AFEW large lizards were running nimbly about inthe clefts of an old tree; they could understandone another very well， for they spoke the lizardlanguage.
“What a buzzing and a rumbling there is in theelfin hill，” said one of the lizards; “I have not beenable to close my eyes for two nights on account ofthe noise; I might just as well have had thetoothache， for that always keeps me awake.”
“there is something going on within there，” said the other lizard; “they propped up thetop of the hill with four red posts， till cock-crow this morning， so that it is thoroughly aired，and the elfin girls have learnt new dances; there is something.”
“I spoke about it to an earth-worm of my acquaintance，” said a third lizard; “theearth-worm had just come from the elfin hill， where he has been groping about in the earthday and night. He has heard a GREat deal; although he cannot see， poor miserablecreature， yet he understands very well how to wriggle and lurk about. They expect friends inthe elfin hill， grand company， too; but who they are the earth-worm would not say， or，perhaps， he really did not know. All the will-o'-the-wisps are ordered to be there to hold atorch dance， as it is called. The silver and gold which is plentiful in the hill will be polished andplaced out in the moonlight.”
“Who can the strangers be?” asked the lizards; “what can the matter be? Hark， what abuzzing and humming there is!”
Just at this moment the elfin hill opened， and an old elfin maiden， hollow behind，1 cametripping out; she was the old elf king's housekeeper， and a distant relative of the family;therefore she wore an amber heart on the middle of her forehead. Her feet moved very fast， “trip， trip;” good gracious， how she could trip right down to the sea to the night-raven.2
“You are invited to the elf hill for this evening，” said she; “but will you do me a GREatfavor and undertake the invitations? you ought to do something， for you have nohousekeeping to attend to as I have. We are going to have some very grand people，conjurors， who have always something to say; and therefore the old elf king wishes to makea great display.”
“Who is to be invited?” asked the raven.
“All the world may come to the GREat ball， even human beings， if they can only talk intheir sleep， or do something after our fashion. But for the feast the company must be carefullyselected; we can only admit persons of high rank; I have had a dispute myself with the elfking， as he thought we could not admit ghosts. The merman and his daughter must be invitedfirst， although it may not be agreeable to them to remain so long on dry land， but they shallhave a wet stone to sit on， or perhaps something better; so I think they will not refuse thistime. We must have all the old demons of the first class， with tails， and the hobgoblins andimps; and then I think we ought not to leave out the death-horse，3 or the grave-pig， oreven the church dwarf， although they do belong to the clergy， and are not reckoned amongour people; but that is merely their office， they are nearly related to us， and visit us veryfrequently.”
“Croak，” said the night-raven as he flew away with the invitations.
the elfin maidens we're already dancing on the elf hill， and they danced in shawls wovenfrom moonshine and mist， which look very pretty to those who like such things. The large hallwithin the elf hill was splendidly decorated; the floor had been washed with moonshine， andthe walls had been rubbed with magic ointment， so that they glowed like tulip-leaves in thelight. In the kitchen were frogs roasting on the spit， and dishes preparing of snail skins， withchildren's fingers in them， salad of mushroom seed， hemlock， noses and marrow of mice，beer from the marsh woman's brewery， and sparkling salt-petre wine from the grave cellars.These were all substantial food. Rusty nails and church-window glass formed the dessert. Theold elf king had his gold crown polished up with powdered slate-pencil; it was like that usedby the first form， and very difficult for an elf king to obtain. In the bedrooms， curtains werehung up and fastened with the slime of snails; there was， indeed， a buzzing and hummingeverywhere.
“Now we must fumigate the place with burnt horse-hair and pig's bristles， and then Ithink I shall have done my part，” said the elf man-servant.
“Father， dear，” said the youngest daughter， “may I now hear who our high-born visitorsare?”
“Well， I suppose I must tell you now，” he replied; “two of my daughters must preparethemselves to be married， for the marriages certainly will take place. The old goblin fromNorway， who lives in the ancient Dovre mountains， and who possesses many castles built ofrock and freestone， besides a gold mine， which is better than all， so it is thought， iscoming with his two sons， who are both seeking a wife. The old goblin is a true-hearted，honest， old Norwegian graybeard; cheerful and straightforward. I knew him formerly，when we used to drink together to our good fellowship： he came here once to fetch hiswife， she is dead now. She was the daughter of the king of the chalk-hills at Moen. They sayhe took his wife from chalk; I shall be delighted to see him again. It is said that the boys are ill-bred， forward lads， but perhaps that is not quite correct， and they will become better asthey grow older. Let me see that you know how to teach them good manners.”
“And when are they coming?” asked the daughter.
“That depends upon wind and weather，” said the elf king; “they travel economically. Theywill come when there is the chance of a ship. I wanted them to come over to Sweden， but theold man was not inclined to take my advice. He does not go forward with the times， and that Ido not like.”
Two will-o'-the-wisps came jumping in， one quicker than the other， so of course， onearrived first. “They are coming! they are coming!” he cried.
“Give me my crown，” said the elf king， “and let me stand in the moonshine.”
the daughters drew on their shawls and bowed down to the ground. There stood the oldgoblin from the Dovre mountains， with his crown of hardened ice and polished fir-cones.Besides this， he wore a bear-skin， and GREat， warm boots， while his sons went with theirthroats bare and wore no braces， for they were strong men.