Page:The Floating Prince - Frank R Stockton.djvu/181

166 "That's so," said Gantalor. "Here, you lazy soldiers, every one of you take a spade and help this giant build his fort. We'll never have a battle if we go on this way." Then all the soldiers took spades, and they went to work to help the giant, and by night the fort was done.

It was a fine, large, high fort, and the spaces between the rocks were all nicely filled in with earth and smoothed over. By the time it was done, night came on, and they all encamped and slept well till morning. Early the next day. the young king got up, and saw the giant walking around the outside of his fort.

"Why don't you get in, and let us begin?" cried Gantalor. "That's a good fort you've got now."

"Yes," said Derido. "When it gets a deep ditch around it, it will be as good a fort as I ever saw."

"Ditch!" cried the enraged young king. "I don't know what it is you will want next! I'm not going to wait here until you make a ditch."

"Why, of course I must have a ditch," cried the giant, loud enough to be heard a mile or two. "Didn't you say we were going to have this thing all right, while we were about it? Just answer me that, if you please! And I'd like to know what's to hinder your soldiers from walking right up to my fort, in the night while I'm asleep, and climbing over, if I haven't a ditch!"

"Well," said Gantalor, "I suppose you ought to have a ditch. Here, you lazy soldiers, take every one of you a spade, and dig the giant a ditch around his fort, and don't be any longer about it than you can help."

So they all went to work, and dug the ditch, and that took until afternoon; and then a canal had to be made, nearly a mile long, to bring water from the river to fill the ditch, and then it was night, and they all slept well until morning.