bent down and entered in a stooping posture, but before he had
time to straighten his back again Niels made a sweep with the
sword, and oft went the giant's head. To push the body aside as it
fell was quite easy for Niels, so strong had the wine made him, and
the second giant as he entered met the same reception. The third
was slower in coming, so Niels called out to him: 'Be quick,' he
said, 'you are surely the oldest of the three, since you are so slow in
your movements, but I can't wait here long; I must get back to my
own people as soon as possible.' So the third also came in, and was
served in the same way. It appears from the story that giants were
not given fair play!

By this time day was beginning to break, and Niels thought that his
folks might already be searching for him, so, instead of waiting to
see what took place at the castle, he ran off to the forest as fast as
he could, taking the sword with him. He found the others still
asleep, so he woke them up, and they again set out on their journey.
Of the night's adventures he said not a word, and when they asked
where he got the sword, he only pointed in the direction of the
castle, and said, 'Over that way.' They thought he had found it, and
asked no more questions.

When Niels left the castle, he shut the door behind him, and it
closed with such a bang that the porter woke up. He could scarcely
believe his eyes when he saw the three headless giants lying in a
heap in the courtyard, and could not imagine what had taken place.
The whole castle was soon aroused, and then everybody wondered
at the affair: it was soon seen that the bodies were those of the
king's great enemies, but how they came to be there and in that
condition was a perfect mystery. Then it was noticed that the