yourself so small as to be able to creep into the hole in
this nut."

"Rubbish!" replied the giantess. "Of course I can!"

And in a moment she became as small as a fly, and crept into the nut,
whereupon Ashpot hurled it into the fire, and that was the end of
the giantess.

The boy was so delighted that he returned to his old tyrant the giant
and told him what had happened to his sister. This set the big man
thinking again as to how he was to rid himself of this sharp-witted
little nuisance. He did not understand boys, and he was afraid of
Ashpot's tricks, so he offered him as much gold and silver as he
could carry if he would go away and never return. Ashpot, however,
replied that the amount he could carry would not be worth having,
and that he could not think of going unless he got as much as the
giant could carry.

The giant, glad to get rid of him at any cost, agreed, and, loading
himself with gold and silver and precious stones, he set out with the
boy towards his home. When they reached the outskirts of the farms
they saw a herd of cattle, and the giant began to tremble.

"What sort of beasts are these?" he asked.

"They are my father's cows," replied Ashpot, "and you had better put
down your burden and run back to your mountain, or they may bite you."

The giant was only too happy to get away, so, depositing his load,
which was as big as a small hill, he made off, and left the boy to
carry his treasure home by himself.

So enormous was the amount of the valuables that it was six years
before Ashpot succeeded in removing everything from the field where
the giant had set it down; but he and all his relations were rich
people for the rest of their lives.

CHAPTER VIII

THE HARDANGER FJORD

All that is grand, all that is beautiful, will be found in the
Hardanger--the "Smiling Hardanger," as the Norwegians themselves call
it; and even if an English visitor went nowhere else, he would have
seen typical Norwegian scenery of every possible kind.

The easiest way to go there is from Bergen, and most people bent
on a tour in Norway make a start either from Christiania or from
Bergen. Bergen itself claims to be the most beautiful town in the
country, and it really is a lovely spot, with its old wooden houses
all around the harbour, full of picturesque shipping, and with its
amphitheatre of bold mountains rising upwards almost from the centre
of the town. But Bergen has its drawbacks, and the princip