Hulda begins the story as a young girl at a party one winter’s night in Norway at her home. Her parents bring out a grand cake with a small ring baked into it, the person who gets the ring receives one wish from a fairy. Hulda receives this wish, she wishes for the wand the fairy has. But is then upset when she found out because of her wish the fairy loses her powers. Hulda spends the rest of her childhood guarding the wand until a poor peddler comes along and wants to trade it for one of his beautiful bracelets. Because Hulda had not seen the fairy in a long time she assumed that she has died, and proceeds to trade the wand to the peddler. She finds out that the peddler was actually a gnome who only wanted to get the wand in the first place. She spends the rest of her childhood looking for the peddler to try and get back her mother ring which he also stole that day she met him.