“But dear, good, Shortshanks, wherever did you get all this from?” for she was rather afraid he hadn’t come rightly by it.
“Oh!” answered Shortshanks, “I went home for a bit, and there I found these hoops, which had fallen off some old pails of ours, so I laid hands on them for you, if you must know.”
Well! when the kitchen-maid heard they were for her, she said nothing more about the matter, but thanked Shortshanks, and they were good friends again.
The next Thursday evening it was the same story over again; all were in grief and trouble, but Ritter Red said, as he had saved the Princess from one Ogre, it was hard if he couldn’t save her from another; and down he led her to the strand as brave as a lion. But he didn’t do this Ogre much harm either, for when the time came that they looked for the Ogre, he said, as he had said before:
“’Tis better one should lose life than two”, and crept up into his tree again. But Shortshanks begged the kitchen-maid to let him go down to the strand for a little.
“Oh!” asked the kitchen-maid, “and what business have you down there?”
“Dear friend”, said Shortshanks. “do pray let me go. I long so to run down and play a while with the other children.”
Well! the kitchen-maid gave him leave to go, but he must promise to be back by the time the roast was turned, and he was to mind and bring a big bundle of wood with him. So Shortshanks had scarce got down to the strand, when the Ogre came tearing along in his ship, so that the wind howled and roared around him; he was twice as big as the other Ogre, and he had ten heads on his shoulders.
“Fire and flame!” screamed the Ogre.
Fire and flame yourself!” answered Shortshanks.