The first giant accordingly bent down and entered in a stooping posture , but before he had time to straighten his back again Niels made a sweep with the sword , and oft went the giant 's head . To push the body aside as it fell was quite easy for Niels , so strong had the wine made him , and the second giant as he entered met the same reception . The third was slower in coming , so Niels called out to him : ` Be quick , ' he said , ` you are surely the oldest of the three , since you are so slow in your movements , but I ca n't wait here long ; I must get back to my own people as soon as possible . ' So the third also came in , and was served in the same way . It appears from the story that giants were not given fair play ! By this time day was beginning to break , and Niels thought that his folks might already be searching for him , so , instead of waiting to see what took place at the castle , he ran off to the forest as fast as he could , taking the sword with him . He found the others still asleep , so he woke them up , and they again set out on their journey . Of the night 's adventures he said not a word , and when they asked where he got the sword , he only pointed in the direction of the castle , and said , ` Over that way . ' They thought he had found it , and asked no more questions . When Niels left the castle , he shut the door behind him , and it closed with such a bang that the porter woke up . He could scarcely believe his eyes when he saw the three headless giants lying in a heap in the courtyard , and could not imagine what had taken place . The whole castle was soon aroused , and then everybody wondered at the affair : it was soon seen that the bodies were those of the king 's great enemies , but how they came to be there and in that condition was a perfect mystery . Then it was noticed that the drinking-horn was empty and the sword gone , while the princess reported that half of her handkerchief and one of her slippers had been taken away . How the giants had been killed seemed a little clearer now , but who had done it was as great a puzzle as before . The old knight who had charge of the castle said that in his opinion it must have been some young knight , who had immediately set off to the king to claim the hand of the princess . This sounded likely , but the messenger who was sent to the Court returned with the news that no one there knew anything about the matter . ` We must find him , however , ' said the princess ; ` for if he is willing to marry me I can not in honour refuse him , after what my father put on the horn . ' She took council with her father 's wisest men as to what ought to be done , and among other things they advised her to build a house beside the highway , and put over the door this inscription : -- ` Whoever will tell the story of his life , may stay here three nights for nothing . ' This was done , and many strange tales were told to the princess , but none of the travellers said a word about the three giants . In the meantime Niels and the others tramped on towards Rome .
Autumn passed , and winter was just beginning when they came to the foot of a great range XXXXX mountains , towering up to the sky .
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