When he came to an inn he made a halt, and in his great content ate up
what he had with him—his dinner and supper—and all he had, and with his
last few farthings had half a glass of beer. Then he drove his cow
onwards along the road to his mother’s village.
As it drew nearer mid-day, the heat was more oppressive, and Hans found
himself upon a moor which it took about an hour to cross. He felt it
very hot and his tongue clave to the roof of his mouth with thirst. “I
can find a cure for this,” thought Hans; “I will milk the cow now and
refresh myself with the milk.” He tied her to a withered tree, and as
he had no pail he put his leather cap underneath; but try as he would,
not a drop of milk came. And as he set himself to work in a clumsy way,
the impatient beast at last gave him such a blow on his head with its
hind foot, that he fell on the ground, and for a long time could not
think where he was.
By good fortune a butcher just then came along the road with a
wheel-barrow, in which lay a young pig. “What sort of a trick is this?”
cried he, and helped the good Hans up. Hans told him what had happened.
The butcher gave him his flask and said, “Take a drink and refresh
yourself. The cow will certainly give no milk, it is an old beast; at
the best it is only fit for the plough, or for the butcher.” “Well,
well,” said Hans, as he stroked his hair down on his head, “who would
have thought it? Certainly it is a fine thing when one can kill a beast
like that at home; what meat one has! But I do not care much for beef,
it is not juicy enough for me. A young pig like that now is the thing
to have, it tastes quite different; and then there are the sausages!”
“Hark ye, Hans,” said the butcher, “out of love for you I will
exchange, and will let you have the pig for the cow.” “Heaven repay you
for your kindness!” said Hans as he gave up the cow, whilst the pig was
unbound from the barrow, and the cord by which it was tied was put in
his hand.
Hans went on, and thought to himself how everything was going just as
he wished; if he did meet with any vexation it was immediately set
right. Presently there joined him a lad who was carrying a fine white
goose under his arm. They said good morning to each other, and Hans
began to tell of his good luck, and how he had always made such good
bargains. The boy told him that he was taking the goose to a
christening-feast. “Just lift her,” added he, and laid hold of her by
the wings; “how heavy she is—she has been fattened up for the last
eight weeks. Whoever has a bit of her when she is roasted will have to
wipe the fat from both sides of his mouth.” “Yes,” said Hans, as he
weighed her in one hand, “she is a good weight, but my pig is no bad
one.”
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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