hooks are very sharp. And you must also ask for twelve barrels
of rye, and twelve slaughtered oxen must we have with us, and all the
twelve ox-hides with twelve hundred spikes set in each of them; all
these things must we have, likewise a barrel of tar with twelve tons of
tar in it. The youth went to the King and asked for all the things that
Dapplegrim had named, and once more, as the King thought that it would
be disgraceful to refuse them to him, he obtained them all.

So he mounted Dapplegrim and rode away from the Court, and when he had
ridden for a long, long time over hills and moors, Dapplegrim asked: 'Do
you hear anything?'

'Yes; there is such a dreadful whistling up above in the air that I
think I am growing alarmed,' said the youth.

'That is all the wild birds in the forest flying about; they are sent to
stop us,' said Dapplegrim. 'But just cut a hole in the corn sacks, and
then they will be so busy with the corn that they will forget us.'

The youth did it. He cut holes in the corn sacks so that barley and rye
ran out on every side, and all the wild birds that were in the forest
came in such numbers that they darkened the sun. But when they caught
sight of the corn they could not refrain from it, but flew down and
began to scratch and pick at the corn and rye, and at last they began to
fight among themselves, and forgot all about the youth and Dapplegrim,
and did them no harm.

And now the youth rode onwards for a long, long time, over hill and
dale, over rocky places and morasses, and then Dapplegrim began to
listen again, and asked the youth if he heard anything now.

'Yes; now I hear such a dreadful crackling and crashing in the forest on
every side that I think I shall be really afraid,' said the youth.

'That is all the wild beasts in the forest,' said Dapplegrim; 'they
are sent out to stop us. But just throw out the twelve carcasses of the
oxen, and they will be so much occupied with them that they will quite
forget us.' So the youth threw out the carcasses of the oxen, and then
all the wild beasts in the forest, both bears and wolves, and lions,
and grim beasts of all kinds, came. But when they caught sight of
the carcasses of the oxen they began to fight for them till the blood
flowed, and they entirely forgot Dapplegrim and the youth.

So the youth rode onwards again, and many and many were the new scenes
they saw, for travelling on Dapplegrim's back was not travelling slowly,
as may be im