been left in the basin, or he could have climbed out by that. He gave himself up for lost. Then suddenly he saw the trunk of a slender tree appear at the edge of the basin. It was pushed down towards him. Yes on to the very bread-rock on which he crouched. Would it crush him? No! The end of it rested on the rock by his side; it gently moved towards him. He saw now that the Blue Mountain was not cruel. She was not bent on destroying him. She was offering him a way of escape. He eagerly climbed the tree. When he was half-way up, however, the giant-little-girl flung the tree aside, and with Tony still clinging to it, it fell crashing into the forest. When he came to himself he almost shouted for joy to find the mug still whole.
He never knew how he got home.
When he took the mug to the King the monarch looked at it, and said—
“The milk’s very thick.”
“It’s giant cow’s milk,” said Tony, “you drink it up and let’s see what happens.”
“I don’t know,” said the King, suspiciously, “suppose it’s poison; I shall have it analysed.”
“Well, you promised me a reward,” said Tony, “and you wouldn’t grudge it if you
