"That may be!" answered the little tailor, and undoing his coat he showed the giant his belt; "you can read there whether I am a man or not!"
The giant read: "Seven at one blow!" and thinking it meant men that the tailor had killed, felt at once more respect for the little fellow. But as he wanted to prove him, he took up a stone and squeezed it so hard that water came out of it.
"Now you can do that," said the giant,--"that is, if you have the strength for it."
"That"s not much," said the little tailor, "I call that play," and he put his hand in his pocket and took out the cheese and squeezed it, so that the whey ran out of it.
"Well," said he, "what do you think of that?"
The giant did not know what to say to it, for he could not have believed it of the little man. Then the giant took up a stone and threw it so high that it was nearly out of sight.
"Now, little fellow, suppose you do that!"
"Well thrown," said the tailor; "but the stone fell back to earth again,--I will throw you one that will never come back." So he felt in his pocket, took out the bird, and threw it into the air. And the bird, when it found itself at liberty, took wing, flew off, and returned no more.
"What do you think of that, comrade?" asked the tailor.
"There is no doubt that you can throw," said the giant; "but we will see if you can carry."
He led the little tailor to a mighty oak-tree which had been felled, and was lying on the ground, and said,
"Now, if you are strong enough, help me to carry this tree out of the wood."
"Willingly," answered the little man; "you take the trunk on your shoulders, I will take the branches with all their foliage, that is much the most difficult."
So the giant took the trunk on his shoulders, and the tailor seated himself on a branch, and the giant, who could not see what he was doing, had the whole tree to carry, and the little man on it as well. And the little man was very cheerful and merry, and whistled the tune: "_There were three tailors riding by_," as if carrying the tree was mere child"s play. The giant, when he had struggled on under his heavy load a part of the way, was tired out, and cried,
"Look here, I must let go the tree!"
The tailor jumped off quickly, and taking hold of the tree with both arms, as if he were carrying it, said to the giant,
"You see you can"t carry the tree though you are such a big fellow!"
They went on together a little farther, and presently they came to a cherry-tree, and the giant took hold of the topmost branches, where the ripest fruit hung, and pulling them downwards, gave them to the tailor to hold, bidding him eat. But the little tailor was much too weak to hold the tree, and as the giant let go, the tree sprang back, and the tailor was caught up into the air. And when he dropped down again without any damage, the giant said to him,
"How is this? haven"t you strength enough to hold such a weak sprig as that?"
"It is not strength that is lacking," answered the little tailor; "how should it to one who has slain seven at one blow! I just jumped over the tree because the hunters are shooting down there in the bushes. You jump it too, if you can."
The giant made the attempt, and not being able to vault the tree, he remained hanging in the branches, so that once more the little tailor got the better of him. Then said the giant,
"As you are such a gallant fellow, suppose you come with me to our den, and stay the night."
The tailor was quite willing, and he followed him. When they reached the den there sat some other giants by the fire, and each had a roasted sheep in his hand, and was eating it. The little tailor looked round and thought,
"There is more elbow-room here than in my workshop."
And the giant showed him a bed, and told him he had better lie down upon it and go to sleep. The bed was, however, too big for the tailor, so he did not stay in it, but crept into a corner to sleep. As soon as it was midnight the giant got up, took a great staff of iron and beat the bed through with one stroke, and supposed he had made an end of that gra.s.shopper of a tailor. Very early in the morning the giants went into the wood and forgot all about the little tailor, and when they saw him coming after them alive and merry, they were terribly frightened, and, thinking he was going to kill them, they ran away in all haste.
So the little tailor marched on, always following his nose. And after he had gone a great way he entered the courtyard belonging to a King"s palace, and there he felt so overpowered with fatigue that he lay down and fell asleep. In the meanwhile came various people, who looked at him very curiously, and read on his belt, "Seven at one blow!"
"Oh!" said they, "why should this great lord come here in time of peace?
what a mighty champion he must be."
Then they went and told the King about him, and they thought that if war should break out what a worthy and useful man he would be, and that he ought not to be allowed to depart at any price. The King then summoned his council, and sent one of his courtiers to the little tailor to beg him, so soon as he should wake up, to consent to serve in the King"s army. So the messenger stood and waited at the sleeper"s side until his limbs began to stretch, and his eyes to open, and then he carried his answer back. And the answer was,
"That was the reason for which I came," said the little tailor, "I am ready to enter the King"s service."
So he was received into it very honourably, and a separate dwelling set apart for him.
But the rest of the soldiers were very much set against the little tailor, and they wished him a thousand miles away.
"What shall be done about it?" they said among themselves; "if we pick a quarrel and fight with him then seven of us will fall at each blow. That will be of no good to us."
So they came to a resolution, and went all together to the King to ask for their discharge.
"We never intended," said they, "to serve with a man who kills seven at a blow."
The King felt sorry to lose all his faithful servants because of one man, and he wished that he had never seen him, and would willingly get rid of him if he might. But he did not dare to dismiss the little tailor for fear he should kill all the King"s people, and place himself upon the throne. He thought a long while about it, and at last made up his mind what to do. He sent for the little tailor, and told him that as he was so great a warrior he had a proposal to make to him. He told him that in a wood in his dominions dwelt two giants, who did great damage by robbery, murder, and fire, and that no man durst go near them for fear of his life. But that if the tailor should overcome and slay both these giants the King would give him his only daughter in marriage, and half his kingdom as dowry, and that a hundred hors.e.m.e.n should go with him to give him a.s.sistance.
"That would be something for a man like me!" thought the little tailor, "a beautiful princess and half a kingdom are not to be had every day,"
and he said to the King,
"Oh yes, I can soon overcome the giants, and yet have no need of the hundred hors.e.m.e.n; he who can kill seven at one blow has no need to be afraid of two."
So the little tailor set out, and the hunched hors.e.m.e.n followed him.
When he came to the border of the wood he said to his escort,
"Stay here while I go to attack the giants."
Then he sprang into the wood, and looked about him right and left. After a while he caught sight of the two giants; they were lying down under a tree asleep, and snoring so that all the branches shook. The little tailor, all alive, filled both his pockets with stones and climbed up into the tree, and made his way to an overhanging bough, so that he could seat himself just above the sleepers; and from there he let one stone after another fall on the chest of one of the giants. For a long time the giant was quite unaware of this, but at last he waked up and pushed his comrade, and said,
"What are you hitting me for?"
"You are dreaming," said the other, "I am not touching you." And they composed themselves again to sleep, and the tailor let fall a stone on the other giant.
"What can that be?" cried he, "what are you casting at me?"
"I am casting nothing at you," answered the first, grumbling.
They disputed about it for a while, but as they were tired, they gave it up at last, and their eyes closed once more. Then the little tailor began his game anew, picked out a heavier stone and threw it down with force upon the first giant"s chest.
"This is too much!" cried he, and sprang up like a madman and struck his companion such a blow that the tree shook above them. The other paid him back with ready coin, and they fought with such fury that they tore up trees by their roots to use for weapons against each other, so that at last they both of them lay dead upon the ground. And now the little tailor got down.
"Another piece of luck!" said he,--"that the tree I was sitting in did not get torn up too, or else I should have had to jump like a squirrel from one tree to another."
Then he drew his sword and gave each of the giants a few hacks in the breast, and went back to the hors.e.m.e.n and said,