They told him that they were pilgrims, and that they had lost their way.
"Well," said the giant, "you have trespassed upon my grounds, you have trampled upon and broken my shrubbery, and therefore you must go with me to my castle."
Then, with his great club in his hand, he drove them before him up to the great door of his castle; and he put them into a very dark and loathsome dungeon, where the light of the sun was never seen. There they lay helpless for three days and nights, without one bite of bread or drop of drink or any friend to ask them how they did.
Now, Giant Despair had a wife, and her name was Diffidence. In the evening he told her about the prisoners he had taken, and asked her what he should do with them.
"Who are they?" she asked; "and whither are they going?"
"They say they are pilgrims, and that they are bound for the Celestial City," answered the giant.
"That is a likely story," said the woman. "Tomorrow morning, give them a good beating, and see what they will say then."
