esben thought this neither fair nor just ; for he had only done what he had been asked to do , and had defended himself as best he knew how . but the king said that this made no difference to him ; yet if esben could manage to fill the big brewing - cauldron till it ran over , he would spare his life . the job would be neither long nor hard , said esben , he thought he could warrant that , and he began to tell about the old woman with her nose in the tree - trunk , and in between he said , " i must make up plenty of stories , to fill the cauldron,"--and then he told of the whistle , and the chamber - maid who came to him and wanted to buy the whistle for a hundred dollars , and about all the kisses that she had had to give him to boot , up on the hillock by the forest ; and then he told about the princess , how she had come and kissed him so sweetly for the whistle 's sake , because no one could see or hear it in the forest--"i must make up plenty of stories , in order to fill the cauldron , " said esben . then he told of the queen , and of how stingy she had been with her money , and how liberal with her busses--"for i must make up plenty of stories in order to fill the cauldron , " said esben .
made up plenty of stories .
how did esben fill up the cauldron ?
how did esben fill up the cauldron ?