Chapter 2

At this dismal news, the very boldest of the guests trembled; but Jack drew his sword, and said, "Let him come; I have a tool to pick his teeth with. Pray, ladies and gentlemen, walk into the garden, and you shall joyfully behold the Giant's defeat and death."

The knight's castle was surrounded by a moat, thirty feet deep and twenty wide, over which lay a drawbridge. Jack set men to work, to cut the bridge on both sides, near the middle; and then dressing himself in his invisible coat, went against the Giant with his sword of sharpness. As he came close to him, though the Giant could not see him, yet he cried out,--

"_Fie! foh! fum! I smell the blood of an Englishman; Be he alive or be he dead, I'll grind his bones to make my bread._"

"Say you so, my friend?" said Jack; "you are a clever miller indeed!"

"Art thou," cried the Giant, "the villain who killed my kinsmen? Then I will tear thee with my teeth, and grind thy bones to powder."

"You must catch me first," said Jack; and throwing off his invisible coat, he put on his shoes of swiftness, and began to run; the Giant following him like a walking castle, making the earth shake at every step.

Jack led him round and round the walls of the castle, that the company might see the monster; and to finish the work. Jack ran over the drawbridge, the Giant going after him with his club: but when the Giant came to the middle, where the bridge had been cut on both sides, the great weight of his body made it break, and he tumbled into the water, where he rolled about like a large whale. Jack now stood by the side of the moat, and laughed and jeered at him, saying,

"I think you told me you would grind my bones to powder; when will you begin?"

The Giant foamed horridly at the mouth with fury, and plunged from side to side of the moat; but he could not get out to have revenge on his little foe. At last Jack ordered a cart-rope to be brought to him; he then drew it over his great head, and by the help of a team of horses, dragged him to the edge of the moat, where he cut off the monster's head; and before he either ate or drank, he sent it to the court of King Arthur. He then went back to the table with the company, and the rest of the day was spent in mirth and good cheer.

PART THE FOURTH.

Courted and flattered as he was, yet after staying with the Knight and his lady for some time, Jack grew weary of such an idle life, and set out again in search of new adventures. He went over hills and dales without meeting any, till he came to the foot of a very high mountain. Here he knocked at the door of a small and lonely house, and an old man, with a head as white as snow, let him in.

"Good father," said Jack, "can you lodge a traveller who has lost his way?"

"Yes," said the hermit, "I can, if you will accept such fare as my poor house affords."

Jack entered, and the old man set before him some bread and fruit for his supper. When Jack had eaten as much as he chose, the hermit said,--

"My son, I know you are the famous conqueror of Giants; now, at the top of this mountain is an enchanted Castle, kept by a Giant named Galligantus, who, by the help of a vile Magician, gets many knights and ladies into his Castle, where he changes them into the shape of beasts. Above all, I lament the hard fate of a duke's daughter, whom they seized as she was walking in her father's garden, and brought hither through the air in a chariot drawn by two fiery dragons, and turned her into the shape of a deer. Many knights have tried to destroy the enchantment, and deliver her; yet none have been able to do it, by reason of two fiery Griffins, who guard the gate of the Castle, and destroy all who come nigh: but as you, my son, have an invisible coat, you may pass by them without being seen; and on the gates of the Castle you will find engraved by what means the enchantment may be broken."

Jack promised that, in the morning, at the risk of his life, he would break the enchantment; and, after a sound sleep, he arose early, put on his invisible coat, and got ready for the attempt. When he had climbed to the top of the mountain, he saw the two fiery Griffins; but he passed between them without the least fear of danger, for they could not see him because of his invisible coat. On the Castle-gate hung a golden trumpet, under which were these lines:--

"_Whoever doth this Trumpet blow, Shall cause the Giant's overthrow!_"

As soon as Jack had read this, he seized the trumpet, and blew a shrill blast, which made the gates fly open, and the very Castle itself tremble. The Giant and the Conjuror now knew that their wicked course was at an end, and they stood biting their thumbs, and shaking with fear. Jack, with his sword of sharpness, soon killed the Giant; and the Magician was then carried away by a whirlwind; and every knight and beautiful lady, who had been changed into birds and beasts, returned to their proper shapes. The Castle vanished away like smoke, and the head of the Giant Galligantus was sent to King Arthur. The knights and ladies rested that night at he old man's hermitage, and next day set out for the Court.

Jack then went up to the King, and gave his majesty an account of all his fierce battles. Jack's fame had spread through the whole country; and, at the King's desire, the Duke gave him his daughter in marriage, to the joy of all the kingdom. After this, the King gave Jack a large estate, on which he and his lady lived the rest of their days in joy and content.

Robson, Levey, and Franklyn, Great New Street, Fetter Lane.

End of Project Gutenberg's The Story of Jack and the Giants, by Anonymous