the lap of the princess, who was sitting on a little golden stool close by. Then the king said, "There is nothing above my daughter; therefore he has made the highest jump that can be made: to do this, one must have a good mind and the Toy-goose has shown that he has a good mind. He has a mind of his own!" And so he won the princess. "It's all the same to me, she may have the old Toy-goose, for all I care," said the Flea. "I jumped the highest; but, in this world a fine appearance is what people look at nowadays." The Flea then went into..."They are yours," said the giant. "Follow them to your palace gate and come again to-morrow."

The prince, filled with the delight of triumph, followed the cattle to the palace gate where the king's herder took charge of them. Then he hastened to his father and mother and bade them go to see the costly wager he had won from the Giant of Loch Lein.

The king and queen and all the court were delighted with the cattle, whose gold horns and silver hoofs shone in the sunlight.

On the third morning the Prince of Erin again put on his hunting clothes and started to the forest; but Glic, the fortune teller, again stopped him.

"No good can come from this gaming, for the giant will beat you at last, and you will never return to us again," said Glic.

"I am not afraid," laughed the prince, "for if he take me prisoner, I will have his head."

So he set forth again, singing a merry tune. Hardly had he seated himself upon the hillside when he heard the giant's whistle. The prince was not at all frightened, although the giant scowled with anger because he had been obliged to give up his herd of cattle.

"What will you wager to-day?" roared the giant.

"I will wager my head against yours," said the prince boldly.

"Ha, ha! you have grown quite brave," laughed the giant mockingly. "I will wager my head that I can beat you to-day. If you lose the game, I will have your head before the sun rises to-morrow."

They played on the hillside till dusk. The game was a close one, full of breathless interest and excitement; but the prince was beaten. With a shout of triumph the giant danced about, trampling down small trees and bushes.

The prince was indeed sorry that he had wagered such a useful piece of property as his head, but he 

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