an old woman who asked him if he
would give her a bit of his cake. And he said, "I will gladly do that";
so he gave her a piece of the cake. Then the old woman, who was a fairy,
gave him a magic wand, that might yet be of service to him, if he took
care to use it rightly; and she told him a great deal that would happen
to him, and what he ought to do in all circumstances; and after that,
she vanished in an instant, out of his sight. Then he went on his way
until he came up to the old man who was herding the sheep; and when he
asked him to whom the sheep belonged, the answer was:

"To the Red Ettin of Ireland
Who lives in Ballygan,
He stole King Malcolm's daughter,
The king of fair Scotland.
He beats her, he binds her,
He lays her on a band;
And every day he strikes her
With a bright silver wand.
But now I fear his end is near,
And death is close at hand;
For you're to be, I plainly see,
The heir of all his land."

So the younger brother went on his way; but when he came to the place
where the dreadful, terrible, horrible beasts were standing, he did not
stop nor run away, but went boldly through amongst them. One came up
roaring with open mouth to devour him, when he struck it with his wand,
and laid it in an instant dead at his feet. He soon came to the Ettin's
castle, where he found the door shut, but he knocked boldly, and was
admitted. Then the old woman who sat by the fire warned him of the
terrible Ettin, and what had been the fate of his brother; but he was
not to be daunted, and would not even hide.

Then by and by the monster came in, crying as before:

"Snouk but! and snouk ben!
I find the smell of an earthly man;
Be he living, or be he dead,
His heart this night shall kitchen my bread."

Well, he quickly espied the young man, and bade him stand forth on the
floor, and told him that if he could answer three questions his life
would be spared.

So the first head asked: "What's the thing without an end?"

Now the younger brother had been told by the fairy to whom he had given
a piece of his cake what he ought to say; so he answered:

"A bowl."

Then the first head frowned, but the second head asked:

"The smaller the more dangerous; what's that?"

"A bridge," says the younger brother, quite fast.

Then the first and the second heads frowned, but the third head asked:

"When does the dead carry the living? riddle me that."

At this