The Son of the King of Erin and the Giant of Loch Lein Part IV

When he heard this, the king's son put the clothes out to her, and stayed behind himself till she told him to come forth. Then she said,

- I know well where you are going. My father, the Giant of Loch Léin, has a soft bed waiting for you, — a deep tank of water for your death. But don't be uneasy; go into the water, and wait till I come to save you. Be at that castle above before my father. When he comes home tonight and asks for you, take no meat from him, but go to rest in the tank when he tells you.

The giant's daughter left the king's son, who went his way to the castle alone at a fair and easy gait, for he had time enough on his hands and to spare.
When the Giant of Loch Léin came home that night, the first question he asked was,
- Is the son of the king of Erin here?
- I am, - said the king's son.
- Come, - said the giant, "and get your evening's meat.
- I'll take no meat now, for I don't need it, - said the king's son.
- Well, come with me then, and I'll show you your bed.
He went, and the giant put the king's son into the deep tank of water to drown, and being tired himself from hunting all day over the mountains and hills of Erin, he went to sleep.
That minute his youngest daughter came, took the king's son out of the tank, placed plenty to eat and to drink before him, and gave him a good bed to sleep on that night.
The giant's daughter watched till she heard her father stirring before daybreak; then she roused the king's son, and put him in the tank again.
Soon the giant came to the tank and called out,
- Are you here, son of the king of Erin?
- I am, - said the king's son.
- Well, come out now. There is a great work for you today. I have a stable outside, in which I keep five hundred horses, and that stable has not been cleaned these seven hundred years. My great-grandmother when a girl lost a slumber-pin somewhere in that stable, and never could find it. You must have that pin for me when I come home tonight; if you don't, your head will be on the seven hundredth spike tomorrow.
Then two shovels were brought for him to choose from to clean out the stable, an old and a new one. He chose the new shovel, and went to work.
For every shovelful he threw out, two came in; and soon the door of the stable was closed on him. When the stable-door was closed, the giant's daughter called from outside,
- How are you thriving now, king's son?