Seasoning for Young Folk 
 
 Prepared by- 
 Howard Pyle «© 
 
 ^ ^* a^nrtJO™P^ 
 
UNIVERSITY OF N.C. AT CHAPEL HILL 
 
 00022228545 
 

 c. 
 
 ->r\ 
 
 V i 
 
THE LIBRARY OF THE 
 
 UNIVERSITY OF 
 
 NORTH CAROLINA 
 
 AT CHAPEL HILL 
 
 PRESENTED BY 
 
 Edwin T. P. Boone, Jr. 
 Bequest 
 
 FEB 2 1990 
 
 THE LIBRARY OF THE 
 
 UNIVERSITY OF 
 
 NORTH CAROLINA 
 
 AT CHAPEL HILL 
 
 ENDOWED BY THE 
 
 DIALECTIC AND PHILANTHROPIC 
 
 SOCIETIES 
 LIBRARY 
 
 SCHOOT. 
 
 JH398.2 
 Pyle 
 
DATE DUE 
 
 26 1-2 500 
 
Digitized by the Internet Archive 
 
 in 2012 with funding from 
 
 University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill 
 
 http://archive.org/details/peppersaltorseaspyle 
 
InJ his .is fhe way fhat °ne in Cap andAVuey stops for 
 awhile along fho stony Pafh °f Life to make you laugh • 
 
Copyright, 1885, by Harper & Brothers 
 
 Copyright, 1913, by Anne Poole Pyle 
 
 Printed in the United States of America 
 
T T ERE, my little man, you may hold my cap and bells, 
 *■ -*• — and you, over there, may hold the bauble! Now, 
 then, I am ready to talk as a wise man should and am a 
 giddy-pated jester no longer! 
 
 This is what I have to say : 
 
 One must have a little pinch of seasoning in this dull, 
 heavy life of ours; one should never look to have all the 
 troubles, the labors, and the cares, with never a whit of 
 innocent jollity and mirth. Yes, one must smile now and 
 then, if for nothing else than to lift the corners of the 
 rips in laughter that are only too often dragged down 
 in sorrow. 
 
 It is for this that I sit here now, telling you all manner 
 of odd quips and jests until yon sober, wise man shakes his 
 head and goes his way, thinking that I am even more of a 
 shallow-witted knave than I really am. But, prut! Who 
 cares for that? I am sure that I do not if you do not. 
 
 Yet listen! One must not look to have nothing but 
 pepper and salt in this life of ours — no, indeed! At that 
 rate we would be worse off than we are now. I only mean 
 that it is a good and pleasant thing to have something to 
 lend the more solid part a little savor now and then ! 
 
 So, here I'll sit; and, perhaps, when you have been 
 
PREFACE 
 
 good children, and have learned your lessons or done 
 your work, your mother will let you come and play a 
 little while with me. I will always be ready and waiting 
 for you here, and I will warrant your mother that I will 
 do you no harm with anything that I may tell you. If 
 I can only make you laugh and be merry for a little while, 
 then my work will be well done, and I will be glad in the 
 doing of it. 
 
 And now give me my cap and bells again, for my 
 wits are growing cold without them; and you will be 
 pleased to reach me my bauble once more, for I love 
 to have him by me. 
 
 Will you be seated? And you, over there, seat the 
 baby on the grass! Are you ready? Very well' then 
 I will tell you a story, and it shall be about "The Skillful 
 Huntsman." 
 
THE SKILLFUL HUNTSMAN Page 
 
 Two Opinions Facing p. 
 
 Ye Song of Ye Foolish Old Woman 
 
 A Newspaper Puff 
 
 Three Fortunes 
 
 CLAUS AND HIS WONDERFUL STAFF .... Page 
 
 Venturesome Boldness Facing p. 
 
 Superficial Culture 
 
 HOW DAME MARGERY TWIST SAW MORE THAN 
 WAS GOOD FOR HER Page 
 
 Ye Song of Ye Gossips Facing p. 
 
 A Victim to Science 
 
 Play and Earnest 
 
 The Accident of Birth 
 
 CLEVER PETER AND THE TWO BOTTLES . . Page 
 
 Ye Romantic Adventures of Three Tailors . . . Facing p. 
 
 Fancy and Fact 
 
 Ye Two Wishes 
 
 A Verse with a Moral but No Name 
 
 HANS HECKLEMANN'S LUCK Page 
 
 Ye Song of Ye Rajah and Ye Fly Facing p. 
 
 Pride in Distress 
 
 Profession and Practice 
 
 A Tale of a Tub 
 
 ix 
 
 4 
 
 5 
 
 12 
 
 13 
 
 16 
 17 
 
 28 
 
 32 
 
 33 
 36 
 37 
 
 43 
 
 44 
 45 
 48 
 49 
 
 57 
 
 64 
 65 
 68 
 
 69 
 
TABLE OF CONTENTS 
 
 FARMER GRIGGS'S BOGGART Page 69 
 
 Ye Story of a Blue China Plate Facing p. 76 
 
 Moral Blindness 77 
 
 overconfidence 80 
 
 The Force of Need 81 
 
 THE BIRD IN THE LINDEN TREE Page 82 
 
 THE APPLE OF CONTENTMENT Page 96 
 
 A Disappointment Facing p. 96 
 
 Ye Sad Story Concerning One Innocent Little Lamb and Four 
 
 Wicked Wolves Facing p. 97 
 
This Is the Way That One in Cap and Motley Stops for Awhile 
 
 Along the Stony Path of Life to Make You Laugh . . Frontispiece 
 
 Jacob's Mother and the Herr Mayor Page 2 
 
 Jacob and the Red One 4 
 
 Two Opinions Facing p. 4 
 
 Ye Song of Ye Foolish Old Woman 5 
 
 Jacob Shoots at the Magpie Page 6 
 
 Jacob and the Magic Plough 8 
 
 Jacob and the Red One Go Hunting Together .... 11 
 
 A Newspaper Puff Facing p. 12 
 
 Three Fortunes 13 
 
 Jacob and Gretchen Get the Best of the Red One and Go Home 
 
 Together Happily Page 13 
 
 Claus and the Master of Black-Arts " 16 
 
 Venturesome Boldness Facing p. 16 
 
 Superficial Culture 17 
 
 Claus and the White Snake Page 18 
 
 The Master Is Angry " 20 
 
 Claus Listens to the Talk of the Two Ravens .... " 21 
 
 Claus and the Manikin " 23 
 
 Hans Discovers Claus's Luck " 25 
 
 Dame Twist Drinketh Tea " 30 
 
 The Little Man and the Great Horse " 32 
 
 Ye Song of Ye Gossips Facing p. 32 
 
 A Victim to Science " 33 
 
 Dame Twist Visits a Strange Patient Page 34 
 
 Dame Twist Drives Away the Little Folks " 36 
 
 Play and Earnest Facing p. 36 
 
 The Accident of Birth " 37 
 
 xi 
 
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 Dame Margery Twist Goeth to See the Merry Doings at the 
 
 Fair Page 38 
 
 Dame Twist Sees the Little Man in Green for the Last 
 
 Time Page 40 
 
 Ye Romantic Adventures of Three Tailors .... Facing p. 44 
 
 Fancy and Fact " 45 
 
 Clever Peter and the Little Gentleman in Black . . . Page 46 
 Clever Peter Rides to the King's Palace upon His Fine 
 
 Horse Page 48 
 
 Ye Two Wishes Facing p. 48 
 
 A Verse with a Moral but No Name " 49 
 
 Peter Eats with the King and Princess Page 51 
 
 Clever Peter and the Unlucky Bottle " 54 
 
 Clever Peter Opens the Unlucky Bottle for the King and 
 
 Princess Page 56 
 
 Hans Hecklemann 58 
 
 Catherine " 58 
 
 Hans Hecklemann Goes to the Cottage of the Old Wise Woman 
 
 in Search of His Luck Page 61 
 
 Hans Hecklemann and the Old Wise Woman .... " 62 
 
 Hans Finds His Luck " 64 
 
 Ye Song of Ye Rajah and Ye Fly Facing p. 64 
 
 Pride in Distress " 65 
 
 Hans Hecklemann Ploughs for Gold Page 65 
 
 Profession and Practice Facing p. 68 
 
 A Tale of a Tub " 69 
 
 Farmer Georgie Griggs Page 70 
 
 Dame Mally Griggs " 72 
 
 Farmer Griggs and the Boggart " 73 
 
 Ye Story of a Blue China Plate Facing p. 76 
 
 Moral Blindness 77 
 
 The Departure Page 77 
 
 Farmer Griggs and the Wise Man 78 
 
 Overconfidence Facing p. 80 
 
 The Force of Need 81 
 
 xii 
 
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 The Boggart Rejoices Page 81 
 
 Ye King " 84 
 
 Prince John 84 
 
 The Prince Aids the Old Woman 86 
 
 The Great Ugly Troll Finds the Prince by the Fire . . 88 
 The Goose-herd and Her Daughter Meet the Princess at the 
 
 Roadside Page 90 
 
 The Prince Looks Through the Magic Key 91 
 
 The Old King Rejoices at His New Daughter-in-law . . 94 
 
 A Disappointment Facing p. 96 
 
 Ye Sad Story Concerning One Innocent Little Lamb and Four 
 
 Wicked Wolves Facing p. 97 
 
 The Little Man Asks for His Cap Page 98 
 
 Christine and the Apple " 100 
 
 Christine's Mother and Sisters Wish for the Apple ... " 101 
 
 The King Reaches for the Apple " 101 
 
 The King Talks with the Wise Man " 105 
 
 The King's Steward and Christine " 106 
 
 Christine Gives the Apple to the King " 107 
 
PEPPER AND SALT 
 
 y 
 
N 
 
NCE upon a time there was a lad named Jacob 
 Boehm, who was a practical huntsman. 
 
 One day Jacob said to his mother, "Mother, I would 
 like to marry Gretchen — the nice, pretty little daughter 
 of the Herr Mayor." 
 
 Jacob's mother thought that he was crazy. "Marry 
 the daughter of the Herr Mayor, indeed! You want to 
 marry the daughter of the Herr Mayor? Listen; many a 
 man wants and wants, and nothing comes of it!" 
 
 That was what Jacob Boehm's mother said to him. 
 
 But Jacob was deaf in that ear; nothing would do 
 but his mother must go to the Herr Mayor, and ask for 
 leave for him to marry Gretchen. And Jacob begged and 
 begged so prettily that at last his mother promised to go 
 and do as he wished. So off she went, though doubt 
 was heavy in her shoes, for she did not know how the Herr 
 Mayor would take it. 
 
 "So Jacob wants to marry Gretchen, does he?" said the 
 Herr Mayor. 
 
 Yes ; that was what Jacob wanted. 
 
2 PEPPER AND SALT 
 
 "And is he a practical huntsman?" said the Herr 
 Mayor. 
 
 Oh yes, he was that. 
 
 "So good," said the Herr Mayor. "Then tell Jacob 
 that when he is such a clever huntsman as to be able 
 
 to shoot the whiskers off from a running hare without 
 touching the skin, then he can have Gretchen." 
 
 Then Jacob's mother went back home again. "Now," 
 said she, "Jacob will, at least, be satisfied." 
 
PEPPER AND SALT 3 
 
 "Yes," said Jacob, when she had told him all that 
 the Herr Mayor had said to her, "that is a hard thing to 
 do; but what one man has done, another man can." So 
 he shouldered his gun, and started away into the world 
 to learn to be as clever a huntsman as the Herr Mayor 
 had said. 
 
 He plodded on and on until at last he fell in with a 
 tall stranger dressed all in red. 
 
 "Where are you going, Jacob?" said the tall stranger, 
 calling him by his name, just as if he had eaten pottage 
 out of the same dish with him. 
 
 "I am going," said Jacob, "to learn to be so clever a 
 huntsman that I can shoot the whiskers off from a running 
 hare without touching the skin." 
 
 "That is a hard thing to learn," said the tall stranger. 
 
 Yes ; Jacob knew that it was a hard thing; but what one 
 man had done another man could do. 
 
 "What will you give me if I teach you to be as clever 
 a huntsman as that?" said the tall stranger. 
 
 "What will you take to teach me?" said Jacob; for he 
 saw that the stranger had a horse's hoof instead of a foot, 
 and he did not like his looks, I can tell you. 
 
 "Oh, it is nothing much that I want," said the tall man; 
 "only just sign your name to this paper — that is all." 
 
 But what was in the paper? Yes; Jacob had to know 
 what was in the paper before he would set so much as 
 a finger to it. 
 
 Oh, there was nothing in the paper, only this: that 
 when the red one should come for Jacob at the end of ten 
 years' time, Jacob should promise to go along with him 
 whithersoever he should take him. 
 
4 PEPPER AND SALT 
 
 At this Jacob hemmed and hawed and scratched his 
 head, for he did not know about that. "All the same," 
 said he, "I will sign the paper, but on one condition." 
 
 At this the red one screwed up his face as though he 
 
 had sour beer in his mouth, for he did not like the sound 
 of the word "condition." "Well," said he, "what is the 
 condition?" 
 
 "It is only this," said Jacob: "that you shall be my 
 servant for the ten years, and if, in all that time, I should 
 

 opinion-) 
 
 ■ noisy-chattering-.A\agpie-once- 
 A- talking- gabbling-hairbrained-dunce 
 Came-bywhere-a-iign-post-rtoocl- 
 He-nodded- nis-Qead-wifrva-rnodijh,-alr> 
 And-said w good-da.y u - fpr-he.was-rtt-a'waxe- 
 Th af-fhe-sign-post- poihting-ih-fmger-fher&- 
 Was-only-a-bl°clt-of-wood- 
 
 Qu°fh-he-' r An-exceedingly- 5Liltry-day> 
 'Tiimore-like-J[une-fhdn-fhe-nrst-of-/lay 
 
 The-poii- said-never-a-word- 
 "iVejusf-djopped-over- from -Lincolnshire- 
 Ay-home is-in-fhe-Cafhedral-5pire- 
 The- air-is- coo ler-and-purer-fhe-higher. 
 You-get-as-you-ve-doubtless-neard." 
 
