Nix Nought Nothing: The Prince, the Giant, and the Daughter Who Saved Him

Once upon a time, a king and queen had been married for many years without a child. At last, while the king was travelling in distant lands, the queen gave birth to a baby boy. She was so delighted that she decided to wait until her husband returned before giving the child his proper name.

In the meantime, she called him Nix Nought Nothing.

Years passed before the king finally began his journey home. On the way, he reached a great river where the water swirled so violently that he could find no safe passage across.

As he stood wondering what to do, a giant appeared.

“I can carry you over the river on my back,” the giant offered.

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“What payment do you require?” the king asked.

“Give me Nix Nought Nothing, and I will take you across.”

The king had never heard the name his wife had given their son. Believing the giant was asking for something of no value, he readily agreed.

“I shall give you that, along with my thanks,” he promised.

The giant carried him safely across the river, and the king continued home.

When he reached his castle, he embraced his wife and rejoiced at meeting the son he had never seen. But his happiness soon turned to dread when the queen explained that the boy’s name was Nix Nought Nothing.

The king remembered his promise and realised he had unknowingly given his own child to a giant.

Desperate to save their son, the king and queen devised a cruel deception. They would send the giant another boy in the prince’s place, hoping he would never discover the difference.

The following day, the giant arrived to claim his reward. The royal household sent away the hen-wife’s son, pretending he was the child the giant had come for.

The giant carried the boy on his back until they reached a large stone. There, he stopped to rest and asked:

“Hidge, Hodge, on my back, what time of day is that?”

The boy answered that it was the time his mother, who cared for the royal hens, brought the eggs for the queen’s breakfast.

The giant immediately knew he had been deceived. In a fury, he dashed the boy against the stone and killed him.

He returned to the castle demanding the child he had been promised. This time, the king and queen sent the gardener’s son.

Again, the giant stopped at the stone and asked what time of day it was. The boy replied that it was the time his mother brought vegetables for the royal dinner.

The giant flew into another rage. Discovering the second deception, he killed the gardener’s son as well.

Then he returned to the castle, threatening to destroy everyone unless the real Nix Nought Nothing was handed over.

The king and queen had no choice. Their son was taken away, and the giant carried him to his own home.

Three Tasks No Man Could Complete

The giant raised Nix Nought Nothing until he grew into a young man. The giant also had a beautiful daughter, and as the two young people spent time together, they fell deeply in love.

But their happiness was threatened when the giant decided to test his captive.

“One task awaits you tomorrow,” he announced. “I have a stable seven miles long and seven miles broad. It has not been cleaned for seven years. You must make it spotless by nightfall, or I shall eat you for supper.”

The following morning, Nix Nought Nothing entered the enormous stable and began to work. Yet whenever he cleared one section, the mess seemed to return, leaving him no closer to finishing.

When the giant’s daughter brought him breakfast, she found him in despair.

“Do not lose heart,” she told him. “I will help you.”

She called upon all the beasts of the fields and all the birds of the air. They came in great numbers, carrying away the rubbish until the stable was completely clean.

When the giant returned, he was furious to discover that the task had been completed.

“Shame on the cleverness that helped you,” he muttered. “Tomorrow, you shall face something worse.”

He told Nix Nought Nothing about a lake seven miles long, seven miles broad, and seven miles deep. By the following night, the young man had to drain every drop of water from it, or the giant would eat him.

Nix Nought Nothing began early, scooping water with a pail. But no matter how much he removed, the lake remained as vast as before.

Once again, the giant’s daughter came to his rescue. She summoned all the fish in the sea, and they swam to the lake and drank its water until the entire lake was dry.

The giant was beside himself with anger.

For the third task, he pointed to a tree that rose seven miles into the sky. It had no branches until its very top, where a nest held seven eggs.

“Climb that tree and bring me every egg without breaking a single one,” he ordered. “Fail, and you shall be my supper.”

The giant’s daughter struggled to think of a way to help. At last, she made a terrible sacrifice. She cut off her fingers and toes and fashioned them into steps, allowing Nix Nought Nothing to climb the smooth trunk.

He reached the nest and gathered the seven eggs carefully. His descent was almost complete when, just as he reached the ground, one egg broke.

The task had not been completed perfectly. The giant would never let them live in peace.

Nix Nought Nothing and the giant’s daughter knew they had to escape before he could carry out his threat.

The Flight from the Giant

The young woman prepared for their escape, tidying herself and taking along her magic flask. Then the two lovers fled as quickly as they could.

They had crossed only three fields when they looked behind them and saw the giant racing after them.

“Quickly!” the giant’s daughter cried. “Take the comb from my hair and throw it behind us!”

Nix Nought Nothing snatched the comb and flung it to the ground. At once, every prong sprouted into a thick tangle of briars, forming a dense barrier across the giant’s path.

The giant struggled through the thorns while the lovers ran farther away.

Before long, however, he had broken through and was gaining on them again.

“Take my hair dagger and throw it down!” the young woman shouted.

Nix Nought Nothing threw the dagger behind them. In an instant, a formidable hedge of sharp razors sprang from it, their blades crossing one another to make the passage almost impossible.

