` The giants can wait a little , ' he said . Before long he came to an apartment in which a beautiful princess lay asleep in a bed , and on a table by her side there lay a gold-hemmed handkerchief . Niels tore this in two , and put one half in his pocket , leaving the other half on the table . On the floor he saw a pair of gold-embroidered slippers , and one of these he also put in his pocket . After that he went back to the hall , and took down the horn again . ` Perhaps I have to drink all that is in it before I can move the sword , ' he thought ; so he put it to his lips again and drank till it was quite empty . When he had done this , he could wield the sword with the greatest of ease , and felt himself strong enough to do anything , even to fight the giants he had left outside , who were no doubt wondering why he had not opened the gate to them before this time . To kill the giants , he thought , would be using the sword for the right ; but as to winning the love of the princess , that was a thing which the son of a poor sheep-farmer need not hope for . When Niels came to the gate of the castle , he found that there was a large door and a small one , so he opened the latter . ` Ca n't you open the big door ? ' said the giants ; ` we shall hardly be able to get in at this one . ' ` The bars are too heavy for me to draw , ' said Niels ; ` if you stoop a little you can quite well come in here . ' The first giant accordingly bent down and entered in a stooping posture , but before he had time to straighten his back again Niels made a sweep with the sword , and oft went the giant 's head . To push the body aside as it fell was quite easy for Niels , so strong had the wine made him , and the second giant as he entered met the same reception . The third was slower in coming , so Niels called out to him : ` Be quick , ' he said , ` you are surely the oldest of the three , since you are so slow in your movements , but I ca n't wait here long ; I must get back to my own people as soon as possible . ' So the third also came in , and was served in the same way . It appears from the story that giants were not given fair play ! By this time day was beginning to break , and Niels thought that his folks might already be searching for him , so , instead of waiting to see what took place at the castle , he ran off to the forest as fast as he could , taking the sword with him . He found the others still asleep , so he woke them up , and they again set out on their journey . Of the night 's adventures he said not a word , and when they asked where he got the sword , he only pointed in the direction of the castle , and said , ` Over that way . '
They thought he had XXXXX it , and asked no more questions .
found given lay leaving put saw served took using wield