 So.on he-chaitered-wrfh-never-a- stop^ 
 And-on-andon-till-you'd- fhj'nk -he-would-drop 
 
 CThe-posf-was- dumb-aj your-ria±0 
 
 But 5°-as-.fh&-pie-could-say-his--say- "=" 
 
 He-did-n't-care-whefherlf-jpoke-all-dayp 
 
 ForfhuS-he-objerved-ai-hewalked-aw'ay 
 
 "Art-intelligent • creature -that-" * * 
 
 (Y§ second- opinion- J 
 
 l\[ow-once-when-fhe-iky-was'pouring-r3Jn.v ,( 
 The- /Magpie-chanced- to. come-by-ajjain- 
 And-fhere-stood-fhe-post-in-fhe-wet' 
 "HelIoa."iaid-ft\e-jMagpie-"Whar-you-here 
 Pray-tell-me-I-beg-ijfhere-sheHering-near- 
 A-terrible-day-for-thiS-time-of;<ne-year- 
 
 'T-would- make -a- Jainl-Anfhony-'fret-'" 
 
 "I-beg- your-pardon-I-did-n't-quite-hear- 
 (Then- louder)" I-say-is-fhere-jheltering-near 
 But-fhe-post-was-as-dumb-as-Deafh* 
 "What-carft-you-answer- a- question- pray- 
 You-wlll-not- N°-Then-I-'I1- say- good-day 
 And-flirting-his- tail-he walk&d-away- <* 
 "You-'r-a-fool-" (fhis- under-his-breaflv) £ 
 
 L'.ENVOY- 
 
 The-moral-fhat-fhis-»tory.tracei 
 It- Circumstances -alter- cases. 
 
I faw an old woman go up a fteephlll, 
 
 And fhe chuckled and Iaughed 1 asfhe\vent,wifha.'Wi!l. 
 
 And yet, as fhe went, 
 
 Herbody was bent,. 
 Wifhaload as heavy as fins in lent. 
 
 'Ohlwhy do you chuckle, old woman-," fays I, 
 As y°u climb up (he hill-fide (° fteep and fo high? 
 "Becaufe, don't you fee, 
 I'll presently be, 
 At fhe top of this hill. He! he! "fays fhe. 
 
 I faw fhe old woman go downward again ; 
 And Ihe eafily travelled, with never a pain; 
 
 Yet the loudly cried , 
 
 Andguftilyfighed, 
 And groaned, though the roadwas level and wide 
 
 "Oh 1 , why.my old woman," fays I "do you weep, 
 When you laughed.as you climbed up the hill-fide fo 
 
 "High-ho! I am vexed, tfeep?" 
 
 Becaufe I expects " 
 5aysfhe," Ifhall ache inclimbingmenext. 
 
 ggg|| 
 
PEPPER AND SALT 5 
 
 chance to ask you a question that you cannot answer, 
 then I am to be my own man again." 
 
 Oh, if that was all, the red man was quite willing for 
 that. 
 
 Then he took Jacob's gun, and blew down into the 
 barrel of it. "Now," said he, "you are as skillful a hunts- 
 man as you asked to be." 
 
 "That I must try," said Jacob. So Jacob and the red 
 one went around hunting here and hunting there until 
 they scared up a hare. "Shoot!" said the red one; and 
 Jacob shot. Clip! off flew the whiskers of the hare as 
 neatly as one could cut them off with the barber's shears. 
 
 "Yes, good!" said Jacob, "now I am a skillful hunts- 
 man." 
 
 Then the stranger in red gave Jacob a little bone 
 whistle, and told him to blow in it whenever he should 
 want him. After that Jacob signed the paper, and the 
 stranger went one way and he went home again. 
 
 Well, Jacob brushed the straws off from his coat, and 
 put a fine shine on his boots, and then he set off to the 
 Herr Mayor's house. 
 
 "How do you find yourself, Jacob?" said the Herr 
 Mayor. 
 
 "So good," said Jacob. 
 
 "And are you a skillful huntsman now?" said the 
 Herr Mayor. 
 
 Oh yes, Jacob was a skillful huntsman now. 
 
 Yes, good ! But the Herr Mayor must have proof of 
 that. Now, could Jacob shoot a feather out of the tail 
 of the magpie flying over the trees yonder? 
 
 Oh yes! nothing easier than that. So Jacob raised 
 
6 PEPPER AND SALT 
 
 the gun to his cheek. Bang! went the gun, and down 
 fell a feather from the tail of the magpie. At this the 
 Herr Mayor stared and stared, for he had never seen 
 such shooting. 
 
 "And now may I marry Gretchen?" said Jacob. 
 
 At this the Herr Mayor scratched his head, and 
 hemmed and hawed. No; Jacob could not marry Gret- 
 chen yet, for he had always said and sworn that the man 
 who should marry Gretchen should bring with him a 
 plough that could go of itself, and plough three furrows 
 at once. If Jacob would show him such a plough as 
 
PEPPER AND SALT 7 
 
 that, then he might marry Gretchen and welcome. That 
 was what the Herr Mayor said. 
 
 Jacob did not know how about that ; perhaps he could 
 get such a plough, perhaps he could not. If such a 
 plough was to be had, though, he would have it. So 
 off he went home again, and the Herr Mayor thought 
 that he was rid of him now for sure and certain. 
 
 But when Jacob had come home, he went back of the 
 woodpile and blew a turn or two on the little bone 
 whistle that the red stranger had given him. No sooner 
 had he done this than the other stood before him as sud- 
 denly as though he had just stepped out of the door of 
 nowheres. 
 
 "What do you want, Jacob?" said he. 
 
 "I would like," said Jacob, "to have a plough that 
 can go by itself and plough three furrows at once." 
 
 "That you shall have," said the red one. Then he thrust 
 his hand into his breeches pocket, and drew forth the 
 prettiest little plough that you ever saw. He stood it 
 on the ground before Jacob, and it grew large as you 
 see it in the picture. "Plough away," said he, and then 
 he went back again whither he had come. 
 
 So Jacob laid his hands to the plough and — whisk! — 
 away it went like John Stormwetter's colt, with Jacob 
 behind it. Out of the farm-yard they went, and down 
 the road, and so to the Herr Mayor's house, and behind 
 them lay three fine brown furrows, smoking in the sun. 
 
 When the Herr Mayor saw them coming he opened 
 his eyes, you may be sure, for he had never seen such a 
 plough as that in all of his life before. 
 
8 
 
 PEPPER AND SALT 
 
 "And now," said Jacob, "I should like to marry 
 Gretchen, if you please." 
 
 At this the Herr Mayor hemmed and hawed and 
 scratched his head again. No; Jacob could not marry 
 Gretchen yet, for the Herr Mayor had always said and 
 sworn that the man who married Gretchen should bring 
 
 ■*C-*t 
 
 Jacob • and -fhe-Z^Yagic • Plough*®. % 
 
 with him a purse that always had two pennies in it and 
 could never be emptied, no matter how much was taken 
 out of it. 
 
 Jacob did not know how about that; perhaps he could 
 get it and perhaps he could not. If such a thing was to 
 be had, though, he would have it, as sure as the Mecklen- 
 burg folks brew sour beer. So off he went home again, 
 and the Herr Mayor thought that now he was rid of him 
 for certain. 
 
 But Jacob went back of the woodpile and blew on his 
 bone whistle again, and once more the red one came at 
 his bidding. 
 
 "What will you have now?" said he to Jacob. 
 
PEPPER AND SALT 9 
 
 "I should like," said Jacob, "to have a purse which 
 shall always have two pennies in it, no matter how much 
 I take out of it." 
 
 "That you shall have," said the red one; whereupon 
 he thrust his hand into his pocket, and fetched out a beau- 
 tiful silken purse with two pennies in it. He gave the 
 purse to Jacob, and then he went away again as quickly 
 as he had come. 
 
 After he had gone, Jacob began taking pennies out 
 of his purse and pennies out of his purse, until he had 
 more than a hatful — hui! I would like to have such a 
 purse as that. 
 
 Then he marched off to the Herr Mayor's house with 
 his chin up, for he might hold his head as high as any, 
 now that he had such a purse as that in his pocket. As for 
 the Herr Mayor, he thought that it was a nice, pretty 
 little purse; but could it do this and that as he had 
 said? 
 
 Jacob would show him that; so he began taking pen- 
 nies and pennies out of it, until he had filled all the pots 
 and pans in the house with them. And now might he 
 marry Gretchen? 
 
 Yes; that he might! So said the Herr Mayor; for 
 who would not like to have a lad for a son-in-law who 
 always had two pennies more in his purse than he could 
 spend. 
 
 So Jacob married his Gretchen, and, between his 
 plough and his purse, he was busy enough, I can tell 
 you. 
 
 So the days went on and on and on until the ten 
 
io PEPPER AND SALT 
 
 years had gone by and the time had come for the red one 
 to fetch Jacob away with him. As for Jacob, he was in a 
 sorry state of dumps, as you may well believe. 
 
 At last Gretchen spoke to him. "See, Jacob," said she, 
 "what makes you so down in the mouth?" 
 
 "Oh! nothing at all," said Jacob. 
 
 But this did not satisfy Gretchen, for she could see 
 that there was more to be told than Jacob had spoken. 
 So she teased and teased, until at last Jacob told her all, 
 and that the red one was to come the next day and take 
 him off as his servant, unless he could ask him a question 
 which he could not answer. 
 
 "Prut!" said Gretchen, "and is that all? Then there 
 is no stuffing to that sausage, for I can help you out of 
 your trouble easily enough." Then she told Jacob that 
 when the next day should come he should do thus and so, 
 and she would do this and that, and between them they 
 might cheat the red one after all. 
 
 So, when the next day came, Gretchen went into 
 the pantry and smeared herself all over with honey. 
 Then she ripped open a bed and rolled herself in the 
 feathers. 
 
 By-and-by came the red one. Rap ! tap ! tap ! he knocked 
 at the door. 
 
 "Are you ready to go with me now, Jacob?" said he. 
 
 Yes; Jacob was quite ready to go, only he would like 
 to have one favor granted him first. 
 
 "What is it that you want?" said the red one. 
 "Only this," said Jacob: "I would like to shoot one 
 more shot out of my old gun before I go with you." 
 
PEPPER AND SALT 
 
 n 
 
 Oh, if that was all, he might do that and welcome. 
 So Jacob took down his gun, and he and the red one went 
 out together, walking side by side, for all the world as 
 though they were born brothers. 
 
 cx= 
 
 By-and-by they saw a wren. "Shoot at that," said the 
 red one. 
 
 "Oh no," said Jacob, "that is too small." 
 
 So they went on a little farther. 
 
 By-and-by they saw a raven. "Shoot at that, then," 
 said the red one. 
 
 "Oh no," said Jacob, "that is too black." 
 
12 PEPPER AND SALT 
 
 So they went on a little farther. 
 
 By-and-by they came to a ploughed field, and there was 
 something skipping over the furrows that looked for all 
 the world like a great bird. That was Gretchen; for the 
 feathers stuck to the honey and all over her, so that she 
 looked just like a great bird. 
 
 "Shoot at that! shoot at that!" said the red one, clap- 
 ping his hands together. 
 
 "Oh yes," said Jacob, "I will shoot at that." So he 
 raised his gun and took aim. Then he lowered his gun 
 again. "But what is it?" said he. 
 
 At this the red one screwed up his eyes, and looked 
 and looked, but for the life of him he could not tell what 
 it was. 
 
 "No matter what it is," Said he, "only shoot and be done 
 with it, for I must be going." 
 
 "Yes, good! But what is it?" said Jacob. 
 
 Then the red one looked and looked again, but he 
 could tell no better this time than he could before. "It 
 may be this and it may be that," said he. "Only shoot 
 and be done with it, for they are waiting for me at 
 home." 
 
 "Yes, my friend," said Jacob, "that is all very good; 
 only tell me what it is and I will shoot." 
 
 "Thunder and lightning!" bawled the red one, "I do 
 not know what it is!" 
 
 "Then be off with you!" said Jacob, "for, since you 
 cannot answer my question, all is over between us 
 two." 
 
 At this the red one had to leave Jacob, so he fled away 
 over hill and dale, bellowing like a bull. 
 
news- 
 paper- 
 
 1 welve geefo 
 Iruarow 
 (Sofhefe 
 Always go). 
 Down«Kill 
 They meander, 
 Tail to bill; 
 Kirft "the gander. 
 5° fheyftalked, 
 Bold as brafs , 
 As fhey walked 
 To fhe grafs. 
 
 Suddenly 
 Stopped fhefhrong; 
 Plain to fee 
 Somefhing's -wrong 
 "Yes -, there is 
 Something white! 
 N° quiz ; 
 Clear to fight. 
 C'Twill amufe 
 "When you're told 
 "Twa( a news - 
 Paper old.) 
 
 Gander fpoke. 
 Braver bird 
 Never broke 
 Egg,Pve heard : 
 
 
 "Wind came 
 Wifhacaper, 
 Caught fame 
 Daily paper. 
 
 Up it failed 
 Infheair; 
 Courage failed 
 Then and there . 
 
