‘Willingly,’ answered the little man. ‘You take the trunk on your shoulder, and I will take the branches; they must certainly be the heaviest.’
The Giant accordingly took the trunk on his shoulder; but the Tailor seated himself on one of the branches, and the Giant, who could not look round, had to carry the whole tree, and the Tailor into the bargain. The Tailor was very merry on the end of the tree, and whistled ‘Three Tailors rode merrily out of the town,’ as if tree-carrying were a joke to him.
When the Giant had carried the tree some distance, he could go no further, and exclaimed, ‘Look out, I am going to drop the tree.’
The Tailor sprang to the ground with great agility, and seized the tree with both arms, as if he had been carrying it all the time. He said to the Giant: ‘Big fellow as you are, you can’t carry a tree.’
After a time they went on together, and when they came to a cherry-tree, the Giant seized the top branches, where the cherries ripened first, bent them down, put them in the Tailor’s hand, and told him to eat. The Tailor, however, was much too weak to hold the tree, and when the Giant let go, the tree sprang back, carrying the Tailor with it into the air. When he reached the ground again, without any injury, the Giant said, ‘What’s this? Haven’t you the strength to hold a feeble sapling?’
‘It’s not strength that’s wanting,’ answered the Tailor. ‘Do you think that would be anything to one who killed seven at a blow? I sprang over the tree because some sportsmen were shooting among the bushes. Spring after me if you like.’
The Giant made the attempt, but he could not clear the tree, and stuck among the branches. So here, too, the Tailor had the advantage of him.
The Giant said, ‘If you are such a gallant fellow, come with me to our cave, and stay the night with us.’
The Tailor was quite willing, and went with him. When
