“What if we should clothe the mountain?” said the juniper one day to the foreign oak, to which it stood nearer than all the others.  The oak looked down to find out who it was that spoke, and then it looked up again without deigning a reply.  The river rushed along so violently that it worked itself into a white foam; the north wind had forced its way through the gorge and shrieked in the clefts of the rocks; the naked mountain, with its great weight, hung heavily over and felt cold.  “What if we should clothe the mountain?” said the juniper to the fir on the other side.  “If anybody is to do it, I suppose it must be we,” said the fir, taking hold of its beard and glancing toward the birch.  “What do you think?” But the birch peered cautiously up, at the mountain, which hung over it so threateningly that it seemed as if it could scarcely breathe.  “Let us clothe it, in God’s name!” said the birch.  And so, though there were but these three, they undertook to clothe the mountain.  The juniper went first.

When they had gone a little way, they met the heather.  The juniper seemed as though about to go past it.  “Nay, take the heather along,” said the fir.  And the heather joined them.  Soon it began to glide on before the juniper.  “Catch hold of me,” said the heather.  The juniper did so, and where there was only a wee crevice, the heather thrust in a finger, and where it first had placed a finger, the juniper took hold with its whole hand.  They crawled and crept along, the fir laboring on behind, the birch also.  “This is well worth doing,” said the birch.

But the mountain began to ponder on what manner of insignificant objects these might be that were clambering up over it.  And after it had been considering the matter a few hundred years, it sent a little brook down to inquire.  It was yet in the time of the spring freshets, and the brook stole on until it reached the heather.  “Dear, dear heather, cannot you let me pass?  I am so small.”  The heather was very busy; only raised itself a little and pressed onward.  In, under, and onward went the brook.  “Dear, dear juniper, cannot you let me pass?  I am so small.”  The juniper looked sharply at it; but if the heather had let it pass, why, in all reason, it must do so too.  Under it and onward went the brook; and now came to the spot where the fir stood puffing on the hill-side.  “Dear, dear fir, cannot you let me pass?  I am really so small,” said the brook,—­and it kissed the fir’s feet and made itself so very sweet.  The fir became bashful at this, and let it pass.  But the birch raised itself before the brook asked it.  “Hi, hi, hi!” said the brook, and grew.  “Ha, ha, ha!” said the brook, and grew.  “Ho, ho, ho!” said the brook, and flung the heather and the juniper and the fir and the birch flat on their faces and backs, up and down these great hills.  The mountain sat up for many hundred years musing on whether it had not smiled a little that day.

It was plain enough:  the mountain did not want to be clad.  The heather fretted over this until it grew green again, and then it started forward.  “Fresh courage!” said the heather.