" In a twinkling, Finne-Marit was in the road and on her
knees almost in front of Gertrude. Then, with her forefinger, she
drew a circle in the carpet of fir needles, at the centre of which
she placed a shallow brass bowl.

"Now she's going to do some conjuring," thought Gertrude. "Why,
then it must be true that she is a witch!"

"Look down into the bowl!" said Finne-Marit, "and maybe you'll
see something." When Gertrude glanced down, she gave a start.
Mirrored in the bowl, she saw plainly the face of Ingmar.
Immediately the old woman handed her a long needle. "See here," she
said; "take this and pierce his eyes. Do this to him because he has
played you false." Gertrude hesitated a little, but felt strongly
tempted. "Why should he fare well, and be rich and happy, while you
suffer?" said the old dame. With that Gertrude was seized by an
uncontrollable desire to do the ogre's bidding, and lowered the
needle. "Mind you stick him right in the eye!" said the witch.
Whereupon Gertrude quickly drove the needle, first into one and
then into the other of Ingmar's eyes. In so doing, she noticed that
the needle went far down-not as though it had come into contact
with metal, but rather as if it had penetrated some soft substance.
When she drew it out, there was blood on it.

Gertrude, seeing blood on the needle, thought she had really put
out Ingmar's eyes. Then she was so overcome by remorse for what she
had done, and so frightened, that she woke up.

She lay for a long while, trembling and weeping, before she was
able to convince herself that it was only a dream. "May God
preserve me from any thought of vengeance!" she moaned.

She had barely quieted down and dropped off to sleep again, when
the dream recurred.

Once more she wandered along the narrow paths toward the grazing
ground. This time, too, the cows had strayed, and she went into the
forest to look for them. Again she came to the beautiful road, and
saw the sunbeams playing on the moss. Then she suddenly recalled
all that had just happened to her in a dream, and grew terribly
frightened lest she should meet the old witch again. Seeing nothing
of her, she felt greatly relieved.

All at once she seemed to see the earth between a couple of moss
tufts open. Suddenly a head appeared. Then she saw the body of a
tiny little man work its way up out of the earth, and all the while
the little man was making a buzzing and humming noise. By that she
knew whom she had enc