it so high, that it does not come down till the evening. Hans lays hold of a stone which is thrice as large, and throws it in God's name. They wait there for three days, but the stone never comes down again. So the Devil seeks it, and at last finds it up above upon the moon, where it has fallen and stayed. They tell of Strong Hans in Schleswig also, see the Neues Jahrbuch der Berliner Gesellschaft, 1. 288, 290. In Holstein it is Hans with the Iron Staff (Müllenhoff, p. 437). In the Hartz, Johannes der Bär or Martisbär (Pröhle's Märchen für die Jugend, No. 29). In Kuhn and Schwartz, see No. 18.
A story from Hesse contains other adventures in the mill. When the youth enters it, a cat runs to him and asks, "What dost thou want here?" "I want to grind corn." Then another comes and says, "We will set on him!" A third cries, "Aye, that we will!" But the young giant lays hold of them, and strikes them dead. Then he goes to another mill and spirits come against him and cry, "We will take off the mill-hopper and grind him." But he seizes the spirits themselves and grinds them between the great millstones. At length he goes to a third mill, and once more twelve horrible great cats spring at him and surround him, and then they light a large fire, put on water, and say, "Thou shalt be boiled in the kettle." "All right," says he, "but first of all be merry for once, and fight and bite each other." So they begin to struggle and to bite each other, but he keeps watch, and just as the water boils, lifts off the whole kettle, empties it over them, and scalds them to death. Finally, it is to be observed, that in a story from Magdeburg, the Fearless One goes like St. Christopher to hell to the Devil, and wants to serve him. There he sees many pans standing stewing with imprisoned souls shut inside them. He lifts up all the lids and lets them out, whereupon the Devil at once discharges him from his service. From a remark of Von der Hagen's in the Viennese Jahrbuch 12, Anzeigeblatt, p. 58, the greater part of the story seems also to be known in the Ukermark, in Brandenburg, where the giant is called Knecht Sülwendal. In a version from the Zillerthal, given by Zingerle, p. 220, there is Strong Hänsl, who also appears in our story, No. 166, in a Swiss version. In Jutland also, there are stories about a Strong Hans, as is remarked by Peter Iversom, in his Schrift über das jütländische Volk bei Riba (published by C. Molbech, p. 28, 29). His good-nature is as great as his strength. The master whom he serves wants to get rid of him, so his daughter has to throw a gold ring into a deep well, and the man who will descend and bring it up again is to have her to wife. Strong Hans is quite ready to do it, but while he is below the master has a large and heavy millstone brought and thrown down the well. Fortunately, it falls in such a way that the hole in the middle of the millstone
