Then Curdie heaved up his axe. But being as gentle
as courageous and not wishing to kill any of them, he turned the
end which was square and blunt like a hammer, and with that came
down a great blow on the head of the goblin nearest him. Hard as
the heads of all goblins are, he thought he must feel that. And so
he did, no doubt; but he only gave a horrible cry, and sprung at
Curdie's throat. Curdie, however, drew back in time, and just at
that critical moment remembered the vulnerable part of the goblin
body. He made a sudden rush at the king and stamped with all his
might on His Majesty's feet. The king gave a most unkingly howl
and almost fell into the fire. Curdie then rushed into the crowd,
stamping right and left. The goblins drew back, howling on every
side as he approached, but they were so crowded that few of those
he attacked could escape his tread; and the shrieking and roaring
that filled the cave would have appalled Curdie but for the good
hope it gave him. They were tumbling over each other in heaps in
their eagerness to rush from the cave, when a new assailant
suddenly faced him - the queen, with flaming eyes and expanded
nostrils, her hair standing half up from her head, rushed at him.
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