No sooner said than done. He rowed over and went to a hiding-place. The
giant had, however, been on the watch, and had seen him. So he rushed
forward in a terrible rage and seized the boy, saying--
"So I have caught you at last, you young rascal. You it was who stole my
sword, my three gold hens, and my gold lantern."
The boy was terribly afraid, for he thought his last hour was come.
"Spare my life, father," said he humbly, "and I will never come here
again."
"No," replied the giant, "I will do the same with you as with the
others. No one slips alive out of my hands."
He then shut the boy up in a sty, and fed him with nuts and sweet milk,
so as to get him nice and fat preparatory to killing and eating him.
The lad was a prisoner, but he ate and drank and made himself as easy as
he could. After some time the giant wanted to find out if he were fat
enough to be killed. So he went to the sty, made a little hole in the
wall, and told the boy to put his finger through it. The lad knew what
he wanted; so instead of putting out his finger he poked out a little
peeled alder twig.
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