He took one of the rafters from the roof and made a flail out of it, and
when the roof was about to fall in, he took a big pine tree with
branches and all and put it up instead of the rafter. So he went on
thrashing the grain and the straw and the hay all together. This was
doing more damage than good, for the corn and the chaff flew about
together, and a cloud of dust arose over the whole palace.
When he had nearly finished thrashing, enemies came into the country, as
a war was coming on. So the king told the youngster that he should take
men with him to go and meet the enemy and fight them, for the king
thought they would surely kill him.
No, he would not have any men with him to be cut to pieces; he would
fight by himself, answered the youngster.
"So much the better," thought the king; "the sooner I shall get rid of
him; but he must have a proper club."
They sent for the smith; he forged a club which weighed a hundredweight.
"A very nice thing to crack nuts with," said the youngster. So the smith
made one of three hundredweight. "It would be very well for hammering
nails into boots," was the answer. Well, the smith could not make a
bigger one with the men he had. So the youngster set out for the smithy
himself, and made a club that weighed five tons, and it took a hundred
men to turn it on the anvil. "That one might do for lack of a better,"
thought the youngster.
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