Not far from here there stands a castle , in which the king 's daughter lives ; we are at war with the king , and want to get the upper hand of him by carrying off the princess , but the castle is so well guarded that there is no getting into it . By our skill in magic we have cast sleep on every living thing in the castle , except a little black dog , and , as long as he is awake , we are no better off than before ; for , as soon as we begin to climb over the wall , the little dog will hear us , and its barking will waken all the others again . Having got you , we can place you where you will be able to shoot the dog before it begins to bark , and then no one can hinder us from getting the princess into our hands . If you do that , we shall not only let you off , but reward you handsomely . ' Niels had to consent , and the giants set out for the castle at once . It was surrounded by a very high rampart , so high that even the giants could not touch the top of it . ` How am I to get over that ? ' said Niels . ` Quite easily , ' said the third giant ; ` I 'll throw you up on it . ' ` No , thanks , ' said Niels . ' I might fall down on the other side , or break my leg or neck , and then the little dog would n't get shot after all . ' ` No fear of that , ' said the giant ; ` the rampart is quite wide on the top , and covered with long grass , so that you will come down as softly as though you fell on a feather-bed . ' Niels had to believe him , and allowed the giant to throw him up . He came down on his feet quite unhurt , but the little black dog heard the dump , and rushed out of its kennel at once . It was just opening its mouth to bark , when Niels fired , and it fell dead on the spot . ` Go down on the inside now , ' said the giant , ` and see if you can open the gate to us . ' Niels made his way down into the courtyard , but on his way to the outer gate he found himself at the entrance to the large hall of the castle . The door was open , and the hall was brilliantly lighted , though there was no one to be seen . Niels went in here and looked round him : on the wall there hung a huge sword without a sheath , and beneath it was a large drinking-horn , mounted with silver . Niels went closer to look at these , and saw that the horn had letters engraved on the silver rim : when he took it down and turned it round , he found that the inscription was : -- Whoever drinks the wine I hold Can wield the sword that hangs above ; Then let him use it for the right , And win a royal maiden 's love .
Niels took out the silver stopper of the horn , and drank some of the wine , but when he tried XXXXX take down the sword he found himself unable to move it .
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