e
fire warming himself.

The hare immediately climbed up and began to scratch as desired; but the
giant knocked him over, and down he fell on to the hearthstone, breaking
off his forelegs, since which time all hares have had short forelegs.

The fox next clambered up to scratch the giant's back, but he was served
like the hare. Then the wolf's turn came, but the giant said that he was
no better at scratching than the others.

"_You_ scratch me!" shouted the giant, turning impatiently to the bear.

"All right," answered Bruin; "I know all about scratching," and he
forthwith dug his claws into the giant's back and ripped it into a
thousand pieces.

Then all the beasts danced on the dead body of the monster, and Ashpot
recovered his sister and took her home, carrying off, at the same time,
all the giant's gold and silver. The bear and the wolf burst into the
cattle-sheds and devoured all the cows and sheep, the fox feasted in the
hen-roost, while the hare had the free run of the oatfield. So every one
was satisfied.

* * *

The other story is also about Ashpot, whose two elder brothers still
treated him very badly, and eventually turned him out of his home. Poor
Ashpot wandered away up into the mountains, where he met a huge giant.
At first he was terribly afraid, but after a little while he told the
giant what had happened to him, and asked him if he could find a job for
him.

"You are just the very man I want," said the giant. "Come along with
me."

The first work to be done was to make a fire to brew some ale, so they
went off together to the forest to cut firewood. The giant carried a
club in place of an axe, and when they came to a large birch-tree he
asked Ashpot whether he would like to club the tree down or climb up and
hold the top of it. The boy thought that the latter would suit him best,
and he soon got up to the topmost branches and held on to them. But the
giant gave the tree such a blow with his club as to knock it right out
of the ground, sending Ashpot flying across the meadows into a marsh.
Luckily he landed on soft ground, and was none the worse for his
adventure; and they soon managed to get the tree home, when they set to
work to make a fire.

But the wood was green, and would not burn, so the giant began to blow.
At the first puff Ashpot found himself flying up to the ceiling as if he
had been a feather, but he managed to catch hold of a piece of
birch-bark among the