Early in the spring， when the storks were againabout to journey northward， beautiful Helga tookoff her golden bracelets， scratched her name on them， and beckoned to the stork-father. Hecame to her， and she placed the golden circlet round his neck， and begged him to deliver itsafely to the Viking's wife， so that she might know that her foster-daughter still lived， washappy， and had not forgotten her.
“It is rather heavy to carry，” thought stork-papa， when he had it on his neck; “but goldand honor are not to be flung into the street. The stork brings good fortune—they'll be obligedto acknowledge that at last.”
“You lay gold， and I lay eggs，” said stork-mamma; “with you it is only once in a way， Ilay eggs every year But no one appreciates what we do; I call it very mortifying.”
“But then we have a consciousness of our own worth， mother，” replied stork-papa.
“What good will that do you?” retorted stork-mamma; “it will neither bring you a fairwind， nor a good meal.”
“the little nightingale， who is singing yonder in the tamarind grove， will soon be goingnorth， too.” Helga said she had often heard her singing on the wild moor， so shedetermined to send a message by her. While flying in the swan's plumage she had learnt thebird language; she had often conversed with the stork and the swallow， and she knew thatthe nightingale would understand. So she begged the nightingale to fly to the beechwood， onthe peninsula of Jutland， where a mound of stone and twigs had been raised to form thegrave， and she begged the nightingale to persuade all the other little birds to build theirnests round the place， so that evermore should resound over that grave music and song.And the nightingale flew away， and time flew away also.
In the autumn， an eagle， standing upon a pyramid， saw a stately train of richly ladencamels， and men attired in armor on foaming Arabian steeds， whose glossy skins shone likesilver， their nostrils were pink， and their thick， flowing manes hung almost to their slenderlegs. A royal prince of Arabia， handsome as a prince should be， and accompanied bydistinguished guests， was on his way to the stately house， on the roof of which the storks'empty nests might be seen. They were away now in the far north， but expected to return verysoon. And， indeed， they returned on a day that was rich in joy and gladness.
A marriage was being celebrated， in which the beautiful Helga， glittering in silk andjewels， was the bride， and the bridegroom the young Arab prince. Bride and bridegroom satat the upper end of the table， between the bride's mother and grandfather. But her gaze wasnot on the bridegroom， with his manly， sunburnt face， round which curled a black beard，and whose dark fiery eyes were fixed upon her; but away from him， at a twinkling star， thatshone down upon her from the sky. Then was heard the sound of rushing wings beating theair. The storks were coming home; and the old stork pair， although tired with the journeyand requiring rest， did not fail to fly down at once to the balustrades of the verandah， forthey knew already what feast was being celebrated. They had heard of it on the borders of theland， and also that Helga had caused their figures to be represented on the walls， for theybelonged to her history.
“I call that very sensible and pretty，” said stork-papa.
“Yes， but it is very little，” said mamma stork; “they could not possibly have done less.”
But， when Helga saw them， she rose and went out into the verandah to stroke the backsof the storks. The old stork pair bowed their heads， and curved their necks， and even theyoungest among the young ones felt honored by this reception.
Helga continued to gaze upon the glittering star， which seemed to glow brighter and purerin its light; then between herself and the star floated a form， purer than the air， and visiblethrough it. It floated quite near to her， and she saw that it was the dead Christian priest，who also was coming to her wedding feast—coming from the heavenly kingdom.
“the glory and brightness， yonder， outshines all that is known on earth，” said he.
then Helga the fair prayed more gently， and more earnestly， than she had ever prayed inher life before， that she might be permitted to gaze， if only for a single moment， at theglory and brightness of the heavenly kingdom. Then she felt herself lifted up， as it were，above the earth， through a sea of sound and thought; not only around her， but withinher， was there light and song， such as words cannot express.
“Now we must return;” he said; “you will be missed.”
“Only one more look，” she begged; “but one short moment more.”
“We must return to earth; the guests will have all departed. Only one more look!—thelast!”
then Helga stood again in the verandah. But the marriage lamps in the festive hall had beenall extinguished， and the torches outside had vanished. The storks were gone; not a guestcould be seen; no bridegroom—all in those few short moments seemed to have died. Then aGREat dread fell upon her. She stepped from the verandah through the empty hall into thenext chamber， where slept strange warriors. She opened a side door， which once led into herown apartment， but now， as she passed through， she found herself suddenly in a gardenwhich she had never before seen here， the sky blushed red， it was the dawn of morning.Three minutes only in heaven， and a whole night on earth had passed away! Then she sawthe storks， and called to them in their own language.
then stork-papa turned his head towards here， listened to her words， and drew near. “You speak our language，” said he， “what do you wish? Why do you appear，—you—astrange woman?”
“It is I—it is Helga! Dost thou not know me? Three minutes ago we were speakingtogether yonder in the verandah.”
“That is a mistake，” said the stork， “you must have dreamed all this.”
“No， no，” she exclaimed. then she reminded him of the Viking's castle， of the GREatlake， and of the journey across the ocean.
then stork-papa winked his eyes， and said， “Why that's an old story which happened inthe time of my grandfather. There certainly was a princess of that kind here in Egypt once，who came from the Danish land， but she vanished on the evening of her wedding day， manyhundred years ago， and never came back. You may read about it yourself yonder， on amonument in the garden. There you will find swans and storks sculptured， and on the top is afigure of the princess Helga， in marble.”