dollars. When they heard it, they all killed their oxen, that they might sell the hides to the same tanner; but the justice said, "My maid shall have the first chance;" so off she went but when she came to the tanner, he laughed at them all for a parcel of noodles, and said he had given their neighbour nothing but an old chest.

:

At this they were all very angry, and laid their heads together to work him some mischief, which they thought they could do while he was digging in his garden. All this, however, came to the ears of the countryman, who was plagued with a sad scold for his wife; and he thought to himself, "If any one is to come into trouble, I don't see why it should not be my wife, rather than Pee-wit;" so he told her that he wished she would humour him in a whim he had taken into his head, and would put on his clothes and dig the garden in his stead.

once.

The wife did what was asked, and next morning began digging. But soon came some of the neighbours, and, thinking it was Pee-wit, threw a stone at her,harder, perhaps, than they meant,-and killed her at Poor Pee-wit was rather sorry at this; but still he thought that he had had a lucky escape for himself, and that perhaps he might, after all, turn the death of his wife to some account: so he dressed her in her own clothes, put a basket with fine fruit (which was now scarce, it being winter) into her hand, and set her by the road-side, on a broad bench. After a while came by a fine coach with six horses, servants, and outriders, and within sat a noble lord, who lived not far off. When his lordship saw the beautiful fruit, he sent one of the

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servants to the woman, to ask what was the price of her goods. The man went and asked, "What is the price of this fruit ?" No answer. He asked again. No answer. And when this had happened three times, he became angry, and, thinking she was asleep, gave her a box on the ear, when down she fell backwards into the pond that was behind the seat. Then up ran Pee-wit, and cried out and sorrowed, because they had drowned his poor dear wife; and threatened to have the lord and his servants tried for what they had done. His lordship begged him to be easy, and offered to give him the coach and horses, servants and all; so the countryman, after a long time, let himself be appeased a little, took what they gave, got into the coach, and set off towards his own home again.

As he came near, the neighbours wondered much at the beautiful coach and horses, and still more when they stopped and Pee-wit got out at his own door. Then he told them the whole story, which only vexed them still more; so they took him and fastened him up in a tub, and were going to throw him into the lake that was hard by. But whilst they were rolling the tub on before them towards the water they passed by an alehouse, and stopped to refresh themselves a little before they put an end to Pee-wit. Meantime they tied the tub fast to a tree, and there left it while they were enjoying themselves within doors.

Pee-wit no sooner found himself alone, than he began to turn over in his mind how he could get free. He listened, and soon heard, Ba, ba! from a flock of sheep and lambs that were coming by. Then he lifted up bis

voice, and shouted out, "I will not be burgomaster, I say; I will not be made burgomaster." The shepherd hearing this went up and said, "What is all this noise about?" "Oh!" said Pee-wit, "my neighbours will make me burgomaster against my will; and when I told them I would not agree, they put me into this cask, and are going to throw me into the lake." "I should like very well to be burgomaster, if I were you," said the shepherd. "Open the cask, then," said the other, "and let me out, and get in yourself, and they will make you burgomaster instead of me.” No sooner said than done; the shepherd was in, Pee-wit was out: and as there was nobody to take care of the shepherd's flock, Pee-wit drove it off merrily towards his own house.

When the neighbours came out of the alehouse they rolled the cask on, and the shepherd began to cry out, "I will be burgomaster now; I will be burgomaster now." "I dare say you will, but you shall take a swim first," said a neighbour, as he gave the cask the last push over into the lake. This done, away they went home merrily, leaving the shepherd to get out as well as he could.

But as they came in at one side of the village, who should they meet coming in by the other way but Peewit, driving a fine flock of sheep and lambs before him! "How came you here ?" cried all with one voice. "Oh! the lake is enchanted," said he; "when you threw me in I sunk deep and deep into the water, till at last I came to the bottom; there I knocked out the bottom of the cask, and then I found myself in a beautiful meadow, with fine flocks grazing upon it; so I chose a few for myself, and here I am." "Cannot we have some too?" said they. 'Why not? there are hundreds and thou

sands left; you have nothing to do but to jump in, and fetch them out."

So they all agreed they would dive for sheep; the justice first, then his clerk, then the constables, and then the rest of the parish one after the other. When they came to the side of the lake, the blue sky was covered over with little white clouds, like flocks of sheep, and all were reflected in the clear water: so they called out, "There they are! there they are already!" and fearing lest the justice should get everything, they jumped in all at once; but Pee-wit jogged home, and made himself happy with what he had got, leaving his neighbours to find flocks for themselves as well as they could.

SPITZ AND THE SPARROW.*

A SHEPHERD had a poor dog called Spitz, that had been a faithful servant. But Spitz grew old, and his master began to take no care of him, but often let him suffer from hunger. At last he could bear it no longer, so he took to his heels and ran off. On the road he met a sparrow, that said to him, “Why are you so sad, my friend?" "Because," said Spitz, "I am very hungry, and have nothing to eat." "If that be all," said the sparrow, 66 come with me to the next town." So on they went together into the town, and as they passed by a butcher's shop the sparrow said to the dog, "Stand there a little while, friend Spitz, till I peck you down a piece of meat." So the sparrow perched upon the shelf, and having first looked cunningly round and round at all about her, to see if any one was there watching her, she pecked and scratched at a beef-steak that was lying upon the edge of the shelf, till at last down it fell. Then Master Spitz snapped it up and scrambled away with it into a corner, where he soon ate it all up. "Well," said the sparrow, "you shall have some more if you will; so come on to the next shop, and I will get you a mutton-chop."

When the dog had eaten this, too, the sparrow said to him, "Well, my good friend, have you had enough now?" "I have had plenty of meat," said he, "but I should like to have a piece of bread to eat after it."

* "Der Hund und der Sperling;" told with variations in Zwehrn, Hesse, and Göttingen.