Sad at heart Avenant left the Palace, but his little dog, Cabriole, said, “My dear master, do not despair, you are too good to be unhappy.  Early to-morrow morning let us go to the river-side.”  Avenant patted him, but did not answer, and, still sad, fell asleep.

As soon as it was day, Cabriole awoke him saying, “Dress yourself, my master, and come out.”

They wandered down to the river, and there Avenant heard a voice calling him, and what should he see but the golden carp, with the Princess’s ring in her mouth.  “Take it, dear Avenant,” said she, “I promised to repay you for saving my life, and now I can fulfil my promise.”

Thanking her a thousand times, Avenant, going at once to the Palace, said, “Princess, your command is fulfilled; may it please you to receive the King, my master, as your husband.”

The Princess thought she must be dreaming when she saw the ring, but she set Avenant another task.

“Not far from here there is a prince named Galifron,” said she; “he wishes to marry me, and threatens to ravish my kingdom if I refuse; but how can I accept him?  He is a giant, taller than my highest tower, he eats a man as a monkey would eat a chestnut, and when he speaks, his voice is so loud that it deafens those who hear him.  He will not take my refusal, but kills my subjects.  You must fight and bring me his head.”

[Illustration]

“Well, madam,” replied Avenant, “I will fight Galifron; I expect I shall be killed, but I shall die a brave man.”  And, taking Cabriole, Avenant set out for Galifron’s country, asking news of the giant as he went along, and the more he heard the more he feared him, but Cabriole reassured him.  “My dear master,” said the little dog, “while you are fighting him I will bite his legs, then he will stoop to chase me, and you will kill him.”  Avenant admired the bravery of the little dog, but he knew his help would not be sufficient.

Presently they perceived how the roads were covered with the bones of the men that Galifron had eaten, and soon they saw the giant coming towards them through a wood.  His head was higher than the highest trees, and he sang in a terrific voice: 

      “Where are the children small, so small,
      With my teeth I will crush them all,
      On so many would I feed, feed, feed. 
      The whole world can’t supply my need.”

Using the same tune, Avenant began to sing: 

      “Look down, here is Avenant beneath, beneath
      He will draw from your head, the teeth, the teeth
      Although he is not very big, ’tis true,
      He is able to fight with such as you.”

The giant put himself into a terrible passion, and would have killed Avenant with one blow, only a raven from above flew at his head, and pecked him straight in the eyes, so violently that he was blinded.  He began striking out on all sides, but Avenant avoided his blows, and with his sword pierced him so many times that at last he fell to the ground.  Then Avenant cut off his head, and the raven, who had perched on a tree, said,