bled over him, and peeped
into his cavernous mouth, and played among his hair. Sometimes, for a
minute or two, the Giant dropped asleep, and snored like the rush of a
whirlwind. During one of these little bits of slumber, a Pygmy chanced
to climb upon his shoulder, and took a view around the horizon, as from
the summit of a hill; and he beheld something, a long way off, which
made him rub the bright specks of his eyes, and look sharper than
before. At first he mistook it for a mountain, and wondered how it had
grown up so suddenly out of the earth. But soon he saw the mountain
move. As it came nearer and nearer, what should it turn out to be but a
human shape, not so big as Antaeus, it is true, although a very enormous
figure, in comparison with Pygmies, and a vast deal bigger than the men
we see nowadays.

When the Pygmy was quite satisfied that his eyes had not deceived him,
he scampered, as fast as his legs would carry him, to the Giant's ear,
and stooping over its cavity, shouted lustily into it:

"Halloo, brother Antaeus! Get up this minute, and take your pine-tree
walking stick in your hand. Here comes another Giant to have a tussle
with you."

"Poh, poh!" grumbled Antaeus, only half awake. "None of your nonsense,
my little fellow! Don't you see I'm sleepy? There is not a Giant on
earth for whom I would take the trouble to get up."

But the Pygmy looked again, and now perceived that the stranger was
coming directly towards the prostrate form of Antaeus. With every step,
he looked less like a blue mountain, and more like an immensely large
man. He was soon so nigh, that there could be no possible mistake about
the matter. There he was, with the sun flaming on his golden helmet, and
flashing from his polished breastplate; he had a sword by his side,
and a lion's skin over his back, and on his right shoulder he carried a
club, which looked bulkier and heavier than the pine-tree walking stick
of Antaeus.

By this time, the whole nation of the Pygmies had seen the new wonder,
and a million of them set up a shout all together; so that it really
made quite an audible squeak.

"Get up, Antaeus! Bestir yourself, you lazy old Giant! Here comes
another Giant, as strong as you are, to fight with you."

"Nonsense, nonsense!" growled the sleepy Giant. "I'll have my nap out,
come who may."

Still the stranger drew nearer; and now the Pygmies could plainly
discern that, if his stature were less lofty than the Giant's, y