But , remember that , though he is so tall and strong , he is very stupid , and many a Lapp has escaped from his clutches by playing him some clever trick . ' Not long after the mother and son had held this talk , it began to be whispered in the forest that the children of an old man called Patto had vanished one by one , no one knew whither . The unhappy father searched the country for miles round without being able to find as much as a shoe or a handkerchief , to show him where they had passed , but at length a little boy came with news that he had seen the Stalo hiding behind a well , near which the children used to play . The boy had waited behind a clump of bushes to see what would happen , and by-and-by he noticed that the Stalo had laid a cunning trap in the path to the well , and that anybody who fell over it would roll into the water and drown there . And , as he watched , Patto 's youngest daughter ran gaily down the path , till her foot caught in the strings that were stretched across the steepest place . She slipped and fell , and in another instant had rolled into the water within reach of the Stalo . As soon as Patto heard this tale his heart was filled with rage , and he vowed to have his revenge . So he straightway took an old fur coat from the hook where it hung , and putting it on went out into the forest . When he reached the path that led to the well he looked hastily round to be sure that no one was watching him , then laid himself down as if he had been caught in the snare and had rolled into the well , though he took care to keep his head out of the water . Very soon he heard a ` sh - ` sh of the leaves , and there was the Stalo pushing his way through the undergrowth to see what chance he had of a dinner . At the first glimpse of Patto 's head in the well he laughed loudly , crying : ` Ha ! ha ! This time it is the old ass ! I wonder how he will taste ? ' And drawing Patto out of the well , he flung him across his shoulders and carried him home . Then he tied a cord round him and hung him over the fire to roast , while he finished a box that he was making before the door of the hut , which he meant to hold Patto 's flesh when it was cooked . In a very short time the box was so nearly done that it only wanted a little more chipping out with an axe ; but this part of the work was easier accomplished indoors , and he called to one of his sons who were lounging inside to bring him the tool . The young man looked everywhere , but he could not find the axe , for the very good reason that Patto had managed to pick it up and hide it in his clothes . ` Stupid fellow ! what is the use of you ? '
grumbled his father angrily ; and he bade first one and then another XXXXX his sons to fetch him the tool , but they had no better success than their brother . '
In as behind down for of on over till while