Ogress

“ And the Ogre does wear such big holes in his stockings, and his feet are so large, that, though my hand is not a small one, I cannot fill out the heel with my fist, and then who's to darn it neatly I should like to know?"
"If I had a basin big enough to fill out the heel, I think I could do it," said the little maid.
The Ogress scratched her big ear thoughtfully for a minute, and then she said:
"To lose a chance is to cheat oneself. Why shouldn't this one darn while the others boil? Yes, I think you shall try. ”

“ Few ogres are handsome; but this one was so horrid and nasty, even for an ogre, that none of the other ogres would live with him, and no ogress would marry him; so he was forced to sulk by himself in this solitary bachelor cavern. His name was Uglymuggimo; but the prince didn’t know that. ”

“ There he saw a woman rooted to the floor, who warned him, saying, "Now do not stay long. I know that you have tried to kill the ogress. It is the fourth time that somebody has tried to kill her. She never dies; she has nearly come to life. ”

“ However, the hero achieved the enterprise and crushed the queen bee; and immediately the ogre fell stone dead to the ground, so that the whole land trembled with the shock.328 In some Bengalee tales the life of a whole tribe of ogres is described as concentrated in two bees. The secret was thus revealed by an old ogress to a captive princess who pretended to fear lest the ogress should die. “Know, foolish girl,” said the ogress, “that we ogres never die. We are not naturally immortal, but our life depends on a secret which no human being can unravel. ”

“ A fat, vulgar, coarse woman, the brutal ogress of the tapis-franc, was seated on one of the benches, holding on her knees the plaid cloaks of this creature and the vivandière, whilst they were rivalling the bounds, and jumps, and gross postures of the Skeleton and Nicholas Martial. ”

“ When the Ogre arrived, he emptied the sack, and sent the six little girls and the five little pigs all sprawling on to the floor, saying:
"These will last us some time. Cook the fattest, and put the rest into the cellar. And whilst you get dinner ready, I will take another stroll with the bag. Luck seldom comes singly."
When he had gone, the Ogress looked over the children, and picked out the widow's daughter, saying:
"You look the most good-humoured. And the best-tempered always make the best eating." ”

“ It is the custom in Ogreland, that the Ogre, Ogress, and the young Ogres, always sleep in their fine gold crowns. This is the only pomp they indulge in; and they would rather be hung or strangled than forego it. When they were all asleep, the Princess, who was thinking of her lover, remembered, that although Ravagio and Tourmentine had given her their word of honour they would not eat him; if they felt hungry in the night, (which was almost always the case when there was fresh meat near them,) it would be all over with him ”

“ The Ogress presently knew the voice of the Queen and her children, and being quite mad that she had been thus deceived, she commanded next morning, by break of day (with a most horrible voice, which made everybody tremble) , that they should bring into the middle of the great court a large tub, which she caused to be filled with toads, vipers, snakes, and all sorts of serpents, in order to have thrown into it the Queen and her children, the clerk of the kitchen, his wife and maid; all whom she had given orders should be brought thither with their hands tied behind them. ”

“ But the ogre had eaten so many children in his lifetime that [138] he had grown so very big and fat, that these men could not have carried even one of his legs; so they were forced to leave him there. At last night came on, and then a large serpent came out of a wood near by and stung him, so that he died in great pain.
As soon as Hop-o’-my-Thumb heard of the ogre’s death, he told the King—whose great favorite he had become—all that the good-natured ogress had done to save the lives of himself and his brothers. ”

“ The king said: "Bring him to me at once." They brought Thirteenth, who said: "Majesty, how is it possible to steal the ogre's coverlet? If he sees me he will eat me!" "No matter, you must go," said the king. "I know that you are bold, and this act of bravery you must perform." Thirteenth departed and went to the house of the ogre, who was away. The ogress was in the kitchen. Thirteenth entered quietly and hid himself under the bed. At night the ogre returned. He ate his supper and went to bed, saying as he did so:
"I smell the smell of human flesh ”

“ The Ogre had seven daughters, all little children, and these young ogresses had all of them very fine complexions, because they used to eat fresh meat like their father; but they had little grey eyes, quite round, hooked noses, and very long sharp teeth, standing at a good distance from each other. ”

