.'

The youths thought this sounded easy enough, so they went home with
the troll to his castle.

'You will find all that you want here,' he said; 'and all you need do
is to take care of the house, for I am going away, and shall only
return when the year is over.'

Then he went away, and the young men, left to themselves, had a fine
time of it; for they did no work, and only amused themselves with
singing and drinking. Every day they found the table laid with good
things to eat and drink, and when they had finished, the plates and
dishes were cleared away by invisible hands. Only the prince, who was
sad for his lost princess, ate and drank sparingly, and worked hard
keeping the house in order.

One day, as he sat in his own room, he heard the voice of the old
troll beneath his window talking to another troll.

'To-morrow,' said he, 'the year is up.'

'And what questions will you ask?' inquired the other.

'First I shall ask how long they have been here--they don't know, the
young fools! Secondly I shall ask what shines on the roof of the
castle.'

'And what is that?'

'The lamp that was stolen by me from the princess as she slept in the
garden.'

'And what is the third question?'

'I shall ask where the food and drink they consume every day come
from. I steal it from the king's table; but they don't know that.'

* * * * *

The day after, the troll entered.

'Now I shall ask my questions,' said he. 'To begin with: How long have
you been here?'

The young men had been so busy drinking and making merry that they had
forgotten all about the agreement, so they remained silent.

'One week,' said one, at last.

'Two months,' guessed another. But the prince answered, 'One year.'

'Right,' replied the troll. But the second question was more
difficult.

'What is it that shines on the roof?'

The young men guessed and guessed. 'The sun--the moon.' But none of
them really knew.

'May I answer?' asked the prince.

'Yes, certainly,' replied the troll; and the prince spoke.

'The lamp that you stole from the princess whilst she was asleep in
the garden.' And again the troll nodded.

The third question was harder still.

'Where does the meat and drink you have had here come from?'

None of the young men could guess.

'May I say?' asked the prince.

'Yes, if you can,' replied the troll.

'It comes from the king's table,' said the prince.

And that was all. Now they