 5 cared well 
 Out of -wits; 
 Nearly fell 
 Into fits. 
 
 Offfheyfped, 
 Helter^/kelter, 
 'Till they'd fled 
 Under /heller. 
 
 Poorgee/e! 
 Nevermind; 
 Other geete 
 Onecanfind, 
 Cutfhe fame 
 Fooli/hcaper 
 At empty wind 
 In a paper. 
 
 •H-Pyle. 
 
Y\. merry young fhoemaker, 
 Andatai]or,and abaker, ^'.VA 
 
 Went t° feek their fortunes, for fhey hadbeentold, 
 Where a rainbow touchedjfhe ground , 
 (If it only could befound,) 
 Wa> a purfe that fhould be alwayi fuilof gold, 
 
 ff 
 
 5° fhey traveled day by day, 
 
 Ina jolly, jocund -way 
 Till fhe fhoemaker a pretty lass-espied} 
 
 \JChen quofh he,"ItfeemSTtomej 
 
 There can never, never be, 
 BetterJuck than this inali the-world beC.de." 
 
 fag 
 
 e Tailor's 
 
 jINNP 
 
 So the ofhers-taiiJ good-bye- 
 And went on,till by-and- 
 
 They espied a (nadyinnbefld 
 ■Where the Hofiefs fail 
 In a. lone feclufjon hid. 
 
 Here ii luck !"fhe taLhr-faid i 
 
 by 
 
 rfhe-'WHy 
 
 if 
 
 So fhe baker j ogged along , 
 All alone .with ne'era/o 
 
 Orajcflj and nothing tempted 
 
 But he went from, bad toworfe,' 
 F°r he never found fhe-purfo, 
 
 And for alH know he)} •wandering 1 
 
 It it better,onrhe~whoIe, 
 F°r an ord i nary foul, 
 (5oT gather from this (ong I 'vo trii 
 
 &rt°take me luck that rasy 
 ance to fall within his 
 I for an imaginary 
 
 (fopA'- **M t 
 
PEPPER AND SALT 
 
 13 
 
 As for Jacob and Gretchen, they went back home 
 together, very well pleased with each other and them- 
 selves. 
 
 And the meaning of all this is, that many another 
 man beside Jacob Boehm would find him- 
 self in a pretty scrape only for his wife. 
 
S^StjssTSwu/vgi^' 
 
 CLAU6-<p>-HIS'W°NDERF(JL-STAI 
 
 H 
 
 'ANS and Claus were born 
 brothers. Hans was the elder 
 and Claus was the younger; Hans 
 was the richer and Claus was the 
 poorer — that is the way that the world goes sometimes. 
 
 Everything was easy for Hans at home ; he drank much 
 beer, and had sausages and white bread three times a day; 
 but Claus worked and worked, and no luck came of it — 
 that, also, is the way that the world goes sometimes. 
 
 One time Claus spoke to Hans of this matter. "See, 
 Hans," said he, "you should give me some money, for 
 that which belongs to one brother should help the other." 
 
 But Hans saw through different colored spectacles 
 than Claus. No; he would do nothing of the kind. If 
 Claus wanted money he had better go out into the world 
 to look for it; for some folks said that money was rolling 
 about in the wide world like peas on a threshing-floor. So 
 said Hans, for Claus was so poor that Hans was ashamed 
 of him, and wanted him to leave home so as to be rid of 
 him for good and all. 
 
 This was how Claus came to go out into the world. 
 
 But before he went, he cut himself a good stout staff of 
 hazel-wood to help his heavy feet over the road. 
 
 H 
 
PEPPER AND SALT 15 
 
 Now the staff that Claus had cut was a rod of witch- 
 hazel, which has the power of showing wherever treasure 
 lies buried. But Claus knew no more of that than the 
 chick in the shell. 
 
 So off he went into the world, walking along with 
 great contentment, kicking up little clouds of dust at every 
 step, and whistling as gayly as though trouble had never 
 been hatched from mares' eggs. By-and-by he came to the 
 great town, and then he went to the market-place and 
 stood, with many others, with a straw in his mouth — for 
 that meant that he wanted to take service with somebody. 
 
 Presently there came along an old, old man, bent 
 almost double with the weight of the years which he car- 
 ried upon his shoulders. This was a famous doctor of 
 the black-arts. He had read as many as a hundred books, 
 so that he was more learned than any man in all of the 
 world — even the minister of the village. He knew, as well 
 as the birds know when the cherries are ripe, that Claus 
 had a stick of witch-hazel, so he came to the market-place, 
 peering here and peering there, just as honest folks do 
 when they are looking for a servant. After a while he 
 came to where Claus was, and then he stopped in front of 
 him. "Do you want to take service, my friend?" said he. 
 
 Yes, that was what Claus wanted; why else should he 
 stand in the market-place with a straw in his mouth? 
 
 Well, they bargained and bargained, and talked and 
 talked, and the end of the matter was that Claus agreed to 
 sell his services to the old master of black-arts for seven 
 pennies a week. So they made their bargain, and off 
 went the master with Claus at his heels. After they had 
 
16 
 
A tailor came a-walking hy, 
 "The fire of courage inhiseye. 
 ""Where are you g°ing, fir?" Said I- 
 
 " I slew a.m°ufe 
 Incur houfe, 
 Where ofher tailors live ," faidhe, 
 "And not a Jack 
 Among fhe pack 
 ^^ould dare todofhe like; pardie! 
 Therefore, I'm going °uLt° try 
 If fhere be greater menfha.nl; 
 Or in fbie land 
 As bold a hand 
 At wielding brand as I, you fee!" 
 
 The tailor came a-Iimplng by 
 Wifh w°ful face and clofhes awry 
 And all his courage gone to pie . 
 
 "I met a knight 
 In armor bright, 
 And bade him fland and draw/'faid he 
 "He rtraightway did 
 As he was bid, 
 And treated me outrageously. 
 Jol fhallget me home again, 
 And probably fhall fhere remain. 
 A little man,, 
 5ir, always can 
 Begreat wifhfol k°f lefi decree!" 
 
I'll tell ofacertain old dame; 
 
 The fame 
 Had abeautifiil piggy, whpfename^ 
 Wai Jarne- 
 -J; and whose beauty andworfh J 
 Fromfhe day of his birfh, 
 "Were matters of popular fame, 
 
 Andhis claim 
 To gentility no one could blame . 
 
 So, feeing his pr°mife ,fhe thought 
 
 She ought 
 T° have him fufficiently taught 
 The art 
 Of deportment , to go 
 Into company ; fo 
 Amaflerofdancing (he brought, 
 
 "Who was fraught 
 With a rtyte which the. piggiwig caught 
 
 S° his company manners were rare 
 
 Hb care 
 Of/ocial obfervances' (here 
 Would bear 
 Thcclofefl Infpection, 
 And net a re /lection 
 Could reft on his actions, howe'er 
 
 "You might care 
 To ex amine l em down to a hair. 
 
 Now, things went beau-ti-ful-ly, 
 
 Till he 
 Fell inlovewjfhadame °f degree; 
 Pardie! 
 When he tried fortofp&ak, 
 ^ But could only fay"0 W-e-e-k!"" 
 Tor whatever his polifh might be, 
 
 Why, dear me! 
 He was pig at the bottom ,youfee. 
 
PEPPER AND SALT 17 
 
 come a little distance away from the crowd at the market- 
 place, the master of black-arts asked Claus where he had 
 got that fine staff of hazel. 
 
 "Oh, I got it over yonder," said Claus, pointing with 
 his thumb. 
 
 But could he find the place again? 
 
 Well, Claus did not know how about that; perhaps 
 he could, and perhaps he could not. 
 
 But suppose that Claus had a thaler in his hand, then 
 could he find the place again? 
 
 Oh yes; in that case Claus was almost sure that he 
 could find the place again. 
 
 So good. Then here was a bottle of yellow water. If 
 Claus would take the bottle of yellow water, and pour 
 it over the stump from which he had cut his staff, there 
 would come seven green snakes out of a hole at the foot 
 of the hazel-bush. After these seven snakes, there would 
 come a white snake, with a golden crown on its head, 
 from out of the same hole. Now if Claus would catch 
 that white snake in the empty bottle, and bring it to the 
 master of black-arts, he should have not one thaler, but 
 two — that was what the master said. 
 
 Oh yes, Claus could do that; that was no such hard 
 thing. So he took the bottle of yellow water and off 
 he went. 
 
 By-and-by he came to the place where he had cut his 
 hazel-twig. There he did as the master of black-arts had 
 told him; he poured the yellow water over the stump of 
 hazel from which he had cut his staff. Then everything 
 happened just as the other had said: first there came seven 
 green snakes out of the hole at the foot of the hazel-bush, 
 
i8 
 
 PEPPER AND SALT 
 
 and after they had all gone, there came a white snake, 
 with a little golden crown on its head, and with its body 
 gleaming like real silver. Then Claus caught the white 
 snake, and put it into the bottle and corked it up tightly. 
 After he had done this he went back to the master of black- 
 arts again. 
 
 Now this white snake was what the folk call a tomt- 
 snake in that land. Whoever eats of a broth made of it 
 can understand the language of all the birds of the air and 
 all the beasts of the field ; so nobody need wonder that the 
 master was as glad as glad could be to have his white 
 snake safe and sound. 
 
 He bade Claus build a 
 fire of dry wood, and as 
 soon as there was a good 
 blaze he set a pot of water 
 upon it to boil. When the 
 water in the pot began to 
 boil, he chopped up the 
 white snake into little 
 pieces and threw them into 
 it. So the snake boiled and 
 boiled and boiled, and 
 Claus stared with wonder 
 as though he would never shut his eyes again. 
 Now it happened that just about the time that the broth 
 was cooked, the master was called out of the room for 
 this or for that. No sooner was his back turned than 
 Claus began to wonder what the broth was like. "I will 
 just have a little taste," said he to himself; "surely it can 
 do no harm to the rest of the soup." So he stuck his 
 
PEPPER AND SALT 19 
 
 finger first into the broth and then into his mouth; but 
 what the broth tasted like he never could tell, for just then 
 the master came in again, and Claus was so frightened 
 at what he had done that he had no wits to think of the 
 taste of anything. 
 
 Presently the master of black-arts went to the pot of 
 broth, and, taking off the lid, began smelling of it. But no 
 sooner had he sniffed a smell of the steam than he began 
 thumping his head with his knuckles, and tearing his 
 hair, and stamping his feet. "Somebody's had a finger 
 in my broth! ! !" he roared. For the master knew at once 
 that all the magic had been taken out of it by the touch of 
 Claus's finger. 
 
 As for poor Claus, he was so frightened that he fell 
 upon his knees, and began begging: "Oh! dear master- — " 
 But he got no further than this, for the master bawled 
 at him, 
 
 "You have taken the best, 
 You may have the rest." 
 
 And so saying, he threw pot and broth and all at 
 Claus, so that if he hadn't ducked his head he might have 
 been scalded to death. Then Claus ran out into the street, 
 for he saw that there was no place for him to stay in that 
 house. 
 
 Now in the street there was a cock and a hen, scratch- 
 ing and clucking together in the dust, and Claus under- 
 stood every word that they said to each other, so he stopped 
 and listened to them. 
 
 This is what they said: 
 
20 
 
 PEPPER AND SALT 
 
 The cock said to the hen, "Yonder goes our new serv- 
 ing-man." 
 
 And the hen said to the cock, "Yes, yonder he goes." 
 And the cock said to the hen, "He is leaving the best 
 behind him." 
 
 THE-AA5TER- I J-ANCKY 
 
 And the hen said to the cock, "What is it that he is 
 leaving?" 
 
 And the cock said to the hen, "He is leaving behind 
 him the witch-hazel staff that he brought with him." 
 
 And the hen said to the cock, "Yes, that is so. He 
 
PEPPER AND SALT 
 
 21 
 
 would be a fool to leave that behind, yet he is not the 
 first one to think that peas are pebbles." 
 
 As for Claus, you can guess how he opened his eyes, 
 for he saw how the land lay, 
 and that he had other ears 
 than he had before. 
 
 "Hui!" said he, "that is 
 good! I have bought more 
 for my penny than I had in 
 my bargain." 
 
 As for the hazel staff, he 
 was not going to leave that 
 behind, you may be sure. So 
 he sneaked about the place 
 till he laid hand on it again ; 
 then he stepped away, right 
 foot foremost, for he did not 
 know what the master of 
 black-arts might do to him 
 if he should catch him. 
 
 Well, after he had left 
 the town, he went along, 
 tramp ! tramp ! tramp ! until, 
 by-and-by, he grew tired 
 and sat down beneath an 
 oak-tree to rest himself. 
 
 Now, as he sat there, 
 looking up through the leaves, thinking of nothing at all, 
 two ravens came flying and lit in the tree above him. 
 After a while the ravens began talking together, and this 
 was what they said: 
 
22 PEPPER AND SALT 
 
 The one raven said, "Yonder is poor Claus sitting be- 
 low us." 
 
 And the other raven said, "Poor Claus, did you say, 
 brother? Do you not see the witch-hazel lying on the 
 ground beside him?" 
 
 The one raven said, "Oh yes; I see that, but what good 
 does it do him?" 
 
 And the other raven said, "It does him no good now, 
 but if he were to go home again and strike on the great 
 stone on the top of the hill back of Herr Axel's house, 
 then it would do him good; for in it lies a great treasure 
 of silver and gold." 
 
 Claus had picked up his ears at all this talk, you may 
 be sure. "See," said he, "that is the way that a man will 
 pass by a great fortune in the little world at home to seek 
 for a little fortune in the great world abroad" — which was 
 all very true. After that he lost no time in getting back 
 home again. 
 
