d not know. So the moment that her son
had turned his back, she opened the doors of all the rooms, and peeped
in, till she came to the one where the robbers lay. But if the sight
of the blood on the ground turned her faint, the sight of the robber
captain walking up and down was a greater shock still. She quickly
turned the key in the lock, and ran back to the chamber she had slept
in.

Soon after her son came in, bringing with him a large bear, which he had
killed for supper. As there was enough food to last them for many days,
the prince did not hunt the next morning, but, instead, began to explore
the castle. He found that a secret way led from it into the forest; and
following the path, he reached another castle larger and more splendid
than the one belonging to the robbers. He knocked at the door with
his fist, and said that he wanted to enter; but the giant, to whom the
castle belonged, only answered: 'I know who you are. I have nothing to
do with robbers.'

'I am no robber,' answered the prince. 'I am the son of a king, and I
have killed all the band. If you do not open to me at once I will break
in the door, and your head shall go to join the others.'

He waited a little, but the door remained shut as tightly as before.
Then he just put his shoulder to it, and immediately the wood began
to crack. When the giant found that it was no use keeping it shut, he
opened it, saying: 'I see you are a brave youth. Let there be peace
between us.'

And the prince was glad to make peace, for he had caught a glimpse of
the giant's beautiful daughter, and from that day he often sought the
giant's house.

Now the queen led a dull life all alone in the castle, and to amuse
herself she paid visits to the robber captain, who flattered her till at
last she agreed to marry him. But as she was much afraid of her son,
she told the robber that the next time the prince went to bathe in
the river, he was to steal the sword from its place above the bed,
for without it the young man would have no power to punish him for his
boldness.

The robber captain thought this good counsel, and the next morning, when
the young man went to bathe, he unhooked the sword from its nail and
buckled it round his waist. On his return to the castle, the prince
found the robber waiting for him on the steps, waving the sword above
his head, and knowing that some horrible fate was in store, fell on his
knees and begged for mercy. But he might as well have