Scandinavian legends are full of stories about sprites who live in the mountains and rivers. These strange beings sometimes help people and influence their fate.
The water-sprite was the spirit of music. Those who learned from him to play the violin could make it sound in tones that touched the hearts of everyone who heard it.
One summer evening, a young man named Helge was walking slowly by the river. He was sad because he had lost his bride, Astrid. He closed his eyes and imagined the happy time they had spent together one year before.
He whispered, "My poor Astrid, after that summer evening I did not see you again." You disappeared, and your parents and I could not find you. "Where can you be?"
As Helge walked along the bank, he heard a beautiful soft sound — the sad tones of a violin. He looked across the river and saw a girl with long golden hair. She held a violin and played. First the music sounded like wedding bells, then like a march, then like a funeral tune.
Helge felt all the sorrow of his heart in the music. Then a voice whispered to him: "When you go home, take up what lies before your door. From it make a violin, and play what you have heard here. Then the gift of music shall be yours. Goodbye!"
The music and the voice faded. Helge looked again, but the girl had disappeared. Was it a dream? When he reached home, he felt his foot hit something. It was a ski of a strange shape. He remembered the words of the voice.
He shaped the ski into a violin. In the quiet of the morning, he began to play. His music was better than the music of great masters. His love for Astrid lived in the violin. He had life and hope again, and the gift of music returned to him.
