The soldier, with his gun; and three
Armed with a bean-pole come.
But Bessy marches after all,
That unto her no harm may fall.
When they came to the little wood through which one must go in order to get to the great meadow where the shepherd’s cot stands, Hans cried out all at once, his flag nearly falling from his hand:
“Did you not hear a noise?”
“Yes!” cried all, trembling; but Fritz had still courage enough to say:
“Bessy must remain behind.”
Then they whispered to one another, “The monster, perhaps, has hidden here”; but they dared not run away, for fear the monster should fall on them from behind, and they resolved to lie on the ground and listen. So they laid down all apart, and presently they whispered:
“Hans trembles very much.”