Atondido Stories
magnificent palace of them all. Her husband was King of Pi-
geons. When the young man departed he gave him a feather tell-
ing him if he was ever in any danger that all he had to do was to
pull the feather and say, “Help me, O King of the Pigeons.”
All three of the young man’s brothers-in-law had admired
the power of his magic boot and they had all advised him to visit
the land of the King of Giants by means of it. After having left
each of his three sisters full of happiness in her costly palace he
felt free to act upon this advice, so by means of his magic boot he
again found himself in a new country.
He soon heard on the street that the King of the land of Gi-
ants had a beautiful giantess daughter whom he wished to give
in marriage if she could be persuaded to choose a husband. She
was such a famous beauty that no one could pass before her pal-
ace without eagerly gazing up in hopes of seeing her lovely face
at the window. The giant princess had grown weary of being the
object of so much attention, and she had made a vow that she
would marry no one except a man who could pass before her
without lifting his eyes.
The young man became interested when he heard this and at
once rode past the palace with his eyes fixed steadily on the
ground. He did not give a single glance upward in the direction
of the window where the beautiful giant princess was watching
him. The princess was overcome with joy at the sight of the
handsome stranger who appeared as if in response to her vow.
The king summoned him to the palace at once and ordered that
the wedding should be celebrated immediately.
After the wedding the giant princess soon found out that her
husband carried his choicest treasures in his saddle bags. She in-
quired their significance and her husband told her all about
them. She was especially interested in the key. She said that
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