The Junior Classics, Volume 6: Old-Fashioned Tales
General
The Junior Classics, Volume 6: Old-Fashioned Tales
Children's literature
"Pays, does he?" said the wife. "Well, but he is an awful creature to
have so near one. I would much rather he had really been an old
soldier. I hope he is not looking after my baby; he shall not have
him, let him offer ever so much."
The more the wife talked, the more the husband laughed at her fears,
till at length he fell asleep, whilst she lay awake, thinking and
thinking, till by degrees she forgot her fears, and began to wonder
what they might expect by way of reward. Hours appeared to pass away
during these thoughts. At length, to her great surprise, while it was
still quite dark, her husband called to her from below:
"Come down, Kitty; only come down to see what the Ouphe has left us."
As quickly as possible Kitty started up and dressed herself, and ran
down the ladder, and then she saw her husband kneeling on the floor
over the knapsack, which the Ouphe had left behind him. Kitty rushed
to the spot, and saw the knapsack bursting open with gold coins, which
were rolling out over the brick floor. Here was good fortune! She
began to pick them up, and count them into her apron. The more she
gathered, the faster they rolled, till she left off counting, out of
breath with joy and surprise.
"What shall we do with all this money?" said the delighted woodman.
They consulted for some time. At last they decided to bury it in the
garden, all but twenty pieces, which they would spend directly.
Accordingly they dug a hole and carefully hid the rest of the money,
and then the woodman went to the town, and soon returned laden with
the things they had agreed upon as desirable possessions; namely, a
leg of mutton, two bottles of wine, a necklace for Kitty, some tea and
sugar, a grand velvet waistcoat, a silver watch, a large clock, a red
silk cloak, and a hat and feather for the baby, a quilted petticoat, a
great many muffins and crumpets, a rattle, and two new pairs of shoes.
How enchanted they both were! Kitty cooked the nice things, and they
dressed themselves in the finery, and sat down to a very good dinner.
But, alas! the woodman drank so much of the wine that he soon got
quite tipsy, and began to dance and sing. Kitty was very much shocked;
but when he proposed to dig up some more of the gold, and go to market
for some more wine and some more blue velvet waistcoats, she
remonstrated very strongly. Such was the change that had come over
this loving couple, that they presently began to quarrel, and from
words the woodman soon got to blows, and, after beating his little
wife, lay down on the floor and fell fast asleep, while she sat crying
in a corner.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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