Now the parents, being alone in their house, prayed that God would give them another son, even were he no bigger than a peppercorn. As they prayed so it came to pass, and not very long after a little boy was born to them, who was so extremely small that they christened him “Peppercorn.”
When the boy was old enough he went out to play with other boys; and one day, in a quarrel, one of these said to him, “May you share the fate of your elder brothers.” Hearing this, Peppercorn ran off home at once, and asked his mother what these words meant. So the mother was forced to tell him how his three brothers had gone into the forest to look after their lost sister, and had never come back again. As soon as he heard this, Peppercorn began to search the house for pieces of old iron, and, having found some scraps, carried them off in the evening to a blacksmith, that with them he might make him a mace. Next morning Peppercorn went to the smith to ask for his mace, which the man gave him, saying at the same time, “Now pay me for making it.” To this Peppercorn replied, “First let me see if it is strong enough”; and he threw it up in the air and held his head so that the mace might fall upon it. As soon as the mace [[59]]struck his head, it broke into pieces; and Peppercorn, seeing how badly it was made, fell into a passion and killed the smith. Then he gathered up the pieces of iron and went off to look for a better workman. He soon found another blacksmith who was willing to make him a mace, but demanded a ducat for the work. Peppercorn said he would willingly pay the ducat if the smith made him a really strong, serviceable mace. So next morning he went to ask if it was ready, and the smith said “Yes; but you must first pay me the ducat, and then I will give it you.” Peppercorn, however, answered, “The ducat is ready in my pocket, but I must first see if the mace is good before I pay for it.” Thereupon he caught it, flung it up in the air, and held his head under it as it fell. As soon as the mace struck his head it broke into pieces; and he, again falling into a great passion, killed this smith also.
Gathering up the pieces of iron, he now carried them to a third smith, who undertook to make him a good strong mace, and demanded a ducat for doing so. Next morning Peppercorn went for the mace and, after trying it three times, each time throwing it up higher in the air and letting it fall on his head, where it raised great bumps, he owned that he was satisfied with it, and accordingly paid the smith the ducat as he had promised.
Having now a good strong mace, Peppercorn started off at once for the forest, in which his three elder brothers and his sister had been lost. After wandering about [[60]]for some time, he came to the place where the shepherdess sat watching her sheep, and, in reply to his questions, she told him that she had seen his three brothers go down the ravine in search of their sister, but had never seen them come up again.
Notwithstanding this, Peppercorn went resolutely down the ravine, calling aloud upon his sister by name. When she heard this she was exceedingly surprised, and said to herself, “Who can this be calling me by name, now that all my brothers are killed? I have no other relations to come and look for me.” Then she went to the entrance of the cave and called out, “Who is it that calls me; I have no longer any brothers?”
Peppercorn said to her, “I am your brother who was born after you left home, and my name is Peppercorn.”
On hearing this, his sister led him into the palace, but he had hardly had time to say a few words to her before a loud whirring was heard in the air, and the giant’s mace fell to the ground. For a moment Peppercorn was terrified at this, but he recovered himself quickly, and, pulling the mace out of the ground, flung it back to the giant, who, in astonishment, said to himself, “Who is this who throws my mace back to me? Methinks I have at last found someone able to fight with me.”
When the giant came home he immediately asked his wife who had been in the cave, and she answered him, “It is my youngest brother.” Thereupon the giant ordered the shepherd to bring the largest sheep [[61]]in his flock. When this was brought the giant killed it himself, and, whilst preparing it for roasting, said to Peppercorn, “Will you turn the meat, or will you take care of the fire?” Peppercorn said he would rather gather wood and make the fire; so he went out and tumbled down some large trees with his mace. These he carried to the mouth of the cave, and made a large fire ready for the meat.
When the sheep was roasted the giant cut it in two parts, and gave one half to Peppercorn, saying, “Take this half, and if you eat it before I eat my half you are free to kill me; but if you don’t, I shall surely kill you.” So Peppercorn and the giant began to eat as fast as they could, swallowing down large pieces of meat, and, in their haste, almost choking themselves. At last Peppercorn, by trickery, managed to get rid of his share of the sheep, and, according to the arrangement, killed the giant. This done, with the help of his sister, he collected all the treasures the giant had heaped up in his palace, and, taking them with him, returned home with his sister, to the great joy of their parents.
Peppercorn remained some time after this with his father, mother, and sister, and they lived very merrily on the treasures he had brought from the giant’s cave. At length, however, he saw that the riches were coming to an end, so he resolved to go into the world to seek his fortune.