o, and gathered so much salt that he could hardly carry it; but
Snati said, 'Throw it on my back,' which he accordingly did, and the
Dog then ran on before the Prince, until they came to the foot of a
steep cliff.

[Illustration]

'We must go up here,' said Snati.

'I don't think that will be child's play,' said the Prince.

'Hold fast by my tail,' said Snati; and in this way he pulled Ring up
on the lowest shelf of the rock. The Prince began to get giddy, but up
went Snati on to the second shelf. Ring was nearly swooning by this
time, but Snati made a third effort and reached the top of the cliff,
where the Prince fell down in a faint. After a little, however, he
recovered again, and they went a short distance along a level plain,
until they came to a cave. This was on Christmas Eve. They went up
above the cave, and found a window in it, through which they looked,
and saw four trolls lying asleep beside the fire, over which a large
porridge-pot was hanging.

'Now you must empty all the salt into the porridge-pot,' said Snati.

Ring did so, and soon the trolls wakened up. The old hag, who was the
most frightful of them all, went first to taste the porridge.

'How comes this?' she said; 'the porridge is salt! I got the milk by
witchcraft yesterday out of four kingdoms, and now it is salt!'

All the others then came to taste the porridge, and thought it nice,
but after they had finished it the old hag grew so thirsty that she
could stand it no longer, and asked her daughter to go out and bring
her some water from the river that ran near by.

'I won't go,' said she, 'unless you lend me your bright gold piece.'

'Though I should die you shan't have that,' said the hag.

'Die, then,' said the girl.

'Well, then, take it, you brat,' said the old hag, 'and be off with
you, and make haste with the water.'

The girl took the gold and ran out with it, and it was so bright that
it shone all over the plain. As soon as she came to the river she lay
down to take a drink of the water, but meanwhile the two of them had
got down off the roof and thrust her, head first, into the river.

The old hag began now to long for the water, and said that the girl
would be running about with the gold piece all over the plain, so she
asked her son to go and get her a drop of water.

'I won't go,' said he, 'unless I get the gold cloak.'

'Though I should die you shan't have that,' said the hag.

'Die, then,' said the son.

'Well