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country church, and its height like that of a castle. There were mossy seats at its great root, and when the tired children had gathered as many strawberries as they cared for, they sat down on one, hard by a small spring that bubbled up as clear as crystal. The huge oak was covered with thick ivy, in which thousands of birds had their nests. Woodwender and Loveleaves watched them flying home from all parts of the forest, and at last they saw a lady coming by the same path which led them to the dell. She wore a gown of russet colour; her yellow hair was braided and bound with a crimson fillet. In her right hand she carried a holly branch; but the most remarkable part of her attire was a pair of long sleeves, as green as the very grass.

“‘Who are you?’ she said, ‘that sit so late beside my well?’ and the children told her their story, how they had first lost the hogs, then their way, and were afraid to go home to the wicked stewards.

“‘Well,’ said the lady, ‘ye are the fairest swine-herds that ever came this way. Choose whether ye will go home and keep hogs for Hardhold and Drypenny, or live in the free forest with me.’

“‘We will stay with you,’ said the children, ‘for we like not keeping swine. Besides, our fathers