CHAPTER III.
On his return to the house of Hepsone, Gofaster found there a crooked little man, whom his host introduced as Snipper, the tailor. After a bargain had been made, and as the tailor was measuring his new customer—which in order to do completely he was obliged to stand on a stool—Hepsone examined the battle-axe, which the giant had laid aside.
"Why," said he, "the edge of this is nicked in two places, and it is marked with blood. Did you meet with game?"
"Yes," said the giant, "a white bear, and he lies there in the forest."
"A white bear!" cried the host, in amazement. "Did you have the courage to face a brute like that?"
"Oh," replied Gofaster, laughing, "I dealt him a coward's blow from behind; but I take no shame for it, since I would have had no chance had I faced him."
"I should like to know all about it," said Hepsone, eagerly.
"At some other time, but not now," said the giant, for he reflected that the King might not wish the adventure recounted without his consent.
After the departure of the tailor the giant took another stroll, in order to gain an appetite for dinner. This time he made his way up a hill, whose sides were covered with small evergreen-bushes, from whose summit he thought he would obtain a good view of the town below. As he advanced higher the bushes disappeared, and the ground was barren and destitute of herbage. He then recognized a disagreeable odor, which increased as he advanced. He feared that he was approaching the abode of the dragon, but could see no signs of the beast or his habitation. He came at length to some openings in the ground, which emitted a stench that seemed strangely familiar.
"Why," said he, "this resembles the gas springs which we have in my country, which we conduct through pipes to the town, and use it for purposes of illumination and heat. I must remember this, and take advantage of it."
Three days later the tailor returned with his new clothes. They fitted perfectly, and he felt himself ready for the audience.
As he was hesitating whether or not to seek the King, he heard horses' hoofs without, and, looking through the low window, beheld a group of gentlemen, each of less than medium height, who were mounted upon ponies. They were in conversation with his host, and as they spake loudly, he heard their words.
"We have been seeking through the town," said the spokesman, "for a foreign gentleman, the Count Gofaster, and not finding him, have come here with the hope that he might lodge with you."
"There is a gentleman here," said Hepsone, "but I did not know that he was a Count. Has he done anything wrong?"
"Not that I know of," said the other, laughing; "but his Majesty the King and her Royal Highness the Princess Amber are desirous of seeing him, and we are ordered to summon him to Court."
At this Gofaster emerged from the door and confronted the group. "I am Gofaster," he said, "and the gracious wishes of his Majesty are commands. I shall have the honor of seeking an audience without delay."
"We have brought a horse for your convenience, Count," said the spokesman, pointing to a gaudily caparisoned pony about twelve hands high.
The giant could scarcely suppress a laugh. "I think," said he, dryly, "that walking would be an easier mode of travelling. With your permission, I shall accompany you on foot."
GOFASTER ESCORTED TO THE KING'S PALACE.
The party then set out, and made their way through the town to the royal palace. Curious crowds lined the narrow streets, and were with difficulty kept back by the police, so eager were they to see this gigantic stranger.
"Count," said the monarch, as he received him in the palace, "we have sent for you because we were impatient to thank you in this public manner for the service you so promptly rendered to our person, and to welcome to our Court a nobleman whom we hope to see one of its chiefest ornaments. Let me present you to Count Snarlitz, our Prime-minister."
Gofaster and Snarlitz bowed to each other, the former with good-humor, and the latter with a sneer on his lip and a twinkle of ill will in his eye which the giant did not fail to recognize.
"In faith," said the giant to himself, "I feel this to be an enemy, and will have to be on guard. He fears that I will be a favorite, and may interfere with his hold on the King."
The King now descended from his throne, followed by the Princess, to whom Gofaster was presented. At a signal from the King, Snarlitz and the others fell back, and the Princess added her thanks in a manner that showed her appreciation of the service rendered and but half-concealed admiration for the new-comer.
At command of the King, Gofaster was assigned apartments in the royal palace, and a week thereafter, the faithful tailor having fully stocked his wardrobe, he took possession of them.
Before this, however, a banquet was given in his honor, and at this Count Snarlitz changed his manner in the most marked way, and paid the giant the most profound deference, indulging in compliments at times so extreme as to be offensive.
Before the guests had arisen from the board the Prime-minister, in the course of conversation, said: "If it please your Majesty, I look upon it as most fortunate that this gallant gentleman is one who is able to render a most marked service to the state. He is the only one, I think, who has the courage and the power to face and destroy the powerful dragon of the reservoir."
"No, no!" said the Princess Amber, instantly; "that is too perilous."
"Nay, daughter," said the King, "let us hear what the Count himself has to say on the matter."
Gofaster hesitated a moment. His cap, which had already given him such trusty counsel, had been removed, and he could not replace it in the King's presence; but his embarrassment was at once relieved. A hollow laugh at his elbow told him that his invisible friend, the Phooka, was there, and he heard a voice unheard by the others, which said to him, "Accept for a week hence."
Then Gofaster arose, and bowing to the King, said, "In a week from this time, with your Majesty's permission, I shall undertake the adventure."
To his great delight, the giant saw the Princess turn pale at this announcement, and his heart beat high with hope. But after the banquet was over, and he had taken his leave, he felt that he had done a rash thing.
"How shall I be able," he said, "to face, much less to overcome, this terrible Slander, whose breath is poison to all who confront it."
"Easily enough," said the voice of the Phooka in his ear. "There is a little herb called truth, which grows in out-of-the-way places, and I can lead you to it. Mix that with honey, of which the dragon is extremely fond, and which he can scent at some distance. He will not detect the mixture, but eat the honey greedily, and the truth in it will kill him."