They were not so very wicked at present, but they
showed great promise, for already they were in the habit of killing
little children to suck their blood. They had gone to bed early, and were all seven in a great bed, each with
a crown of gold upon her head. In the same room there was another bed, equally large. Into this the
ogre's wife put the seven little boys, and then went to sleep herself
beside her husband. Little Tom Thumb was fearful lest the ogre should suddenly regret that
he had not cut the throats of himself and his brothers the evening
before. Having noticed that the ogre's daughters all had golden crowns
upon their heads, he got up in the middle of the night and softly placed
his own cap and those of his brothers on their heads. Before doing so,
he carefully removed the crowns of gold, putting them on his own and his
brothers' heads. In this way, if the ogre were to feel like slaughtering
them that night he would mistake the girls for the boys, and _vice
versa_. Things fell out just as he had anticipated. The ogre, waking up at
midnight, regretted that he had postponed till the morrow what he could
have done overnight. Jumping briskly out of bed, he seized his knife,
crying: 'Now then, let's see how the little rascals are; we won't make
the same mistake twice!' He groped his way up to his daughters' room, and approached the bed in
which were the seven little boys. All were sleeping, with the exception
of little Tom Thumb, who was numb with fear when he felt the ogre's
hand, as it touched the head of each brother in turn, reach his own. 'Upon my word,' said the ogre, as he felt the golden crowns; 'a nice job
I was going to make of it! It is very evident that I drank a little too
much last night!' Forthwith he went to the bed where his daughters were, and here he felt
the little boys' caps. 'Aha, here are the little scamps!' he cried; 'now for a smart bit of
work!' [Illustration: '_He set off over the countryside_']

With these words, and without a moment's hesitation, he cut the throats
of his seven daughters, and well satisfied with his work went back to
bed beside his wife. No sooner did little Tom Thumb hear him snoring than he woke up his
brothers, bidding them dress quickly and follow him. They crept quietly
down to the garden, and jumped from the wall. All through the night they
ran in haste and terror, without the least idea of where they were
going. When the ogre woke up he said to his wife:

'Go upstairs and dress those little rascals who were here last night.' The ogre's wife was astonished at her husband's kindness, never doubting
that he meant her to go and put on their clothes. She went upstairs, and
was horrified to discover her seven daughters bathed in blood, with
their throats cut. She fell at once into a swoon, which is the way of most women in similar
circumstances. The ogre, thinking his wife was very long in carrying out his orders,
went up to help her, and was no less astounded than his wife at the
terrible spectacle which confronted him. 'What's this I have done?' he exclaimed. 'I will be revenged on the
wretches, and quickly, too!' He threw a jugful of water over his wife's face, and having brought her
round ordered her to fetch his seven-league boots, so that he might
overtake the children. He set off over the countryside, and strode far and wide until he came
to the road along which the poor children were travelling. They were not
more than a few yards from their home when they saw the ogre striding
from hill-top to hill-top, and stepping over rivers as though they were
merely tiny streams. Little Tom Thumb espied near at hand a cave in some rocks. In this he
hid his brothers, and himself followed them in, while continuing to keep
a watchful eye upon the movements of the ogre. Now the ogre was feeling very tired after so much fruitless marching
(for seven-league boots are very fatiguing to their wearer), and felt
like taking a little rest. As it happened, he went and sat down on the
very rock beneath which the little boys were hiding. Overcome with
weariness, he had not sat there long before he fell asleep and began to
snore so terribly that the poor children were as frightened as when he
had held his great knife to their throats. Little Tom Thumb was not so alarmed. He told his brothers to flee at
once to their home while the ogre was still sleeping soundly, and not to
worry about him. They took his advice and ran quickly home. Little Tom Thumb now approached the ogre and gently pulled off his
boots, which he at once donned himself. The boots were very heavy and
very large, but being enchanted boots they had the faculty of growing
larger or smaller according to the leg they had to suit. Consequently
they always fitted as though they had been made for the wearer. He went straight to the ogre's house, where he found the ogre's wife
weeping over her murdered daughters. [Illustration: '_Laden with all the ogre's wealth_']

'Your husband,' said little Tom Thumb, 'is in great danger, for he has
been captured by a gang of thieves, and the latter have sworn to kill
him if he does not hand over all his gold and silver. Just as they had
the dagger at his throat, he caught sight of me and begged me to come to
you and thus rescue him from his terrible plight. You are to give me
everything of value which he possesses, without keeping back a thing,
otherwise he will be slain without mercy. As the matter is urgent he
wished me to wear his seven-league boots, to save time, and also to
prove to you that I am no impostor.' The ogre's wife, in great alarm, gave him immediately all that she had,
for although this was an ogre who devoured little children, he was by no
means a bad husband. Little Tom Thumb, laden with all the ogre's wealth, forthwith repaired
to his father's house, where he was received with great joy. *       *       *       *       *

Many people do not agree about this last adventure, and pretend that
little Tom Thumb never committed this theft from the ogre, and only took
the seven-league boots, about which he had no compunction, since they
were only used by the ogre for catching little children. These folks
assert that they are in a position to know, having been guests at the
wood-cutter's cottage. They further say that when little Tom Thumb had
put on the ogre's boots, he went off to the Court, where he knew there
was great anxiety concerning the result of a battle which was being
fought by an army two hundred leagues away. They say that he went to the king and undertook, if desired, to bring
news of the army before the day was out; and that the king promised him
a large sum of money if he could carry out his project. Little Tom Thumb brought news that very night, and this first errand
having brought him into notice, he made as much money as he wished.