Northern mythology

NORTH GERMAN TRADITIONS. 107
moreover, granted to find it by accident—for those that seek for it never
find it—acquires the faculty, as long as he carries it about him, of making
himself invisible, and of understanding the speech of animals.
A story, in most of its essential parts agreeing with the above, is related
of King Abel's palace in Sleswig. See * Die gelbe Blume ' in Miillenhoff,
No. 468. See also Grimm, D. M. p. 923.
THE WERWOLF'S GIRDLE.
Formerly there were persons who, by putting on a
certain girdle, could change themselves into werwolves.
man in the neighbourhood of Steina, who had such a
girdle, forgot once, when he was going out, to lock it up,
as it was his custom to do. In his absence his little son
chanced to find it, and buckled it round him, and was in
an instant turned into
such an animal, which to outward
appearance resembled a bundle of pea-straw, and went
rolling out like an unwieldy bear.
A
When those who were
in the room perceived this, they hurried forth and fetched
the father, who came just in time to unbuckle the belt,
before the child had done any mischief. The boy afterwards
said, that when he had put on the girdle, he was
seized with such a raging hunger, that he was ready to
tear in pieces and devour all that came in his way.
TRADITIONS OF DWARFS.
Once upon a time, at a marriage feast, there was an
abundance of all sorts of viands, but no sooner were they
served up than they disappeared, so that the bride and
bridegroom looked on each other in amazement, and laid
their heads together, but finally resolved to go on serving
the guests as long as anything remained to serve, and not
let them depart with hungry stomachs. But when the
company came to offer their presents, the dwarfs—for it
was they who had helped to eat the dinner—took off their
hats, when it appeared very evidently how the eatables
had vanished with such rapidity ; for the whole room