was young, he said.

Next day the second son's turn came, and he fared just the same. He
had scarce hewn three strokes at the fir, before the Troll came to
him too, and said:

'If you hew in this wood of mine, I'll kill you.'

The lad dared not so much as look at him, but threw down the axe,
took to his heels, and came scampering home just like his brother. So
when he got home, his father was angry again, and said no Troll had
ever scared him when he was young.

The third day Boots wanted to set off.

'You, indeed!' said the two elder brothers; 'you'll do it bravely, no
doubt! you, who have scarce ever set your foot out of the door.'

Boots said nothing to this, but only begged them to give him a good
store of food. His mother had no cheese, so she set the pot on the
fire to make him a little, and he put it into a scrip and set off. So
when he had hewn a bit, the Troll came to him too, and said:

'If you hew in this wood of mine, I'll kill you.'

But the lad was not slow; he pulled his cheese out of the scrip in a
trice, and squeezed it till the whey spurted out.

'Hold your tongue!' he cried to the Troll, 'or I'll squeeze you as I
squeeze the water out of this white stone.'