mountain. 'Oh,' said he, 'why is faithlessness so great in the
world?' and he sat down in sorrow and trouble, not knowing what
to do.

But the mountain belonged to fierce and huge giants, who lived on
it and traded there, and he had not sat long before he saw three
of them striding towards him. So he lay down as if he had fallen
into a deep sleep.

The giants came up, and the first pushed him with his foot, and
said, 'What sort of an earthworm is that?'

The second said, 'Crush him dead.'

But the third said contemptuously, 'It is not worth the trouble!
Let him live; he cannot remain here, and if he goes higher up the
mountain the clouds will take him and carry him off.'

Talking thus they went away. But the Hunter had listened to
their talk, and as soon as they had gone he rose and climbed to
the summit. When he had sat there a little while a cloud swept
by, and, seizing him, carried him away. It travelled for a time
in the sky, and then it sank down and hovered over a large
vegetable garden surrounded by walls, so that he came safely to
the ground amidst cabbages and vegetables. The Hunter then
looked about him, saying, 'If only I had something to eat! I am
so hungry, and it will go badly with me in the future, for I see
here not an apple or pear or fruit of any kind--nothing but
vegetables everywhere.' At last he thought, 'At a pinch I can
eat a salad; it does not taste particularly nice, but it will