shoe; it was worn as thin as paper, and there was a hole in the middle of it.
‘These shoes were quite new when I left Rome,’ he said, ‘and look at them now; that will tell you whether you are far from it or not.’
This discouraged the old people so much that they gave up all thought of finishing the journey, and only wished to get back to Denmark as quickly as they could. What with the winter and bad roads they took longer to return than they had taken to go, but in the end they found themselves in sight of the forest where they had slept before.
‘What’s this?’ said Rasmus. ‘Here’s a big house built since we passed this way before.’
‘So it is,’ said Niels; ‘let’s stay all night in it.’
‘No, we can’t afford that,’ said the old people; ‘it will be too dear for the like of us.’
However, when they saw what was written above the door, they were all well pleased to get a night’s lodging for nothing. They were well received, and had so much attention given to them, that the old people were quite put out by it. After they had got time to rest themselves, the princess’s steward came to hear their story.
‘You saw what was written above the door,’ he said to the father. ‘Tell me who you are and what your history has been.’
‘Dear me, I have nothing of any importance to tell you,’ said the old man, ‘and I am sure we should never have made so bold as to trouble you at all if it hadn’t been for the youngest of our two sons here.’
‘Never mind that,’ said the steward; ‘you are very welcome if you will only tell me the story of your life.’
‘Well, well, I will,’ said he, ‘but there is nothing to tell about it. I and my wife have lived all our days on a moor in North Jutland, until this last year, when she took a fancy to go to Rome. We set out with our two sons
