Molly Woppy

Once upon a time, there lived a husband and wife who had so many children that they couldn’t feed them all. They had to take their three daughters into the forest and leave them there. The girls wandered and wandered through the woods, growing hungry as it began to get dark. Finally, they saw a light flickering in the distance and headed toward it. They reached a house and knocked on the door. A woman came out and asked:

"What do you want?"
The girls replied:
"Please let us stay the night and give us something to eat!"

"I can’t," said the woman. "My husband is a giant. He’ll come home and kill you."
The girls begged her:
"Let us in! We’ll just sit for a little while. We’ll leave before he comes back!"

Well, the woman let the girls in, sat them by the fire, and gave them bread and milk. But just as they started eating, there was a loud knock at the door, and a terrible voice said:

*Fee-fi-fo-fum,
I smell the blood of an Englishman!
Who’s there, wife?*

"It’s just three poor girls," she replied. "They’re cold and hungry. They’ll leave soon. Don’t hurt them, husband!"

The giant said nothing, sat down at the table, ate his fill, and then ordered the girls to stay the night. They were put to sleep in a bed with the giant’s three daughters.

The youngest guest was named Molly Whuppie, and she was a very clever girl. When they went to bed, the giant placed straw ropes around the necks of Molly and her sisters, but golden chains around his own daughters’ necks. Molly noticed this, realized something was wrong, and decided to stay alert. She waited until everyone was fast asleep, then slipped out of bed, removed the straw ropes from herself and her sisters, and took the golden chains from the giant’s daughters. She put the straw ropes on the giant’s daughters and the golden chains on herself and her sisters, then went back to bed.

In the middle of the night, the giant got up, grabbed a heavy club, and felt around in the dark for the straw ropes. Then he struck his own daughters with the club and killed them, thinking he had killed the strangers. Satisfied, he went back to sleep.

Molly realized it was time to flee. She woke her sisters, told them to be quiet, and the three of them slipped out of the house and ran as fast as they could. They ran until morning, when they saw a palace ahead. It was the king’s palace, and Molly went inside and told the king everything that had happened. The king said to her:

"Well, Molly, you’re a clever girl—you outsmarted the giant himself. But try to be even cleverer! Steal the giant’s sword that hangs above his bed, and I’ll marry your eldest sister to my eldest son!"

Molly said she would try. She returned to the giant’s house, sneaked inside, and hid under his bed.

The giant came home, ate his fill, and went to sleep. Molly waited until he was snoring, then crawled out from under the bed. She climbed over the giant and took his sword. But as she was dragging the sword across the bed, it clanged, and the giant woke up. Molly grabbed the sword and ran out of the house.

Molly ran and ran until she reached the "Bridge as Thin as a Hair." She crossed it, but the giant was too afraid to follow. He stopped and shouted:

"Watch out, Molly Whuppie! Don’t you dare come back!"

"Oh, I only need to cross this bridge twice more!" Molly replied, and she ran off.

So Molly brought the king the giant’s sword, and the king’s eldest son married her eldest sister.

Then the king said to Molly:

"Well done, Molly! You’ve handled this brilliantly. But try to be even more cunning. Steal the giant’s purse that lies under his pillow, and I’ll marry your second sister to my second son."

Molly again said she would try. She went back to the giant’s house, sneaked into his room, and hid under the bed. When the giant had eaten his fill and was snoring, she crawled out, reached under his pillow, and took the purse. But before she could escape, the giant woke up and chased her.

Molly ran and ran until she reached the "Bridge as Thin as a Hair." She crossed it, but the giant was too afraid to follow. He stopped and shouted:

"Watch out, Molly Whuppie! Don’t you dare come back!"

"Oh, I only need to cross this bridge once more!" Molly replied, and she ran off.

So Molly brought the king the giant’s purse, and the king’s second son married her second sister.

Then the king said to Molly:

"You’re a clever girl, Molly! If you prove even cleverer and steal the giant’s ring, I’ll marry you to my youngest son!"

Molly said she would try. She went back to the giant’s house and hid under his bed. The giant soon returned home, ate his fill, and fell asleep, snoring loudly.

Molly crawled out, climbed onto the bed, took the giant’s hand, and began twisting the ring off his finger. She twisted and twisted until she got it off, but then the giant woke up and grabbed her.

"Finally, I’ve caught you, Molly Whuppie!" he cried. "Now tell me: if I had annoyed you as much as you’ve annoyed me, what would you do to me?"

"I’d put you in a sack with a cat and a dog," Molly replied, "and I’d also put in some thread, a needle, and scissors. Then I’d hang the sack on the wall, go into the forest for the thickest stick I could find, bring it home, put the sack on the floor, and beat you until you were dead."

"Well, Molly," said the giant, "that’s exactly what I’ll do to you!"

The giant got a sack, put Molly inside, added a cat and a dog, and threw in some thread, a needle, and scissors. He hung the sack on the wall and went into the forest to find a thick stick.

Molly sat in the sack and sang:

*Oh, if only you could see what I see!*

"What do you see, Molly?" asked the giant’s wife.

Molly didn’t answer—she just kept singing:

*Oh, if only you could see what I see!*

"Let me sit in the sack instead of you, Molly!" begged the giant’s wife. "I want to see what you see."

Molly cut a hole in the sack with the scissors, took the needle and thread, and jumped out. Then she helped the giant’s wife climb into the sack and sewed it up tightly.

The giant’s wife sat in the sack for a while, saw nothing, and begged to be let out. But Molly ignored her, hid behind the door, and waited.

The giant returned home with a whole tree in his hands, took the sack off the wall, and began beating it with all his might. His wife cried out:

"It’s me, husband!"

But the dog barked, the cat meowed, and the giant didn’t recognize her voice. Meanwhile, Molly slipped out from behind the door, and the giant noticed her and gave chase.

Molly ran and ran until she reached the "Bridge as Thin as a Hair." She crossed it, but the giant was too afraid to follow. He stopped and shouted:

"Watch out, Molly Whuppie! Don’t you dare come back!"

"Oh, why would I ever come back here again?" Molly replied, and she ran off.

Molly brought the king the giant’s magical ring and married the youngest prince. And they never saw the giant again.

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Molly Woppy

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