gh; for the brats will make a nice dish for
three Ogres, who are my particular friends, and who are to dine with
me to-morrow."

He then drew them out one by one from under the bed. The poor children
fell on their knees and begged his pardon as humbly as they could; but
this Ogre was the most cruel of all Ogres, and instead of feeling any
pity, he only began to think how sweet and tender their flesh would
be; so he told his wife they would be nice morsels, if she served them
up with plenty of sauce. He then fetched a large knife, and began to
sharpen it on a long whetstone that he held in his left hand; and all
the while he came nearer and nearer to the bed. The Ogre took up one
of the children, and was going to set about cutting him to pieces; but
his wife said to him, "What in the world makes you take the trouble of
killing them to-night? Will it not be time enough to-morrow morning?"

"Hold your prating," replied the Ogre; "they will grow tender by being
kept a little while after they are killed."

"But," said his wife, "you have got so much meat in the house already;
here is a calf, two sheep and half a pig."

"True," said the Ogre, "so give them all a good supper, that they may
not get lean, and then send them to bed."

The good creature was quite glad at this. She gave them plenty for
their supper, but the poor children were so terrified that they could
not eat a bit.

The Ogre sat down to his wine, very much pleased with the thought of
giving his friends such a dainty dish: this made him drink rather more
than common, and he was soon obliged to go to bed himself. Now the
Ogre had seven daughters, who were all very young like Hop-o'-my-thumb
and his brothers. These young Ogresses had fair skins, because they
fed on raw meat like their father; but they had small grey eyes, quite
round, and sunk in their heads, hooked noses, wide mouths, and very
long sharp teeth standing a great way off each other. They were too
young as yet to do much mischief; but they showed that if they lived
to be as old as their father, they would grow quite as cruel as he
was, for they took pleasure already in biting young children, and
sucking their blood. The Ogresses had been put to bed very early that
night; they were all in one bed, which was very large, and every one
of them had a crown of gold on her head. There was another bed of the
same size in the room, and in this the Ogre's wife put the seven
little boys, and then went to