stood thus wondering, a cold shiver ran through his frame, but he heard a soft voice thus addressing him: “Approach, dear stranger; do not fear. I am not a phantom, nor a deceiving shadow; I am the Elf of this forest—the inhabitant of the oak under the thickly leaved branches of which thou hast frequently reposed. I have often rocked thee into sweet and pleasant dreams, and predicted to thee coming events; and when a mare or a colt have gone astray, I showed thee the place where thou couldst find it. Repay that favour by a reciprocal service, which I now ask of thee. Be the protector of this tree, which has so often screened thee from the heat of the sun and from the rain, and stop the murderous hatchet of thy brethren who devastate the forest, so that they may not touch its venerable trunk.”
The young warrior having again become bold by this soft speech, answered thus:—“Goddess or mortal, whoever thou be, ask of me whatever thou wishest, and if I can perform it, I will do so. But I am only an insignificant person among the people of my master, the servant of the Duke. If he says to me, to-day or to-morrow, Go to this or to that pasture ground, how shall I take care of thy tree in the distant forest? However, if thou orderest it, I will renounce the service of