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Updated: May 4, 2025
"The King and his court may come at any time now, and they must find me ready and waiting for them as the commands were." Then Ashipattle put his pot down on the shore and stood and thought a bit. Suddenly he dropped on his knees and began to dig in the sand as though he had gone mad. "Gold! Gold!" he shouted. "What is the matter?" called the boatman. "What have you found?" "Gold!
Ashipattle's boat was swept in with the water, and it almost crushed against one of the monster's teeth, but Ashipattle fended it off, and it was carried on the flood down into the Stoorworm's throat. Down and down went the boat with Ashipattle in it and the sound of surging waters filled his ears.
Now while Ashipattle was still a lad, but a tall, stout one, a great misfortune fell upon the kingdom, for a Stoorworm rose up out of the sea; and of all Stoorworms it was the greatest and the worst. For this reason it was called the Meester Stoorworm.
Ashipattle's boat was caught in the rush and swept like a straw up out of the Stoorworm's throat and into the light of day. The monster spewed him and his boat all the way across the sea and up on the shore, almost at the King's feet. The King himself sprang from his steed and ran and helped Ashipattle to his feet.
The King looked, and then first he saw Ashipattle in the boat, sailing away toward the monster, for before his eyes had been dim with sorrow, and he had seen naught but what was close before him. The King looked, and all the court looked with him, and a great cry arose, for they guessed that Ashipattle was sailing out to do battle with the Stoorworm.
At last the roof grew so low that the mast of the boat wedged against it. Then Ashipattle stepped over the side of the boat into the water, and it had grown so shallow it was scarce as high as his knees. He took the pot of peat, that was still hot, and the knife, and went a little further until he came to where the beast's heart was. He could see it beat, beat, beating.
Feetgong would jog along, and not even a beating would drive him faster, and then if one wanted him to stop that was as hard to do as it was to start him. Ashipattle was sure there was some secret about this; that his father had a way to make him go that no one knew about; but what that way was he could not find out.
Only Ashipattle heard it all unmoved. He said nothing, but sat by the fire and thought and thought, and what his thoughts were he told to nobody. The day was set when the Princess was to be offered up to the Stoorworm, and the night before there was a great feast at the palace, but a sad feast it was. Little was eaten and less was said.
There was once a lad, and what his real name was nobody remembered, unless it was the mother who bore him; but what every one called him was Ashipattle. They called him that because he sat among the ashes to warm his toes. He had six older brothers, and they did not think much of him. All the tasks they scorned to do themselves they put upon Ashipattle.
Gold!" shouted Ashipattle, digging faster than ever. The boatman thought Ashipattle must certainly have found a treasure in the sand. He made haste to bring the boat to land. He sprang out upon the shore, and pushing Ashipattle aside, he dropped on his knees and began to scoop out the sand. But Ashipattle did not wait to see whether he found anything.
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