 "What! are you back again?" said Hans. 
 
 "Oh yes," said Claus, "I am back again." 
 
 "That is always the way with a pewter penny," said 
 Hans — for that is how some of us are welcomed home 
 after we have been away. 
 
 As for Claus, he was as full of thoughts as an egg is of 
 meat, but he said nothing of them to Hans. Off he went 
 to the high hill back of Herr Axel's house, and there, sure 
 enough, was the great stone at the very top of the hill. 
 
 Claus struck on the stone with his oaken staff, and it 
 opened like the door of a beer vault, for all was blackness 
 within. A flight of steps led down below, and down the 
 steps Claus went. But when he had come to the bottom 
 
PEPPER AND SALT 
 
 23 
 
 of the steps, he stared till his eyes were like great round 
 saucers; for there stood sacks of gold and silver, piled 
 up like bags of grain in the malt-house. 
 
 At one end of the room was a great stone seat, and 
 on the seat sat a little manikin smoking a pipe. As for 
 
 the beard of the little man, it was as long as he was short, 
 for it hung down so far that part of it touched the stone 
 floor. 
 
 "How do you find yourself, Claus?" said the little 
 manikin, calling Claus by his name. 
 
 "So good!" said Claus, taking off his hat to the other. 
 
 "And what would you like to have, Claus?" said the 
 little man. 
 
24 PEPPER AND SALT 
 
 "I would like," said Claus, "to have some money, if 
 you please." 
 
 "Take what you want," said the little man, "only do 
 not forget to take the best with you." 
 
 Oh no; Claus would not forget the best; so he held the 
 staff tighter than ever in his fist — for what could be better 
 than the staff that brought him there? So he went here 
 and there, filling his pockets with the gold and silver 
 money till they bulged out like the pockets of a thief in 
 the orchard; but all the time he kept tight hold of his staff, 
 I can tell you. 
 
 When he had as much as his pockets could hold, he 
 thanked the little manikin and went his way, and the stone 
 door closed behind him. 
 
 And now Claus lived like a calf in the green corn-field. 
 Everything he had was of the best, and he had twice as 
 much of that as any of the neighbors. Then how brother 
 Hans stared and scratched his head and wondered, when 
 he saw how Claus sat in the sun all day, doing noth- 
 ing but smoking his pipe and eating of the best, as 
 though he were a born prince !| Every day Claus went 
 to the little man in the hill with his pockets empty, and 
 came back with them stuffed with gold and silver money. 
 At last he had so much that he could not count it, and 
 so he had to send over to brother Hans for his quart- 
 pot, so that he might measure it. 
 
 But Hans was cunning. "I will see what makes 
 brother Claus so well-off in the world all of a sudden," 
 said he; so he smeared the inside of the quart-pot with 
 bird-lime. 
 
PEPPER AND SALT 
 
 25 
 
 Then Claus measured his gold and silver money in 
 Hans's quart-pot, and when he was done with it he sent 
 it back again. But more went back with the quart-pot 
 than came with it, for two gold-pieces stuck to the bird- 
 lime, and it was these that went back with the pot to 
 brother Hans. 
 
 "What!" cried Hans, "has 
 that stupid Claus found so 
 much money that he has to 
 measure it in a quart-pot? 
 We must see the inside of this 
 business!" So off he went to 
 Claus's house, and there he 
 found Claus sitting in the sun 
 and smoking his pipe, just as 
 though he owned all of the 
 world. 
 
 "Where did you get all that 
 money, Claus?" said Hans. 
 
 Oh! Claus could not tell 
 him that. 
 
 But Hans was bound to 
 know all about it, so he 
 begged and begged so prettily 
 that at last Claus had to tell 
 him everything. Then, of course, nothing would do but 
 Hans must have a try with the hazel staff also. 
 
 Well, Claus made no words at that. He was a good- 
 natured fellow, and surely there was enough for both. 
 So the upshot of the matter was that Hans marched off 
 with the hazel staff. 
 
26 PEPPER AND SALT 
 
 But Hans was no such simpleton as Claus; no, not 
 he. Oh no, he would not take all that trouble for two 
 poor pocketfuls of money. He would have a bagful ; no, 
 he would have two bagfuls. So he slung two meal sacks 
 over his shoulder, and off he started for the hill back 
 of Herr Axel's house. 
 
 When he came t© the stone he knocked upon it, and 
 it opened to him just as it had done for Claus. Down 
 he went into the pit, and there sat the little old manikin, 
 just as he had done from the very first. 
 
 "How do you find yourself, Hans?" said the little old 
 manikin. 
 
 Oh, Hans found himself very well. Might he have 
 some of the money that stood around the room in the 
 sacks? 
 
 Yes, that he might; only remember to take the best 
 away with him. 
 
 Prut! teach a dog to eat sausages. Hans would see 
 that he took the best, trust him for that. So he filled the 
 bags full of gold, and never touched the silver — for, 
 surely, gold is better than anything else in the world, 
 says Hans to himself. So, when he had filled his two 
 bags with gold, and had shaken the pieces well down, 
 he flung the one over one shoulder, and the other 
 over the other, and then he had as much as he could 
 carry. As for the staff of witch-hazel, he let it lie 
 where it was, for he only had two hands and they were 
 both full. 
 
 But Hans never got his two bags of gold away from 
 the vault, for just as he was leaving — bang! came the 
 stone together, and caught him as though he was a mouse 
 
PEPPER AND SALT 27 
 
 in the door; and that was an end of him. That hap- 
 pened because he left the witch-hazel behind. 
 
 That was the way in which Claus came to lose his 
 magic staff; but that did not matter much, for he had 
 enough to live on and to spare. So he married the daugh- 
 ter of the Herr Baron (for he might marry whom he 
 chose, now that he was rich), and after that he lived as 
 happy as a fly on the warm chimney. 
 
 Now, this is so — it is better to take a little away at a 
 
 time and carry your staff with you, than 
 
 to take all at once and leave it behind. 
 
w 
 
 ow-Dame-T^argeTy- Twist- saw- 
 more- . fhan- was- good- for. her. 
 
 I 
 
 F one could always hold one's 
 tongue as to what one sees, one 
 would be the better for it. They are the wise people of 
 this world who keep silence as to what they see; many 
 such there are who behold things such as neither you n<or 
 I may ever hope to look upon, and yet we know nothing 
 of this because they say nothing of it, going their own 
 ways like common folks, and as though they saw nothing 
 in an egg but the meat. 
 
 Dame Margery Twist of Tavistock town was not 
 one of these wise folks who hold their tongues; she 
 was a good, gossiping, chattering old soul, whose hen 
 never hatched a chick but all of the neighbors knew of 
 it, as the saying goes. The poor old creature had only 
 one eye; how she lost the other you shall presently hear, 
 and also how her wonderful tulip garden became like 
 anybody else's tulip garden. 
 
 Dame Margery Twist lived all alone with a great 
 tabby cat. She dwelt in a little cottage that stood back 
 from the road, and just across the way from the butcher's 
 shop. All within was as neat and as bright as a new 
 pin, so that it was a delight just to look upon the row 
 
 2& 
 
PEPPLA AND SALT 29 
 
 of blue dishes upon the dresser, the pewter pipkins as 
 bright as silver, or the sanded floor, as clean as your 
 mother's table. Over the cottage twined sweet wood- 
 bines, so that the air was ladened with their fragrance in 
 the summer-time, when the busy, yellow-legged bees 
 droned amid the blossoms from the two hives that stood 
 along against the wall. But the wonder of the garden 
 was the tulip bed, for there were no tulips in all England 
 like them, and folks came from far and near, only to 
 look upon 'hem and to smell their fragrance. They 
 stood in double rows, and were of all colors — white, 
 yellow, red, purple, and pied. They bloomed early, 
 and lasted later than any others, and, when they were 
 in flower, all the air was filled with their perfume. 
 
 Now all of these things happened before the smoke 
 of the factories and the rattling of the steam-cars had 
 driven the fairy folks away from this world into No- 
 man's-land, and this was the secret of the dame's fine 
 tulip bed. For the fairies dwelt among the flowers, 
 and she often told her gossips how that she could hear 
 the fairy mothers singing their babies to sleep at night, 
 when the moon was full and the evening was warm. 
 She had never seen the little folks herself, for few folks 
 are given to look upon them, and Dame Margery's 
 eyes were not of that nature. Nevertheless, she heard 
 them, and that, in my opinion, is the next best thing to 
 seeing them. 
 
 Dame Margery 'Twist, as I said, was a good, kind, 
 comfortable old soul, and was, moreover, the best nurse 
 in all of Tavistock town. Was any one ill, it was Dame 
 
30 
 
 PEPPER AND SALT 
 
 Margery who was called upon to attend him; as for 
 the dame herself, she was always ready to bring a sick 
 body into good health again, and was always paid well 
 for the nursing. 
 
 One evening the dame was drinking her tea by herself 
 
 with great comfort. It was just at the dusking of the 
 twilight; the latticed window was opened, so that the 
 little breezes came rushing into the room, or stayed a 
 while to play wantonly with the white linen curtains. 
 The tabby cat was purring in the door-way, and the dame 
 was enjoying the sweetness of the summer-time. There 
 
PEPPER AND SALT 31 
 
 came a knock at the door. "Who is it?" said Dame 
 Margery. 
 
 "It's Tommy Lamb, if you please, ma'am," said a 
 little voice. 
 
 "Come in, Tommy," said the dame. 
 
 So in came Tommy Lamb, a little, curly-headed fel- 
 low, not any older than you. "What is it you want, 
 Tommy?" said the dame. 
 
 "If you please, ma'am, there's a little gentleman out- 
 side, no taller than I be; he gave me this box, and told 
 me to tell you to rub your eyes with the salve and then 
 to come out to him." 
 
 The dame looked out of the window, but never a body 
 stood there that she could see. "Where is the gentle- 
 man, dearie?" said she. 
 
 "Yonder he is, with a great white horse standing 
 beside him," said Tommy Lamb, and he pointed with 
 his finger as he spoke. 
 
 The dame rubbed her eyes and looked again, but 
 never a thing did she see but the green gate, the lilac- 
 bushes, and the butcher's shop opposite. The truth of 
 the matter is, that little children like you, my dear, see 
 things which we grown folks, with the dust of the world 
 in our eyes, may never behold. "Well," said Dame 
 Margery to herself, "this is strange, for sure! I see no 
 little old gentleman in green." Then she opened the box 
 that she held, and looked into it and saw that it was 
 filled with a green salve. "I'll rub some of it on my 
 eyes, at any rate," said she ; whereupon she did so. Then 
 she looked again, and, lo and behold! there stood a 
 little old man, no taller than Tommy Lamb. His face 
 
32 
 
rosrli il P 5 ^ 
 
 Y^TPSMPH 
 
 One- old maid, 
 And anofher °ld maid, 
 Andanofheroldmaid-fhat's fhree- 
 Andfhey were.agoffiping,I am afraid, 
 Ai they fat Tipping fhairte-a . 
 
 Z 
 
 They talked °f mis, 
 And fhey talked °ffhat, 
 
 lnfheufual goffiping way 
 ntil everybody 'was black as yourhat, 
 
 And fhe°nly °nes white were fhey. 
 
 
„ .....»*"' _ 
 
 f^Ww^iTnS m»»gnHifiifiiin\i\n i ii\iMi mj|]jini'ii/i/y#n^/w//^//?/ffi f ;j/ ' 
 
 tmntw+L 
 
 VICTIM 
 
 SCIENCE../ 
 
 Th re were two wise phyjlc/anj once, of glory and renown, 
 Whowent to take a little walk nigh.famous Concord town. 
 Oh! very^ery great and wise and learned men were (hly, 
 And wiseandlearnedwasfr> r falk.as they walked on fh r way. 
 And as mey walked,and talkedand talked.fney came towhr 6 (hey 
 A Crow as black as any hat; a-sltting on y e ground . found 
 
 Y e Crow was very, very sick, as you mayquickly see 
 Byjust looking at y 6 picture fh* is drawn h re by rue. 
 Nowwh n y c doctors came to him they mended of ft/ pace, 
 And said oneuntoy e omer,"H rc 's an interesting case > 
 Acasefh* sh Id be treated,and be treated speedily. 
 Ihave-yes.hereitij-aplll fh l has been made by me. 
 Now, I have had occasion — " Said ^ofher'In most cases 
 Yourpills are excellently good,but n°,myfriend,are traces 
 Ofa lassitude^ Iangtt°r,m t your pills c& hardly aid; 
 In short,fheyreramerviofentforfh s ,Iam afraid^ 
 / have a tincture— "Saidy 6 first,"Ydur tincture cannot touch 
 A case a s difficult as fh' » my pills are better, much ." 
 "YourpilIs,slr,are too violent." "Your tonic is too weak." 
 "As Ihave 5ald.,slr,Infh 5 case-" "Permit me,sir,to speak? 
 And s° fheyarguecf long and high, and on,and°n, andon, 
 Until fhey iojt their tempers , andanhour or m°re had gone. 
 But bng before fheirarguments y e question did decide, 
 Jjj Y e Crow, n°twalting fop y«end, incontinently died 
 
 Y E T^ORAL 
 
 C // apparent . ~) 
 
 fffffffff"ii"''''''"""''"""""' |M, """ ||||||i " i ''"''"ini»i v^^uvuin l - )iniffl y 
 
PEPPER AND SALT 33 
 
 was as brown, and as withered, and as wrinkled as a 
 winter's crab-apple left on the bare tree when the frost 
 is about. He was dressed all in green from top to toe, 
 and on his head was a tall green cap, with a bell at the 
 peak, which tinkled at every movement of his head. By 
 his side stood a great, tall, milk-white horse, with a long 
 tail and mane tied with party-colored ribbons. 
 
