d, but a stupid
fellow; Paul was thin, yellow, envious, and surly; while Jack was full
of mischief, pale as a girl, but so small that he could stow himself
away in his father's jack-boots; and so he was called Thumbling.

All the wealth the poor peasant had was his family; and so poor was he,
that it was a very feast-day in his cottage if only a penny happened to
jingle there. Food was very high then, and wages low; so, as soon as the
three boys were big enough to work for themselves, the good father was
obliged to urge them to leave the cottage where they were born, and to
go out into the world to seek their fortune.

"In foreign lands," he said, "across the sea, bread could always be had,
even if it took hard work to get it; while at home, in spite of all
their toil, they were never sure of a crust for the morrow."

Now it happened that, not a mile from the woodman's hut, there was a
magnificent wooden palace, with twenty balconies and six beautiful
windows. And directly opposite these windows there sprang up, one fine
summer's night, without the least warning, an immense oak, whose leaves
and branches were so thickly clustered together, that one could hardly
see in the king's house. It was no easy task to cut down this enormous
tree, for it was so tough that it turned the edge of every axe that was
wielded against it; and for every branch that was lopped off, or root
that was plucked up, two instantly grew in its place. In vain did the
king promise three bags of golden crowns to any one who would rid him of
his troublesome neighbor; it was of no use at all; and he had at last to
light his palace with candles, in broad daylight.

Nor was this the poor king's only trouble. Although the surrounding
country was so rich in springs and brooks, that they frequently gushed
out of the solid rock itself, yet in the royal gardens they couldn't
get a drop of water. In summer time, the king and all his court had to
wash their hands in beer, and their faces with mead, which was not
convenient, if it was pleasant. So that at last the king promised broad
lands, heaps of money, and the title of Lord Marquis, to anybody who
would dig a well in his court-yard deep enough to give a supply of water
all the year round. In spite, however, of these magnificent promises, no
one could get the reward; for the palace was on a lofty hill, and after
digging a foot under ground there was a solid granite rock, as hard as
flint.

Now these two