ry much frightened, but told no one about it.

Next evening the same thing happened again, just as before, but as the
woman was going away she said in a sad tone, 'Two are gone, and one
only is left,' and then disappeared as before. The nurse was still more
frightened when she heard the woman say this, and thought that perhaps
some danger was hanging over the child, though she had no ill-opinion of
the unknown woman, who, indeed, had behaved towards the child as if it
were her own. The most mysterious thing was the woman saying 'and only
one is left;' but the nurse guessed that this must mean that only one
day was left, since she had come for two days already.

At last the nurse made up her mind to go to the King, and told him the
whole story, and asked him to be present in person next day about the
time when the woman usually came. The King promised to do so, and came
to the nurse's room a little before the time, and sat down on a chair
with his drawn sword in his hand. Soon after the planks in the floor
sprang up as before, and the woman came up, dressed in white, with the
iron belt and chain. The King saw at once that it was his own Queen, and
immediately hewed asunder the iron chain that was fastened to the belt.
This was followed by such noises and crashings down in the earth that
all the King's Palace shook, so that no one expected anything else than
to see every bit of it shaken to pieces. At last, however, the noises
and shaking stopped, and they began to come to themselves again.

The King and Queen embraced each other, and she told him the whole
story--how the Witch came to the ship when they were all asleep and sent
her off in the boat. After she had gone so far that she could not see
the ship, she sailed on through darkness until she landed beside a
three-headed Giant. The Giant wished her to marry him, but she refused;
whereupon he shut her up by herself, and told her she would never get
free until she consented. After a time she began to plan how to get her
freedom, and at last told him that she would consent if he would allow
her to visit her son on earth three days on end. This he agreed to, but
put on her this iron belt and chain, the other end of which he fastened
round his own waist, and the great noises that were heard when the King
cut the chain must have been caused by the Giant's falling down the
underground passage when the chain gave way so suddenly. The Giant's
dwelling, indeed, was right unde