hree hundred and seven more
rubs, and then--twang, twang, twang!"

They worked like little heroes now; and as the fairy's sword was of the
sharpest steel, they cut a good way into the vine; but just when they
were nearly tired out, they heard the words,--"Ninety-three more rubs,
and--twang, twang, twang!"

"O, let's saw, let's saw," cried Ting-a-ling (and it's a wonder the
Kyrofatalapynx did not hear him), and they worked as hard as they did at
first.

"Six more rubs, and--twang, twang, twang!" cried the Kyrofatalapynx, and
the two little fairies fell down exhausted and disheartened. The vine
was cut but little more than half through.

Up rose the mighty creature; and with his bow and arrow in his hands, he
pushed quietly through the wood. The two fairies jumped up in a few
minutes, and hurried after him; and as he went very slowly, so as not to
be perceived, they reached the edge of the wood just as he crashed out
into the open field.

"O!!!" shouted all the people, and they pulled the rope with a terrible
jerk. Up sprang the Giant, but there stood the Kyrofatalapynx, with his
long iron arrow already fitted into his bow. "Ha, ha!" he cried, "I
shall put it through you--twang!" And he drew his arrow to its very
head, and all the people fell down on their faces, and even Tur-il-i-ra
turned a little pale. But snap! went the bowstring, and down fell the
arrow! Then up rushed the Giant, and with one crushing blow of his
rock-knobbed club, he laid the Kyrofatalapynx stone-dead!

The King, and the Queen, and the princesses, and all the people, jumped
up, and in their wild joy they would have kissed the clothes off the
good Giant, had he been willing to wait.

"All right!" he cried; "I must be off. I've a friend at home waiting for
me. No thanks. You can stuff him now. Good-by!"

And away he went, and poor little Ting-a-ling was left behind!

When he saw the Giant walking away like a steam-engine on stilts,
Ting-a-ling began to cry.

"Did you come with him?" said the green fairy. "Well, he's gone, and you
can live with me now."

But Ting-a-ling was so overcome with sorrow, and begged so hard that his
new friend should tell him of some way to follow the Giant, that the
latter, after thinking a while, took him up into the King's
pigeon-house. Warning him to be careful not to let any of the birds pick
him up, the green fairy pointed out a gray pigeon to Ting-a-ling.

"Now," said he, "if we can get a string around t