says the lad. The thong
squeezed him so that he was not able to put a stir out of himself, and
he promised the lad anything at all--only to spare his life.

"I am asking nothing of you but the loan of the old sword that is under
your bed."

"I'll give you that, and welcome." He went in, and brought out the sword
with him. Each man of them had a sword, and every sword better than
another.

"Try that sword on the six biggest trees that are in the wood, and it
will go through them without turning the edge."

"I don't see any tree in the wood bigger or uglier than yourself," says
he, drawing the sword and whipping the head off him, so that he sent it
seven furrows and seven ridges from the body.

"Oh," said the head, "if I were to get going on the body again, and the
men of the world wouldn't get me off it again."

"Oh, I'll take care of that myself," says the boy.

When he drove the cows home that night there was wonder on the people
when they saw the quantity of milk they had. The gentleman said that
there was another change in the caher that day again, as he did not hear
but only one shout, but the lad said that he saw another one going away
that day, and that it was likely that he did not come back yet.

On the next day he went out, and drove the pigs and the cows up to the
hall door, and was throwing down the apples to them. The third giant
came out--the eldest man of them--and he was full mad after his two
brothers being dead, and the teeth that were in his head were making a
hand-stick for him. He told the boy to come down; that he did not know
what he would do to him after his having killed his two brothers. "Come
down," says he, "till I draw you under my long, cold teeth"; and it was
on him the long, cold teeth were, and no lie.

"Go down, black thong, and bind that one till the eyes will be going out
on his head with the power of the squeezing that you'll give him."

The black thong leaped from him, and it bound the giant until the two
eyes were going out on his head with the squeezing and with the
tightening it gave him, and the giant promised to give him anything at
all; "but spare my life," says he.

"I'm only asking the loan of the old sword that's under your bed," said
the lad.

"Have it, and welcome," says the giant. He went in, and brought out the
sword with him. "Now," says the giant, "strike the two ugliest stumps in
the wood, and the sword will cut them without getting a bent edge."

"Mus