Translated by Pat Shaw Iversen.
n Hefre farm, in Heddal, there lived a man named Ole, and he owned a couple
of other farms, too. He married a girl from Leine farm in Sauland. One
Saturday evening, before he was married, he was on his way over to Sauland to
go courting. Late in the evening he came to a mound right alongside the road,
way up in the parish. There he heard singing and music inside the mound, and
sounds of dancing and gaiety and merriment. Ole was not afraid, and stood
there listening for a while. When he was about to go on, he said aloud,
"There's little use for you to be so happy. You won't share in the glory of
God all the same!"Then they replied from inside the mound, "We hope to share in the glory of God too." But Ole replied, "It's just as impossible for you to share in the glory of God as it is for flowers and leaves to grow on this dry staff I'm holding in my hand!"
Then at once it became silent in their, the dancing and music stopped, and instead he heard them begin to cry and wail. But Ole did not think any more about it. He was completely taken up by the thought that he would soon meet his sweetheart. It was late at night before he came to Leine, and when he went in he left his staff on the porch. He did not tell his sweetheart anything about his experience, for you should never talk about such things before you have slept on it, or else you will be sick.
When he was to go home in the morning, he was greatly astonished. There stood his staff, and it was completely covered with flowers and leaves which had grown on it. Then he remembered what had happened the evening before, and he walked as fast as he could to get to the mound. And when he came to it, he heard them still crying and wailing inside there. Then he shouted to them as loud as he could: "You mustn't cry and carry on any more. You can be happy now, for in truth you too will share in the glory of God. Last night leaves and flowers grew out on my staff!"
When he had said that, he heard great rejoicing inside the mound, and they started playing again and shouting to another. Ole went home and pondered over what he had experienced, and with quite different thoughts from those he had the evening before.
