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 But they said, ‘No, we can’t give you the sword. If you were to say, “All heads off, mine alone remain,” all our heads would fall, and yours would be the only one left.’

At last, however, they gave it to him, on condition that he was to try it on a tree. He did as they wished, and the sword went through the tree trunk as if it had been a straw. Then he wanted the boots, but they said, ‘No, we won’t give them away. If you were to put them on and wish yourself on the top of the mountain, we should be left standing here without anything.’

‘No,’ said he; ‘I won’t do that.’

So they gave him the boots too; but when he had all three he could think of nothing but his wife and child, and said to himself, ‘Oh, if only I were on the Golden Mountain again!’ and immediately he disappeared from the sight of the Giants, and there was an end of their inheritance.

When he approached his castle he heard sounds of music, fiddles and flutes, and shouts of joy. People told him that his wife was celebrating her marriage with another husband. He was filled with rage, and said, ‘The false creature! She deceived me, and deserted me when I was asleep.’

Then he put on his mantle, and went to the castle, invisible to all. When he went into the hall, where a great feast was spread with the richest foods and the costliest wines, the guests were joking and laughing while they ate and drank. The Queen sat on her throne in their midst in gorgeous clothing, with the crown on her head. He placed himself behind her, and no one saw him. Whenever the Queen put a piece of meat on her plate, he took it away and ate it, and when her glass was filled he took it away and drank it. Her plate and her glass were constantly refilled, but she never had anything, for it disappeared at once. At last she grew frightened, got up, and went to her room in tears, but he followed her there too. She said to herself, ‘Am I still in the power of the demon? Did my preserver never come?’

He struck her in the face, and said, ‘Did your preserver