 Dame Margery went out to the little old gentleman 
 in green, and asked him what he would have with her. 
 He told the dame that his wife was sorely sick, and 
 that he wanted her to come and nurse her for the night. 
 At this Dame Margery hemmed and hawed and shook 
 her head, for she did not like the thought of going out 
 at night, she knew not where, and with such a strange 
 little body. Then the little man begged her and pleaded 
 with her, and his voice and his words were as sweet as 
 honey. At last he persuaded her to go, promising her 
 a good reward if she would nurse his wife back into 
 her health again. So the dame went back into the cot- 
 tage to make ready for her journeying, throwing her red 
 riding-cloak over her shoulders, and drawing her thick 
 shoes upon her feet. Then she filled her reticule with 
 a parcel of simples, in case they should be needed. After 
 this she came out again, and climbed up behind the little 
 man in green, and so settled herself upon the pillion 
 saddle for her ride. Then the little man whistled to his 
 horse, and away they went. 
 
 They seemed to fly rather than ride upon the hard 
 ground, for the hedges and cottages and orchards flew 
 past as though in a dream. But fast as they went, the 
 
34 
 
 PEPPER AND SALT 
 
 old dame saw many things which she had never dreamed 
 of before. She saw all of the hedge-rows, the by-ways, 
 the woods and fields alive with fairy-folk. Each little 
 body was busy upon his or her own business, laughing, 
 
 * 
 
 A 
 
 o © *> ° * 
 
 e» a o © o 
 
 o o o e> o o o) 
 
 
 chatting, talking, and running here and there like folks 
 on a market-day. 
 
 So they came at last to a place which the dame knew 
 was the three-tree-hill; but it was not the three-tree-hill 
 which she had seen in all of her life before, for a great 
 
PEPPER AND SALT 35 
 
 gateway seemed to open into it and it was into this 
 gateway that the little man in green urged the great 
 white horse. 
 
 After they had entered the hill, Dame Margery 
 climbed down from the pillion and stood looking about 
 her. Then she saw that she was in a great hall, the 
 walls of which were glistening with gold and silver, 
 while bright stones gleamed like so many stars all over 
 the roof of the place. Three little fairy children were 
 playing with golden balls on the floor, and when they 
 saw the dame they stopped in their sport and stood 
 looking silently upon her with great, wide-opened eyes, 
 just as though they were little mortal children. In the 
 corner of the room was a bed all of pure gold, and over 
 the bed were spread coverlets of gold and silver cloth, 
 and in the bed lay a beautiful little lady, very white and 
 ill. Then Dame Margery knew well enough that every 
 one of these little people were fairies. 
 
 The dame nursed the fairy lady all that night, and 
 by cock-crow in the morning the little woman had ease 
 from her pain. 
 
 Then the little man spoke for the first time since 
 Dame Margery had left home. "Look 'ee, Dame Mar- 
 gery," said he; "I promised to pay you well and I will 
 keep my word. Come hither!" So the dame went to 
 him as he had bidden her to do, and the little man 
 filled her reticule with black coals from the hearth. The 
 dame said nothing, but she wondered much whether 
 the little man called this good pay for her pains. After 
 this she climbed up on the great horse again, and be- 
 hind the little man, and they rode out of the place and 
 
36 
 
WwtmP 
 
 / 1. ■ x ' \, 
 
 o^SJ 
 
 
 ' verdewy hill and lea 
 A\errily 
 Rufhed a mad-cap breeze at play i 
 And the. daifie.5, like the bright 
 
 Stars at night. 
 Danced and twinkled iniis way. 
 
 Nins'.a tree called to me breezet 
 
 "Little breeze., 
 'WLLlycucorne and have a play? " 
 And the. wind uponJts way 
 
 S topped to play. 
 Then flic loavej ,wifh Hidden fhlver. 
 
 Sudden quiver, 
 
 AYet me light 
 
 .AVad-cap breezo 
 
 With delight. 
 
 Prefently fhe breeze grew Wronger, 
 
 Forit cared to play n°i°nger. 
 Soit flung fhe limbs about, 
 Andittoffed the leaves ir\r°ut, 
 
 Til] it r°a red, as -fh°ugh wifh thunder. 
 Then fhe poor tree groaned and bent, 
 And fhe breeze, -a tempeft,-rent 
 Leaves and branches frp/nats crown j 
 Till, at Iaft,itiflung it down, 
 
 Stripped ,and bare, and torn afunder- 
 
 \ 
 
e accident 
 of birfh. 
 
 jy 
 
 , AINTNlCHOLAS used to s end, solam told, 
 ?A11 new-born babes by storkj,in days of old 
 
 Kin? Friedrich/^ax a of Stultzenrnannenkfm, 
 For many years unto y« Saint did pray, 
 
 "That hew°uld send unto his Queen and him, 
 A baby boy,to be y e King s°meday. 
 
 At last y e Saint y e King's petition heard, 
 
 And called tohima sober long-legged bird. 
 
 Qyoth he"GoodWiIhelmStorkGuchwa5 its name ) 7 
 Here is a baby boy to take away. 
 
 Ttisfop Fritz; s°bear himtoy e same-, 
 
 Or rather to his Qjjeen,wi£hout delay. 
 
 For one grows 'Weary when one always hears 
 
 Ye same words daily dinning inone's ears." 
 
 NowWiLhelm Stork. -was oId,and dull of wits, 
 For age not always sharpenswisdomimuch, 
 
 S°what does he but bear y e gift to Fritz 
 Y e cobbler, who had half a score of s uch. 
 
 And s°y 6 baby, through a blunder, passed 
 
 Fr°m being first of all, unto— y^last. 
 
 Frorrufhis I gather that a new-born Prince, t,,™ 
 From new-born cobblers somewhat hard tp ^ 
 
 For which of us could tell y e diffeTenoe,slnce_ 
 Onefhuj experienced was mistaken 
 
 Also, perhaps, /should be great, instead 
 
 "TT writing t hus, t° earn my dai ly bread 
 
 rfP/\Dcccixxxm yi 
 
PEPPER AND SALT 37 
 
 home, where they were safe and sound ere the day had 
 fairly broken. But before the little man had left her he 
 drew out another little box just like the one that Tommy 
 Lamb had brought her the evening before, only this 
 time the box was filled with red ointment. "Rub your 
 eyes with this, Dame Margery," said he. 
 
 Now Dame Margery Twist knew butter from cheese, 
 as the saying is. She knew that the green salve was of 
 a kind which very few people have had rubbed over their 
 eyes in this world; that it was of a kind which poets 
 would give their ears to possess — even were it a lump no 
 larger than a pea. So, when she took the box of red 
 ointment, she only rubbed one eye with it — her left eye. 
 Her right eye she pretended to rub, but, in truth, she 
 never touched it at all. 
 
 Then the little man got upon his horse again, and 
 rode away to his home in the hill. 
 
 After he had gone away, Dame Margery thought 
 that she would empty her reticule of the dirty black coals ; 
 so she turned it topsy-turvy, and shook it over the 
 hearth, and out tumbled — black coals? No; great lumps 
 of pure gold that shone bright yellow, like fire, in the 
 light of the candle. The good dame could scarcely be- 
 lieve her eyes, for here was wealth enough to keep her 
 in comfort for all the rest of her days. 
 
 But Dame Margery's right eye! I wish I could only 
 see what she saw with that right eye of hers! What 
 was it she saw? That I will tell you. 
 
 The next night was full moon, and Dame Margery 
 came and looked out over the fine bed of tulips, of which 
 she was very proud. "Hey-day!" she cried, and rubbed 
 
38 
 
 PEPPER AND SALT 
 
 her eyes, in doubt as to whether she was asleep or awake, 
 for the whole place was alive with little folks. 
 
 But she was awake, and it was certain that she saw 
 them. Yes; there they were — little men, little women, 
 little children, and little babies, as thick in the tulip bed 
 as folks at a wedding. The little men sat smoking their 
 pipes and talking together; the little women sat nursing 
 their babies, singing to them or rocking them to sleep in 
 cradles of tulip flowers; the little children played at 
 
 hide-and-seek among the flower-stalks. So the dame 
 leaned out of the window, watching them with great 
 delight, for it is always a delight to watch the little 
 folks at their sports. 
 
 After a while she saw where one of the tiny fairy 
 children hid himself under a leaf, while the others who 
 were to seek him looked up and down, and high and 
 low, but could find him nowhere. Then the old dame 
 laughed and laughed to see how the others looked for 
 the little fellow, but could not tell where he was. At 
 last she could hold her peace no longer, but called out in 
 a loud voice, "Look under the leaf, Blackcap !" 
 
PEPPER AND SALT 39 
 
 The words were no sooner out of her mouth than, 
 whisk! whirr! off they scampered out of the garden and 
 away — fathers, mothers, children, babies, all crying in 
 their shrill voices, "She sees us! she sees us!" For 
 fairies are very timid folk, and dread nothing more than 
 to have mortals see them in their own shapes. 
 
 So they never came back again to the dame's garden, 
 and from that day to this her tulips have been like 
 everybody else's tulips. Moreover, whenever she went 
 out the fairies scampered away before her like so many 
 mice, for they all knew that she could see them with her 
 magical eye. This, as you may see, was bad enough, 
 but no other harm would have come of it if she had only 
 gathered wisdom at that time, seeing what ill came of 
 her speech. But, like many other old dames that I wot of, 
 no sound was so pleasant to her ears as the words of 
 her own mouth. 
 
 Now, about a twelvemonth after the time that the 
 dame had nursed the fairy lady, the great fair was held 
 at Tavistock. All the world and his wife were there, so, 
 of course, Dame Margery went also. And the fair was 
 well worth going to, I can tell you ! Booths stood along 
 in a row in the yellow sunlight of the summer-time, and 
 flags and streamers of many colors fluttered in the breeze 
 from long poles at the end of each booth. Ale flowed 
 like water, and dancing was going on on the green, for 
 Peter Weeks the piper was there, and his pipes were 
 with him. It was a fine sight to see all of the youths 
 and maids, decked in fine ribbons of pink and blue, danc- 
 ing hand-in-hand to his piping. In the great tent the 
 country people had spread out their goods — butter, 
 
40 
 
 PEPPER AND SALT 
 
 cheese, eggs, honey, and the like — making as goodly a 
 show as you would want to see. Dame Margery was 
 in her glory, for she had people to gossip with every- 
 where; so she went hither and thither, and at last into 
 the great tent where these things of which I have spoken 
 were all spread out for show. 
 
 Then, lo and behold ! who should she see, gliding here 
 and there among the crowd of other people, but the 
 little man in green whom she had seen a year ago. She 
 opened her eyes mightily wide, for she saw that he was 
 doing a strange thing. By his side hung a little earthen- 
 
PEPPER AND SALT 41 
 
 ware pot, and in his hand he held a little wooden scraper, 
 which he passed over the rolls of butter, afterwards 
 putting that which he scraped from the rolls into the pot 
 that hung beside him. Dame Margery peeped into the 
 pot, and saw that it was half full ; then she could contain 
 herself no longer. 
 
 "Hey-day, neighbor!" cried she, "here be pretty do- 
 ings, truly! Out upon thee, to go scraping good luck 
 and full measure off of other folks' butter !" 
 
 When the little man in green heard the dame speak 
 to him, he was so amazed that he nearly dropped his 
 wooden scraper. "Why, Dame Margery! can you see me 
 then?" 
 
 "Aye, marry can I! And what you are about doing 
 also; out upon you, say I!" 
 
 "And did you not rub your eyes with the red salve 
 then?" said the little man. 
 
 "One eye, yes, but one eye, no," said the dame, slyly. 
 
 "Which eye do you see me with?" said he. 
 
 "With this eye, gossip, and very clearly, I would have 
 you know," and she pointed to her right eye. 
 
 Then the little man swelled out his cheeks until they 
 were like two little brown dumplings. Puff! he blew a 
 breath into the good dame's eye. Puff! he blew, and if 
 the dame's eye had been a candle, the light of it could 
 not have gone out sooner. 
 
 The dame felt no smart, but she might wink and 
 wink, and wink again, but she would never wink sight 
 into the eye upon which the little man had blown his 
 breath, for it was blind as the stone wall back of the 
 mill, where Tom the tinker kissed the miller's daughter. 
 
42 PEPPER AND SALT 
 
 Dame Margery Twist never greatly missed the sight 
 of that eye; but all the same, I would give both of mine 
 for it. 
 
 All of these things are told at Tavistock town even 
 to this day; and if you go thither, you may hear them 
 for yourself. 
 
 But I say again, as I said at first: if one could 
 
 only hold one's tongue as to what one sees, 
 
 one would be the better for it. 
 
"ES, Peter is clever." So said 
 his mother; but then every 
 goose thinks her own gosling a swan. 
 
 The minister and all of the people of the village said 
 Peter was but a dull block. Maybe Peter was a fool; 
 but, as the old saying goes, never a fool tumbles out 
 of the tree but he lights on his toes. So now you shall 
 hear how that Peter sold his two baskets of eggs for 
 more than you or I could do, wise as we be. 
 
 "Peter," said his mother. 
 
 "Yes," said Peter, for he was well brought up, and 
 always answered when he was spoken to. 
 
 "My dear little child, thou art wise, though so young 
 now; how shall we get money to pay our rent?" 
 
 "Sell the eggs that the speckled hen has laid," said 
 Peter. 
 
 "But when we have spent the money for them, what 
 then?" 
 
