giants, or other stone-trolls--or perhaps they
were actual human beings. At first he thought that he was dreaming, but
now he was positive that he had not fallen asleep. He saw the big men so
distinctly that it couldn't be an illusion. Some of them stood on the
land-strip, and others right on the mountain just as if they intended to
climb it. Some had big, thick heads; others had no heads at all. Some
were one-armed, and some had humps both before and behind. He had never
seen anything so extraordinary.

The boy stood and worked himself into a state of panic because of those
trolls, so that he almost forgot to keep his eye peeled for the foxes.
But now he heard a claw scrape against a stone. He saw three foxes
coming up the steep; and as soon as he knew that he had something real
to deal with, he was calm again, and not the least bit scared. It struck
him that it was a pity to awaken only the geese, and to leave the sheep
to their fate. He thought he would like to arrange things some other
way.

He ran quickly to the other end of the grotto, shook the big ram's horns
until he awoke, and, at the same time, swung himself upon his back. "Get
up, sheep, and well try to frighten the foxes a bit!" said the boy.

He had tried to be as quiet as possible, but the foxes must have heard
some noise; for when they came up to the mouth of the grotto they
stopped and deliberated. "It was certainly someone in there that
moved," said one. "I wonder if they are awake." "Oh, go ahead, you!"
said another. "At all events, they can't do anything to us."

When they came farther in, in the grotto, they stopped and sniffed. "Who
shall we take to-night?" whispered the one who went first. "To-night we
will take the big ram," said the last. "After that, we'll have easy work
with the rest."

The boy sat on the old ram's back and saw how they sneaked along. "Now
butt straight forward!" whispered the boy. The ram butted, and the first
fox was thrust--top over tail--back to the opening. "Now butt to the
left!" said the boy, and turned the big ram's head in that direction.
The ram measured a terrific assault that caught the second fox in the
side. He rolled around several times before he got to his feet again and
made his escape. The boy had wished that the third one, too, might have
gotten a bump, but this one had already gone.

"Now I think that they've had enough for to-night," said the boy. "I
think so too," said the big ram. "Now lie down o