Free Ask the Bones by Various Page A

on this voyage a great storm arose when the ship reached the heart of the sea. Howling winds tore at the sails and huge waves swept across the deck. The merchants clutched ropes and railings, praying they would not be swept overboard. But the storm grew worse.
    Suddenly a gigantic wave slammed into the ship, splitting it in two and sinking it. But a beam miraculously rose up from the wreckage, and the three merchants clung to it with all their strength. For two days and two nights they hung on, neither eating nor drinking, and at every moment they saw death before their eyes.
    On the third day they saw an island in the distance and their hopes rose. They drifted toward it and soon they managed to touch the ocean floor with their feet. They dragged themselves ashore and stumbled up the beach. There they slept for hours, and when they awoke they thanked God for saving them from drowning.
    The merchants began to search the island for food and water. They had little strength, but they struggled up a hill, their feet sinking into the soft sand. They felt like collapsing, until they saw what was on the other side—a castle stood on the far shore of the island.
    They hurried down the hill and knocked on the door. But no one answered. So they drank from the clear stream that flowed past the castle and ate figs from the trees that lined its banks.
    Then they sat down to wait. Perhaps the owner of the castle would return soon or a ship would sail by. But for days nothing appeared. And when it did, they wished it hadn’t.
    Far out on the horizon they saw something indescribable coming toward them. At first they thought it was a sea serpent, but soon they realized it was a gigantic horse and rider rising out of the waves.
    The merchants were terrified. But it was too late to hide, for the horse was as swift as the wind.
    The moment the giant reached the castle, he jumped off the horse and grasped his sword. “How dare you land on my island!” he bellowed.
    The merchants told him they were shipwrecked, but the giant only scowled. “Follow me,” he said. And he led all three to the depths of the castle cellar. There he handed them shovels and told them to dig three pits, “deep enough for you to stand in with only your heads above ground.” The merchants were shaking with fear, but they dug the pits because they had no choice.
    When they finished, the giant ordered them to put down the shovels and stand in the pits with their arms down at their sides. Then he dumped great handfuls of sand around them and packed it tight. Within minutes, the merchants’ bodies were trapped underground, except for their heads.
    And then, when the merchants thought nothing worse could possibly happen, the giant let loose an enormous black snake. It circled the room three times, then slithered directly toward the first merchant.
    When it reached him, it bit his lip and began to suck his blood. The merchant almost fainted, and the others were petrified, wondering when their time would come.
    When the eyes of the first merchant closed and his head fell to one side, the giant laughed and left the cellar.
    The snake again circled the room three times and slithered toward the second merchant. All he could do was watch in horror as it bit his lip and sucked his life right out of him.

    The third merchant watched the snake circling the room again, and suddenly he had an idea. When the snake slithered up to him, the merchant opened his mouth wide and bit the snake with all his strength. The snake tried to free itself, lashing its tail from side to side until the ground in which the merchant was buried began to loosen. Within moments the merchant was able to work one arm free. He grasped the snake and was pulled right out of the pit. The snake tried to wrap itself around him, but he grabbed a shovel and chopped the snake to bits.

    He listened for the giant but didn’t hear a sound, so he quickly buried his dead friends and