quet."

But to the other ogres she said: "The merchant has no string of
pearls!"

Then each of the ogres gave him five pearls and his wife added ten, so
that he had fifty pearls in all. These his wife threaded and hung the
pearl necklace about his neck, and there was not one of the pearls
which was not worth at least several hundred ounces of silver.

Then the merchant cooked the meat, and having done so left the cave
with the whole herd in order to receive the great king. They came to a
broad cave, in the middle of which stood a huge block of stone, as
smooth and even as a table. Round it were stone seats. The place of
honor was covered with a leopard-skin, and the rest of the seats with
deerskins. Several dozen ogres were sitting around the cave in rank
and file.

Suddenly a tremendous storm blew up, whirling around the dust in
columns, and a monster appeared who had the figure of an ogre. The
ogres all crowded out of the cave in a high state of excitement to
receive him. The great king ran into the cave, sat down with his legs
outstretched, and glanced about him with eyes as round as an eagle's.
The whole herd followed him into the cave, and stood at either hand of
him, looking up to him and folding their arms across their breasts in
the form of a cross in order to do him honor.

The great king nodded, looked around and asked: "Are all the folk of
the Wo-Me hills present?"

The entire herd declared that they were.

Then he saw the merchant and asked: "From whence does he hail?"

His wife answered for him, and all spoke with praise of his art as a
cook. A couple of ogres brought in the cooked meat and spread it out
on the table. Then the great king ate of it till he could eat no more,
praised it with his mouth full, and said that in the future they were
always to furnish him with food of this kind.

Then he looked at the merchant and asked: "Why is your necklace so
short?"

With these words he took ten pearls from his own necklace, pearls as
large and round as bullets of a blunderbuss. The merchant's wife
quickly took them on his behalf and hung them around his neck; and the
merchant crossed his arms like the ogres and spoke his thanks. Then
the great king went off again, flying away like lightning on the
storm.

In the course of time heaven sent the merchant children, two boys and
a girl. They all had a human form and did not resemble their mother.
Gradually the children learned to speak and their fath