For some time he let them rail , and pushed boldly on , till he had passed the place which his brother had gained ; then suddenly he thought that among the scoffing sounds he heard his brother 's voice . He stopped and looked back ; and another stone was added to the number . Meanwhile the sister left at home was counting the days when her two brothers should return to her . The time seemed long , and it would be hard to say how often she took out the knife and looked at its polished blade to make sure that this one at least was still safe . The blade was always bright and clear ; each time she looked she had the happiness of knowing that all was well , till one evening , tired and anxious , as she frequently was at the end of the day , she took it from its drawer , and behold ! the blade was red with blood . Her cry of horror brought her youngest brother to her , and , unable to speak , she held out the knife ! ' I will go , ' he said . So he walked , and he walked , and he walked , until he met the giant , and he asked , ` Have two young men , making for yonder mountain , passed this way ? ' And the giant answered , ` Yes , they have passed by , but they never came back , and by this I know that the spell has fallen upon them . ' ` Then what must I do to free them , and to get the water of life , and the talking bird , and the branch of the tree of beauty ? ' ` Go to the mountain , which you will find so thickly covered with stones that you will hardly be able to place your feet , and walk straight forward , turning neither to the right hand nor to the left , and paying no heed to the laughs and scoffs which will follow you , till you reach the top , and then you may take all that you desire . ' The young man thanked the giant for his counsel , and set forth to the mountain . And when he began to climb there burst forth all around him a storm of scoffs and jeers ; but he thought of the giant 's words , and looked neither to the right hand nor to the left , till the mountain top lay straight before him . A moment now and he would have gained it , when , through the groans and yells , he heard his brothers ' voices . He turned , and there was one stone the more . And all this while his sister was pacing up and down the palace , hardly letting the knife out of her hand , and dreading what she knew she would see , and what she did see . The blade grew red before her eyes , and she said , ` Now it is my turn . ' So she walked , and she walked , and she walked till she came to the giant , and prayed him to tell her if he had seen three young men pass that way seeking the distant mountain . ' I have seen them pass , but they have never returned , and by this I know that the spell has fallen upon them . '
` And what must I do to set them free , and to find the water of life , and the talking bird , and a branch of the tree XXXXX beauty ? '
For around at before of on that till until upon