So they came to the house of the poor fool, broke down his thick wall, loosed his three cows, and took also three coverlets from his wife’s bed. In the morning at daylight when the loss was discovered, there were loud lamentations. "Hold thy tongue, wife," said Dickie, "and stop thy crying. I’ll bring thee back three cows for each one that thou hast lost." So Dickie went to Lord Scroope. "Hold thy tongue, fool," said Scroope. "I have no time for jesting." "A shame on your jesting, my lord!" said Dickie, "jesting agrees not with me. Liddesdale was in my house last night and has taken my three cows. I can no longer dwell in Cumberland as your poor faithful fool, unless you give me leave to steal in Liddesdale." "I give thee leave, fool!" said Scroope; "but thou speakest against me and my honour unless thou give me thy hand and pledge that thou wilt steal from none but those who stole from thee." "There is my right hand and pledge! May my head hang on Haribee, and may I never again cross Carlisle sands if I steal from any man who stole not from me.", Dickie joyfully took leave of his lord and master, and went and bought a bridle and a pair of new spurs which he packed up in the thigh of his breeches, then he came on as fast as he could to Pudding-burn house, where were thirty-three Armstrongs. "O what has come to me now?" said Dickie, "what great trouble is this? For here is but one innocent fool against thirty-three Armstrongs?" Yet he went courteously up to the Hall board. "Well may ye be, my good Laird’s Jock, but the devil bless all your company. I’m come to complain of your man, Johnie Armstrong, and of his brother Willie, that they came to my house last night and took away my three cows." Quoth fair Johnie Armstrong, "We’ll hang him." "Nay," said Willie, "we’ll slay him." But up spoke another young Armstrong, "We’ll give him a thrashing and let him go." Then up spoke the good Laird’s Jock, the best fellow in all the company, "Sit down a while, Dickie, and we’ll give thee a bit of thine own cow’s thigh." Dickie’s heart was so sore that he could not eat a bit, but he went and lay down in an old peat-house where he thought to sleep the night, and all the prayers the poor fool prayed were, "I wish I had amends for my three good cows." Now it was the custom of Pudding-burn house and of the house of Mangerton, whose laird was chief of the Armstrong clan, that any who came not to the table at the first summons got no more meat till the next meal, so some of the lads, hungry and weary, had thrown the key of the stable above the door-head. Dickie took good notice of that to turn it to his own account, went into the stable where stood thirty-three horses and tied thirty of them with St Mary’s knot, tight to their stalls.