"Mercy, mercy, kind gentleman!" cried the giant. "Spare my life!"
"I think not," said Billy, and cut off his heads.
That night the cattle gave so much milk that it ran out of the house and
made a stream, and turned a mill wheel which had not been turned for seven
years!
"It's certainly very queer," said the old gentleman; "did you see nothing
in the pasture, Billy?"
"Nothing worse than myself," said Billy.
And the next morning the gentleman said, "Billy, do you know, I only heard
one of the giants roaring in the night, and the night before only two.
What can ail them, at all?"
"Oh, maybe they are sick or something," says Billy; and with that he
drove the six cows, six horses, six donkeys, and six goats to pasture.
At about ten o'clock there was a roar like a dozen bulls, and the brother
of the two giants came out of the wood, with twelve heads on him, and fire
spouting from every one of them.
"I'll have you, my fine boy," cries he; "how will you die, then?"
"We'll see," says Billy; "come on!"
And swinging his stick round his head, he made for the giant, and drove
him up to his twelve necks in the ground. All twelve of the heads began
begging for mercy, but Billy soon cut them short. Then he drove the beasts
home.
And that night the milk overflowed the mill-stream and made a lake, nine
miles long, nine miles broad, and nine miles deep; and there are salmon
and whitefish there to this day.
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