The Juniper Tree and Other Tales Read Free Page B

two big black cats came leaping up, sat down one on each side of him and stared fiercely at him with their fiery eyes. After a while, when they were warmer, they said, “How about a game of cards, friend?”
    “Why not?” said the boy. “But show me your paws first.”
    The cats put out their paws.
    “My word, what long nails you have!” said the boy, seeing their claws. “Wait a moment, I must trim them for you first.” So saying, he took the cats by the scruff of the neck, put them on the woodworker’s bench and clamped their paws down. “Now that I’ve seen your fingers,” he said, “I don’t think I fancy a game of cards with you after all.” So he killed them and threw them into the water of the lake outside the castle.
    But once he had dealt with those two monsters and was going to sit down by his fire again, black cats and black dogs on red-hot fiery chains came pouring out of every nook and cranny, more and more of them, and he couldn’t fend them off. They howled horribly and trampled over his fire, scattering the embers and trying to put it out. He sat and watched for a while, but when he felt they had gone too far he picked up his knife and said, “Get away from here, you nuisances!” and made for them. Some ran away, and he killed the others and threw them intothe lake. Then he came back, blew up the sparks of his fire again and warmed himself.
    As he sat there his eyelids began to close, and he felt sleepy. Looking around, he saw a big bed in a corner. “Just what I need,” said he, lying down in it. But as he was about to close his eyes the bed began moving of its own accord, and it went all around the castle. “Go on then,” said the boy, “keep it up.” Then the bed went faster than ever, as if six horses were harnessed to it, through doorways and up and down stairs, and suddenly it turned over and fell on top of him like a mountain. However, he threw off the blankets and pillows and clambered out. “Well, anyone else who likes may ride in you now!” he said, and he lay down by his fire and slept until it was day.
    Next morning the King came in. When he saw him lying there on the floor, he thought that the ghosts had killed him, and he was dead. “What a shame,” said the King, “what a shame about that fine young man!”
    Hearing him, the boy sat up and said, “Oh, I’m not dead yet.”
    The King was astonished, but very glad too, and asked how he had passed the night.
    “Very well,” said the boy. “That’s one night gone, and the other two will soon be over as well.”
    When he went back to the inn the landlord stared in surprise. “I never thought to see you alive again,” he said. “Well, have you learnt what fear is yet?”
    “No,” said the boy, “it’s useless. I only wish someone could tell me.”
    On the second night he went back to the old castle, sat down by his fire and took up the same old refrain: “Oh, if only I could shudder with fear!” As midnight approached there was a noise and a clattering, quiet at first but then louder and louder, and at last half of a man came tumbling down the chimney with a great shout and landed in front of him.
    “Hello there!” said the boy. “There’s not enough of you. You need your other half.”
    Then the noise began again. There was a howling and a roaring, and the other half of the man fell down the chimney.
    “Wait a minute,” said the boy. “I’ll just blow up the fire for you.” And when he had done so and looked around, the two halves had joined together, and he saw a fearsome figure of a man sitting on his bench.
    “That’s not part of the deal,” said the boy. “This bench is mine.” The man tried to shove him aside, but the boy was having none of that. He pushed him off by force and sat down in his own place again. Then more men came tumbling down the chimney one by one. They had nine human leg bones and two human skulls with them, and they stood the bones up and began playing skittles. The boy