Jesper watched them for a while , but through the continual movement of the little creatures , and his not having slept during the previous night , he soon fell sound asleep . When he woke again , the king had just come into the barn , and was amazed to find that not only was the task accomplished , but that Jesper had found time to take a nap as well . ` Wonderful , ' said he ; ' I could n't have believed it possible . However , the hardest is yet to come , as you will see to-morrow . ' Jesper thought so too when the next day 's task was set before him . The king 's gamekeepers had caught a hundred live hares , which were to be let loose in a large meadow , and there Jesper must herd them all day , and bring them safely home in the evening : if even one were missing , he must give up all thought of marrying the princess . Before he had quite grasped the fact that this was an impossible task , the keepers had opened the sacks in which the hares were brought to the field , and , with a whisk of the short tail and a flap of the long ears , each one of the hundred flew in a different direction . ` Now , ' said the king , ` as he walked away , ` let 's see what your cleverness can do here . ' Jesper stared round him in bewilderment , and having nothing better to do with his hands , thrust them into his pockets , as he was in the habit of doing . Here he found something which turned out to be the whistle given to him by the old woman . He remembered what she had said about the virtues of the whistle , but was rather doubtful whether its powers would extend to a hundred hares , each of which had gone in a different direction and might be several miles distant by this time . However , he blew the whistle , and in a few minutes the hares came bounding through the hedge on all the four sides of the field , and before long were all sitting round him in a circle . After that , Jesper allowed them to run about as they pleased , so long as they stayed in the field . The king had told one of the keepers to hang about for a little and see what became of Jesper , not doubting , however , that as soon as he saw the coast clear he would use his legs to the best advantage , and never show face at the palace again . It was therefore with great surprise and annoyance that he now learned of the mysterious return of the hares and the likelihood of Jesper carrying out his task with success . ` One of them must be got out of his hands by hook or crook , ' said he . ` I 'll go and see the queen about it ; she 's good at devising plans . ' A little later , a girl in a shabby dress came into the field and walked up to Jesper . ` Do give me one of those hares , ' she said ; ` we have just got visitors who are going to stay to dinner , and there 's nothing we can give them to eat . ' ' I ca n't , ' said Jesper .
` For one thing , they 're not mine ; for another , a great deal depends on my XXXXX them all here in the evening . '
brought came doubting hang having let stayed told turned use