had never
been in all their lives before, and they all were fond of _Halvor_
and _Halvor_ of them, and he might choose the one he liked best for
his bride; but the youngest was fondest of him of all the three.

But there after a while, _Halvor_ went about, and was so strange and
dull and silent. Then the Princesses asked him what he lacked, and if
he didn't like to live with them any longer? Yes, he did, for they had
enough and to spare, and he was well off in every way, but still
somehow or other he did so long to go home, for his father and mother
were alive, and them he had such a great wish to see.

Well, they thought that might be done easily enough.

"You shall go thither and come back hither, safe and unscathed, if you
will only follow our advice," said the _Princesses_.

Yes, he'd be sure to mind all they said. So they dressed him up till
he was as grand as a king's son, and then they set a ring on his
finger, and that was such a ring, he could wish himself thither and
hither with it; but they told him to be sure and not take it off, and
not to name their names, for there would be an end of all his bravery,
and then he'd never see them more.

"If I only stood at home I'd be glad," said _Halvor_; and it was done
as he had wished. Then stood _Halvor_ at his father's cottage door
before he knew a word about it. Now it was about dusk at even, and so,
when they saw such a grand stately lord walk in, the old couple got so
afraid they began to bow and scrape. Then _Halvor_ asked if he
couldn't stay there, and have a lodging there that night. No; that he
couldn't.

"We can't do it at all," they said, "for we haven't this thing or that
thing which such a lord is used to have; 'twere best your lordship
went up to the farm, no long way off, for you can see the chimneys,
and there they have lots of everything."

_Halvor_ wouldn't hear of it--he wanted to stop; but the old couple
stuck to their own, that he had better go to the farmer's; there he
would get both meat and drink; as for them, they hadn't even a chair
to offer him to sit down on.

"No," said _Halvor_, "I won't go up there till to-morrow early, but
let me just stay here to-night; worst come to the worst, I can sit in
the chimney corner."

Well, they couldn't say anything against that; so _Halvor_ sat down by
the ingle, and began to poke about in the ashes, just as he used to do
when he lay at home in old days, and stretched his lazy bones.

Well, the