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aldies he set forward in the search of more adventures. Through many woods and groves he passed, meeting with nothing remarkable, till at the length coming to the foot of a high mountain late at night, he knocked at the door of a lonesome house, at which time an ancient man, with a head as white as snow, arose and let him in. Father, said Jack, have you any entertainment for a benighted traveller that has lost his way? Yes, said the old man, if you will accept of such recommondation as my cottage will afford, thou shalt be right welcome. Jack returned him many thanks for his great civility; wherefore down they sat together, and the old man began to discourse him as follows: Son, said he, I am sensible thou art the great conqueror of Giants and it is in thy power to free this place of the country free in an intolerable burden which we groan under; for behold, my son, on the top of this high mountain there is an enchanted castle, kept by a huge monstrous Giant, named Galgantus, who, by the help of an old conjuror, betrays many knights and ladies into his strong castle, where by magic art they are transformed into sundry shapes and forms, but above all, I lament the sad misfortunes of a duke's daughter, whom they fetched from her father's garden by art, carrying her through the air in a mourning chariot, drawn as it were by two fiery dragons, and being secured within the walls of the castle, she was immediately transformed into the real shape of a white hind; many worthy knights have attempted deliverance, yet none of them could accomplish this great work by reason of two dreadful Griffins, who were fixed by magic art at the entrance of the castle gate, which destroys any as soon as they see them; but you, my son, being furnished with an invisible coat, may pass by them undiscovered, where upon the brazen gates of the ⟨castle⟩, you will find engraven, in large characters, by what the enchantment may be broken.