 "Sell more eggs," said Peter, for he had an answer 
 for everything. 
 
 "But when the speckled hen lays no more eggs, what 
 shall we do then?" 
 
 "We shall see," said Peter. 
 
 43 
 
44 PEPPER AND SALT 
 
 "Now indeed art thou wise," said his mother, "and 
 I take thy meaning; it is this, when we have spent all, 
 we must do as the little birds do, and trust in the good 
 Heaven." Peter meant nothing of the kind, but then 
 folks will think that such wise fellows as Peter and I 
 mean more than we say, whence comes our wisdom. 
 
 So the next day Peter started off to the town, with 
 the basket full of nice white eggs. The day was bright 
 and warm and fair; the wind blew softly, and the 4 -' wheat- 
 fields lay like green velvet in the sun. The flowers were 
 sprinkled all over the grass, and the bees kicked up 
 their yellow legs as they tilted into them. The garlic 
 stuck up stout spikes into the air, and the young rad- 
 ishes were green and lusty. The brown bird in the tree 
 sang, "Cuckoo! cuckoo!" and Peter trudged contentedly 
 along, kicking up little clouds of dust at every footstep, 
 whistling merrily and staring up into the bright sky, 
 where the white clouds hung like little sheep, feeding on 
 the wide blue field. "If those clouds were sheep, and 
 the sheep were mine, then I would be a great man and 
 very proud," said Peter. But the clouds were clouds, 
 and he was not a great man; nevertheless, he whistled 
 more merrily than ever, for it was very nice to think of 
 these things. 
 
 So he trudged along with great comfort until high 
 noontide, against which time he had come nigh to the 
 town, for he could see the red roofs and the tall spires 
 peeping over the crest of the next green hill. By this 
 time his stomach was crying, "Give! give!" for it longed 
 for bread and cheese. Now, a great gray stone stood 
 near by at the forking of the road, and just as Peter came 
 
jjhree- Utile- men-went- ajoggjng.along 
 Alonq.in-fhe-sunshiny weaflien 
 Arvdfheylaughedand.they.jang-an-occasional-song 
 Which-(heyall-of- (hem- caroled* together- 
 Andfh&great-whiie-clouds-floatedover-fhe-sky- 
 And-fhe-cfay-it--wa5- - warm'andthe-sun-il-waj.high- 
 
 Asfhree-joIlytallor-merv-aJI-were-fhey. \4 
 
 As-you'd-findina-doren-of -years. 
 One'carriedfhe^yard'stick-anoihen-fhe-gooje 
 And- fhe-braves r.of-all-bore4he 
 shears- 
 5o(hey-merrily-irudged-until-after 
 
 awhile - 
 They^ame-'where-fhree.mifk.- 
 •mai ds-sat" aflona- srile - 
 
 Thegrasi-itwasigreen-and-fhe-' 
 flowers-were-gay- ' 
 And-/twas-(he;pleasantes ' 
 weather- 
 And-fhe-rnllkmaidS'Were- 
 pretty-ai-blossomjin-Aay 
 As fhey-jai-on-the-stiie- 
 all-togefher- 
 Then fhey JIopped-orvfhe-High 
 -way ■ (hose -fnree-gal lantme n 
 For- (hey- never -had-seen-as fair 
 lasses-ar-fhen- 
 
 Then-up -spake fhe-first-of-fhe- 
 
 tai/or-rnen-fhtee- 
 And-fhe-onewi(h-fhe-g°odliest 
 parts. 
 We-are-all-of-us- good-men. gallant- 
 
 and-free-" 
 And-have-never-yet-plfghied-our-hearts 
 5oprifhee-fair-maidT-wilf-y95j-rriaTTy-us-all ■ , 
 Por-our- hearts•fhey•be•g^eat■mo , • our-bodjes-be-smal I •" 
 
 Then-up-spake-fhe-fTrsr-of-fhe-fhree-pretly-dears 
 "Pray-tell-whatyour-fortune>-may>be-sir»" 
 
 "Oh-fhree-lovinojhearis-and-a-yard-goose-and'sh' 
 "Thenyou'venot-enough-forlune-for-me.sir- 
 
 .So-getyou-aJong-while-your-bDotj-are-Stillgreerr 
 
 Fcr-rlcheryoung-menAye-jhan-marry-l-ween." 
 
 Threelittle-talIoT-men</ogging-along- 
 
 Along-in-the-jumhiny -weather- 
 No- longer- fhey-laiigh-with-aj est- and-a-jong 
 
 But-fhey-walk'Very- sadly-together- 
 Forwhen-maidenj-are-pn^d-Jlke-fne-mifRjnalderu 
 Th e • I ads -fh ey •§ row- jad-I Ike' fhe- taiJorj-ioboJd • 
 
'PANCY-AND-FACT'IF^; 
 
 la fhepherd and a fhepherdeO, 
 They dwelt in Arcadee, 
 
 And fhey were dreffed in Watteau 
 Al°ft charming f°r t° feo. 
 
 They sat upon the 4ewy gra.fi 
 Wifh buds and blofform fet, 
 j| And the fhepherd played unt° fh< 
 Vpona flageolet. 
 
 b^^^H^M^W/ 7" seemed t° me as m°ugh it was 
 s^Sk^ Qi/t^MM/J A very pleasant thing j 
 Particularly fo becaufe 
 
 The time of year -was Spring 
 
 But,0 ! the ground .was damp,andf< 
 AtJeaft, Ihave been Told, 
 
 The fhepherd caught fhe lumbago, 
 The fhepherdefs.a c°|d. 
 
PEPPER AND SALT 45 
 
 to it he heard a noise. "Click! clack!" he turned his 
 head, and, lo and behold ! the side of the stone opened like 
 a door, and out came a little old man dressed all in fine 
 black velvet. "Good-day, Peter," said he. "Good-day, 
 sir," said Peter, and he took off his hat as he spoke, for 
 he could see with half an eye that this little old gentleman 
 was none of your cheese-paring fine folks. 
 
 "Will you strike a bargain with me for your eggs?" 
 said the little old man. Yes, Peter would strike a bar- 
 gain; what would the little gentleman give him for his 
 eggs? "I will give you this," said the little old man, 
 and he drew a black bottle out of his pocket. 
 
 Peter took the bottle and turned it over and over in 
 his hands. "It is," said he, "a pretty little, good little, 
 sweet little bottle, but it is not worth as much as my 
 basket of eggs." 
 
 "Prut!" said the little gentleman, "now you are not 
 talking like the wise Peter. You should never judge 
 by the outside of things. What would you like to have?" 
 
 "I should like," said Peter, "to have a good dinner." 
 
 "Nothing easier!" said the little gentleman, and he 
 drew the cork. Pop! pop! and what should come out 
 of the bottle but two tall men, dressed all in blue with 
 gold trimmings. "What will you have, sir?" said the first 
 of these to the little gentleman. 
 
 "A good dinner for two," said the little man. 
 
 No sooner said than done; for, before you could 
 say Frederic Strutzenwillenbachen, there stood a table, 
 with a sweet, clean, white cloth spread over it, and on 
 this was the nicest dinner that you ever saw, for there 
 were beer and chitterlings, and cheese and good white 
 
4 6 
 
 PEPPER AND SALT 
 
 bread, fit for the king. Then Peter and the little man 
 fell to with might and main, and ate till they could eat 
 
 no more. After they were done, the two tall men took 
 table and dishes and all back into the bottle again, and 
 the little gentleman corked it up. 
 
 "Yes," said Peter, "I will give you my basket of eggs 
 
PEPPER AND SALT 47 
 
 for the little black bottle." And so the bargain was 
 struck. Then Peter started off home, and the little man 
 went back again into the great stone and closed the door 
 behind him. He took the basket of eggs with him; 
 where he took it neither Peter nor I will ever be able 
 to tell you. 
 
 So Peter trudged along homeward, until, after a 
 while, the day waxing warm, he grew tired. "I wish," 
 said he, "that I had a fine white horse to ride." 
 
 Then he took the cork out of the bottle. Pop! pop! 
 and out came the two tall fellows, just as they had 
 done for the little old man. "What will you have, sir?" 
 said the first of them. 
 
 "I will have," said Peter, "a fine white horse to ride." 
 
 No sooner said than done ; for there, before him in the 
 road, stood a fine white horse, with a long mane and 
 tail, just like so much spun silk. In his mouth was a 
 silver bit; on his back was a splendid saddle, covered 
 all over with gold and jewels; on his feet were shoes of 
 pure gold, so that he was a very handsome horse indeed. 
 
 Peter mounted on his great horse and rode away 
 home, as grand as though he were a lord or a nobleman. 
 
 Every one whom he met stopped in the middle of the 
 road and looked after him. "Just look at Peter!" cried 
 they; but Peter held his chin very high, and rode along 
 without looking at them, for he knew what a fine sight he 
 was on his white horse. 
 
 And so he came home again. 
 
 "What didst thou get for thy eggs, my little duck?" 
 said his mother. 
 
 "I got a bottle, mother," said Peter. 
 
4 8 
 
 PEPPER AND SALT 
 
 Then at first Peter's mother began to think as others 
 thought, that Peter was a dull block. But when she saw 
 what a wonderful bottle it was, and how it held many 
 good things and one over, she changed her mind again, 
 and thought that her Peter was as wise as the moon. 
 
 And now nothing was lacking in the cottage; if 
 Peter and his mother wanted this, it came to them; if 
 they wished for that, the two tall men in the bottle fetched 
 it. They lined the house all inside with pure gold, and 
 built the chimneys of bricks of silver, so that there was 
 nothing, so fine between all the four great rivers. Peter 
 
 dressed in satin and his mother in silk, and everybody 
 called him "Lord Peter." Even the minister of the 
 village said that he was no dull boy, for nobody is dull 
 who rides on horseback and never wears wooden shoes. 
 So now Peter was a rich man. 
 
 One morning Peter said to his mother, "Mother, I 
 am going to ask the King to let me marry his daughter." 
 
 To this his mother said nothing, for surely her 
 Peter was as good as any princess that ever lived. 
 
 So off Peter rode, dressed all in his best and seated 
 astride of a grand horse. At last he came to the palace. 
 
HOWAKD ■ PYLE- DEI«-I>EV 
 
 Ye-twp-wishe 
 
 An Angel "went a walking out one day, as I've heard faid . 
 And,c°ming to a faggot-maker, begged a cruft of bread 
 The faggot-maker gave a cruft and something rather queer 
 T°walhit dovcn\virhall,from°ut a bottle fhat flood near. 
 The Angel finifhed eating;but before he left , faid he, 
 "Thou lh&lt have two wifhe> granted, for that fhou haft giveame. 
 One with fop fhat good drinkabte,another for the bread." 
 Then he left fhefagg°t-maker all amazed at what he'd faid. 
 
 Twonder," fays the -faggot-maker, after he had gone, 
 
 Tw°nder if there's any trufhinfhat famelittle fong !" 
 
 $o,tuming this thing °verinhis mind, hecafl around, 
 
 'Till he faw the empty bottle where it lay up°n fheground . 
 
 "lwi(h,"faid he, juftas a teft ," if what he faid is Co, 
 
 Into fhat empty b°ule, n°w, fhat I may ft raightway g° " 
 
 No (o oner faid than done; for, -Whifk! into theflafk he fell , 
 
 Where he found himfelf as tightly packed as chickeninthe (hell. 
 
 Invainhe kicked and twitted, and invainhe howledwifhpain; 
 
 F°r, in fpiteof all his efforts, hecould not get out again. 
 
 So, feeing how fhe matter 5to°d, he had to with once more. 
 
 When, out he flipped, as eafily as he'd gone in before. 
 
 Ifwe had had two-wlfhes, granted by an Angel thus, 
 We would not fhrow away fhe good fo kindly given us. 
 F°r firfl we'd afk forwifdorn ,which,whenwehad in (tore, 
 I'm very doubtful if we'd care to afk for anymore. 
 
 ,he. 
 
 ir 
 
 Si 
 
 c 
 
 b2_ 
 
AVERSEWTTH-AAPRAL-BUT No-N A AE> 
 
 'If all fhe world wai paper, 
 And if all fhe fea wai ink , 
 
 And if fhe tree) werebreadandcheese, 
 Whatw°uld we d° for drink?" 
 
 Thenall fhe folk, bofh great and fmall, 
 
 Began t° beat fheir braini, 
 But fhey c°uld not anfwer him at all, 
 
 In fpite of all fheir pains. 
 
 Butrtil! he wandered here and (here, 
 That man of great renown, 
 
 And flil I he questioned everywhere, 
 The folk of Haarlem town: 
 
 " If all fhe world wa; paper, 
 
 And if all fhe fea was ink, 
 And iffhe tree i were bread andchee.se, 
 What would wedofor drink? " 
 
 Full fhin hegrew,ai,day by day, 
 He toiled with mental drain, 
 Until fhe wind blew him away, 
 And he ne'er was fe&n again. 
 
 Andnow mefhinks I hear you jay, 
 u Was ere a man (° fo°Hfh,pray, 
 Since first fhe world began?" 
 Oh,hufh! I'll tell you secretly,- 
 DownEafi fhere dwells a man ,and he 
 Is afking queftionj conftantly, 
 Thatnone canan(wer,fhatl see; 
 Yet he's awise-wise man! 
 
PEPPER AND SALT 49 
 
 which was finer than the handsome new house of Herr 
 Mayor Kopff. Rap! rap! rap! Peter knocked at the 
 door, and presently came a neat servant girl and opened 
 it to him. "Is the King at home, my dear?" said Peter. 
 
