and the cushions were of silk, and
made you sleepy even to look at them; and curious little figures in
china were scattered about. Helga felt as if it would take her all her
life to see everything properly, and it only seemed a second since she
had entered the house, when Habogi came up to her.
'I must begin the preparations for our wedding at once,' he said; 'but
my foster-brother will take you home, as I promised. In three days he
will bring you back here, with your parents and sisters, and any guests
you may invite, in your company. By that time the feast will be ready.'
Helga had so much to think about, that the ride home appeared very
short. Her father and mother were delighted to see her, as they did not
feel sure that so ugly and cross-looking a man as Habogi might not have
played her some cruel trick. And after they had given her some supper
they begged her to tell them all she had done. But Helga only told them
that they s
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