his
pouch, and without one word walked past them and went down to
the sea.

"Who will avenge the insult put upon me?" said the King of
Ireland, "and which of my captains will go and win back for
me the three best teeth I had?" But not one of his captains
made a step after the Giant.

"I know now," said the King, "How well you serve and how well
you guard me. Well, if none of you will help me and if none
of you will avenge me, I'll find those who will. And now I'll
make a proclamation and I'll solemnly declare that whoever
avenges the insult offered to me, and, in addition brings
back to me the three that were the best teeth in my head,
even though he be a servant or the son of a servant, I'll
give him my daughter in marriage and a quarter of my kingdom,
and, more than that," said he, "I'll make him full captain
over all my guards."

The proclamation was sent all over the Castle and in the end
it came to the ears of the Swineherd's Son who was called
Feet-in-the-Ashes. And when he heard it he rubbed the ashes
out of his hair and he said to his grandmother--"If there is
anything in the world I want it is the King's daughter in
marriage and a quarter of the Kingdom. I'll want provision
for my journey," said he, "so, grandmother, bake a cake for
me." "I'll do better than that for you, honey, if you are
going to win back the King's teeth and marry the King's
daughter," said his grandmother. "I have a few things of my
own that no one knows anything about, and I'll give them to
you with your cake. Here," said she, "is my crutch. Follow
the Giant's tracks until you come to the sea, throw the
crutch into the sea and it will become a boat, step into the
boat and in it you can sail over to the Green Island that the
Giant rules. And here's this pot of balsam. No matter how
deep or deadly the sword-cut or the spear-thrust wound is, if
you rub this balsam over it, it will be cured. Here's your
cake too. Leave good-luck behind you and take good-luck with
you, and be off now on your journey."

"And why was the youth called Feet-in-the-Ashes?" said the Hen-grouse
to the Cock-grouse.

He was called Feet-in-the-Ashes because he had sat in the
chimney-corner from the time he could stand upon two legs.
And everybody who called him Feet-in-the-Ashes thought he was
too lazy t