But Boots was not going to fall into any such trap as that! No indeed! not he! The next morning he went quietly and bought a fine large meal-sack. Then he put a black wig over his beautiful red hair, so that no one might know him. After that he went to the place where the high-councillor lived, and when he had come there he crawled inside of the sack, and lay just beside the door of the house. By and by came one of the maid servants to the door, and there lay the great meal-sack with somebody in it. “Ach!” cried she, “who is there?” But Boots only said, “Sh-h-h-h-h!” Then the serving maid went back into the house, and told the high-councillor that one lay outside in a great meal-sack, and that all that he said was, “Sh-h-h-h-h!” So the councillor went himself to see what it was all about. “What do you want here?” said he. “Sh-h-h-h-h!” said Boots, “I am not to be talked to now. This is a wisdom-sack, and I am learning wisdom as fast as a drake can eat peas.” “And what wisdom have you learned?” said the councillor. Oh! Boots had learned wisdom about everything in the world. He had learned that the clever scamp who had fooled the king yesterday was coming with seventeen tall men to take the high-councillor, willy-nilly, to the castle that morning. When the high-councillor heard this he fell to trembling till his teeth rattled in his head. “And have you learned how I can get the better of this clever scamp?” said he. Oh, yes! Boots had learned that easily enough. [Illustration: The Councilor finds one in the Sack who teaches him wisdom. ¶] So, good! then if the wise man in the sack would tell the high-councillor how to escape the clever rogue, the high-councillor would give the wise man twenty dollars. But no, that was not to be done; wisdom was not bought so cheaply as the high-councillor seemed to think. Well, the councillor would give him a hundred dollars then. That was good! A hundred dollars were a hundred dollars. If the councillor would give him that much he might get into the sack himself, and then he could learn all the wisdom that he wanted, and more besides. So Boots crawled out of the sack, and the councillor paid his hundred dollars and crawled in. As soon as he was in all snug and safe, Boots drew the mouth of the sack together and tied it tightly. Then he flung sack, councillor, and all over his shoulder, and started away to the king’s house, and anybody who met them could see with half an eye that the councillor was going against his will. When Boots came to the king’s castle he laid the councillor down in the goose-house, and then he went to the king. When the king saw Boots again, he bit his lips with vexation. “Well,” said he, “have you fooled the councillor?” “Oh, yes!” says Boots, “I have done that.” And where was the councillor now? Oh, Boots had just left him down in the goose-house. He was tied up safe and sound in a sack, waiting till the king should send for him.