Then he took from the dead man a beautiful ring set with a large stone , and put it on his own finger . The fame of this wonderful deed soon spread through the country , and people would often stop Geirald 's horse , and ask leave to see the robber 's ring , which was said to have been stolen from the father of the reigning king . And Geirald showed them the ring with pride , and listened to their words of praise , and no one would ever have guessed anyone else had destroyed the robbers . In a few days they left the kingdom and rode on to another , where they thought they would stop through the remainder of the winter , for Geirald liked to be comfortable , and did not care about travelling through ice and snow . But the king would only grant them leave to stop on condition that , before the winter was ended , they should give him some fresh proof of the courage of which he had heard so much . Rosald 's heart was glad at the king 's message , and as for Geirald , he felt that as long as Rosald was there all would go well . So they both bowed low and replied that it was the king 's place to command and theirs to obey . ` Well , then , ' said his Majesty , ` this is what I want you to do : In the north-east part of my kingdom there dwells a giant , who has an iron staff twenty yards long , and he is so quick in using it , that even fifty knights have no chance against him . The bravest and strongest young men of my court have fallen under the blows of that staff ; but , as you overcame the twelve robbers so easily , I feel that I have reason to hope that you may be able to conquer the giant . In three days from this you will set out . ' ` We will be ready , your Majesty , ' answered Rosald ; but Geirald remained silent . ` How can we possibly fight against a giant that has killed fifty knights ? ' cried Geirald , when they were outside the castle . ` The king only wants to get rid of us ! He wo n't think about us for the next three days -- that is one comfort -- so we shall have plenty of time to cross the borders of the kingdom and be out of reach . ' ` We may n't be able to kill the giant , but we certainly ca n't run away till we have tried , ' answered Rosald . ` Besides , think how glorious it will be if we DO manage to kill him ! I know what sort of weapon I shall use . Come with me now , and I will see about it . ' And , taking his friend by the arm , he led him into a shop where he bought a huge lump of solid iron , so big that they could hardly lift it between them .
However , they just managed to carry it to a blacksmith 's where Rosald directed that it should be beaten into a thick club , with a sharp spike XXXXX one end .
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