Molly Whuppie And The Double-faced Giant

: English Fairy Tales

Once upon a time there was a man and his wife who were not over rich.

And they had so many children that they couldn't find meat for them; so,

as the three youngest were girls, they just took them out to the forest

one day, and left them there to fend for themselves as best they might.



Now the two eldest were just ordinary girls, so they cried a bit and

felt afraid; but the youngest, whose name was Molly Whuppie, was old,

so she counselled her sisters not to despair, but to try and find some

house where they might get a night's lodging. So they set off through

the forest, and journeyed, and journeyed, and journeyed, but never a

house did they see. It began to grow dark, her sisters were faint with

hunger, and even Molly Whuppie began to think of supper. At last in the

distance they saw a great big light, and made for it. Now when they drew

near they saw that it came from a huge window in a huge house.



"It will be a giant's house," said the two elder girls, trembling with

fright.



"If there were two giants in it I mean to have my supper," quoth Molly

Whuppie, and knocked at a huge door, as bold as brass. It was opened by

the giant's wife, who shook her head when Molly Whuppie asked for

victuals and a night's lodging.



"You wouldn't thank me for it," she said, "for my man is a giant, and

when he comes home he will kill you of a certainty."



"But if you give us supper at once," says Molly craftily, "we shall have

finished it before the giant comes home; for we are very sharp-set."



Now the giant's wife was not unkindly; besides, her three daughters, who

were just of an age with Molly and her sisters, tugged at her skirts

well pleased; so she took the girls in, set them by the fire, and gave

them each a bowl of bread and milk. But they had hardly begun to gobble

it up before the door burst open, and a fearful giant strode in saying:



"Fee-fi-fo-fum,

I smell the smell of some earthly one."



"Don't put yourself about, my dear," said the giant's wife, trying to

make the best of it. "See for yourself. They are only three poor little

girlies like our girlies. They were cold and hungry so I gave them some

supper; but they have promised to go away as soon as they have

finished. Now be a good giant and don't touch them. They've eaten of

our salt, so don't you be at fault!"



Now this giant was not at all a straightforward giant. He was a

double-faced giant. So he only said,



"Umph!"



and remarked that as they had come, they had better stay all night,

since they could easily sleep with his three daughters. And after he had

had his supper he made himself quite pleasant, and plaited chains of

straw for the little strangers to wear round their necks, to match the

gold chains his daughters wore. Then he wished them all pleasant dreams

and sent them to bed.



Dear me! He was a double-faced giant!



But Molly Whuppie, the youngest of the three girls, was not only bold,

she was clever. So when she was in bed, instead of going to sleep like

the others, she lay awake and thought, and thought, and thought; until

at last she up ever so softly, took off her own and her sisters' straw

chains, put them round the neck of the ogre's daughters, and placed

their gold chains round her own and her sisters' necks.



And even then she did not go to sleep, but lay still and waited to see

if she was wise; and she was! For in the very middle of the night, when

everybody else was dead asleep and it was pitch dark, in comes the

giant, all stealthy, feels for the straw chains, twists them tight round

the wearers' necks, half strangles his daughters, drags them on to the

floor, and beats them till they were quite dead; so, all stealthy and

satisfied, goes back to his own bed, thinking he had been very clever.



But he was no match, you see, for Molly Whuppie; for she at once roused

her sisters, bade them be quiet, and follow her. Then she slipped out of

the giant's house and ran, and ran, and ran until the dawn broke and

they found themselves before another great house. It was surrounded by a

wide deep moat, which was spanned by a drawbridge. But the drawbridge

was up. However, beside it hung a Single-Hair rope over which any one

very light-footed could cross.



Now Molly's sisters were feared to try it; besides, they said that for

aught they knew the house might be another giant's house, and they had

best keep away.



"Taste and try," says Molly Whuppie, laughing, and was over the Bridge

of a Single Hair before you could say knife. And, after all, it was not

a giant's house but a King's castle. Now it so happened that the very

giant whom Molly had tricked was the terror of the whole country-side,

and it was to gain safety from him that the drawbridge was kept up, and

the Bridge of a Single Hair had been made. So when the sentry heard

Molly Whuppie's tale, he took her to the King and said:



"My lord! Here is a girlie who has tricked the giant!"



Then the King when he had heard the story said, "You are a clever girl,

Molly Whuppie, and you managed very well; but if you could manage still

better and steal the giant's sword, in which part of his strength lies,

I will give your eldest sister in marriage to my eldest son."



Well! Molly Whuppie thought this would be a very good downsitting for

her sister, so she said she would try.



So that evening, all alone, she ran across the Bridge of One Hair, and

ran and ran till she came to the giant's house. The sun was just

setting, and shone on it so beautifully that Molly Whuppie thought it

looked like a castle in Spain, and could hardly believe that such a

dreadful, double-faced giant lived within. However, she knew he did; so

she slipped into the house unbeknownst, stole up to the giant's room,

and crept in behind the bed. By and by the giant came home, ate a huge

supper, and came crashing up the stairs to his bed. But Molly kept very

still and held her breath. So after a time he fell asleep, and soon he

began to snore. Then Molly crept out from under the bed, ever so softly,

and crept up the bed-clothes, and crept past his great snoring face, and

laid hold of the sword that hung above it. But alas! as she jumped from

the bed in a hurry, the sword rattled in the scabbard. The noise woke

the giant, and up he jumped and ran after Molly, who ran as she had

never run before, carrying the sword over her shoulder. And he ran, and

she ran, and they both ran, until they came to the Bridge of One Hair.

Then she fled over it light-footed, balancing the sword, but he

couldn't. So he stopped, foaming at the mouth with rage, and called

after her:



"Woe worth you, Molly Whuppie! Never you dare to come again!"



