The Lilac Fairy Book. Lang Andrew

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СКАЧАТЬ be at peace,' thought the king. But he was wrong, for when he reached home he found his servants tied together back to back, with cloths bound round their mouths, so that they could not speak. He hastened to set them free, and he asked who had treated them in so evil a manner.

      'No sooner had you gone than a great giant came, and dealt with us as you see, and carried off your wife and your two horses,' said the men.

      'Then my eyes will not close nor will my head lay itself down till I fetch my wife and horses home again,' answered he, and he stooped and noted the tracks of the horses on the grass, and followed after them till he arrived at the wood when the darkness fell.

      'I will sleep here,' he said to himself, 'but first I will make a fire.' And he gathered together some twigs that were lying about, and then took two dry sticks and rubbed them together till the fire came, and he sat by it.

      The twigs crackled and the flame blazed up, and a slim yellow dog pushed through the bushes and laid his head on the king's knee, and the king stroked his head.

      'Wuf, wuf,' said the dog. 'Sore was the plight of thy wife and thy horses when the giant drove them last night through the forest.'

      'That is why I have come;' answered the king, and suddenly his heart seemed to fail him and he felt that he could not go on.'

      'I cannot fight that giant,' he cried, looking at the dog with a white face. 'I am afraid, let me turn homewards.'

      'No, don't do that,' replied the dog. 'Eat and sleep, and I will watch over you.' So the king ate and lay down, and slept till the sun waked him.

      'It is time for you to start on your way,' said the dog, 'and if danger presses, call on me, and I will help you.'

      'Farewell, then,' answered the king; 'I will not forget that promise,' and on he went, and on, and on, till he reached a tall cliff with many sticks lying about.

      'It is almost night,' he thought; 'I will make a fire and rest,' and thus he did, and when the flames blazed up, the hoary hawk of the grey rock flew on to a bough above him.

      'Sore was the plight of thy wife and thy horses when they passed here with the giant,' said the hawk.

      'Never shall I find them,' answered the king, 'and nothing shall I get for all my trouble.'

      'Oh, take heart,' replied the hawk, 'things are never so bad but what they might be worse. Eat and sleep and I will watch thee,' and the king did as he was bidden by the hawk, and by the morning he felt brave again.

      'Farewell,' said the bird, 'and if danger presses call to me, and I will help you.'

      On he walked, and on, and on, till as the dusk was falling he came to a great river, and on the bank there were sticks lying about.

      'I will make myself a fire,' he thought, and thus he did, and by and bye a smooth brown head peered at him from the water, and a long body followed it.

      'Sore was the plight of thy wife and thy horses when they passed the river last night,' said the otter.

      'I have sought them and not found them,' answered the king, 'and nought shall I get for my trouble.'

      'Be not so downcast,' replied the otter; 'before noon to-morrow thou shalt behold thy wife. But eat and sleep and I will watch over thee.' So the king did as the otter bid him, and when the sun rose he woke and saw the otter lying on the bank.

      'Farewell,' cried the otter as he jumped into the water, 'and if danger presses, call to me and I will help you.'

      For many hours the king walked, and at length he reached a high rock, which was rent in two by a great earthquake. Throwing himself on the ground he looked over the side, and right at the very bottom he saw his wife and his horses. His heart gave a great bound, and all his fears left him, but he was forced to be patient, for the sides of the rock were smooth, and not even a goat could find foothold. So he got up again, and made his way round through the wood, pushing by trees, scrambling over rocks, wading through streams, till at last he was on flat ground again, close to the mouth of the cavern.

      His wife gave a shriek of joy when he came in, and then burst into tears, for she was tired and very frightened. But her husband did not understand why she wept, and he was tired and bruised from his climb, and a little cross too.

      'You give me but a sorry welcome,' grumbled he, 'when I have half-killed myself to get to you.'

      'Do not heed him,' said the horses to the weeping woman, 'put him in front of us, where he will be safe, and give him food for he is weary.' And she did as the horses told her, and he ate and rested, till by and bye a long shadow fell over them, and their hearts beat with fear, for they knew that the giant was coming.

      'I smell a stranger,' cried the giant, as he entered, but it was dark inside the chasm, and he did not see the king, who was crouching down between the feet of the horses.

      'A stranger, my lord! no stranger ever comes here, not even the sun!' and the king's wife laughed gaily as she went up to the giant and stroked the huge hand which hung down by his side.

      'Well, I perceive nothing, certainly,' answered he, 'but it is very odd. However, it is time that the horses were fed'; and he lifted down an armful of hay from a shelf of rock and held out a handful to each animal, who moved forward to meet him, leaving the king behind. As soon as the giant's hands were near their mouths they each made a snap, and began to bite them, so that his groans and shrieks might have been heard a mile off. Then they wheeled round and kicked him till they could kick no more. At length the giant crawled away, and lay quivering in a corner, and the queen went up to him.

      'Poor thing! poor thing!' she said, 'they seem to have gone mad; it was awful to behold.'

      'If I had had my soul in my body they would certainly have killed me,' groaned the giant.

      'It was lucky indeed,' answered the queen; 'but tell me, where is thy soul, that I may take care of it?'

      'Up there, in the Bonnach stone,' answered the giant, pointing to a stone which was balanced loosely on an edge of rock. 'But now leave me, that I may sleep, for I have far to go to-morrow.'

      Soon snores were heard from the corner where the giant lay, and then the queen lay down too, and the horses, and the king was hidden between them, so that none could see him.

      Before the dawn the giant rose and went out, and immediately the queen ran up to the Bonnach stone, and tugged and pushed at it till it was quite steady on its ledge, and could not fall over. And so it was in the evening when the giant came home; and when they saw his shadow, the king crept down in front of the horses.

      'Why, what have you done to the Bonnach stone?' asked the giant.

      'I feared lest it should fall over, and be broken, with your soul in it,' said the queen, 'so I put it further back on the ledge.

      'It is not there that my soul is,' answered he, 'it is on the threshold. But it is time the horses were fed'; and he fetched the hay, and gave it to them, and they bit and kicked him as before, till he lay half dead on the ground.

      Next morning he rose and went out, and the queen ran to the threshold of the cave, and washed the stones, and pulled up some moss and little flowers that were hidden in the crannies, and by and bye when dusk had fallen the giant came home.

      'You have been cleaning the threshold,' said he.

      'And was I not right to do it, seeing that СКАЧАТЬ