“What? What?” cried his wife, “I found the door open just now. Do you suppose that dratted boy is in the house again?”
“If he is, I’ll soon put an end to him,” said the giant.
The giant’s wife ran to the copper pot and lifted the lid, and looked inside it, but no one was there. Then she and the giant began to hunt about. They looked in the cupboards and behind the doors, and every place, but they never thought of looking in the oven.
“He can’t be here after all,” said the wife, “or we would have found him. It must be something else you smell.”
So the giant sat down and began to eat his breakfast, but as he ate he mumbled and grumbled to himself.
After he had finished he said, “Wife, bring out my golden harp to sing for me.”
His wife went into the treasure-room and came back carrying a golden harp. She set it on the table before the giant and at once it began to make music, and the music was so beautiful that it melted the heart to hear it. The giant’s wife sat down to listen, too, and presently the music put them both to sleep. Then Jack crept out of the oven and seized the harp and made off with it.
At once the harp began to call, “Master! master! help! Someone is running off with me!”
The giant started out of sleep and looked about him. When he found the harp gone he gave a roar like an angry bull. He ran to the door and there was Jack already more than half-way down the road. “Stop! stop!” cried the giant, but Jack had no idea of stopping. He ran until he reached the bean-stalk, and then he began climbing down it as fast as he could, still carrying the harp.
The giant followed and when he came to the bean-stalk he looked down, and there was Jack far, far below him. The giant was not used to climbing. He did not know whether to follow or not. Then the harp cried again, “Help, master, help!” The giant hesitated no longer. He caught hold of the bean-stalk and began to climb down.