“It must be this calf, which has just been killed,” said his wife.
“I smell child’s flesh, I tell thee once more!” cried the Ogre, looking all about the room—“I smell child’s flesh; there is something going on that I do not know of.”
As soon as he had spoken these words he rose from his chair and went towards the bed.
“Ah! madam,” said he, “you thought to cheat me, did you? Wretch! thou art old and tough thyself, or else I would eat thee up too! But come, come, this is lucky enough; for the brats will make a nice dish for three Ogres, who are my particular friends, and who are to dine with me to-morrow.”
He then drew them out one by one from under the bed. The poor children fell on their knees and begged his pardon as humbly as they could; but this Ogre was the most cruel of all Ogres, and instead of feeling any pity, he only began to think how sweet and tender their flesh would be; so he told his wife they would be nice morsels if she served them up with plenty of sauce. He then fetched a large knife, and began to sharpen it on a long whetstone that he held in his left hand; and all the while he came nearer and nearer to the bed. The Ogre took up one of the children, and was going to set about cutting him to pieces; but his wife said to him: “What in the world makes you take the trouble of killing them to-night? Will it not be time enough to-morrow morning?”
“Hold your prating,” replied the Ogre; “they will grow tender by being kept a little while after they are killed.”
“But,” said this wife, “you have got so much meat in the house already; here is a calf, two sheep, and half a pig.”
“True,” said the Ogre, “so give them all a good supper, that they may not get lean, and then send them to bed.”
The good creature was quite glad at this. She gave them plenty for their supper, but the poor children were so terrified that they could not eat a bit.
The Ogre sat down to his wine, very much pleased with the thought of giving his friends such a dainty dish: this made him drink rather more than common, and he was soon obliged to go to bed himself. Now the Ogre had seven daughters, who were all very young like Hop-o’-my-Thumb and his brothers. These young Ogresses had fair skins, because they fed on raw meat like their father; but they had small gray eyes, quite round, and sunk in their heads, hooked noses, wide mouths, and very long, sharp teeth, standing a great way off each other. They were too young as yet to do much mischief; but they showed that if they lived to be as old as their father they would grow quite as cruel as he was, for they took pleasure already in biting young children and sucking their blood. The Ogresses had been put to bed very early that night; they were all in one bed, which was very large, and every one of them had a crown of gold on her head. There was another bed of the same size in the room, and in this the Ogre’s wife put the seven little boys, and then went to bed herself along with her husband.