Minnikin

As for Minnikin, first he went out on the Troll's ship and took a great quantity of gold and silver hoops away with him, and then he trotted back to the King's palace.

When the kitchen-maid caught sight of all this gold and silver she was quite amazed, and said: `My dear friend Minnikin, where have you got all that from?' for she was half afraid that he had not come by it honestly.

`Oh,' answered Minnikin, `I have been home a while, and these hoops had fallen off some of our buckets, so I brought them away with me for you.'

So when the kitchen-maid heard that they were for her, she asked no more questions about the matter. She thanked Minnikin, and everything was right again at once.

Next Thursday evening all went just the same, and everyone was full of grief and affliction, but Ritter Red said that he had been able to deliver the King's daughter from one Troll, so that he could very easily deliver her from another, and he led her down to the sea-shore. But he did not do much harm to this Troll either, for when the time came when the Troll might be expected, he said as he had said before: `It is better that one should die than two,' and then climbed up into the tree again.

Minnikin once more begged the cook's leave to go down to the sea-shore for a short time.

`Oh, what can you do there?' said the cook.

`My dear, do let me go!' said Minnikin; `I should so like to go down there and amuse myself a little with the other children.'

So this time also she said that he should have leave to go, but he must first promise that he would be back by the time the joint was turned and that he would bring a great armful of wood with him.

No sooner had Minnikin got down to the strand than the Troll came rushing along with a great whistling and whirring, and he was twice as big as the first Troll, and he had ten heads.

`Fire!' shrieked the Troll.

`Fire yourself!' said Minnikin.

`Can you fight?' roared the Troll.

`If not, I can learn,' said Minnikin.

So the Troll struck at him with his iron club--which was still bigger than that which the first Troll had had--so that the earth flew ten yards up in the air.