"Who is most worthy to have one of us," she said, "he that has set us
free, or he that here sits by me as bridegroom?"

Well they all said there could be but one voice and will as to that,
and when _Halvor_ heard that he wasn't long in throwing off his
beggar's rags, and arraying himself as bridegroom.

"Aye, aye, here is the right one after all," said the youngest
_Princess_ as soon as she saw him, and so she tossed the other one out
of the window, and held her wedding with _Halvor_.

THE GIANT WHO HAD NO HEART IN HIS BODY

Once on a time there was a _King_ who had _seven sons_, and he loved
them so much that he could never bear to be without them all at once,
but one must always be with him. Now, when they were grown up, six
were to set off to woo, but as for the youngest, his father kept him
at home, and the others were to bring back a princess for him to the
palace. So the _King_ gave the six the finest clothes you ever set
eyes on, so fine that the light gleamed from them a long way off, and
each had his horse, which cost many, many hundred pounds, and so they
set off. Now, when they had been to many palaces, and seen many
princesses, at last they came to a _King_ who had _six daughters_;
such lovely king's daughters they had never seen, and so they fell to
wooing them, each one, and when they had got them for sweethearts,
they set off home again, but they quite forgot that they were to bring
back with them a sweetheart for _Boots_, their brother, who stayed at
home, for they were over head and ears in love with their own
sweethearts.

[Illustration: The six brothers riding out to woo.]

But when they had gone a good bit on their way, they passed close by a
steep hill-side, like a wall, where the _Giant's_ house was, and there
the _Giant_ came out, and set his eyes upon them, and turned them all
into stone, princes and princesses and all. Now the _King_ waited and
waited for his _six sons_, but the more he waited, the longer they
stayed away; so he fell into great trouble, and said he should never
know what it was to be glad again.

"And if I had not you left," he said to _Boots_, "I would live no
longer, so full of sorrow am I for the loss of your brothers."

"Well, but now I've been thinking to ask your leave to set out and
find them again; that's what I'm thinking of," said _Boots_.

"Nay, nay!" said his father; "that leave you shall never get, for then
you would stay away too."

But _Boo