“ When the Prince entered this chamber he was horrified to see that down both sides of it were stretched the bodies of many scores of men, women and children, who lay there fully dressed, but to all appearance quite lifeless.
"These," said the lady, "are the bodies of the Ogre's victims; he has eaten their hearts, but the bodies, as you see, remain unharmed, while the spirit of each one is compressed into a drop of crystal liquor with which that goblet is filled. You must now sprinkle the bodies with the liquid, giving one drop to each." ”

“ When the sun was just going down, along came a youth, tramping the hill. Suddenly he turned into an ogre, spread his wings and was about to fly. But the brother flung his ax at him and struck him on the arm. He began to roar loudly, and then fled to the western hills. But when the brother saw that it was impossible to climb the pagoda, he went back and enlisted the aid of several neighbors. With them he returned the following morning and they climbed up into the pagoda. Most of the steps of the stairway were in good condition, for the ogre had only destroyed those at the top. ”

“ Is it not time enough to-morrow?”
“Hold your prating,” said the Ogre; “they will eat the tenderer.
“But you have so much meat already,” replied his wife, “you have no occasion; here are a calf, two sheep, and half a hog.”
“That is true,” said the Ogre; “give them their belly full that they may not fall away, and put them to bed.”
The good woman was overjoyed at this, and gave them a good supper; but they were so much afraid they could not eat a bit. As for the Ogre, he sat down again to drink, being highly pleased that he had got wherewithal to treat his friends. ”

“ An ogre no less than fifteen feet tall thrusts his head and shoulders over the battlements, seizes the damsel and bears her off through the sky. The lover is in the depths of despair, but a good fairy comes to his aid, gives him a flaming sword, and bids him go in search of his lady-love. ”

“ At the very entrance, there stands a bone-mill, grinding, with grating activity and horrible crunch, into powder the mingled bones of man and beast. You have scarcely escaped from the horrible jarring sound of the modern ogre, than you come full plump upon a spinning-mill, with as many windows as there are days in the year. ”

“ In the centre of this chamber you will see a beautitul boy seated with a goblet of crystal liquid in his hand. This boy is the Ogre's mascot, and upon his existence depends the Ogre's life in this world. You must at once slay the boy, and taking the goblet very carefully in your hand, carry it upstairs to me. But be careful not to spill any of the liquid, as each drop means a man's life. ”

“ As the great grey-bearded ogre stood beside his open door;
But an echo seemed to answer from a land beyond the sky—
Won’t you walk into my parlour? said the spider to the fly!
Then we looked a little closer at the ogre as he stood
With his great red eyeballs glowing like two torches in a wood,{109}
And his mighty speckled belly and his dreadful clutching claws,
And his nose—a horny parrot’s beak, his whiskers and his jaws;
Yet he seemed so sympathetic, and we saw two tears descend,
As he murmured, “I’m so ugly, but I’ve lost my dearest friend! ”

“ Wondering a little at what might be going to happen to him, the youth did as the ogre bade him, and when they reached the shore of the lake, the ogre turned and said to him:
‘Step into the water and shut your eyes! You will find yourself sinking slowly to the bottom; but take courage, all will go well. ”

“ These tasks grow daily more difficult and more odious, until at last one day the servant disobeys his orders, and forthwith his body is at the mercy of the Ogre, who devours the heart and places the lifeless body in a large chamber at the back of this house. ”

“ Thus I hold that he who constructs is ever more worthy than is he who destroys; and by Consequence the Encloser (or Constructor of Fences) , than the rightful Owner (or Destroyer of Fences) .
"Sir Ogre's ancestor."
Sir Ogre himself has frequently shown me in the Parish Church a stained Window that is believed to represent an Ancestor of his in the Act of slaying a Fence Destroyer; which seems to put me in the Right.
I was aroused from this Speculation by Sir Ogre's inviting me to take a Walk with him upon the Pieces of Land which he had lately added to his Property ”

