Page:Segnius Irritant or Eight Primitive Folk-lore Stories.pdf/19

 “Look, master, there goes my comrade,” said Long, and pointed in the direction of the plain. “Him you ought also to have taken into your service; faith! he would have served you well.” “Shout to him, and summon him, that I may see who he is.” It is rather far, master,” said Long, *" he would scarcely hear me, and it would be sometime before he came, for he has much to carry. I had rather take a skip after him.” Then Long stretched himself out so tall that his head was quite buried in the clouds, took two—three steps, seized his comrade by the shoulder, and placed him before the king’s son. He was a dumpy little fellow, with a paunch like a four-gallon souterkin. “Who art thou, pray?” enquired the king’s son, “and what art thou skilled in?” “I, master, am called Broad, and I know how to broaden out.” “Then shew me.” “Master, ride back into the wood, quick, quick,” cried Broad, and began to puff himself out.

The king’s son could not conceive why he was to ride back; but seeing that Long was flying in haste to the wood, he spurred his horse and rode after him at a gallop. And it was high time for him to ride away, or Broad would have crushed him to pieces, horse and all, his paunch grew so rapidly in all directions; for all at once everything was full of him, just as if a mountain had come down in an avalanche. Then, after this, Broad ceased to puff himself out, blew the wind off, so that the woods bent double, and again made himself just as he was at first. A pretty breathing thou hast given me,” said the king’s son to him, “but such a fellow I shall not find every day; come with me.”

And so after this they continued their journey. When they came near to those rocks they met a certain one, and he had his eyes bound with a handkerchief. “Master, that is our third companion,” says Long. “Him you ought also to have taken into your service; faith! he would not have eaten your victuals in vain.” “Who, pray, art thou?” enquired the king’s son of him, “and why hast thou thy eyes bandaged; why thou canst not see the road?” “Hoj! master, on the contrary, it is just because I see too sharply that I have to have my two eyes bandaged; I, with my two eyes bandaged, see as much as another fellow with his eyes unbandaged, and when I unbandage myself, I look everything through and through; and when I look hard at anything, it catches fire, and what cannot burn splits in pieces. Therefore I am called Sharp-Eyes.” Then he turned to a rock not far off, unbound the handkerchief, and fixed upon the rock his glowing eyes; and the rock began to crackle, and