DANISH FAIRY AND FOLK TALES
right in regard to the mole, but I am fearfully hungry, so I am obliged to take my chances."
At the same time the mole thrust his nose through the surface of the ground, and said: "Young man, if you are ever in need, call me and I will help you, as you have saved my life."
"Thank you for that promise," returned the prince.
"I will make you the same promise," now resumed the eagle, "because you gave me what you might yourself have needed. But why do you roam about in this forest?"
The prince thanked him many times, and told him that he was seeking his brother, who had disappeared while seeking a bride.
"I know it," explained the bird. "I saw him from far above; but it will be difficult to free him from the magician's hands into which he has fallen." And now he proceeded to tell the young man of his brother's cruel fate. "If we could only find the heart of the old philosopher," he said, musingly, "all would be well. Wait! Seat yourself on my back, and we may succeed." The prince obeyed, and was carried swiftly through the air, until the eagle landed on the island in the middle of the forest, where the spirit had buried the magician's heart fifty feet under the deepest cellar of the old castle. "Now call the mole," bade the eagle. The prince obeyed, and at once the small animal thrust his nose into the air, inquiring what he desired.
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