She bade him be of good courage , looked to see that she had the three nuts which she had found beside her mother 's grave , mounted her horse , and rode out into the forest . When she had ridden for some time the evil spirits came forth and said , ` Here comes Peter 's horse and Peter 's hound ; but Peter himself is not with them . ' Then at a distance she heard a terrible voice demanding to know what she wanted . ' I have come to get Peter 's contract , ' said she . At this there arose a terrible uproar among the evil spirits , and the worst voice among them all said , ` Ride home and tell Peter that when he comes to-morrow he shall get twice as many strokes as usual . ' The queen then took one of her nuts and cracked it , and turned her horse about . At this sparks of fire flew out of all the trees , and the evil spirits howled as if they were being scourged back to their abode . Next day at the same time the queen again rode out into the forest ; but on this occasion the spirits did not dare to come so near her . They would not , however , give up the contract , but threatened both her and the man . Then she cracked her second nut , and all the forest behind her seemed to be in fire and flames , and the evil spirits howled even worse than on the previous day ; but the contract they would not give up . The queen had only one nut left now , but even that she was ready to give up in order to deliver the man . This time she cracked the nut as soon as she came near the place where the spirits appeared , and what then happened to them she could not see , but amid wild screams and howls the contract was handed to her at the end of a long branch . The queen rode happy home to the hut , and happier still was the man , who had been sitting there in great anxiety , for now he was freed from all the power of the evil spirits . Meanwhile King Lindorm had come home from the war , and the first question he asked when he entered the palace was about the queen and the whelps . The attendants were surprised : they knew of no whelps . The queen had had two beautiful princes ; but the king had sent orders that all these were to be burned . The king grew pale with sorrow and anger , and ordered them to summon his trusted retainer , to whom he had sent the instructions that the queen and the whelps were to be carefully looked after . The retainer , however , showed him the letter in which there was written that the queen and her children were to be burned , and everyone then understood that some great treachery had been enacted . When the king 's trusted retainer saw his master 's deep sorrow he confessed to him that he had spared the lives of the queen and the princes , and had only burned a sheep and two lambs , and had kept the queen and her children hidden in the palace for three years , but had sent her out into the wild forest just when the king was expected home . When the king heard this his sorrow was lessened , and he said that he would wander out into the forest and search for his wife and children .
If he found them he would return to his palace ; but if he did not find them he would never XXXXX it again , and in that case the faithful retainer who had saved the lives of the queen and the princes should be king in his stead .
burned came cracked deliver entered grew said see surprised written