. Beasts and men . s ugly little pock-markedfellow. Hush ! Not so loud, for the love of heaven ! whis-pered the giant. Myfriend is very touchyabout his appearance,and if he hears youmaking such slightingremarks it is very likelyhe will bring the wholeof your palace downabout your head ! You dont say so!whispered the King inreply, glancing fearfullyat the terrible littleman. Well, you areat liberty to try yourluck. The three ani-mals are a bear, a uni-corn, and a wild boar,and at present they arehidden in the woodclose by. There youwill find them, but takecare of yourselves, forthey have alread
. Beasts and men . s ugly little pock-markedfellow. Hush ! Not so loud, for the love of heaven ! whis-pered the giant. Myfriend is very touchyabout his appearance,and if he hears youmaking such slightingremarks it is very likelyhe will bring the wholeof your palace downabout your head ! You dont say so!whispered the King inreply, glancing fearfullyat the terrible littleman. Well, you areat liberty to try yourluck. The three ani-mals are a bear, a uni-corn, and a wild boar,and at present they arehidden in the woodclose by. There youwill find them, but takecare of yourselves, forthey have already killedscores of my men. Dont be afraid,answered the giant, for us this is as easy as playing agame. After having partaken of a good meal the two made theirway towards the wood in which the animals were hidden. We must make a plan, said Sponsken. Listen towhat I propose. You go into the middle of the wood whileI remain here on the outskirts ; then when you drive thebeasts out I will see that they do not escape. 29. THE BEAR FOLLOWED HIM INTO THE HOLLOW TRUNK FOLK TALES OF BEASTS AND MEN So it was arranged. The giant went forward into thewood, while Sponsken remained outside, waiting to see whatwould happen. He had not to wait long, for presently therewas a crashing and a tearing of undergrowth and a greatbear came lumbering towards him. Sponsken did not likethe look of the creature at all, and decided to put as muchspace between them as possible. Looking here and therefor a refuge, he spied a big oak-tree, and quickly climbed itstrunk and ensconced himself among the branches. Unfor-tunately the bear had already seen him, and, raising himselfon his hind legs with a dreadful roar, he rushed to the treeand began to climb. In another moment Sponsken wouldhave been lost, but by good chance the tree happened tobe hollow, so without hesitation the lad let himself downinto the trunk, and finding at the bottom a small hole whichled to the open air, he was just able to wriggle through i
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