The giant had to pick his way through the dangerous barrier, giving the fugitives more time to escape.

Yet he refused to give up. Once he had crossed the hedge, he hurried after them until he was close enough to stretch out his hand and seize Nix Nought Nothing.

The giant’s daughter knew they had reached their final chance.

She took out her magic flask and smashed it against the ground.

A tremendous wave burst from the broken vessel. It swelled higher and higher, first reaching the giant’s waist, then his neck, until the water covered his head and drowned him.

At last, the giant who had threatened their lives was dead.

The lovers continued their journey until they reached the country where Nix Nought Nothing’s parents lived. The giant’s daughter was utterly exhausted and could travel no farther, so he asked her to wait while he went to the castle to find them shelter for the night.

He did not know that another danger awaited him.

The Sleeping Prince and the Hen-Wife’s Revenge

On his way to the castle, Nix Nought Nothing passed the cottage of the hen-wife whose son the giant had killed. She recognised him immediately and blamed him for her child’s death, even though the giant had been the one who had killed the boy.

When Nix Nought Nothing asked for directions to the castle, the hen-wife placed a spell upon him.

He continued on his way, unaware of what had happened. But the moment he entered the castle hall, he collapsed onto a bench and fell into an unnatural sleep.

The king and queen tried everything they could think of to awaken the stranger. Nothing worked.

Desperate to help him, the king announced that any woman who could awaken the sleeping young man would be rewarded with marriage to him.

Meanwhile, the giant’s daughter waited outside the castle grounds. When Nix Nought Nothing failed to return, she climbed a tree where she could watch the road and the surrounding land.

One day, the gardener’s daughter went to draw water from a well beneath the tree. Looking into the water, she saw the reflection of the beautiful young woman above her. Mistaking the reflection for her own, she exclaimed that if she were truly so lovely, she ought not to be sent out to fetch water.

She abandoned her pail and went to seek a chance to marry the handsome stranger who lay asleep in the castle.

The gardener’s daughter visited the hen-wife, who gave her a magical chant that could awaken Nix Nought Nothing temporarily and keep him awake for as long as she wished.

She went to the castle, sang the chant, and briefly roused the sleeping prince. Believing the charm had succeeded, the royal household agreed that he should marry the gardener’s daughter.

But fate had another turn in store.

The gardener later went to draw water from the well. He noticed the reflection of the woman in the tree, looked up, and discovered the giant’s daughter waiting there. He brought her down and took her home.

When he explained that a stranger was about to marry his daughter, the young woman asked to see him. The gardener led her to the castle, where she found Nix Nought Nothing sitting asleep in a chair.

She rushed to him, overcome with grief.

“Wake, wake, and speak to me!” she cried.

But he did not stir.

Then she reminded him of everything they had endured together:

I cleaned the stable, I drained the lake, and I climbed the tree,

And all for the love of thee.

Yet thou wilt not waken and speak to me.

The king and queen heard her words and hurried towards her. They were astonished that she knew the stranger’s name and understood the trials he had faced.

“Where is Nix Nought Nothing?” they demanded.

“He is the man sitting there in the chair,” she answered.

The king and queen looked at the sleeping young man more closely. At last, they recognised their long-lost son.

They embraced him, calling him their own dear child, and asked the gardener’s daughter to sing the charm once more. Nix Nought Nothing awoke.

When he could speak again, he told his parents everything: how the giant had taken him away, how the giant’s daughter had saved him from the impossible tasks, and how she had risked her life to help him escape.

The king and queen were deeply moved by her devotion. They welcomed the giant’s daughter into their family and declared that she should marry their son.

The hen-wife was brought to justice and put to death for her wicked spell.

Nix Nought Nothing and the woman who had saved him were married, and they lived happily ever after.

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Moral

The story teaches us to think carefully before making promises, value loyalty and kindness over physical strength, find courage in accepting help and facing challenges together, and recognise that revenge often creates more suffering rather than healing the pain of loss.

Knowledge Check

1. Why did the king promise Nix Nought Nothing to the giant?

The king did not know that Nix Nought Nothing was his son’s name. He mistakenly believed he was promising something of no value in exchange for safe passage across the river.

2. How did the giant’s daughter help Nix Nought Nothing complete his tasks?

She summoned animals to clean the stable, called fish to drain the lake, and used her fingers and toes to create steps that helped him climb the enormous tree.

3. How did the lovers escape from the giant?

They used a magical comb to create a briar thicket, a hair dagger to create a hedge of razors, and a magic flask that released a great wave and drowned the giant.

4. Why did Nix Nought Nothing fall into an enchanted sleep?

The hen-wife cast a spell on him because she blamed him for the death of her son, whom the giant had killed.

5. Who ultimately awakened the prince?

The giant’s daughter recognised him and reminded him of the tasks she had helped him complete. Her words revealed her identity and devotion, allowing his parents to recognise him and arrange for the awakening charm to be sung again.

Source

Adapted from Joseph Jacobs’s English Fairy Tales (London: David Nutt, 1890), Chapter VII, “Nix Nought Nothing,” based on the Scottish tale “Nicht Nought Nothing,” collected by Andrew Lang in Morayshire and published in Revue Celtique, Volume III.

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