nd 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 under the Palace,
and the terrible shakings must have been caused by him in his
death-throes.

The King now understood how the Queen he had had for some time past
had been so ill-tempered. He at once had a sack drawn over her head
and made her be stoned to death, and after that torn in pieces by
untamed horses. The two young fellows also told now what they had
heard and seen in the Queen's room, for before this they had been
afraid to say anything about it, on account of the Queen's power.

The real Queen was now restored to all her dignity, and was beloved by
all. The nurse was married to a nobleman, and the King and Queen gave
her splendid presents.

_THUMBELINA_

There was once a woman who wanted to have quite a tiny, little child,
but she did not know where to get one from. So one day she went to an
old Witch and said to her: 'I should so much like to have a tiny,
little child; can you tell me where I can get one?'

'Oh, we have just got one ready!' said the Witch. 'Here is a
barley-corn for you, but it's not the kind the farmer sows in his
field, or feeds the cocks and hens with, I can tell you. Put it in a
flower-pot, and then you will see something happen.'

'Oh, thank you!' said the woman, and gave the Witch a shilling, for
that w