“Yes， we must go to the Viking's castle，” said the stork; “mother and the young onesare waiting for me there. How they will open their eyes and flap their wings! My wife， yousee， does not say much; she is short and abrupt in her manner; but she means well， for allthat. I will flap my wings at once， that they may hear us coming.” Then stork-papa flapped hiswings in first-rate style， and he and the swans flew away to the Viking's castle.
In the castle， every one was in a deep sleep. It had been late in the evening before theViking's wife retired to rest. She was anxious about Helga， who， three days before， hadvanished with the Christian priest. Helga must have helped him in his flight， for it was herhorse that was missed from the stable; but by what power had all this been accomplished?The Viking's wife thought of it with wonder， thought on the miracles which they said could beperformed by those who believed in the Christian faith， and followed its teachings. Thesepassing thoughts formed themselves into a vivid dream， and it seemed to her that she wasstill lying awake on her couch， while without darkness reigned. A storm arose; she heard thelake dashing and rolling from east and west， like the waves of the North Sea or the Cattegat.The monstrous snake which， it is said， surrounds the earth in the depths of the ocean， wastrembling in spasmodic convulsions. The night of the fall of the gods was come， “Ragnorock，”as the heathens call the judgment-day， when everything shall pass away， even the highgods themselves. The war trumpet sounded; riding upon the rainbow， came the gods，clad in steel， to fight their last battle on the last battle-field. Before them flew the wingedvampires， and the dead warriors closed up the train. The whole firmament was ablaze with thenorthern lights， and yet the darkness triumphed. It was a terrible hour. And， close to theterrified woman， Helga seemed to be seated on the floor， in the hideous form of a frog， yettrembling， and clinging to her foster-mother， who took her on her lap， and lovinglycaressed her， hideous and frog-like as she was. The air was filled with the clashing of arms andthe hissing of arrows， as if a storm of hail was descending upon the earth. It seemed to herthe hour when earth and sky would burst asunder， and all things be swallowed up in Saturn'sfiery lake; but she knew that a new heaven and a new earth would arise， and that corn-fieldswould wave where now the lake rolled over desolate sands， and the ineffable God reign. Thenshe saw rising from the region of the dead， Baldur the gentle， the loving， and as theViking's wife gazed upon him， she recognized his countenance. It was the captive Christianpriest. “White Christian!” she exclaimed aloud， and with the words， she pressed a kiss onthe forehead of the hideous frog-child. Then the frog-skin fell off， and Helga stood before herin all her beauty， more lovely and gentle-looking， and with eyes beaming with love. Shekissed the hands of her foster-mother， blessed her for all her fostering love and care duringthe days of her trial and misery， for the thoughts she had suggested and awoke in herheart， and for naming the Name which she now repeated. Then beautiful Helga rose as amighty swan， and spread her wings with the rushing sound of troops of birds of passageflying through the air.
then the Viking's wife awoke， but she still heard the rushing sound without. She knew itwas the time for the storks to depart， and that it must be their wings which she heard. Shefelt she should like to see them once more， and bid them farewell. She rose from her couch，stepped out on the threshold， and beheld， on the ridge of the roof， a party of storksranged side by side. Troops of the birds were flying in circles over the castle and the highesttrees; but just before her， as she stood on the threshold and close to the well where Helgahad so often sat and alarmed her with her wildness， now stood two swans， gazing at herwith intelligent eyes. Then she remembered her dream， which still appeared to her as areality. She thought of Helga in the form of a swan. She thought of a Christian priest， andsuddenly a wonderful joy arose in her heart. The swans flapped their wings and arched theirnecks as if to offer her a GREeting， and the Viking's wife spread out her arms towards them，as if she accepted it， and smiled through her tears. She was roused from deep thought by arustling of wings and snapping of beaks; all the storks arose， and started on their journeytowards the south.
“We will not wait for the swans，” said the mamma stork; “if they want to go with us， letthem come now; we can't sit here till the plovers start. It is a fine thing after all to travel infamilies， not like the finches and the partridges. There the male and the female birds fly inseparate flocks， which， to speak candidly， I consider very unbecoming.”
“What are those swans flapping their wings for?”
“Well， every one flies in his own fashion，” saidthe papa stork. “The swans fly in an oblique line;the cranes， in the form of a triangle; and theplovers， in a curved line like a snake.”
“Don't talk about snakes while we are flying uphere，” said stork-mamma. “It puts ideas into thechildren's heads that can not be realized.”
“Are those the high mountains I have heardspoken of?” asked Helga， in the swan's plumage.
“they are storm-clouds driving along beneathus，” replied her mother.
“What are yonder white clouds that rise so high?” again inquired Helga.
“Those are mountains covered with perpetual snows， that you see yonder，” said hermother. And then they flew across the Alps towards the blue Mediterranean.
“Africa's land! Egyptia's strand!” sang the daughter of the Nile， in her swan's plumage，as from the upper air she caught sight of her native land， a narrow， golden， wavy strip onthe shores of the Nile; the other birds espied it also and hastened their flight.
“I can smell the Nile mud and the wet frogs，” said the stork-mamma， “and I begin to feelquite hungry. Yes， now you shall taste something nice， and you will see the marabout bird，and the ibis， and the crane. They all belong to our family， but they are not nearly sohandsome as we are. They give themselves GREat airs， especially the ibis. The Egyptians havespoilt him. They make a mummy of him， and stuff him with spices. I would rather be stuffedwith live frogs， and so would you， and so you shall. Better have something in your insidewhile you are alive， than to be made a parade of after you are dead. That is my opinion， and Iam always right.”