poor old man, "I will tell you, sir. We are persons
that have been taken by the giants who hold this cave, and are kept
till they choose to have a feast; then one of us is to be killed, and
cooked to please their taste. It is not long since they took three for
the same purpose."

"Well," said Jack, "I have given them such a dinner that it will be
long enough before they have any more."

The captives were amazed at his words.

"You may believe me," said Jack, "for I have killed them both with the
edge of this sword, and have sent their large heads to the court of
King Arthur, as marks of my great success."

To show that what he said was true, he unlocked the gate and set the
captives all free. Then he led them to the great room, placed them
round the table, and placed before them two quarters of beef, with
bread and wine, upon which they feasted their fill. When supper was
over they searched the giant's coffers, and Jack divided among them
all the treasures. The next morning they set off to their homes, and
Jack to the knight's house, whom he had left with his lady not long
before.

He was received with the greatest joy by the thankful knight and his
lady, who, in honor of Jack's exploits, gave a grand feast, to which
all the nobles and gentry were invited. When the company were
assembled, the knight declared to them the great actions of Jack, and
gave him, as a mark of respect, a fine ring, on which was engraved the
picture of the giant dragging the knight and the lady by the hair,
with this motto round it:

"Behold in dire distress were we,
Under a giant's fierce command;
But gained our lives and liberty
From valiant Jack's victorious hand."

Among the guests then present were five aged gentlemen, who were
fathers to some of those captives who had been freed by Jack from the
dungeon of the giants. As soon as they heard that he was the person
who had done such wonders, they pressed round him with tears of joy,
to return him thanks for the happiness he had caused them. After this
the bowl went round, and every one drank the health and long life of
the gallant hero. Mirth increased, and the hall was filled with peals
of laughter.

But, on a sudden, a herald, pale and breathless, rushed into the midst
of the company, and told them that Thundel, a savage giant with two
heads, had heard of the death of his two kinsmen, and was come to take
his revenge on Jack, and that he was now within a mile