The Bear and Skrattel
One Christmas Day, the King of Norway sat in the great hall of his palace, holding a feast. “Here’s a health,” said he, “to our brother the King of Denmark! What present shall we send our royal brother, as a pledge of our good-will, this Christmas-time?” “Send him, please your majesty,” said the Norseman Gunter, who was the king’s chief huntsman, “one of our fine white bears, that his liegemen may show their little ones what sort of kittens we play with.” “Well said, Gunter!” cried the king; “but how shall we find a bear that will travel so long a journey willingly, and will know how to behave himself to our worthy brother when he reaches him?” “Please your majesty,” said Gunter, “I have a glorious fellow, as white as snow, that I caught when he was a cub; he will follow me wherever I go, play with my children, stand on his hind legs, and behave himself as well as any gentleman ought to do. He is at your service, and I will myself take him wherever you choose.”
So the king was well pleased, and ordered Gunter to set off at once with master Bruin: “Start with themorning’s dawn,” said he, “and make the best of your way.”
The Norseman went home to his house in the forest; and early next morning he waked master Bruin, put the king’s collar round his neck, and away they went over rocks and valleys, lakes and seas, the nearest road to the court of the King of Denmark. When they arrived there, the king was away on a journey, and Gunter and his fellow-traveller set out to follow. It was bright weather, the sun shone, and the birds sang, as they journeyed merrily on, day after day, over hill and over dale, till they came within a day’s journey of where the king was.
All that afternoon they travelled through a gloomy, dark forest; but towards evening the wind began to whistle through the trees, and the clouds began to gather and threaten a stormy night. The road, too, was very rough, and it was not easy to tell which was most tired, Bruin or his master. What made the matter worse was, that they had found no inn that day by the roadside, and their provisions had fallen short, so that they had no very pleasant prospect before them for the night. “A pretty affair this!” said Gunter, “I am likely to be charmingly off here in the woods, with an empty stomach, a damp bed, and a bear for my bedfellow.”
While the Norseman was turning this over in his mind, the wind blew harder and harder, and the clouds grew darker and darker: the bear shook his ears, and his master looked at his wits’ end, when to his great joy a woodman came whistling along out of the woods, by the side of his horse dragging a load of faggots. As soon as he came up, Gunter stopped him, and begged hard for a night’s lodging for himself and his countryman.
The woodman seemed hearty and good-natured enough, and was quite ready to find shelter for the huntsman; but as to the bear, he had never seen such a beast before in his life, and would have nothing to do with him on any terms. The huntsman begged hard for his friend, and told how he was bringing him as a present to the King ofDenmark; and how he was the most good-natured, best-behaved animal in the world, though he must allow that he was by no means one of the handsomest.
The woodman, however, was not to be moved. His wife, he was sure, would not like such a guest, and who could say what he might take it into his head to do? Besides, he should lose his dog and his cat, his ducks and his geese; for they would all run away for fright, whether the bear was disposed to be friends with them or not.
“Good-night, master huntsman!” said he; “if you and old shaggy-back there cannot part, I am afraid you must e’en stay where you are, though you will have a sad night of it, no doubt.” Then he cracked his whip, whistled up his horse, and set off once more on his way homewards.