it.
Then came one so full of sparks that they flew both out of his eyes and
his nose. "What do you want?" said he.

"I was to come here for the giant, and demand the tax for him," said the
King's son.

"How much are you to have then?" said the other.

"I ask for no more than I am able to carry with me," said the Prince.

"It is well for you that you have not asked for a horse-load," said he
who had come out of the rock. "But now come in with me."

This the Prince did, and what a quantity of gold and silver he saw! It
was lying inside the mountain like heaps of stones in a waste place, and
he got a load that was as large as he was able to carry, and with that
he went his way. So in the evening, when the giant came home with the
goats, the Prince went into the chamber and hummed and sang again as he
had done on the other two evenings.

"Have you been for the tax?" said the giant.

"Yes, that I have, master," said the Prince.

"Where have you put it then?" said the giant again.

"The bag of gold is standing there on the bench," said the Prince.

"I will see about that," said the giant, and went away to the bench,
but the bag was standing there, and it was so full that gold and silver
dropped out when the giant untied the string.

"You have certainly been talking with my Master-maid!" said the giant,
"and if you have I will wring your neck."

"Master-maid?" said the Prince; "yesterday my master talked about this
Master-maid, and to-day he is talking about her again, and the first
day of all it was talk of the same kind. I do wish I could see the thing
myself," said he.

"Yes, yes, wait till to-morrow," said the giant, "and then I myself will
take you to her."

"Ah! master, I thank you--but you are only mocking me," said the King's
son.

Next day the giant took him to the Master-maid. "Now you shall kill him,
and boil him in the great big cauldron you know of, and when you have
got the broth ready give me a call," said the giant; then he lay down
on the bench to sleep, and almost immediately began to snore so that it
sounded like thunder among the hills.

So the Master-maid took a knife, and cut the Prince's little finger, and
dropped three drops of blood upon a wooden stool; then she took all the
old rags, and shoe-soles, and all the rubbish she could lay hands on,
and put them in the cauldron; and then she filled a chest with gold
dust, and a lump of salt, and a water-flask which was hanging by the
doo