 Yes, the King was at home; would he come into 
 the parlor and sit down? So Peter went into the parlor 
 and sat down, and then the King came in, dressed all in 
 his best dressing-gown, with silver slippers upon his 
 feet, and a golden crown upon his head. 
 
 "What is your name?" said the King. 
 
 "Peter Stultzenmilchen," said Peter. 
 
 "And what do you want, Lord Peter," said the King; 
 for, as I have said, Peter was dressed in his best clothes, 
 and the old King thought that he was a great lord. 
 
 "I want to marry your daughter," said Peter. 
 
 To this the King said "Hum-m-m," and Peter said 
 nothing. Then the King said that he had determined 
 that no one should marry his daughter without bringing 
 him a basketful of diamonds, rubies, topazes, emeralds, 
 pearls, and all manner of precious stones; for he thought 
 by this to get rid of Peter. 
 
 "Is that all?" said Peter. "Nothing is easier." 
 
 So off he went, until he came to a chestnut woods 
 just back of the royal kitchen-garden. There he un- 
 corked his bottle. Pop! pop! and out came the two 
 tall men. "What will you have, sir?" said they. Peter 
 told them what he wanted, and it was no sooner said 
 than done; for, there on the ground before him, stood 
 a basketful of all kinds of precious stones; each of them 
 was as large as a hen's egg, and over all of them was 
 
50 PEPPER AND SALT 
 
 spread a nice clean white napkin. So Peter took the 
 basket on his arm and went back again to the palace. 
 
 But how the King did open his eyes, to be sure, and 
 how he stared! "Now," said Peter, "I should like to 
 marry your daughter, if you please." 
 
 At this the King hemmed and hawed again. No, 
 Peter could not marry the Princess yet, for the King had 
 determined that no man should marry his daughter with- 
 out bringing him a bird all of pure silver that could sing 
 whenever it was wanted, and that more sweetly than a 
 nightingale; for he thought that now he should be rid of 
 Peter, at any rate. 
 
 "Nothing easier," said Peter, and off he went again. 
 
 When he had come to the chestnut woods, he un- 
 corked his bottle and told the two tall men what he 
 wanted. No sooner said than done; for there was a 
 bird all of pure silver. And not only that, but the bird 
 sat in a little golden tree, and the leaves of the tree were 
 emeralds, and rubies hung like cherries from the branches. 
 
 Then Peter wrapped this up in his handkerchief and 
 took it to the palace. As for the King, he could not 
 look at it or listen to it enough. 
 
 "Now," said Peter, "I should like to marry your 
 daughter, if you please." 
 
 But at this the King sang the same tune again. No, 
 Peter could not marry his daughter yet, for the King 
 had determined that the man who was to marry his 
 daughter should first bring him a golden sword, so keen 
 that it could cut a feather floating in the air, yet so 
 strong that it could cut through an iron bar. 
 
 "Nothing easier," said Peter, and this time the men 
 
PEPPER AND SALT 51 
 
 of the bottle brought him such a sword as he asked for, 
 and the hilt was studded all over with precious stones, 
 so that it was very handsome indeed. Then Peter brought 
 it to the King, and it did as the King would have it — it 
 cut through a feather floating in the air; as for the iron 
 
 bar, it cut through that as easily as you would bite 
 through a radish. 
 
 And now it seemed as though there was nothing else 
 to be done but to let Peter marry the Princess. So the 
 King asked him in to supper, and they all three sat down 
 together, the King and the Princess and Peter. And 
 
52 PEPPER AND SALT 
 
 it was a fine feast, I can tell you, for they had both 
 white and red wine, besides sausages and cheese, and real 
 white bread and puddings, and all manner of good 
 things; for kings and princesses eat and drink of the 
 best. 
 
 As for Peter, he made eyes at the Princess, and the 
 Princess looked down on her plate and blushed, and 
 Peter thought that he had never seen such a pretty girl. 
 
 After a while the King began to question Peter how 
 he came by all these fine things — the precious stones, 
 the silver bird, and the golden sword; but no, Peter 
 would not tell. Then the King and the Princess begged 
 and begged him, until, at last, Peter lost his wits and 
 told all about the bottle. Then the King said nothing 
 more, and presently, it being nine o'clock, Peter went 
 to bed. After he had gone the King and the Princess 
 put their heads together, and the end of the matter was 
 that the wicked King went to Peter's room and stole 
 the bottle from under the pillow where he had hidden it, 
 and put one in its place that was as empty as a beer 
 barrel after the soldiers have been in the town; for the 
 King and the Princess thought that it would be a fine 
 thing to have the bottle for themselves. 
 
 When the next morning had come, and they were all 
 sitting at their breakfast together, the King said, "Now, 
 Lord Peter, let us see what your bottle will do; give us 
 such and such a kind of wine." 
 
 "Nothing easier," said Peter. Then he uncorked the 
 bottle, but not so much as a single dead fly came out of it. 
 
 "But where is the wine?" said the King. 
 
 "I do not know," said Peter. 
 
PEPPER AND SALT 53 
 
 At this the King called him hard names and turned 
 him out of the palace, neck and heels; so back poor 
 Peter went to his mother with a flea in his ear, as the 
 saying is. Now he was poor again, and everybody called 
 him a dull block, for he rode no great white horse and 
 he wore wooden shoes. 
 
 "Never mind," said his mother, "here is another 
 basket of eggs from the speckled hen." So Peter set off 
 with these to the market town, as he had done with the 
 others before. When he had come to the great stone 
 at the forking of the road, whom should he meet but 
 the same little gentleman he had met the first time. "Will 
 you strike a bargain?" said he. Yes, Peter would strike 
 a bargain, and gladly. Thereupon the little old man 
 brought out another black bottle. 
 
 "Two men are in this bottle," said the little old man; 
 "when they have done all that you want them to do, say 
 'brikket-ligg' and they will go back again. Will you 
 trade with me? Yes, Peter would trade. So Peter gave 
 the little man the eggs, and the little man gave Peter 
 the second bottle, and they parted very good friends. 
 
 After a while Peter grew tired. "Now," said he to 
 himself, "I will ride a little"; and so he drew the cork 
 out of the bottle. Pop! pop! out came two men from 
 the bottle; but this time they were ugly and black, and 
 each held a stout stick in his hand. They said not a 
 word, but, without more ado, fell upon Peter and began 
 threshing him as though he was wheat on the barn floor. 
 "Stop! stop!" cried Peter, and he went hopping and 
 skipping up and down, and here and there, but it seemed 
 as though the two ugly black men did not hear him, for 
 
54 PEPPER AND SALT 
 
 the blows fell as thick as hail on the roof. At last he 
 gathered his wits together, like a flock of pigeons, and 
 cried, "Brikket-ligg! brikket-ligg!" Then, whisk! pop! 
 
 they went back into the bottle again, and Peter corked 
 it up, and corked it tightly, I can tell you. 
 
 The next day he started off to the palace once more. 
 
PEPPER AND SALT 55 
 
 Rap! rap! rap! he knocked at the door. Was the King 
 at home? Yes, the King was at home; would he come 
 and sit in the parlor? 
 
 Presently the King came in, in dressing-gown and 
 slippers. "What! are you back again?" said he. 
 
 "Yes; I am back again," said Peter. 
 
 "What do you want?" said the King. 
 
 "I want to marry the Princess," said Peter. 
 
 "What have you brought this time?" said the King. 
 
 "I have brought another bottle," said Peter. 
 
 Then the King rubbed his hands and was very polite 
 indeed, and asked Peter in to breakfast, and Peter went. 
 So they all three sat down together, the King, the Prin- 
 cess, and Peter. 
 
 "My dear," said the King, to the Princess, "the Lord 
 Peter has brought another bottle with him." Thereat 
 the Princess was very polite also. Would Lord Peter 
 let them see the bottle? Oh yes! Peter would do that; 
 so he drew it out of his pocket and sat it upon the table. 
 
 Perhaps they would like to have it opened. Yes, 
 that they would. So Peter opened the bottle. 
 
 Hui! what a hubbub there was! The King hopped 
 about till his slippers flew off, his dressing-gown fluttered 
 like great wings, and his crown rolled off from his head 
 and across the floor, like a quoit at the fair. As for the 
 Princess, she never danced in all of her life as she danced 
 that morning. They made such a noise that the soldiers 
 of the Royal Guard came running in; but the two tall 
 black men spared them no more than the King and the 
 Princess. Then came all of the Lords of the Council, 
 and they likewise danced to the same music as the rest. 
 
56 
 
 PEPPER AND SALT 
 
 "Oh, Peter! dear Lord Peter! cork up your men 
 again!" they all cried. 
 
 "Will you give me back my bottle?" said Peter. 
 
 "Yes! yes!" cried the King. 
 
 "Will you marry me?" said Peter. 
 
 "Yes! yes!" cried the Princess. 
 
 Then Peter said "brikket-ligg!" and the two tall men 
 popped back into the bottle again. So the King gave him 
 back his other bottle, and the minister was called in and 
 married him to the Princess. 
 
 After that he lived happily, and when the old King 
 died he became King over all of the land. As for the 
 Princess, she was as good a wife as you ever saw, but 
 Peter always kept the bottle near to him — maybe that was 
 the reason. 
 
 Ah me! if I could only take my eggs to such a 
 
 market and get two such bottles for them! 
 
 What would I do with them? It would 
 
 take too long to tell you. 
 
H 
 
 ANS HECKLEMANN had 
 no luck at all. Now and then 
 we hear folks say that they have no luck, but they only 
 mean that their luck is bad and that they are ashamed of it. 
 Everybody but Hans Hecklemann had luck of some kind, 
 either good or bad, and, what is more, everybody carries 
 his luck about with him; some carry it in their pocket- 
 books, some carry it in their hats, some carry it on their 
 finger tips, and some carry it under their tongues — these 
 are lawyers. Mine is at this moment sitting astride of my 
 pen, though I can no more see it than though it was 
 thin air; whether it is good or bad depends entirely as to 
 how you look upon it. 
 
 But Hans Hecklemann had no luck at all. How he 
 lost it nobody knows, but it is certain that it was clean 
 gone from him. 
 
 He was as poor as charity, and yet his luck was not 
 bad, for, poor as he was, he always had enough for his 
 wife and his family and himself to eat. They all of them 
 worked from dawn to nightfall, and yet his luck was not 
 good, for he never laid one penny on top of the other, 
 as the saying is. He had food enough to eat, and 
 clothes enough to wear, so his luck was not indifferent. 
 
 57 
 
58 PEPPER AND SALT 
 
 Now, as it was neither good, bad, nor indifferent, you 
 see that it could have been no luck at all. 
 
 Hans Hecklemann's wife was named Catherine. One 
 evening when Hans came into the cottage with just 
 enough money to buy them all bread and not a cracked 
 farthing to spare, Catherine spoke to him of this matter. 
 
 "Hans," said she, "you have no luck at all." 
 
 "No," said Hans, "I have not," which was the truth, 
 as I have already told you. 
 
 "What are you going to do about it?" said Catherine. 
 
 "Nothing at all," said Hans. 
 
 "Doing nothing puts no cabbage into the pot," said 
 Catherine. 
 
 "It takes none out," said Hans. 
 
PEPPER AiND SALT 59 
 
 "See, Hans," said Catherine; "go to 'the old wise 
 oman in the wood and talk to her about it; who knows 
 but that she can tell you how and where you lost your 
 luck?" 
 
 "If I should find my luck it might be bad and not 
 good," said Hans. 
 
 "It is worth having a look at," said Catherine; "you 
 can leave it where you find it if it does not please you." 
 
 "No," said Hans ; "when a man finds his luck he has 
 to take it, whether he likes it or no." 
 
 So Hans talked, but he had made up his mind to do 
 as Catherine said, to go and see the old wise woman in 
 the wood. He argued with her, but he only argued with 
 her to let her know how little was her knowledge and 
 how great was his. After he had clearly shown her how 
 poor her advice was, he took it. Many other men are like 
 Hans Hecklemann. 
 
 So, early the next morning, Hans jogged along to 
 the old wise woman's cottage, while the day was sweet 
 and fresh. The hedgerows were covered all over with 
 white blossoms, as though it was with so much snow; the 
 cuckoo was singing among the budding branches, and 
 the little flowers were looking up everywhere with their 
 bright faces. "Surely," said Hans to himself, "if I find 
 my luck on this day, it must be good and not ill." 
 
 So he came to the little red cottage at the edge of 
 the wood wherein lived the wise woman who knew many 
 things and one. Hans scraped his feet on the stones 
 until they were clean, and then he knocked at the door. 
 
 "Come in," said the old wise woman. 
 
 She was as strange an old woman as one could hope 
 
60 PEPPER AND SALT 
 
 to see in a lifetime. Her nose bent down to meet her 
 chin, and her chin bent up to reach her nose; her face 
 was gray with great age, and her hair was as white as 
 snow. She wore a long red cloak over her shoulders, 
 and a great black cat sat on the back of her chair. 
 
 "What do you want, Son Hans?" said she. 
 
 "I want to find my luck, mother," said Hans. 
 
 "Where did you lose it, Son Hans?" said she. 
 
 "That I do not know, mother," said Hans. 
 
 Then the old wise woman said "Hum-m-m!" in a 
 very thoughtful voice, and Hans said nothing at all. 
 
 After a while she spoke again. "Have you enough 
 to eat?" said she. 
 
 "Oh yes!" said Hans. 
 
 "Have you enough to drink?" said she. 
 
 "Plenty of water, enough of milk, but no beer," said 
 Hans. 
 
 "Have you enough clothes to cover you?" said she. 
 
 "Oh yes!" said Hans. 
 
