The Mountain of the Elves

That evening, on the Mountain of the Elves, there was a great feast in honour of the rich and powerful Gnome of the North, He had recently lost his own wife and had thus decided to find wives for his two sons, whom he had brought with him, so they could choose from the seven daughters of the King of the Elves.

The Gnome of the North, with his crown of icicles and pine needles, was kind and pleasant, but his sons were arrogant and rude. The seven daughters did not like them at all, but the Gnome of the North was too important for them to be able to refuse. In fact, the gnome didn't particularly care for the young girls either. Though they were beautiful and knew how to do many strange things, like becoming invisible or imitating the shadows, they knew nothing about how to keep a house and make it a happy and peaceful place.

But the youngest of the seven sisters had not yet learnt any special magic. All she knew how to do was to sing and tell endless wonderful stories. When the wise Gnome of the North heard her, his doubts were set aside; she was the idle wife. But not for any of his sons. He asked for the daughter of the King of the Elves for himself.