There was to be a great battle between all the creatures of the earth and the birds of the air. News of it went abroad, and the son of the king of Tethertown said that when the battle was fought he would be there to see it, and would bring back word who was to be king. But in spite of that, he was almost too late, and every fight had been fought save the last, which was between a snake and a great black . Both struck hard, but in the end the snake proved the stronger, and would have twisted himself round the neck of the raven till he died had not the king’s son his sword, and cut off the head of the snake at a single blow. And when the raven that his enemy was dead, he was grateful, and said:  
‘For thy kindness to me this day, I will show thee a sight. So come up now on the root of my two wings.’ The king’s son did as he was bid, and before the raven stopped flying, they had passed over seven bens and seven glens and seven mountain .
 
‘Do you see that house yonder?’ said the raven at last. ‘Go straight for it, for a sister of mine dwells there, and she will make you right welcome. And if she asks, “Wert thou at the battle of the birds?” answer that thou wert, and if she asks, “Didst thou see my ?” answer that thou sawest it, but be sure thou meetest me in the morning at this place.’
 
The king’s son followed what the raven told him and that night he had meat of each meat, and drink of each drink, warm water for his feet, and a soft bed to lie in.
 
Thus it happened the next day, and the next, but on the fourth meeting, instead of meeting the raven, in his place the king’s son found waiting for him the handsomest youth that ever was seen, with a bundle in his hand.
 
‘Is there a raven hereabouts?’ asked the king’s son, and the youth answered:
 
‘I am that raven, and I was delivered by thee from the spells that bound me, and in reward thou get this bundle. Go back by the road thou camest, and lie as before, a night in each house, but be careful not to unloose the bundle till thou art in the place wherein thou wouldst most wish to dwell.’
 
Then the king’s son set out, and thus it happened as it had happened before, till he entered a thick wood near his father’s house. He had walked a long way and suddenly the bundle seemed to grow heavier; first he put it down under a tree, and next he thought he would look at it.
 
The string was easy to , and the king’s son soon unfastened the bundle. What was it he saw there? Why, a great castle with an all about it, and in the orchard fruit and flowers and birds of very kind. It was all ready for him to dwell in, but instead of being in the midst of the forest, he did wish he had left the bundle unloosed till he had reached the green valley close to his father’s palace. Well, it was no use wishing, and with a sigh he glanced up, and beheld a huge giant coming towards him.
 
‘Bad is the place where thou hast built thy house, king’s son,’ said the giant.
 
‘True; it is not here that I wish to be,’ answered the king’s son.
 
‘What reward wilt thou give me if I put it back in the bundle?’ asked the giant.
 
‘What reward dost thou ask?’ answered the king’s son.
 
‘The first boy thou hast when he is seven years old,’ said the giant.
 
‘If I have a boy thou shalt get him,’ answered the king’s son, and as he the castle and the orchard were tied up in the bundle again.
 
‘Now take thy road, and I will take mine,’ said the giant. ‘And if thou forgettest thy promise, I will remember it.’
 
Light of heart the king’s son went on his road, till he came to the green valley near his father’s palace. Slowly he unloosed the bundle, fearing lest he should find nothing but a heap of stones or rags. But no! all was as it had been before, and as he opened the castle door there stood within the most beautiful that ever was seen.
 
‘Enter, king’s son,’ said she, ‘all is ready, and we will be married at once,’ and so they were.
 
The maiden proved a good wife, and the king’s son, now himself a king, was so happy that he forgot all about the giant. Seven years and a day had gone by, when one morning, while on the ramparts, he beheld the giant striding towards the castle. Then he remembered his promise, and remembered, too, that he had told the queen nothing about it. Now he must tell her, and perhaps she might help him in his trouble.
 
The queen listened in silence to his tale, and after he had finished, she only said:
 
‘Leave thou the matter between me and the giant,’ and as she spoke, the giant entered the hall and stood before them.
 
‘Bring out your son,’ cried he to the king, ‘as you promised me seven years and a day since.’
 
The king glanced at his wife, who nodded, so he answered:
 
‘Let his mother first put him in order,’ and the queen left the hall, and took the cook’s son and dressed him in the prince’s clothes, and led him up to the giant, who held his hand, and together they went out along the road. They had not walked far when the giant stopped and stretched out a stick to the boy.
 
‘If your father had that stick, what would he do with it?’ asked he.
 
‘If my father had that stick, he would beat the dogs and cats that steal the king’s meat,’ replied the boy.
 
‘Thou art the cook’s son!’ cried the giant. ‘Go home to thy mother’; and turning his back he strode straight to the castle.
 
‘If you seek to trick me this time, the highest stone will soon be the lowest,’ said he, and the king and queen trembled, but they could not bear to give up their boy.
 
