be the more tender."
"But you have already too much food," continued his wife. "Here are a
calf, two sheep, and half a pig." "You are right," said the ogre, "give
them a good supper, that they may keep plump, and then put them to bed."
The good woman was rejoiced, and brought them plenty of supper; but they
could not eat, they were so overcome with fright. As for the ogre, he
seated himself to drink again, delighted to think he had such a treat in
store for his friends. He drained a dozen goblets more than usual, which
made him feel sleepy and heavy, and obliged him to go to bed.

The ogre had seven daughters, who were still young children. These
little ogresses had the most beautiful complexions, as they lived on
fresh meat like their father; but they had very small round grey eyes,
hooked noses, and very large mouths, with long teeth, exceedingly sharp,
and wide apart. They were not very wicked as yet; but they promised to
become so, for they already began to bite little children, that they
might suck their blood. They had been sent to bed early, and were all
seven in a large bed, each wearing a crown of gold on her head. In the
same room was another bed of the same size. It was in this bed that the
ogre's wife put the seven little boys to sleep, after which she went to
bed herself.

Little Thumbling, who had noticed that the ogre's daughters had golden
crowns on their heads, and who was afraid that the ogre might repent not
having killed him and his brothers that evening, got up in the middle of
the night, and, taking off his own nightcap, and those of his brothers,
went very softly and placed them on the heads of the ogre's daughters,
first taking off their golden crowns, which he put on his brothers and
himself, in order that the ogre might mistake them for his daughters,
and his daughters for the boys whom he wanted to kill.

Everything turned out as Little Thumbling had expected. The ogre awoke
at midnight, and regretted having put off till the morning what he might
have done the evening before. He, therefore, jumped suddenly out of bed,
and seizing his great knife, "Let us go, and see," said he, "how the
young rogues are getting on! I will not think twice about it this time."
So he stole on tiptoes up to his daughters' bedroom, and went up to the
bed in which lay the little boys, who were all asleep except Thumbling,
who was dreadfully frightened when the ogre put his hand on his head to
feel it, as he had in