This day the giant was in a very good humour, for he had robbed three travellers of a lot of money, which he had hidden in a cave by the wayside. The travellers themselves he had bound hand and foot, and left them in the same cave till he should call for them; so that his good luck made him quite

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light-hearted and cheerful, and he ate his supper with an immense relish, putting his knife in his mouth and sopping up gravy with his quartern loaf of bread, like a vulgar giant as he was; and as his thoughts kept running on the money he had stolen, he roared out to his wife to bring him down his money-bags, that he might count how much he had. He was a covetous giant, and took great delight in hoarding up money, and counting it over and over to see how much he had got. Not that he ever put it to a good use, or gave any of it away. His selfish motto was

"Have money in pouch, and money in hand,

And care for no one in all the land."

The obedient wife went out, and soon returned dragging two heavy bags, one filled with golden guineas, and the other with bright new shillings. The giant snatched them out of her hands, and gave her a box on the ear, telling her that was for her trouble, and desired her to get to bed without delay, which the poor woman was glad enough to do, you may be sure. The giant began to count out his money, commencing with the guineas first,-" One, two, three, four," and so on. Presently he got up to the hundreds-" One hundred and onc -one hundred and two," and by the time he got to "Five hundred and eighty-one-five hundred and eighty-two-" his head began to nod. In five minutes more he was fast asleep. Then Jack came out of his hiding-place on tiptoe, and clutched both the bags. But just as he was making his way to the window, a little dog that had lain unobserved under the giant's chair came jumping towards him with a shrill-"Yow! yow!

yow!" Luckily, Jack hadn't quite finished his supper when the giant's knock came to the door, and he had hidden a bone in his pocket to enliven his solitude in the cupboard. With this

little yelping cur to silence, a bone was the very best thing Jack could have had; had it not been for this, indeed, he must have been discovered by the giant. For when at firs he tried to make the dog quiet by threatening it silently, and shaking his fist at it, the wretched creature only yelped and barked the louder; but now by means of the fortunate

bone he appeased the little yelping cur, and though the giant turned uneasily once or twice on his chair, he did not wake. So a second time Jack made off with the wicked giant's gold, and arrived in safety at the foot of the bean-stalk. But all was not well at home. His poor mother had done nothing but fret about him from the moment he went away till he returned; and so anxious had she been that she was ill-in fact, nearly dying.

But the poor woman recovered when she saw her boy had returned safe and sound, for then the cause of her anxiety was taken away. With the bags of gold the cottage was rebuilt, and for three years they lived happily together; but at the end of that time he could stay no longer. He felt compelled, as it were, to try once more to penetrate into the giant's abode. He always felt as if he had left his task incomplete, and that he had not yet done justice to his father so long as the wicked giant lived on enjoying his plunder. This time he did not tell his mother of his intention to mount the beanstalk once more, for he knew she would try to dissuade him, and he had quite made up his mind to go at all hazards.

So one morning he started very early on his third expedition. It cost him unheard-of trouble to get admission: the giant's wife had at last grown suspicious, having had her beatings increased to five a week since his last visit; but at last he got in. The giant, too, said, as on the first occasion of Jack's coming, "I smell fresh meat!" and he absolutely began to search the room to find out where our hero lay concealed. But he soon got tired of doing so, especially as he happened to be very hungry; and sat down to take his frugal supper of a salted hog and three large salted cod-fishes. This salt fare made him rather thirsty, so he drank three great casks of strong beer, whereas his usual custom was to wash down his supper with only two. The beer got into the giant's head, and put him in high good humour, and he began to sing in a tremendous voice, and roared out to his wife to get him his harp.

This harp was a most wonderful instrument. Directly it was put on the table it began to play, of itself, the most beautiful music. And the giant got up and began dancing. The harp now played softer and more softly; and the giant, growing sleepy, lay down at full length on the ground, and began to snore. "Now," thought Jack, "is my time;" and slipping from his hiding-place, he seized the harp. But the harp was enchanted (and that is how it played so enchantingly). When Jack seized it, it cried "Master! master!" Up started the giant with a loud roar, and away ran Jack, carrying the harp, and the giant thundering after him as fast as he could. It was now a fair race between fleet-footed Jack and the long-legged giant. Jack knew that his life depended upon his speed, and this reflection, you may be sure, made him run his very best; on the other hand, the giant was nearly mad with rage, and rage is as good a spur as fear, to keep a man at top of his speed.

Jack seemed to fly like the wind, and had got a good start of his pursuer by the time they got to the bean-stalk. Down the bean-stalk he slid, as fast as ever he could; and just as he set his foot on the ground, the heavy feet of the giant appeared at the top of the ladder. Jack cried out lustily for a hatchet. His mother came running out with a big one in her hand. Not a moment was to be lost. Jack seized the hatchet and began chopping the bean-stalk with all his might. He struck it-ONCE!-and the giant gave a roar of rage, and redoubled his efforts to get down in time; TWICE!!-and the bean-stalk cracked and shook, and the giant stopped for an instant as it swayed to and fro; THRICE!!!-and the great stalk snapped and broke off near the ground; the giant tried to retain his hold, but in vain. He was like a sailor clinging to a loose rope in a tempest, blown to and fro, and round and round like a vane on a steeple during a gale of wind. And as he tugged and struggled, the branches to which he clung gave way. The thick stem was crushed and broken asunder