“ The clew to this is furnished by the figure of the giant. It represents an ogre of horrid mien with a death’s-head grin and formidable teeth, his hair wild and long, the locks falling down upon the neck. Suspended on the breast as an ornament is the bone of a human lower jaw, with its incisor teeth. The left leg is thrown forward as in the act of walking, and the arms are uplifted, the hands open, and the fingers extended as at the moment of seizing the prey or the victim. ”

“ You try working on the roof line sometime, with the presses grinding and the overhead cranes wailing and the mechanical arms clacking and grabbing at your inner skull while you snap a shiny sheet of steel like an armored pillowcase and shove it into the maw of a hungry greasy ogre. ”

“ But so it was, that some their shouts must stay To gaze at Ogier as he took his way Through the thronged place; and quickly too he gat Unto the place whereas the Lady sat, For men gave place unto him, fearing him: For not alone was he most huge of limb, And dangerous, but something in his face, As his calm eyes looked o'er the crowded place, Struck men with awe; and in the ancient days, When men might hope alive on gods to gaze, They would have thought, "The gods yet love our town And from the heavens have sent a great one down." ”

“ Now it chanced that in a neighbouring country there lived a terrible Ogre, who was an export in magic and all the black arts; and it came to his ears that this King had offered a large reward if anyone could secure to him the birth of children for himself, his horse and his dog. ”

“ With him was Ogier the Dane (Ogger the monk calls him) , one of the most famous captains of Charlemagne, and a prominent hero of romance. He had quarrelled with the king and had taken refuge with the king of the Lombards. Thus goes on the chronicler of St. Gall:
"When Didier and Ogger heard that the dread monarch was coming, they ascended a tower of vast height, where they could watch his arrival from afar off and from every quarter. They saw, first of all, [Pg 66] engines of war such as must have been necessary for the armies of Darius or Julius Cæsar. ”

“ I drew out the arrow, though it came hardly, and saw that it must be one of mine, a mate to the one lying beside the rock and to those in the quiver. The crushed head of the other body must also be my handiwork, for it was cloven downward to between the eyes, and strong must have been the arm and heavy the axe to shear through bone so deeply. ”

“ They endeavour to save Themselves in a cave: The Ogre approaches, and even the brave Little Hop o' my Thumb feels a tremor of dread When the giant, who suffers most frightful fatigues From striding across at each step seven leagues, Sits down on the rock that is over their head ”

“ The fairy laughed and flapped her little wings. "Now you must not be afraid; it will all come out right in the end. When I said the ogre was dreadful, I meant he was ugly-looking; we fairies like everything beautiful. Shall I go on?"
"Oh yes, and please forgive me for stopping you."
THE APPROACH OF THE SWANLIKE BOAT
"This ogre was ugly, with a shaggy head, a shaggy beard, and fierce eyes, and he lived all by himself in a great stone castle on the shore of a large lake. ”

“ Such is ever the Modesty of Sir Ogre, that he is by no Means of a Mind to make a Figure in his neighbourhood; and, indeed, he protested to me when on the Subject of the burning of the Effigies, that the making of a Figure is to him a Matier of Abhorrence.
I am now content to leave the Reputation of the good old Knight in the hands of the Public; being of a most certain Conviction that, whatever the Voice of Slander may be inclined to speak of it, it can in no way suffer Deterioration. ”

“ Do not think of searching for it. The ogre who lives beyond is cruel, and he’ll surely eat you.
Sanja. He’ll not eat an old woman like me. Tee-hee-hee! [They hear a terrible noise. Ogre comes.]
Third Lord Jizu. Here comes the ogre. Get behind me. Be quick!
Ogre. [Deep voice.] Good morning, Lord Jizu! I smell meat.
Third Lord Jizu. Good morning, Ogre. Is it not dumpling that you smell? 154I saw one pass along this road a little while ago.
Ogre. No, indeed. It is not dumpling. What I smell is meat.
Third Lord Jizu. I do not smell it. Are you sure it is not rice dumpling? ”

“ The maiden spied on him without his knowing it, and saw that from a youth he turned himself into an ogre, with hair as red as madder and a face as black as coal. His eyeballs bulged out of their sockets, and his mouth looked like a dish full of blood. Crooked white fangs thrust themselves from his lips, and two wings grew from his shoulders. Spreading them, he flew down to earth and at once turned into a man again. ”