ng she pleased, and
sitting down on a mossy bank where a little stream tinkled by, soon fell
sound asleep. The princess saw with delight that they would pay no
heed to her, and wandered on and on, expecting every moment to see some
fairies dancing round a ring, or some little brown elves peeping at
her from behind a tree. But, alas! she met none of these; instead, a
horrible giant came out of his cave and ordered her to follow him. The
princess felt much afraid, as he was so big and ugly, and began to be
sorry that she had not stayed within reach of help; but as there was no
use in disobeying the giant, she walked meekly behind.

They went a long way, and Ingibjorg grew very tired, and at length began
to cry.

'I don't like girls who make horrid noises,' said the giant, turning
round. 'But if you WANT to cry, I will give you something to cry for.'
And drawing an axe from his belt, he cut off both her feet, which he
picked up and put in his pocket. Then he went away.

Poor Ingibjorg lay on the grass in terrible pain, and wondering if she
should stay there till she died, as no one would know where to look for
her. How long it was since she had set out in the morning she could not
tell--it seemed years to her, of course; but the sun was still high in
the heavens when she heard the sound of wheels, and then, with a great
effort, for her throat was parched with fright and pain, she gave a
shout.

'I am coming!' was the answer; and in another moment a cart made its way
through the trees, driven by Kisa, who used her tail as a whip to urge
the horse to go faster. Directly Kisa saw Ingibjorg lying there, she
jumped quickly down, and lifting the girl carefully in her two front
paws, laid her upon some soft hay, and drove back to her own little hut.

In the corner of the room was a pile of cushions, and these Kisa
arranged as a bed. Ingibjorg, who by this time was nearly fainting from
all she had gone through, drank greedily some milk, and then sank back
on the cushions while Kisa fetched some dried herbs from a cupboard,
soaked them in warm water and tied them on the bleeding legs. The pain
vanished at once, and Ingibjorg looked up and smiled at Kisa.

'You will go to sleep now,' said the cat, 'and you will not mind if I
leave you for a little while. I will lock the door, and no one can hurt
you.' But before she had finished the princess was asleep. Then Kisa
got into the cart, which was standing at the door, and catching