In the far-off ages, all the lands of northern Europe were one, for the
deep seas had not yet separated them. Then our forefathers thought that
fairies were gods. They built temples in their honor, and prayed to
them. Then, in the place where is now the little town of Ulrum in
Friesland was the home of the spirit in the ice, Uller. That is what
Ulrum means, the home of the good fairy Uller.
Uller was the patron of boys and girls. They liked him, because he
invented skates and sleds and sleighs. He had charge of things in winter
and enjoyed the cold. He delighted also in hunting. Dressed in thick
furs, he loved to roam over the hills and through the forests, seeking
out the wolf, the bear, the deer, and the aurochs. His bow and arrows
were terrible, for they were very big and he was a sure shot. Being the
patron of archery, hunters always sought his favor. The yew tree was
sacred to Uller, because the best bows were made from its wood. No one
could cut down a yew tree without angering Uller.
Nobody knew who Uller's father was, and if he knew himself, he did not
care to tell any one. He would not bestow many blessings upon mankind;
yet thousands of people used to come to Ulrum every year to invoke his
aid and ask him to send a heavy fall of snow to cover the ground. That
meant good crops of food for the next year. The white snow, lying thick
upon the ground, kept back the frost giants from biting the earth too
hard. Because of deep winter snows, the ground was soft during the next
summer. So the seed sprouted more easily and there was plenty to eat.
When Uller travelled over the winter snow, to go out on hunting trips,
he strapped snow-shoes on his feet. Because these were shaped like a
warrior's shield, Uller was often called the shield-god. His protection
was especially invoked by men who fought duels with sword or spear,
which were very common in early days; or by soldiers or hunters, who
wished to be very brave, or had engaged in perilous ventures.
Now when Uller wanted a wife to marry him, he made love to Skadi,
because she was a huntress and liked the things which he liked. So they
never had a quarrel. She was very strong, fond of sports, and of chasing
the wild animals. She wore a short skirt, which allowed freedom of
motion to her limbs. Then she ranged over the hills and valleys with
wonderful swiftness. So rapid were her movements that many people
likened her to the cold mountain stream, that leaps down from the high
peaks and over the rocks, foaming and dashing to the lowlands. They gave
the same name to both this fairy woman and the water, because they were
so much alike.
Indeed Skadi was very lovely to look at. It was no wonder that many of
the gods, fairies and men fell in love with her. It is even said that
she had had several husbands before marrying Uller. When you look at her
pictures, you will see that she was as pretty as bright winter itself,
when Jack Frost clothes the trees with white and makes the cheeks of the
girls so rosy. She wore armor of shining steel, a silver helmet, short
white skirts and white fur leggings. Her snow-shoes were of the hue of
winter. Besides a glittering spear, she had a bow and sharp arrows.
These were held in a silver quiver slung over her shoulders. Altogether,
she looked like winter alive. She loved to live in the mountains, and
hear the thunders of cataracts, the crash of avalanches, the moaning of
the winds in the pine forests. Even the howling of wolves was music in
her ears. She was afraid of nothing.
Now from such a father and mother one would expect wonderful children,
yet very much like their parents. It turned out that the offspring of
Uller and Skadi were all daughters. To them--one after another--were
given the names meaning Glacier, Cold, Snow, Drift, Snow Whirl, and Snow
Dust, the oldest being the biggest and hardiest. The others were in
degree softer and more easily influenced by the sun and the wind. They
all looked alike, so that some people called them the Six White Sisters.
Yet they were all so great and powerful that many considered them
giantesses. It was not possible for men to tame them, for they did very
much as they pleased. No one could stop their doings or drive them away,
except Woden, who was the god of the sun. Yet in winter, even he left
off ruling the world and went away. During that time, that is, during
seven months, Uller took Woden's throne and governed the affairs of the
world. When summer came, Uller went with his wife up to the North Pole;
or they lived in a house, on the top of the Alps. There they could hunt
and roam on their snow-shoes. To these cold places, which the whole
family enjoyed, their daughters went also and all were very happy so far
above the earth.
