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Her beauty and her sweet ways completely entranced them. "Please live with us always here in our palace in the jungle and be our little sister," said the biggest giant, and the middle-sized giant and the littlest giant, speaking all at once. Their three big deep voices all together made a noise like thunder. Angelita lived in the palace with the three giants after that.
Her step-mother was watching through the window, and when she saw Angelita dead she hurried home in joy. "Now I, alone, am the peerless beauty," she said. When the three giants came home to dinner they knew at once that there was something wrong. There were dirty tracks on the floor and dirty finger prints upon the door. "Who made these dirty marks?" said the biggest giant.
Each year as she grew older she grew also more and more beautiful. Her name was Angelita. The little girl's mother was dead, and her father, the image-maker, had married a second time. The step-mother was a woman who was renowned in the city for her great beauty. As her little step-daughter grew more and more lovely each day of her life she soon became jealous of the child.
"I can make these lovely rooms neat and clean," said Angelita. "They surely need some one to do it!" She found a broom and went to work at once. Soon the whole palace was in order once more. Everything was clean and bright. Just as Angelita was finishing her task she heard a great noise. She looked out of the door, and there were three enormous giants entering the house.
Angelita looked at the little slippers. They were like the slippers which her dear father, the image-maker, had once brought home to her. "How kind it was in my step-mother to bring these slippers to me," she said as she put them on. As soon as the slippers were on Angelita's feet, she fell dead just as the wicked witch had promised the step-mother she would do.
There in the middle of the floor lay Angelita, just as she had fallen when she put on the poisoned slippers which her step-mother had given her. "What evil, has befallen our dear little sister?" said the biggest giant. "Who could have slain our little sister whom we loved so much?" said the middle-sized giant.
"Go back to my step-mother," she said to the old man. "On the way you will see plenty of dogs. Cut off the tip of a little dog's tongue and carry it home to my step-mother." This is what the old negro did. The step-mother believed him and thought that he had slain her step-daughter according to her command. Angelita, in the meantime, wandered on and on through the jungle.
"I have brought you a little gift to show you that I have not forgotten you. It is only a poor, mean little gift, but it is the best I could bring." Angelita was touched at her step-mother's gift and accepted it with hearty thanks. As soon as her step-mother had gone she untied the red ribbon around the package and opened it. Inside was a pair of leather slippers.
"Be sure that you bring back the tip of Angelita's tongue, so that I may know that you have obeyed my order," she said. Angelita was very happy to be taken out of the little attic room, and set out for a walk with the old negro with a light heart. They walked through the city streets and out into the open country. Soon they had reached the deep jungle.
"What lovely fairy is this?" asked the biggest giant, looking at her kindly. He thought that she really was a fairy. "This is the loveliest fairy I ever saw in all my life," said the middle-sized giant. "How did such a lovely fairy ever happen to find our dirty, disorderly palace?" asked the littlest giant who was not little at all. Angelita told the three giants her story.
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