ter Red saw that there was no longer any danger afoot, he
lost no time in creeping down from the tree. He then threatened the
Princess, until at length she was forced to promise to say that it was
he who had rescued her, for he told her that if she did not he would
kill her. Then he took the Troll's lungs and tongue and put them in his
pocket-handkerchief, and led the Princess back to the King's palace;
and whatsoever had been lacking to him in the way of honour before was
lacking no longer, for the King did not know how to exalt him enough,
and always set him on his own right hand at table.

As for Minnikin, first he went out on the Troll's ship and took a great
quantity of gold and silver hoops away with him, and then he trotted
back to the King's palace.

When the kitchen-maid caught sight of all this gold and silver she was
quite amazed, and said: 'My dear friend Minnikin, where have you got all
that from?' for she was half afraid that he had not come by it honestly.

'Oh,' answered Minnikin, 'I have been home a while, and these hoops had
fallen off some of our buckets, so I brought them away with me for you.'

So when the kitchen-maid heard that they were for her, she asked no more
questions about the matter. She thanked Minnikin, and everything was
right again at once.

Next Thursday evening all went just the same, and everyone was full
of grief and affliction, but Ritter Red said that he had been able to
deliver the King's daughter from one Troll, so that he could very easily
deliver her from another, and he led her down to the sea-shore. But he
did not do much harm to this Troll either, for when the time came when
the Troll might be expected, he said as he had said before: 'It is
better that one should die than two,' and then climbed up into the tree
again.

Minnikin once more begged the cook's leave to go down to the sea-shore
for a short time.

'Oh, what can you do there?' said the cook.

'My dear, do let me go!' said Minnikin; 'I should so like to go down
there and amuse myself a little with the other children.'

So this time also she said that he should have leave to go, but he must
first promise that he would be back by the time the joint was turned and
that he would bring a great armful of wood with him.

No sooner had Minnikin got down to the strand than the Troll came
rushing along with a great whistling and whirring, and he was twice as
big as the first Troll, and he had ten heads.

'Fire!'