lled him their
own dear son, and he wakened, and told them all that the giant's
dochter had done for him, and of all her kindness. Then they took her
in their arms and kissed her, and said she should now be their
dochter, for their son should marry her.

And they lived happy all their days.

In this variant of the story, which we may use as our text, it is to be
noticed that a lacuna exists. The narrative of the flight omits to
mention that the runaways threw things behind them which became obstacles
in the giant's way. One of these objects probably turned into a lake, in
which the giant was drowned. {92} A common incident is the throwing
behind of a comb, which changes into a thicket. The formula of leaving
obstacles behind occurs in the Indian collection, the 'Kathasarit sagara'
(vii. xxxix.). The 'Battle of the Birds,' in Campbell's 'Tales of the
West Highlands,' is a very copious Gaelic variant. Russian parallels are
'Vasilissa the Wise and the Water King,' and 'The King Bear.' {93a} The
incident of the flight and the magical obstacles is found in Japanese
mythology. {93b} The 'ugly woman of Hades' is sent to pursue the hero.
He casts down his black head-dress, and it is instantly turned into
grapes; he fled while she was eating them. Again, 'he cast down his
multitudinous and close-toothed comb, and it instantly turned into bamboo
sprouts.' In the Gaelic version, the pursuer is detained by talkative
objects which the pursued leave at home, and this marvel recurs in
Zululand, and is found among the Bushmen. The Zulu versions are
numerous. {93c} Oddly enough, in the last variant, the girl performs no
magic feat, but merely throws sesamum on the ground to delay the
cannibals, for cannibals are very fond of sesamum. {93d}

* * * * *

Here, then, we have the remarkable details of the flight, in Zulu,
Gaelic, Norse, Malagasy, {93e} Russian, Italian, Japanese. Of all
incidents in the myth, the incidents of the flight are most widely known.
But the whole connected series of events--the coming of the wooer; the
love of the hostile being's daughter; the tasks imposed on the wooer; the
aid rendered by the daughter; the flight of the pair; the defeat or
destruction of the hostile being--all these, or most of these, are
extant, in due sequence, among the following races. The Greeks have the
tale, the people of Madagascar have it, the Lowland Scotch, the Celts,
the Russians, the Italians, the Al