nt he recognised it, and was dumb with surprise.

Then he saw the bear standing beside him, looking at him with gentle,
beseeching eyes, and something in the eyes of the bear made him say:
'Take off that skin, some mystery is hidden beneath it.'

And the bear's skin dropped off, and the beautiful girl stood before
him, in the dress woven out of the star-light, and he saw that she was
the stranger with whom he had fallen so deeply in love. And now she
appeared to him a thousand times more beautiful than ever, and he led
her to his mother. And the princess told them her story, and how she had
been kept shut up by her father in his palace, and how she had wearied
of her imprisonment. And the prince's mother loved her, and rejoiced
that her son should have so good and beautiful a wife.

So they were married, and lived happily for many years, and reigned
wisely over their kingdom.

The Sunchild

Once there was a woman who had no children, and this made her very
unhappy. So she spoke one day to the Sunball, saying: 'Dear Sunball,
send me only a little girl now, and when she is twelve years old you may
take her back again.'

So soon after this the Sunball sent her a little girl, whom the woman
called Letiko, and watched over with great care till she was twelve
years old. Soon after that, while Letiko was away one day gathering
herbs, the Sunball came to her, and said: 'Letiko, when you go home,
tell your mother that she must bethink herself of what she promised me.'

Then Letiko went straight home, and said to her mother: 'While I was
gathering herbs a fine tall gentleman came to me and charged me to tell
you that you should remember what you promised him.'

When the woman heard that she was sore afraid, and immediately shut all
the doors and windows of the house, stopped up all the chinks and holes,
and kept Letiko hidden away, that the Sunball should not come and take
her away. But she forgot to close up the keyhole, and through it the
Sunball sent a ray into the house, which took hold of the little girl
and carried her away to him.

One day, the Sunball having sent her to the straw shed to fetch straw,
the girl sat down on the piles of straw and bemoaned herself, saying:
'As sighs this straw under my feet so sighs my heart after my mother.'

And this caused her to be so long away that the Sunball asked her, when
she came back: 'Eh, Letiko, where have you been so long?'

She answered: 'My slippers are too