, but merely appointed some fresh person to the vacant place. As,
however, man after man vanished without leaving any trace, he began to
grow uncomfortable and to wonder if the queen could have anything to do
with it.

Things were in this state when, one day, his wife said to him that it
was time for him to make a progress through his kingdom and see that his
governors were not cheating him of the money that was his due. 'And
you need not be anxious about going,' she added, 'for I will rule the
country while you are away as carefully as you could yourself.'

The king had no great desire to undertake this journey, but the queen's
will was stronger than his, and he was too lazy to make a fight for it.
So he said nothing and set about his preparations, ordering his finest
ship to be ready to carry him round the coast. Still his heart was
heavy, and he felt uneasy, though he could not have told why; and the
night before he was to start he went to the children's palace to take
leave of his son and daughter.

He had not seen them for some time, and they gave him a warm welcome,
for they loved him dearly and he had always been kind to them. They
had much to tell him, but after a while he checked their merry talk and
said:

'If I should never come back from this journey I fear that it may not
be safe for you to stay here; so directly there are no more hopes of my
return go instantly and take the road eastwards till you reach a high
mountain, which you must cross. Once over the mountain keep along by the
side of a little bay till you come to two trees, one green and the other
red, standing in a thicket, and so far back from the road that without
looking for them you would never see them. Hide each in the trunk of one
of the trees and there you will be safe from all your enemies.'

With these words the king bade them farewell and entered sadly into
his ship. For a few days the wind was fair, and everything seemed going
smoothly; then, suddenly, a gale sprang up, and a fearful storm of
thunder and lightning, such as had never happened within the memory of
man. In spite of the efforts of the frightened sailors the vessel was
driven on the rocks, and not a man on board was saved.

That very night Prince Sigurd had a dream, in which he thought his
father appeared to him in dripping clothes, and, taking the crown from
his head, laid it at his son's feet, leaving the room as silently as he
had entered it.

Hastily the prince aw