Character Analysis
Dan the bandit is ironically named for the first king of Danland, but he follows none of the realm's rules. He's a mean dude who's just out for personal profit, and he's reckless enough to make the girls fear for their lives:
"You're the troublemaker," he said, and his mouth stank of meat. "I'll see you broken and dead." (22.35)
But Dan underestimates the girls and their cleverness. He seems to think that he can win with sheer brute strength, but in the end it's little Miri's ingenuity that gets to him and he ends up tumbling off a cliff. Guess he should have looked where he was going.