And she, turning her head about as she sped over the One Hair Bridge,

laughed lightly:



"Twice yet, gaffer, will I come to the Castle in Spain!"



So Molly gave the sword to the King, and, as he had promised, his eldest

son wedded her eldest sister.



But after the marriage festivities were over the King says again to

Molly Whuppie:



"You're a main clever girl, Molly, and you have managed very well, but

if you could manage still better and steal the giant's purse, in which

part of his strength lies, I will marry my second son to your second

sister. But you need to be careful, for the giant sleeps with the purse

under his pillow!"



Well! Molly Whuppie thought this would be a very good downsitting,

indeed, for her second sister, so she said she would try her luck.



So that evening, just at sunsetting, she ran over the One Hair Bridge,

and ran, and ran, and ran until she came to the giant's house looking

for all the world like a castle in the air, all ruddy and golden and

glinting. She could scarce believe such a dreadful double-faced giant

lived within. However, she knew he did; so she slipped into the house

unbeknownst, stole up to the giant's room, and crept in below the

giant's bed. By and by the giant came home, ate a hearty supper, and

then came crashing upstairs, and soon fell a-snoring. Then Molly Whuppie

slipped from under the bed, and slipped up the bed-clothes, and reaching

out her hand slipped it under the pillow, and got hold of the purse.

But the giant's head was so heavy on it she had to tug and tug away. At

last out it came, she fell backward over the bedside, the purse opened,

and some of the money fell out with a crash. The noise wakened the

giant, and she had only time to grab the money off the floor, when he

was after her. How they ran, and ran, and ran, and ran! At last she

reached the One Hair Bridge and, with the purse in one hand, the money

in the other, she sped across it while the giant shook his fist at her

and cried:



"Woe worth you, Molly Whuppie! Never you dare to come again!"



And she, turning her head, laughed lightly:



"Yet once more, gaffer, will I come to the Castle in Spain."



So she took the purse to the King, and he ordered a splendid marriage

feast for his second son and her second sister.



But after the wedding was over the King says to her, says he:



"Molly! You are the most main clever girl in the world; but if you would

do better yet, and steal me from his finger the giant's ring, in which

all his strength lies, I will give you my dearest, youngest, handsomest

son for yourself."



Now Molly thought the King's son was the nicest young prince she had

ever seen, so she said she would try, and that evening, all alone, she

sped across the One Hair Bridge as light as a feather, and ran, and ran,

and ran until she came to the giant's house all lit up with the red

setting sun like any castle in the air. And she slipped inside, stole

upstairs, and crept under the bed in no time. And the giant came in, and

supped, and crashed up to bed, and snored. Oh! he snored louder than

ever!



But you know he was a double-faced giant; so perhaps he snored louder

on purpose. For no sooner had Molly Whuppie began to tug at his ring

than ... My!...



He had her fast between his finger and thumb. And he sate up in bed, and

shook his head at her and said, "Molly Whuppie, you are a main clever

girl! Now, if I had done as much ill to you as you have done to me, what

would you do to me?"



Then Molly thought for a moment and she said, "I'd put you in a sack,

and I'd put the cat inside with you, and I'd put the dog inside with

you, and I'd put a needle and thread and a pair of shears inside with

you, and I'd hang you up on a nail, and I'd go to the wood and cut the

thickest stick I could get, and come home and take you down and bang

you, and bang, and bang, and bang you till you were dead!"



"Right you are!" cried the giant gleefully, "and that's just what I'll

do to you!"



So he got a sack and put Molly into it with the dog and the cat, and the

needle and thread and the shears, and hung her on a nail in the wall,

and went out to the wood to choose a stick.



Then Molly Whuppie began to laugh like anything, and the dog joined in

with barks, and the cat with mews.



Now the giant's wife was sitting in the next room, and when she heard

the commotion she went in to see what was up.



"Whatever is the matter?" quoth she.



"Nothing, 'm," quoth Molly Whuppie from inside the sack, laughing like

anything. "Ho, ho! Ha, ha! If you saw what we see you'd laugh too. Ho,

ho! Ha, ha!"



And no matter how the giant's wife begged to know what she saw, there

never was any answer but, "Ho, ho! Ha, ha! Could ye but see what I

see!!!"



At last the giant's wife begged Molly to let her see, so Molly took the

shears, cut a hole in the sack, jumped out, helped the giant's wife in,

and sewed up the hole! For of course she hadn't forgotten to take out

the needle and thread with her.



Now, just at that very moment, the giant burst in, and Molly had barely

time to hide behind the door before he rushed at the sack, tore it down,

and began to batter it with a huge tree he had cut in the wood.



"Stop! stop!" cried his wife. "It's me! It's me!"



But he couldn't hear, for, see you, the dog and the cat had tumbled one

on the top of the other, and such a growling and spitting, and yelling

and caterwauling you never heard! It was fair deafening, and the giant

would have gone on battering till his wife was dead had he not caught

sight of Molly Whuppie escaping with the ring which he had left on the

table.



Well, he threw down the tree and ran after her. Never was such a race.

They ran, and they ran, and they ran, and they ran, until they came to

the One Hair Bridge. And then, balancing herself with the ring like a

hoop, Molly Whuppie sped over the bridge light as a feather, but the

giant had to stand on the other side, and shake his fist at her, and cry

louder than ever:



"Woe worth you, Molly Whuppie! Never you dare to come again!"



And she, turning her head back as she sped, laughed gaily:



"Never more, gaffer, will I come to the castle in the air!"



So she took the ring to the King, and she and the handsome young prince

were married, and no one ever saw the double-faced giant again.