Page:English Fairy Tales.djvu/164

From Wikisource
Jump to navigation Jump to search
This page has been validated.
138
English Fairy Tales

So the young man went on, and by-and-by he saw a multitude of very dreadful beasts, with two heads,



and on every head four horns. And he was sore frightened, and ran away from them as fast as he could; and glad was he when he came to a castle that stood on a hillock, with the door standing wide open to the wall. And he went into the castle for shelter, and there he saw an old wife sitting beside the kitchen fire. He asked the wife if he might stay for the night, as he was tired with a long journey; and the wife said he might, but it was not a good place for him to be in, as it belonged to the Red Eltin, who was a very terrible beast, with three heads, that spared no living man it could get hold of. The young man would have gone away, but he was afraid