Page:The Floating Prince - Frank R Stockton.djvu/174

Rh difficulty in keeping on his journey, for he could not see a step before him. Directly he walked into a river, and wet his legs badly, and as he floundered across, he felt very much inclined to throw the whale away, for he had trouble enough in getting along without having to carry that heavy fish. But he did hate to waste anything, and so he carried it on, wondering to what use he could put it. Directly a thought struck him.

"The old thing is full of oil," said he to himself, "and I have a great mind to light it."

No sooner said than done. He had just run against a tall young tree, so he drew his sword and cut it down, and trimming off the top, he ran the trunk into the whale's mouth, and down into its body, so as to make a handle. Then he cut off the tail, and the oil came bubbling out. Taking from his pocket a flint and steel and some tinder, he lighted some dry leaves, made a blaze, and set fire to the tail-end of the whale. The oil blazed quite lively, as the giant held it up by the trunk of the tree, and soon it was burning so brightly that he could see just as well as he wanted to. Shouldering his great torch, he marched off gayly. The whale burnt fiercer and fiercer, the lower the flame got down, and soon the whole country around the giant, as he strode along, was as bright as day. The cocks commenced to crow, the birds to sing, and the grasshoppers and beetles got up and began to look for their breakfasts. As to the owls and nighthawks, they all went to bed, and the giant walked on with the whale over his shoulder, blazing away like a young volcano. When daylight appeared, the whale was nearly all burned up, and he threw it away, very glad that he had been able to make such a good use of it. As the sun rose, the clouds passed away, and everything was bright and lovely. So when the giant reached the palm-tree that we mentioned before, he sat down and ate a few