"Let us see," said the Prince; "will you not sell me your companion for a hundred crown pieces?" "No," cried John; "I would die of grief." "I will give you a thousand then," said the Prince. "Never," said John, stoutly. "My friend," exclaimed the Prince, "be reasonable. I must have your cat. Name the price." John scratched his head thoughtfully, and replied: "Well, give me a meadow and a mill, a vineyard and a thousand crown-pieces, and a carriage to ride in." "They shall be yours," said the Prince. "Then," said John, "my beautiful cat is yours." _The Story of the Reap-hook_ We have thus far followed the history of Jack, with his rooster, and John, with his cat. What became of Jack-John, the younger brother, with his reap-hook? Journeying over hills and across valleys, with his reap-hook hung over his shoulder, stopping only to eat and to drink, the younger brother, at the end of thirty days and thirty nights, arrived in the great empire of Malissours. It was in the month of July, and the fields were yellow with the golden grain, which waved lightly in the wind. For the first time since he left home, Jack-John felt tired; his limbs refused to carry him farther. How happy he would be, he thought, if he could only reach the village near by, where there was an orange-grove. But his efforts were useless, and the young fellow lay down in the shadow of a big oak, and was soon fast asleep. How long he remained there he did not know; but when Jack-John awoke, it was morning, and he was surrounded by a crowd of people who eyed him curiously without daring to approach. "Hey, friends!" he cried, "I am ravenously hungry. Have you nothing to offer me?" "Yes, yes," was the reply on all sides, "but on one condition." "And what is that?" asked Jack-John. "You must tell us what the half-moon in a handle, which you have sleeping beside you, is for." "The half-moon that sleeps?" exclaimed Jack-John in surprise. "What do you mean?" "Your companion that sleeps beside you on the green moss," said the people. "You make me laugh," said Jack-John. "It is not my companion—it is not an animal. It is simply a reap-hook." "A reap-hook," exclaimed the people. "What a strange name! Never before have we seen such a thing." Jack-John was astonished, but in a moment he thought that the time had arrived for him to make his fortune; so he said: "I see that your grain is ripe. It is time to harvest it. How do you cut it?" "Like everybody else," said they, "we gnaw it with the teeth." "That must be tedious," said Jack-John. "Oh, there are hundreds of us to do the work," said the people. "And how long does it take you to complete the task?" asked Jack-John. "Two or three months only," the people replied.