“Give up these bad ways and take them back to your master,” said he. “No, no,” answered the youth; “I am not so stupid as that! We will kill them and have them for dinner.” “You will lose your life if you do,” replied the father. “Oh, I am not sure of that!” said the son, “and, anyway, I will have my will for once.” And he killed all the sheep and laid them on the grass. But he cut off the head of the ram which always led the flock and had bells round its horns. This he took back to the place where they should have been feeding, for here he had noticed a high rock, with a patch of green grass in the middle and two or three thick bushes growing on the edge. Up this rock he climbed with great difficulty, and fastened the ram’s head to the bushes with a cord, leaving only the tips of the horns with the bells visible. As there was a soft breeze blowing, the bushes to which the head was tied moved gently, and the bells rang. When all was done to his liking he hastened quickly back to his master. “Where are the sheep?” asked the herdsman as the young man ran panting up the steps. “Oh! don’t speak of them,” answered he. “It is only by a miracle that I am here myself.” “Tell me at once what has happened,” said the herdsman sternly. The youth began to sob, and stammered out: “I—I hardly know how to tell you! They—they—they were so—so troublesome—that I could not manage them at all. They—ran about in—in all directions, and I—I—ran after them and nearly died of fatigue. Then I heard a—a noise, which I—I thought was the wind. But—but—it was the sheep, which, be—before my very eyes, were carried straight up—up into the air. I stood watching them as if I was turned to stone, but there kept ringing in my ears the sound of the bells on the ram which led them.” “That is nothing but a lie from beginning to end,” said the herdsman. “No, it is as true as that there is a sun in heaven,” answered the young man. “Then give me a proof of it,” cried his master. “Well, come with me,” said the youth. By this time it was evening and the dusk was falling. The young man brought the herdsman to the foot of the great rock, but it was so dark you could hardly see. Still the sound of sheep bells rang softly from above, and the herdsman knew them to be those he had hung on the horns of his ram. “Do you hear?” asked the youth. “Yes, I hear; you have spoken the truth, and I cannot blame you for what has happened. I must bear the loss as best as I can.” He turned and went home, followed by the young man, who felt highly pleased with his own cleverness. “I should not be surprised if the tasks I set you were too difficult, and that you were tired of them,” said the herdsman next morning; “but to-day I have something quite easy for you to do. You must look after forty oxen, and be sure you are very careful, for one of them has gold-tipped horns and hoofs, and the king reckons it among his greatest treasures.”