d she was left alone, and the barn
was closed upon her. Then she bethought herself of the twig that the
Queen's sister had given her, and she struck it thrice upon the
ground, whereupon thousands of ants came out of the ground and began
to work upon the heap of grain, some of them taking the wheat to one
corner, some the oats to another, and the rest carrying off the grains
of rice to a third. By nightfall all the grain had been separated, and
when the Queen came to let out Anima she found the task had been
done.

"Thou hast had help," she cried; "we'll see to-morrow if thou canst do
something by thyself."

Next day the Queen took her into a large loft at the top of the palace
almost filled with feathers of geese, of eider ducks, and of swans,
and from her cupboard she took twelve mattresses and said:

"See these mattresses; by the end of the day thou must fill four of
them with swans' feathers, four of them with eider-down, and the rest
with feathers of geese. Do that and then we will see."

With that she left Anima and closed and locked the door behind her.
And Anima remembered what the other Queen's sister had given her, and
took out the raven's feather and waved it thrice. Immediately birds,
and birds, and birds came flying through the windows, and each of them
picked out different kinds of feathers and placed them in the
mattresses, so that long before night the twelve mattresses were
filled as the Queen had ordered.

Again at nightfall the Queen came in, and as soon as she saw that the
second task had been carried out, she said:

"Again thou hast had help; to-morrow thou shalt have something to do
which thou alone canst carry out."

Next day the Queen summoned her and gave her a small flask and a
letter and said to her:

"Take these to my sister, the Queen of the Nether-World, and bring
back what she will give to thee safely, and then I may let thee see my
son."

"How can I find your sister?" said Anima.

"That thou must find for thyself," and left her.

Poor Anima did not know which way to go, but as she walked along the
voice of some one invisible to her said softly:

"Take with thee a copper coin and a loaf of bread and go down that
deep defile there till thou comest to a deep river and there thou wilt
see an old man ferrying people across the river. Put the coin between
your teeth and let him take it from you, and he will carry you across,
but speak not to him. Then, on the other side, thou wil