have but to look to other collections of Aryan folk-lore to find
that in some of its features the legend is common to all
branches of the Aryan family. In our own familiar story of
"Beauty and the Beast," for instance, we have the same idea.
There are the three sisters, one of whom is chosen as the bride
of an enchanted monster, who dwells in a beautiful palace. By
the arts of her sisters she is kept away from him, and he is at
the point of death through his grief. Then she returns, and he
revives, and becomes changed into a handsome Prince, and they
live happy ever after. One feature of these legends is that
beings closely united to each other--as closely, that is, as
the Sun and the Dawn--may not look upon each other without
misfortune. This is illustrated in the charming Scandinavian
story of "The Land East of the Sun and West of the Moon," which
is told in various forms; the best of them being in Mr. Morris's
beautiful poem in "The Earthly Paradise," and in Dr. Dasent's
Norse Tales.[4] We shall abridge Dr. Dasent's version, telling
the story in our own way:

There was a poor peasant who had a large family whom he could
scarcely keep; and there were several daughters amongst them.
The loveliest was the youngest daughter; who was very beautiful
indeed. One evening in autumn, in bad weather, the family sat
round the fire; and there came three taps at the window. The
father went out to see who it was, and he found only a great
White Bear. And the White Bear said, "If you will give me your
youngest daughter, I will make you rich." So the peasant went in
and asked his daughter if she would be the wife of the White
Bear; and the daughter said "No." So the White Bear went away,
but said he would come back in a few days to see if the maiden