Things went on pleasantly in Uller's family so long as his daughters
were young, for then the girls found enough to delight in at their daily
play. But when grown up and their heads began to be filled with notions
about the young giants, who paid visits to them, then the family
troubles began.
[Illustration: YET ALL THE TIME HE WAS CALLING ON HUMAN BEINGS TO HARNESS
HIM TO WHEELS]
There was one young giant fairy named Vuur, who came often to see all
six of Uller's daughters, from the youngest to the oldest. Yet no one
could tell which of them he was in love with, or could name the girl he
liked best; no, not even the daughters themselves. His character and his
qualities were not well known, for he put on many disguises and appeared
in many places. It was believed, however, that he had already done a
good deal of mischief and was likely to do more, for he loved
destruction. Yet he often helped the kabouter dwarfs to do great things;
so that showed he was of some use. In fact he was the fire fairy. He
kept on, courting all the six sisters, long after May day came, and he
lengthened his visits until the heat turned the entire half dozen of
them into water. So they became one.
At this, Uller was so angry at Vuur's having delayed so long before
popping the question, and at his daughters' losing their shapes, that he
made Vuur marry them all and at once, they taking the name of Regen.
Now when the child of Vuur and Regen was born, it turned out to be, in
body and in character, just what people expected from such a father and
mother. It was named in Dutch, Stoom. It grew fast and soon showed that
it was as powerful as its parents had been; yet it was much worse, when
shut up, than when allowed to go free in the air. Stoom loved to do all
sorts of tricks. In the kitchen, it would make the iron kettle lid flop
up and down with a lively noise. If it were confined in a vessel,
whether of iron or earthenware, when set over the fire, it would blow
the pot or kettle all to pieces, in order to get out. Thinking itself a
great singer, it would make rather a pleasant sound, when its mother let
it come out of a spout. Yet it never obeyed either of its parents. When
they tried to shut up Stoom inside of anything, it always escaped with a
terrible sound. In fact, nothing could long hold it in, without an
explosion.
Sometimes Stoom would go down into the bowels of the earth and turn on a
stream of water so as to meet the deep fires which are ever burning far
down below us. Then there would come an awful earthquake, because Stoom
wanted to get out, and the earth crust would not let him, but tried to
hold him down. Sometimes Stoom slipped down into a volcano's mouth. Then
the mountain, in order to save itself from being choked, had to spit
Stoom out, and this always made a terrible mess on the ground, and men
called it lava. Or, Stoom might stay down in the crater as a guest, and
quietly come out, occasionally, in jets and puffs.
Even when Jack Frost was around and froze the pipes in the house, or
turned the water of the pots, pans, kettles and bottles into solid ice,
Stoom behaved very badly. If the frozen kettles, or any other closed
vessel were put over the stove, or near the fire, and the ice melted at
the bottom too fast, Stoom would blow the whole thing up. In this way,
he often put men's lives in danger and made them lose their property.
No one seemed to know how to handle this mischievous fairy. Not one man
on earth could do anything with him. So they let him have his own way.
Yet all the time, though he was enjoying his own tricks and lively fun,
he was, with his own voice, calling on human beings to use him properly,
and harness him to wheels; for he was willing to be useful to them, and
was all ready to pull or drive, lift or lower, grind or pump, as the
need might be.
As long as men did not treat him properly and give him the right to get
out into the air, after he had done his work, Stoom would explode, blow
up and destroy everything. He could be made to sing, hiss, squeal,
whistle, and make all kinds of sounds, but, unless the bands that held
him in were strong enough, or if Vuur got too hot, or his mother would
not give him drink enough, when the iron pipes were red with heat, he
would lose his temper and explode. He had no respect for bad or
neglected boilers, or for lazy or careless firemen and engineers.
Yet properly harnessed and treated well, and fed with the food such as
his mother can give, and roused by his father's persuasion, Stoom is
greater than any giant or fairy that ever was. He can drive a ship, a
locomotive, a submarine, or an aeroplane, as fast as Fro's boar, horse
or ship. Everybody to-day is glad that Stoom is such a good servant and
friend all over the world.
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