the Viking did not return on that day， nor the next; he was， however， on the wayhome; but the wind， so favorable to the storks， was against him; for it blew towards thesouth. A wind in favor of one is often against another.
After two or three days had passed， it became clear to the Viking's wife how mattersstood with the child; it was under the influence of a powerful sorcerer. By day it was charmingin appearance as an angel of light， but with a temper wicked and wild; while at night， inthe form of an ugly frog， it was quiet and mournful， with eyes full of sorrow. Here were twonatures， changing inwardly and outwardly with the absence and return of sunlight. And so ithappened that by day the child， with the actual form of its mother， possessed the fiercedisposition of its father; at night， on the contrary， its outward appearance plainlyshowed its descent on the father's side， while inwardly it had the heart and mind of its mother.Who would be able to loosen this wicked charm which the sorcerer had worked upon it? Thewife of the Viking lived in constant pain and sorrow about it. Her heart clung to the littlecreature， but she could not explain to her husband the circumstances in which it was placed.He was expected to return shortly; and were she to tell him， he would very likely， as was thecustom at that time， expose the poor child in the public highway， and let any one take itaway who would. The good wife of the Viking could not let that happen， and she thereforeresolved that the Viking should never see the child excepting by daylight.
One morning there sounded a rushing of storks' wings over the roof. More than a hundredpair of storks had rested there during the night， to recover themselves after their excursion;and now they soared aloft， and prepared for the journey southward.
“All the husbands are here， and ready!” they cried; “wives and children also!”
“How light we are!” screamed the young storks in chorus. “Something pleasant seemscreeping over us， even down to our toes， as if we were full of live frogs. Ah， how delightfulit is to travel into foreign lands!”
“Hold yourselves properly in the line with us，” cried papa and mamma. “Do not use yourbeaks so much; it tries the lungs.” And then the storks flew away.
About the same time sounded the clang of the warriors' trumpets across the heath. TheViking had landed with his men. They were returning home， richly laden with spoil from theGallic coast， where the people， as did also the inhabitants of Britain， often cried in alarm， “Deliver us from the wild northmen.”
Life and noisy pleasure came with them into the castle of the Viking on the moorland. AGREat cask of mead was drawn into the hall， piles of wood blazed， cattle were slain andserved up， that they might feast in reality， The priest who offered the sacrifice sprinkled thedevoted parishioners with the warm blood; the fire crackled， and the smoke rolled alongbeneath the roof; the soot fell upon them from the beams; but they were used to all thesethings. Guests were invited， and received handsome presents. All wrongs and unfaithfulnesswere forgotten. They drank deeply， and threw in each other's faces the bones that were left，which was looked upon as a sign of good feeling amongst them. A bard， who was a kind ofmusician as well as warrior， and who had been with the Viking in his expedition， and knewwhat to sing about， gave them one of his best songs， in which they heard all their warlikedeeds praised， and every wonderful action brought forward with honor. Every verse endedwith this refrain，—
“Gold and possessions will flee away，Friends and foes must die one day;Every man onearth must die，But a famous name will never die.”
And with that they beat upon their shields， and hammered upon the table with knives andbones， in a most outrageous manner.
the Viking's wife sat upon a raised cross seat in the open hall. She wore a silk dress，golden bracelets， and large amber beads. She was in costly attire， and the bard named her inhis song， and spoke of the rich treasure of gold which she had brought to her husband. Herhusband had already seen the wonderfully beautiful child in the daytime， and was delightedwith her beauty; even her wild ways pleased him. He said the little maiden would grow up to bea heroine， with the strong will and determination of a man. She would never wink hereyes， even if， in joke， an expert hand should attempt to cut off her eye-brows with a sharpsword.
the full cask of mead soon became empty， and a fresh one was brought in; for thesewere people who liked plenty to eat and drink. The old proverb， which every one knows，says that “the cattle know when to leave their pasture， but a foolish man knows not themeasure of his own appetite.” Yes， they all knew this; but men may know what is right，and yet often do wrong. They also knew “that even the welcome guest becomes wearisomewhen he sits too long in the house.” But there they remained; for pork and mead are goodthings. And so at the Viking's house they stayed， and enjoyed themselves; and at night thebondmen slept in the ashes， and dipped their fingers in the fat， and licked them. Oh， it wasa delightful time!
Once more in the same year the Viking went forth， though the storms of autumn hadalready commenced to roar. He went with his warriors to the coast of Britain; he said that itwas but an excursion of pleasure across the water， so his wife remained at home with the littlegirl. After a while， it is quite certain the foster-mother began to love the poor frog， with itsgentle eyes and its deep sighs， even better than the little beauty who bit and fought with allaround her.