‘The butler’s son is the same age as ours,’ whispered the queen; ‘he will not know the difference,’ and she took the child and dressed him in the prince’s clothes, and the giant let him away along the road. Before they had gone far he stopped, and held out a stick.
 
‘If thy father had that rod, what would he do with it?’ asked the giant.
 
‘He would beat the dogs and cats that break the king’s glasses,’ answered the boy.
 
‘Thou art the son of the butler!’ cried the giant. ‘Go home to thy mother’; and turning round he strode back angrily to the castle.
 
‘Bring out thy son at once,’ roared he, ‘or the stone that is highest will be lowest,’ and this time the real prince was brought.
 
But though his parents wept bitterly and fancied the child was suffering all kinds of dreadful things, the giant treated him like his own son, though he never allowed him to see his daughters. The boy grew to be a big boy, and one day the giant told him that he would have to amuse himself alone for many hours, as he had a journey to make. So the boy wandered to the top of the castle, where he had never been before. There he paused, for the sound of music broke upon his ears, and opening a door near him, he beheld a girl sitting by the window, holding a .
 
‘Haste and begone, I see the giant close at hand,’ she whispered hurriedly, ‘but when he is asleep, return hither, for I would speak with thee.’ And the prince did as he was bid, and when midnight struck he crept back to the top of the castle.
 
‘To-morrow,’ said the girl, who was the giant’s daughter, ‘to-morrow thou wilt get the choice of my two sisters to marry, but thou must answer that thou wilt not take either, but only me. This will anger him greatly, for he wishes to me to the son of the king of the Green City, whom I like not at all.’
 
Then they parted, and on the morrow, as the girl had said, the giant called his three daughters to him, and likewise the young prince to whom he spoke.
 
‘Now, O son of the king of Tethertown, the time has come for us to part. Choose one of my two elder daughters to wife, and thou shalt take her to your father’s house the day after the wedding.’
 
‘Give me the youngest instead,’ replied the youth, and the giant’s face darkened as he heard him.
 
‘Three things must thou do first,’ said he.
 
‘Say on, I will do them,’ replied the prince, and the giant left the house, and bade him follow to the byre, where the cows were kept.
 
‘For a hundred years no man has swept this byre,’ said the giant, ‘but if by nightfall, when I reach home, thou has not cleaned it so that a golden apple can roll through it from end to end, thy blood shall pay for it.’
 
All day long the youth , but he might as well have tried to empty the ocean. At length, when he was so tired he could hardly move, the giant’s youngest daughter stood in the .
 
‘Lay down thy weariness,’ said she, and the king’s son, thinking he could only die once, sank on the floor at her bidding, and fell sound asleep. When he woke the girl had disappeared, and the byre was so clean that a golden apple could roll from end to end of it. He jumped up in surprise, and at that moment in came the giant.
 
‘Hast thou cleaned the byre, king’s son?’ asked he.
 
‘I have cleaned it,’ answered he.
 
‘Well, since thou wert so active to-day, to-morrow thou wilt this byre with a feather from every different bird, or else thy blood shall pay for it,’ and he went out.
 
Before the sun was up, the youth took his bow and his quiver and set off to kill the birds. Off to the he went, but never a bird was to be seen that day. At last he got so tired with running to and fro that he gave up heart.
 
‘There is but one death I can die,’ thought he. Then at midday came the giant’s daughter.
 
‘Thou art tired, king’s son?’ asked she.
 
‘I am,’ answered he; ‘all these hours have I wandered, and there fell but these two blackbirds, both of one colour.’
 
‘Lay down thy weariness on the grass,’ said she, and he did as she bade him, and fell fast asleep.
 
When he woke the girl had disappeared, and he got up, and returned to the byre. As he drew near, he rubbed his eyes hard, thinking he was dreaming, for there it was, beautifully thatched, just as the giant had wished. At the door of the house he met the giant.
 
‘Hast thou thatched the byre, king’s son?’
 
‘I have thatched it.’
 
‘Well, since thou hast been so active to-day, I have something else for thee! Beside the loch thou seest over yonder there grows a fir tree. On the top of the fir tree is a ’s nest, and in the nest are five eggs. Thou wilt bring me those eggs for breakfast, and if one is cracked or broken, thy blood shall pay for it.’
 
Before it was light next day, the king’s son jumped out of bed and ran down to the loch. The tree was not hard to find, for the rising sun shone red on the trunk, which was five hundred feet from the ground to its first branch. Time after time he walked round it, trying to find some knots, however small, where he could put his feet, but the bark was quite smooth, and he soon saw that if he was to reach the top at all, it must be by climbing up with his knees like a sailor. But then he was a king’s son and not a sailor, which made all the difference.
 
However, it was no use standing there staring at the fir, at least he must try to do his best, and try he did till his hands and knees were sore, for as soon as he had struggled up a few feet, he slid back again. Once he climbed a little higher than before, and hope rose in his heart, then down he came with such force that his hands and kn............