A Little Book of Profitable Tales | Page 4

said,
'Launch the boat and set sail to-morrow. Have no fear; for I will guide

you to the bride that awaits you.' Then, standing there, all white and
beautiful, the spirit held forth a symbol--such as I had never before
seen--in the figure of a cross, and the spirit said: 'By this symbol shall
she be known to you.'"
"If this be so, you must need go," said Jans. "But are you well
victualled? Come to my cabin, and let me give you venison and bear's
meat."
Norss shook his head. "The spirit will provide," said he. "I have no fear,
and I shall take no care, trusting in the spirit."
So Norss pushed his boat down the beach into the sea, and leaped into
the boat, and unfurled the sail to the wind. Jan stood wondering on the
beach, and watched the boat speed out of sight.
On, on, many days on sailed Norss,--so many leagues that he thought
he must have compassed the earth. In all this time he knew no hunger
nor thirst; it was as the spirit had told him in his dream,--no cares nor
dangers beset him. By day the dolphins and the other creatures of the
sea gambolled about his boat; by night a beauteous Star seemed to
direct his course; and when he slept and dreamed, he saw ever the spirit
clad in white, and holding forth to him the symbol in the similitude of a
cross.
At last he came to a strange country,--a country so very different from
his own that he could scarcely trust his senses. Instead of the rugged
mountains of the North, he saw a gentle landscape of velvety green; the
trees were not pines and firs, but cypresses, cedars, and palms; instead
of the cold, crisp air of his native land, he scented the perfumed zephyrs
of the Orient; and the wind that filled the sail of his boat and smote his
tanned cheeks was heavy and hot with the odor of cinnamon and spices.
The waters were calm and blue,--very different from the white and
angry waves of Norss's native fiord.
As if guided by an unseen hand, the boat pointed straight for the beach
of this strangely beautiful land; and ere its prow cleaved the shallower
waters, Norss saw a maiden standing on the shore, shading her eyes
with her right hand, and gazing intently at him. She was the most
beautiful maiden he had ever looked upon. As Norss was fair, so was
this maiden dark; her black hair fell loosely about her shoulders in
charming contrast with the white raiment in which her slender, graceful
form was clad. Around her neck she wore a golden chain, and

therefrom was suspended a small symbol, which Norss did not
immediately recognize.
"Hast thou come sailing out of the North into the East?" asked the
maiden.
"Yes," said Norss.
"And thou art Norss?" she asked.
"I am Norss; and I come seeking my bride," he answered.
"I am she," said the maiden. "My name is Faia. An angel came to me in
my dreams last night, and the angel said: 'Stand upon the beach to-day,
and Norss shall come out of the North to bear thee home a bride.' So,
coming here, I found thee sailing to our shore."
Remembering then the spirit's words, Norss said: "What symbol have
you, Faia, that I may know how truly you have spoken?"
"No symbol have I but this," said Faia, holding out the symbol that was
attached to the golden chain about her neck. Norss looked upon it, and
lo! it was the symbol of his dreams,--a tiny wooden cross.
Then Norss clasped Faia in his arms and kissed her, and entering into
the boat they sailed away into the North. In all their voyage neither care
nor danger beset them; for as it had been told to them in their dreams,
so it came to pass. By day the dolphins and the other creatures of the
sea gambolled about them; by night the winds and the waves sang them
to sleep; and, strangely enough, the Star which before had led Norss
into the East, now shone bright and beautiful in the Northern sky!
When Norss and his bride reached their home, Jans, the forge-master,
and the other neighbors made great joy, and all said that Faia was more
beautiful than any other maiden in the land. So merry was Jans that he
built a huge fire in his forge, and the flames thereof filled the whole
Northern sky with rays of light that danced up, up, up to the Star,
singing glad songs the while. So Norss and Faia were wed, and they
went to live in the cabin in the fir-grove.
To these two was born in good