"Oh," says the lad, "I saw one of them going away by himself to-day, and he did not come home yet."
On the next day the lad drove out his cattle until he came to the big stone wall, and he threw a gap in it, and let the cattle into the same place. He went up into a tree and began throwing down the apples. The second giant came running, and said, "What's the meaning of throwing my wall and letting in your cattle on my estate? Get down out of that at once. You killed my brother yesterday."
"Go down, black thong, and bind that one," says the lad. The thong squeezed him so that he was not able to put a stir out of himself, and he promised the lad anything at all--only to spare his life.
"I am asking nothing of you but the loan of the old sword that is under your bed."
"I'll give you that, and welcome." He went in, and brought out the sword with him. Each man of them had a sword, and every sword better than another.
"Try that sword on the six biggest trees that are in the wood, and it will go through them without turning the edge."
"I don't see any tree in the wood bigger or uglier than yourself," says he, drawing the sword and whipping the head off him, so that he sent it seven furrows and seven ridges from the body.
"Oh," said the head, "if I were to get going on the body again, and the men of the world wouldn't get me off it again."
"Oh, I'll take care of that myself," says the boy.
When he drove the cows home that night there was wonder on the people when they saw the quantity of milk they had. The gentleman said that there was another change in the caher that day again, as he did not hear but only one shout, but the lad said that he saw another one going away that day, and that it was likely that he did not come back yet.
On the next day he went out, and drove the pigs and the cows up to the hall door, and was throwing down the apples to them. The third giant came out--the eldest man of them--and he was full mad after his two brothers being dead, and the teeth that were in his head were making a hand-stick for him. He told the boy to come down; that he did not know what he would do to him after his having killed his two brothers. "Come down," says he, "till I draw you under my long, cold teeth"; and it was on him the long, cold teeth were, and no lie.