At last the day came on which the bridge was completed. A messenger was sent out to give the giant directions for reaching the cottage, while Finn himself, dressed as a baby, got into the big cradle he had built for the purpose.
Soon the doorway darkened. The great giant stood there looking in. He was an ugly and terrible looking fellow with two great teeth sticking out of his jaw like those of a walrus. The doorway was a large one, but the giant filled it, shutting out the light behind him.
“I am looking for the fellow who calls himself Finn MacCool,” roared the giant in a voice that shook the walls of the house.
Finn’s foster-mother sat calmly rocking the cradle and working on some clothes she was mending. To look at her one would have thought that the visit of a giant was an everyday occurrence.
“That’s no matter,” growled the giant. “I’ve come from Scotland to see him and I’m in a hurry.”
“Oh, you must be that foolish fellow who thinks he wants to have a trial with Finn,” suggested the woman.
“Foolish!” roared the giant. “Show me where he is and you will soon find out which one is the foolish one!”
“Come right in,” said the woman. “I am very sorry, but Finn is away and will not be back until tomorrow. He waited for you as long as he could. You see, you were so long in coming he decided that you had become frightened and had turned back, so he went off to attend to some business. Just as he left he said to me, ‘If that fellow from Scotland gets here while I am gone, treat him well and get him to stay. I would not miss knocking a trial out of him at any cost.’”
“Well, he won’t miss me,” answered the giant. “I’ll wait.”
“Come right in then,” said the woman. “I will give you a bite to eat.”
The giant thrust himself through the doorway into the room. Inside, where he could straighten himself up, he looked more terrible than before. As there was no seat in the cottage big enough for him he leaned against the wall, which bulged out with his weight. The woman busied herself before the fire.
“Who is that?” asked the giant, pointing to Finn in the cradle.
“That’s Finn’s little baby,” answered the woman. “I wish you would be more quiet while you are in here. The baby is just beginning to cut his teeth, and he is very cross if he awakens suddenly.”