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 of mountains , towering up to the sky . ` Must we go over these ? ' said they . ` We shall be frozen to death or buried in the snow . ' ` Here comes a man , ' said Niels ; ` let us ask him the way to Rome . ' They did so , and were told that there was no other way . ` And is it far yet ? ' said the old people , who were beginning to be worn out by the long journey . The man held up his foot so that they could see the sole of his shoe ; it was worn as thin as paper , and there was a hole in the middle of it . ` These shoes were quite new when I left Rome , ' he said , ` and look at them now ; that will tell you whether you are far from it or not . '
This discouraged the old people so much that they gave up all thought of finishing the journey , and only wished to get back XXXXX Denmark as quickly as they could .
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