Now you must go up to the King and ask for new shoes for me , and for them we must again have ten pounds of iron , twelve pounds of steel , and two smiths , one to hammer and one to hold , but be very particular to see that the hooks are very sharp . And you must also ask for twelve barrels of rye , and twelve slaughtered oxen must we have with us , and all the twelve ox-hides with twelve hundred spikes set in each of them ; all these things must we have , likewise a barrel of tar with twelve tons of tar in it . The youth went to the King and asked for all the things that Dapplegrim had named , and once more , as the King thought that it would be disgraceful to refuse them to him , he obtained them all . So he mounted Dapplegrim and rode away from the Court , and when he had ridden for a long , long time over hills and moors , Dapplegrim asked : ` Do you hear anything ? ' ` Yes ; there is such a dreadful whistling up above in the air that I think I am growing alarmed , ' said the youth . ` That is all the wild birds in the forest flying about ; they are sent to stop us , ' said Dapplegrim . ` But just cut a hole in the corn sacks , and then they will be so busy with the corn that they will forget us . ' The youth did it . He cut holes in the corn sacks so that barley and rye ran out on every side , and all the wild birds that were in the forest came in such numbers that they darkened the sun . But when they caught sight of the corn they could not refrain from it , but flew down and began to scratch and pick at the corn and rye , and at last they began to fight among themselves , and forgot all about the youth and Dapplegrim , and did them no harm . And now the youth rode onwards for a long , long time , over hill and dale , over rocky places and morasses , and then Dapplegrim began to listen again , and asked the youth if he heard anything now . ` Yes ; now I hear such a dreadful crackling and crashing in the forest on every side that I think I shall be really afraid , ' said the youth . ` That is all the wild beasts in the forest , ' said Dapplegrim ; ` they are sent out to stop us . But just throw out the twelve carcasses of the oxen , and they will be so much occupied with them that they will quite forget us . ' So the youth threw out the carcasses of the oxen , and then all the wild beasts in the forest , both bears and wolves , and lions , and grim beasts of all kinds , came . But when they caught sight of the carcasses of the oxen they began to fight for them till the blood flowed , and they entirely forgot Dapplegrim and the youth . So the youth rode onwards again , and many and many were the new scenes they saw , for travelling on Dapplegrim 's back was not travelling slowly , as may be imagined , and then Dapplegrim neighed . ` Do you hear anything ? he said . ` Yes ; I heard something like a foal neighing quite plainly a long , long way off , ' answered the youth .
` That 's a full-grown colt , ' said Dapplegrim , ` if you hear it so plainly when it is so far away XXXXX us . '
So at from in like of off on over that