courtyard; so he looked out o' window, and, sure enough, the yard was
full of them!

Presently he heard steps coming upstairs, so he hid behind the door, and
was as still as a mouse. Then in came a big giant five times as tall as
the lad, and looked around; but seeing nothing he went to the window and
bowed himself to look out; and as he bowed on his elbows to see the
bogles in the yard, the lad stepped behind him, and with one blow of his
sword he cut him in twain, so that the top part of him fell in the yard,
and the bottom part remained standing looking out of the window.

Well! there was a great cry from the bogles when they saw half the giant
come tumbling down to them, and they called out, "There comes half our
master; give us the other half."

Then the lad said, "It's no use of thee, thou pair of legs, standing
alone at the window, as thou hast no eye to see with, so go join thy
brother"; and he cast the lower part of the giant after the top part.
Now when the bogles had gotten all the giant they were quiet.

Next night the lad went to sleep in the house again, and this time a
second giant came in at the door, and as he came in the lad cut him in
twain; but the legs walked on to the fire and went straight up the
chimney.

"Go, get thee after thy legs," said the lad to the head, and he cast the
other half of the giant up the chimney.

Now the third night nothing happened, so the lad got into bed; but
before he went to sleep he heard the bogles striving under the bed, and
he wondered what they were at. So he peeped, and saw that they had the
ball there, and were playing with it, casting it to and fro.

Now after a time one of them thrust his leg out from under the bed, and
quick as anything the lad brings his sword down, and cuts it off. Then
another bogle thrust his arm out at t'other side of the bed, and in a
twinkling the lad cuts that off too. So it went on, till at last he had
maimed them all, and they all went off, crying and wailing, and forgot
the ball! Then the lad got out of bed, found the ball, and went off at
once to seek his true love.

[Illustration: He heard the bogles striving under the bed]

Now the lass had been taken to York to be hanged; she was brought out on
the scaffold, and the hangman said, "Now, lass, thou must hang by the
neck till thou be'st dead." But she cried out:

"Stop, stop, I think I see my mother coming!
O mother, hast thou brought my golden ball
And come