A peasant had three sons. He took two of them to work while the third stayed home to help his mother. When the parents died, they told their sons to share everything. But the elder brothers gave the youngest lad just a large trough in which he used to knead flour for his mother. He took that and left to seek his fortune. He used it as a boat and sailed down to another kingdom where he offered his services to the King. The King found him honest and hard-working and grew to like him. The King’s daughter said that she would only marry the man who brought her the treasure of the giant who lived on the other side of the lake. The treasure included a golden sword, three golden hens, a golden lantern and a golden harp. Many warriors had tried and failed. When the lad heard of it, he asked the King’s permission to try his luck.
The Lad Steals the Giant’s Treasure
The lad rowed himself across the lake and waited in hiding. In the morning, the giant came to the barn to thresh the hay. The lad had collected pebbles that he flung on his golden sword from the roof. Its clanking made the giant angry, so he threw the sword out. The lad picked it up, rowed across the lake and hid it. Then, he returned carrying some corn and twine. When the hens came out next morning to scratch for food, he scattered corn and caught and tied them, taking them across the lake and hiding them. Then, he returned and heard the giant’s wife cooking. He had lumps of salt that he put into the cauldron. The giant couldn’t eat the food! His wife went out with the golden lantern to fetch water from the well to cook again. The lad tipped her over into the well and ran away with the lantern!
The Lad is Caught
Having lost three of his treasures, the giant watched for the thief. When the lad returned for the golden harp, the giant caught him and put him into the pig-sty. He fed him milk and nuts to fatten him to eat. One day, the giant decided that the lad was plump enough to be cooked and told his wife to do so. She made the oven ready and asked the lad to sit on the shovel so that he might be pushed into the oven. He kept tumbling off, till he finally asked the giantess to show him how to sit on it. As soon as she did, he shoved her into the oven and shut its door! He stuffed pillows into her bed to show she was asleep. Then, he took the golden harp and ran to his trough to row himself across the lake to the hiding place!
The Triumph
The giant returned and called his wife. Not getting any reply, he went to her room and shook the bed. Then, he saw it was only pillows! He looked around and saw that his golden harp was also missing! Roaring with rage, he charged out and saw the lad rowing across the lake with the harp. He ran into the lake to catch him, but after a while he found the water was very deep. He decided to drink up the water. He drank and he drank and he drank. He swelled up so much that he burst! And that finished the giant! The lad went to the King carrying all the treasures he had brought from the giant’s house. He told him how he had got the treasures. The King was happy to see the lad back and the Princess found a brave and handsome husband. A grand wedding was celebrated in the palace!
