rains outright."

"Say'st thou so!" quoth Jack to himself, starting up at once, "So that
is your Welsh trick, is it? But I will be even with you." Then, leaving
his bed, he laid a big billet of wood among the blankets, and taking one
of these to keep himself warm, made himself snug in a corner of the
room, pretending to snore, so as to make Mr. Giant think he was asleep.

And sure enough, after a little time, in came the monster on tiptoe as
if treading on eggs, and carrying a big club. Then--

WHACK! WHACK! WHACK!

Jack could hear the bed being belaboured until the Giant, thinking every
bone of his guest's skin must be broken, stole out of the room again;
whereupon Jack went calmly to bed once more and slept soundly! Next
morning the giant couldn't believe his eyes when he saw Jack coming down
the stairs fresh and hearty.

"Odds splutter hur nails!" he cried, astonished. "Did she sleep well?
Was there not nothing felt in the night?"

"Oh," replied Jack, laughing in his sleeve, "I think a rat did come and
give me two or three flaps of his tail."

[Illustration: Taking the keys of the castle, Jack unlocked all the doors]

[Illustration: "Odds splutter hur nails!" cried the giant, not to be
outdone. "Hur can do that hurself!"]

On this the giant was dumbfoundered, and led Jack to breakfast, bringing
him a bowl which held at least four gallons of hasty-pudding, and
bidding him, as a man of such mettle, eat the lot. Now Jack when
travelling wore under his cloak a leathern bag to carry his things
withal; so, quick as thought, he hitched this round in front with the
opening just under his chin; thus, as he ate, he could slip the best
part of the pudding into it without the giant's being any the wiser. So
they sate down to breakfast, the giant gobbling down his own measure of
hasty-pudding, while Jack made away with his.

"See," says crafty Jack when he had finished. "I'll show you a trick
worth two of yours," and with that he up with a carving-knife and,
ripping up the leathern bag, out fell all the hasty-pudding on the
floor!

"Odds splutter hur nails!" cried the giant, not to be outdone. "Hur can
do that hurself!" Whereupon he seized the carving-knife, and ripping
open his own belly fell down dead.

Thus was Jack quit of the Welsh giant.

IV

Now it so happened that in those days, when gallant knights were always
seeking adventures, King Arthur's only son, a very valiant Prince,
begged of his father a