`No,' said the old woman, `that I do not, but the Moon will be
here presently, and I will ask her, and she will know. She can
easily see it, for she shines on all things.'

So when the Moon stood clear and bright above the tree-tops
the old woman went out. `Moon! Moon!' she screamed. `Canst
thou tell me the way to Soria Moria Castle?'

`No,' said the Moon, `that I can't, for when I shone there, there
was a cloud before me.'

`Wait a little longer,' said the old woman to Halvor, `for the
West Wind will presently be here, and he will know it, for he
breathes gently or blows into every corner.'

`What! have you a horse too?' she said when she came in
again. `Oh! let the poor creature loose in our bit of fenced-in
pasture, and don't let it stand there starving at our very door. But
won't you exchange him with me? We have a pair of old boots
here with which you can go fifteen quarters of a mile at each step.
You shall have them for the horse, and then you will be able to get
sooner to Soria Moria Castle.'

Halvor consented to this at once, and the old woman was so
delighted with the horse that she was ready to dance. `For now I,
too, shall be able to ride to church,' she said. Halvor could take no
rest, and wanted to set off immediately; but the old woman said
that there was no need to hasten. `Lie down on the bench and
sleep a little, for we have no bed to offer you,' said she, `and I will