he went on till he had
reached the hall of gold, and there he took off his jacket and tied the
sleeves together so that it might make a kind of bag. He then began to
pour in the gold by handfuls, when, all at once, a noise like thunder
shook the castle. This was followed by a voice, hoarse as that of a
bull, which cried:

'I smell the smell of a man.' And two giants entered.

'So, little worm! it is you who steal our treasures!' exclaimed the
biggest. 'Well, we have got you now, and we will cook you for supper!'
But here the other giant drew him aside, and for a moment or two they
whispered together. At length the first giant spoke:

'To please my friend I will spare your life on condition that, for
the future, you shall guard our treasures. If you are hungry take this
little table and rap on it, saying, as you do so: "The dinner of an
emperor!" and you will get as much food as you want.'

With a light heart Jack promised all that was asked of him, and for some
days enjoyed himself mightily. He had everything he could wish for, and
did nothing from morning till night; but by-and-by he began to get very
tired of it all.

'Let the giants guard their treasures themselves,' he said to himself at
last; 'I am going away. But I will leave all the gold and silver behind
me, and will take nought but you, my good little table.'

So, tucking the table under his arm, he started off for the forest, but
he did not linger there long, and soon found himself in the fields on
the other side. There he saw an old man, who begged Jack to give him
something to eat.

'You could not have asked a better person,' answered Jack cheerfully.
And signing to him to sit down with him under a tree, he set the table
in front of them, and struck it three times, crying:

'The dinner of an emperor!' He had hardly uttered the words when fish
and meat of all kinds appeared on it!

'That is a clever trick of yours,' said the old man, when he had eaten
as much as he wanted. 'Give it to me in exchange for a treasure I have
which is still better. Do you see this cornet? Well, you have only to
tell it that you wish for an army, and you will have as many soldiers as
you require.'

Now, since he had been left to himself, Jack had grown ambitious, so,
after a moment's hesitation, he took the cornet and gave the table in
exchange. The old man bade him farewell, and set off down one path,
while Jack chose another, and for a long time he was quite pleased