hird golden egg.

"That will do for to-day," said he, and stretched himself out to go to
sleep. As soon as he began to snore, Jack crept out of the oven, went
on tiptoe to the table, and, snatching up the little brown hen, made
a dash for the door. Then the hen began to cackle, and the giant began
to wake up; but before he was quite awake, Jack had escaped from the
castle, and, climbing as fast as he could down the beanstalk, got safe
home to his mother's cottage.

The little brown hen laid so many golden eggs that Jack and his mother
had now more money than they could spend. But Jack was always thinking
about the beanstalk; and one day he crept out of the window again, and
climbed up, and up, and up, and up, until he reached the top.

This time, you may be sure, he was careful not to be seen; so he crept
round to the back of the castle, and when the giant's wife went out
he slipped into the kitchen and hid himself in the oven. In came the
giant, roaring louder than ever:

"Fee, fi, fo, fum,
I smell the blood of an Englishman;
Be he alive; or be he dead,
I'll grind his bones to make my bread!"

But the giantess was quite sure that she had seen no little boys
that morning; and after grumbling a great deal, the giant sat down
to breakfast. Even then he was not quite satisfied, for every now and
again he would say:

"Fee, fi, fo, fum,
I smell the blood of an Englishman;"

and once he got up and looked in the kettle. But, of course, Jack was
in the oven all the time!

When the giant had finished, he called out: "Wife, bring me the golden
harp!" So she brought in the golden harp, and placed it on the table.
"Sing!" said the giant; and the harp at once began to sing the most
beautiful songs that ever were heard. It sang so sweetly that the
giant soon fell fast asleep; and then Jack crept quietly out of the
oven, and going on tiptoe to the table, seized hold of the golden
harp. But the harp at once called out: "Master! master!" and the
giant woke up just in time to catch sight of Jack running out of the
kitchen-door.

With a fearful roar, he seized his oak-tree club, and dashed after
Jack, who held the harp tight, and ran faster than he had ever run
before. The giant, brandishing his club, and taking terribly long
strides, gained on Jack at every instant, and he would have been
caught if the giant hadn't slipped over a boulder. Before he could
pick himself up, Jack began to climb down the beanstalk, a