The brothers shut the gate and went into the castle again. They were tired of waiting for a mouthful of roasted boy, but they were always afraid that the other race of giants, the Pogglywogs, would become larger than they; and now that they had heard that the Pogglywogs ate salt with their boys, they did not want to taste this one without it. “I won’t wait any longer,” declared Lumpkin. “I’m going to find some salt, and what’s more, I won’t be so long about it as that stupid lubber.” So the second giant set out to search for salt. When he came to the foot of the mountain, he looked at the three roads and concluded to go on the one that went still farther down. The rolling stones gave him considerable trouble, and more than once he had rather a hard fall because of them. He was half-stunned by the last tumble, and he lay on the ground a minute or two before he tried to get up. When he rose again and looked around him, there stood a cock quietly watching him. “May I ask,” said the cock politely, “if you intend to go much farther on this road?” “What’s that to you?” growled Lumpkin, rubbing his bruised elbow and grating his teeth horribly. “I’ll eat you, I will. I always eat cocks.” “May I give you a bit of advice?” asked the cock. “No,” the giant thundered. “I can make advice for myself. Get out.” “But I have to give it,” said the cock quietly. “That is what I am put here for. This is it: Do not go down this road any farther. There is no salt here, and if you go, something will surely happen to you.” “Something will happen to _you_!” shouted the giant, and with all three mouths at once he tried to bite the cock’s head off. The cock flew up on the limb of a great tree, far above the head of the giant, and sat there watching as the giant strode off down the hill. It was not long before he came to a lake. Now the giant had never seen water in that form before. This looked smooth and easy to walk on, so he set out to walk on it instead of on the road. Even near the shore the water was deep, and in a little less than no time the giant was down on his knees in the lake, spluttering and storming and snarling and growling and grating his teeth together as if he meant to eat even the rocks and the sand. “There are better ways of getting over the water than trying to walk on it,” said a voice pleasantly. The giant staggered to his feet and looked around. “Eh?” said he. “There are better ways of getting over the water than trying to walk on it,” the voice repeated; and now the giant saw that it proceeded from a boat that was coming nearer and nearer. In the boat was a yellow-and-black cat, who bowed politely and sat waiting for him to speak. “What’s that thing you’re in?” demanded the giant. “This is a boat,” the cat replied. “With it one can easily go on the water.” “Get out, I want it,” the giant growled. The cat’s yellow eyes began to look fiery, but she asked very quietly:-- “Are you sure that you can manage it?”