ourt to care for
and only a jelly-fish to help him!

[Illustration]

X

The sight which so terrified Prince Vance was indeed nothing more nor
less than a horrible giant, fully as tall as the tallest church-steeple
you ever saw, and having in his forehead three hideous great eyes--red,
white, and blue--and a mouth which looked like nothing so much as a dark
cave on a mountain side.

Before Vance really knew what had happened, he found himself snatched up
and standing upon the great hand of the giant, as if it were a table.

"Please," he said, speaking in a great hurry, he was so
frightened,--"please, we only took a few because we were nearly
starving. We did not know they belonged to you, and we meant no harm.
Please, oh, please let us go this once, and we'll promise never, never
to come back any more."

[Illustration]

"Oh, ho!" cried the giant, with a great laugh; "let you go, indeed! Not
so fast, Thumbkin! I am fond of little people like you."

Poor Vance danced helplessly about upon the giant's great palm, but
could do nothing to help himself and had to look on as the giant seized
the box in his other hand and shook it gently, making the little folk
fly about wildly and get many a bruise and bump from tables and chairs.

"These will amuse my wife vastly," said the giant, as he began to stride
toward home. "I should not wonder but she'd preserve ye in brown sugar.
I like such little relishes, and 'tis a long time since I've had any."

At this you can fancy that poor Vance became quite ill with fear; but as
there seemed just then to be no way of escaping, he held his tongue and
looked sharply about him until in time they came to the giant's castle.
It was a huge gray stone building, with iron-barred windows, and at the
gate three dogs so enormous in size and so hideous to see that merely to
hear of them would be enough to give one the shivers, so you shall be
told nothing at all about them. Horrible as they looked, they stood in
fear of the giant; and at his word they lay down meekly enough, and did
not even growl as he strode by them through the court and into the
castle hall.

"Wife," cried the giant to a woman who stood admiring herself in a big
mirror in the end of the room,--"wife, come ye here and see what I have
found."

"What have you found?" asked she, without turning away from the glass.
"Is it anything to wear?"

"Zounds!" shouted the giant. "Can you think of nothing but dress, Madam