 "Are you warm enough in winter?" said she. 
 
 "Oh yes!" said Hans. 
 
 "Then you had better leave well enough alone," said 
 she, "for luck can give you nothing more." 
 
 "But it might put money into my pocket," said Hans. 
 
 "And it might take away the good things that you al- 
 ready have," said she. 
 
 "All the same, I should like to find it again," said 
 Hans; "if I could only lay my hands on it I might make 
 good out of it, even if it is bad." 
 
 "I doubt that," said the old wise woman. Neverthe- 
 
PEPPER AND SALT 61 
 
 less, she saw that Hans was set in his own way, and 
 that he only talked stiffness into his stubbornness. So 
 she arose from her chair with much groaning, for her 
 joints were stiffened with age, and limping to a closet 
 in the wall she brought a book thence. Then she ran 
 her finger down one page and up another, until she 
 had found that which she sought. When she had found 
 it she spoke: 
 
 "Son Hans, you lost your luck three years ago when 
 you were coming from the fair at Kneitlingen. You sat 
 
 down on the overturned cross that lies where three 
 roads meet, and it fell out of your pocket along with a 
 silver shilling. Now, Hans, your luck was evil, there- 
 fore it stuck to the good sign, as all evil things of that 
 kind must, like a fly to butter. Also, I tell you this: 
 when an evil manikin such as this touches the sign of 
 the good cross, he becomes visible to the eyes of every- 
 body who chooses to look upon him. Therefore go to 
 the stone cross and you will find your luck running this 
 way and that, but never able to get away from it." So say- 
 
62 
 
 PEPPER AND SALT 
 
 ing, the old woman shut her book again. Then she 
 arose from her chair and went once more to the closet 
 in the wall. This time she took from it a little sack woven 
 of black goat's hair. "When you have found your luck 
 again, put it into this little bag," said she; "once in it, no 
 
 evil imp will be able to get out again so long as you keep 
 the strings tied. And now good-bye!" 
 
 Then Hans slipped the little sack into his pocket, and 
 set out for the overturned stone cross where the three roads 
 meet. When he had come to the place, he looked here and 
 there, and this way and that, but for a long time he could 
 
PEPPER AND SALT 63 
 
 see nothing at all. At last, after much looking, he beheld 
 a little black beetle running hither and thither on the stone. 
 "I wonder," said Hans, "if this can be my luck." 
 
 So saying, he caught the little beetle betwixt his finger 
 and thumb, but very carefully, for he could not tell 
 whether or not it might bite him. The beetle stuck to the 
 stone as though it had been glued there, but, at last, Hans 
 pulled it away; then — lo! it was not a beetle that he held 
 in his hand, but a little manikin about as long as your 
 thumb and as black as ink. Hans Hecklemann was so 
 frightened that he nearly dropped it, for it kicked and 
 screeched and rolled its red eyes in a very ugly way as he 
 held it. However, he popped it into the little sack and 
 pulled the strings tight, and there it was, safe and sound. 
 
 That is what Hans Hecklemann's luck was like. 
 
 So Hans having his luck secure in the little sack be- 
 gan to bargain with it. "What will you do for me if I let 
 you out?" said he. 
 
 "Nothing at all," snarled his luck. 
 
 "Very well," said Hans, "we will see about that." 
 
 So he carried it home with him, and threw sack and 
 all into a nasty pot where Catherine cast the scrapings of 
 the dishes — the fat and what not that she boiled down into 
 soap now and then. There he left his luck to stay until 
 the next day, and then he went to it again. "What will you 
 do for me if I will let you out now?" said he. 
 
 "Nothing at all," snarled his luck. 
 
 "Very well," said Hans, "we will see about that." So 
 he let him stay where he was for another day. And so the 
 fiddle played; every day Hans Hecklemann went to his 
 luck and asked it what it would give him if he would let 
 
6 4 
 
t reat and rich beyond comparing 
 "WasfheRajah Rhamajaring, 
 .As he 'wont to take an airing 
 
 "^A/ifhhii Court one fummerday.'y 
 .All were gay with green and yellow;-^ 
 .And alittle darky fellow 
 Bore amonflrous fun-umbrella, 
 
 Fortofhade him on fhe way. 
 
 Nowacertain fly,un\vitting 
 Of fhis grandeur, came a-flittlng 
 To fhe Royal ncfe.and fitting, 
 
 Twirled his leg! upon fhe Tame. 
 Then fhe Rajah's &ya blazed fire 
 Atfhe infult,and theiro 
 Inhis heart boiled high and higher 
 
 31apl ha.flruckj.but miffed his aim- ^ 
 
 Then all trembled at hispaffi'on, 
 For he fpoke in furious fafhion.. 
 5awyg/howyon flydiddafh on 
 Toourauguft n°fe ? " he faid . 
 'Now let alKvithincurnation 
 "Wage awar with out ceffation;- 
 "Warof b-lood, ex- ter-mi-nation, "*^.- 
 Until every fly js dead HS",. - ,, 
 
 Now fhewhile this war.wai raging. 
 
 That fhe Rajah was a-\vaging, 
 
 Things fhat fhould have been engaging | 
 
 His attention went to pot. 
 Sohocameat laftto begging, 
 Though fhe /lies continued plaguing 
 For iVs not fo eafy pegging 
 
 Outovexations fhus,lwot. 
 
 »• 
 
 From fhiryou may feewhatall have to ex 
 Wl-^ftghting fmall trouble J, great duties negle-c 
 
PEPPER AND SALT 
 
 65 
 
 it out, and every day his luck said nothing; and so a week 
 or more passed. 
 
 At last Hans's luck gave in. 
 
 "See, Hans," it said one morning; "if you will let me 
 out of this nasty pickle I will give you a thousand dialers." 
 
 "Ah no!" said Hans. "Thalers are only thalers, as my 
 good father used to say. They melt away like snow, and 
 then nothing is left of them. I will trust no such luck as 
 that!" 
 
 "I will give you two thousand thalers," said his luck. 
 
 "Ah no!" said Hans; "two thousand thalers are only 
 twice one thousand thalers. I will trust no such luck as 
 that, either!" 
 
 "Then what will you take to let me out, Hans Heckle- 
 mann?" said his luck. 
 
 "Look," said Hans; "yonder stands my old plough. 
 Now, if you will give me to find a golden noble at the end 
 of every furrow that I strike with it I will let you out. If 
 not — why, then, into the soap you go." 
 
 "Done!" said Hans's luck. 
 
 "Done!" said Hans. 
 
 Then he opened the mouth of the sack, and — puff! 
 
66 PEPPER AND SALT 
 
 went his luck, like wind out of a bag, and — pop ! it slipped 
 into his breeches pocket. 
 
 He never saw it again with his mortal eyes, but it 
 stayed near to him, I can tell you. "Ha! ha! ha!" it 
 laughed in his pocket, "you have made an ill bargain, 
 Hans, I can tell you!" 
 
 'Never mind," said Hans, "I am contented." 
 
 Hans Hecklemann did not tarry long in trying the 
 new luck of his old plough, as you may easily guess. Off 
 he went like the wind and borrowed Fritz Friedleburg's 
 old gray horse. Then he fastened the horse to the plough 
 and struck the first furrow. When he had come to the end 
 of it — pop! up shot a golden noble, as though some one 
 had spun it up from the ground with his finger and 
 thumb. Hans picked it up, and looked at it and looked 
 at it as though he would swallow it with his eyes. Then 
 he seized the handle of the plough and struck another 
 furrow — pop! up went another golden noble, and Hans 
 gathered it as he had done the other one. So he went on 
 all of that day, striking furrows and gathering golden 
 nobles until all of his pockets were as full as they could 
 hold. When it was too dark to see to plough any more he 
 took Fritz Friedleburg's horse back home again, and then 
 he went home himself. 
 
 All of his neighbors thought that he was crazy, for it 
 was nothing but plough, plough, plough, morning and 
 noon and night, spring and summer and autumn. Frost 
 and darkness alone kept him from his labor. His stable 
 was full of fine horses, and he worked them until they 
 dropped in the furrows that he was always ploughing. 
 
 "Yes; Hans is crazy," they all said; but when Hans 
 
PEPPER AND SALT 67 
 
 heard them talk in this way he only winked to himself and 
 went on with his ploughing, for he felt that he knew this 
 from that. 
 
 But ill luck danced in his pocket with the golden 
 nobles, and from the day that he closed his bargain with 
 it he was an unhappy man. He had no comfort of living, 
 for it was nothing but work, work, work. He was up and 
 away at his ploughing at the first dawn of day, and he 
 never came home till night had fallen; so, though he 
 ploughed golden nobles, he did not turn up happiness in 
 the furrows along with them. After he had eaten his 
 supper he would sit silently behind the stove, warming 
 his fingers and thinking of some quicker way of doing his 
 ploughing. For it seemed to him that the gold-pieces 
 came in very slowly, and he blamed himself that he had 
 not asked his luck to let him turn up three at a time in- 
 stead of only one at the end of each furrow; so he had no 
 comfort in his gathering wealth. As day followed day he 
 grew thin and haggard and worn, but seven boxes of 
 bright new gold-pieces lay hidden in the cellar, of which 
 nobody knew but himself. He told no one how rich he 
 was growing, and all of his neighbors wondered why he 
 did not starve to death. 
 
 So you see the ill luck in his breeches pocket had the 
 best of the bargain, after all. 
 
 After Hans had gone the way of all men, his heirs 
 found the chests full of gold in the cellar, and therewith 
 they bought fat lands and became noblemen and gentle- 
 men ; but that made Hans's luck none the better. 
 
 From all this I gather: 
 
68 PEPPER AND SALT 
 
 That few folks can turn ill luck into good luck. 
 
 That the best thing for one to do is to let well enough alone. 
 
 That one cannot get happiness as one does cabbages — with 
 
 money. 
 That happiness is the only good luck, after all! 
 
Q 
 
 ILL? 
 
 rof&ffion 
 
 O 
 
 NCE, when Saint Swithin chanced to be 
 A-wandering in Hungar)', 
 He, being hungered, cast around 
 To see if something might be found 
 To stay his stomach. 
 
 Near by stood 
 A little house, beside a wood, 
 Where dwelt a worthy man, but poor. 
 Thither he went, knocked at the door. 
 The good man came. Saint Swithin sai 
 " I prithee give a crust of bread 
 To ease my hunger." 
 
 " Brother," quoth 
 The good man, " I am sadly loath 
 To say" (here tears stood on his cheeks' 
 " I've had no bread for weeks and weeks. 
 Save what I've begged. Had I one bit, 
 I'd gladly give thee half of it." 
 
 "How," said the Saint, "can one so good 
 Go lacking of his daily food, 
 Go lacking means to aid the poor,. 
 Yet weep to turn them from his door? 
 Here — take this purse. Mark what I say: 
 Thou'lt find within it every d 
 Two golden coins." 
 
 Years passed. Once more 
 Saint Swithin knocked upon the door. 
 The good man came. He'd grown fat 
 And lusty, like a well-fed cat. 
 Thereat the Saint was pleased. Quoth he, 
 " Give me a crust, for charity." 
 
 " A crust, thou say 'st ? Hut, tut! How now? 
 Wouldst come a-begging here? I trow. 
 Thou lazy rascal, thou couldst find 
 Enough of work hadst thou a mind! 
 'Tis thine own fault if thou art poor. 
 Begone, sir!" Bang! — he shut the door. 
 
 Saint Swithin slowly scratched his head. 
 "Well, I am — humph! — just so," he said. 
 " How very different the fact is 
 'Twixt the profession and the practice !" 
 
Talo-ofoTub- 
 
 You may brtng tcmnind Pve furigyouaforig, 
 Ofawvanof Raarlemt°wn.. 
 
 Til fing of another,- 'twill nottake Iflng- 
 Of equally great renown • 
 
 2 
 
 "I've* read" fald he,"fhere'.$ a land afar, 
 O'er the bound lefs tolling Tea, 
 
 ^Where fat Little pigs ready roailed are; 
 Naw,fhatb fh© land forme. 
 
 3 
 
 tart tree-, 
 Where tarts may be plucked from the wi Id 
 
 And puddings like-pumpkins grow, 
 Where candie5,likepebblej,Iiebyfhefea,_ 
 
 Now, rramerriLflralghtvvay go." 
 
 4- 
 
 N°vc,what do you think IVe heard it faid 
 Was his b°at, his oar, his sail? 
 
 Atub , afp°on, and a handkerchief red, 
 For to bread both calm, and gale. 
 
 S 
 
 5° he sailed away, for a livelong day; 
 
 And fhe sunwas warm and mild, 
 And fhefmall waves laughed as they feemed 
 
 And the fea-gulls clamored wild" to P' a y» 
 
 6 
 
 $ohe sailed away, fora livelong day; 
 
 Till fhe wind began to r°ar, 
 And fhe waves ros'ehigh , and, to briefly say, 
 
 He never was heard of more • 
 
 HP VIE. 
 
armor Griggss Boggart 
 
 D 
 
 JD you ever hear of a 
 boggart? No! Then I 
 will tell you. A boggart is a small imp that lives 
 in a man's house, unseen by any one, doing a 
 little good and much harm. This imp was called a bog- 
 gart in the old times, now we call such by other names — 
 ill-temper, meanness, uncharitableness, and the like. 
 Even now, they say, you may find a boggart in some 
 houses. There is no placing reliance on a boggart ; some- 
 times he may seem to be of service to his master, but there 
 is no telling when he may do him an ill turn. 
 
 Rap ! tap ! tap ! came a knock at the door. 
 
 The wind was piping Jack Frost's, for the time was 
 winter, and it blew from the north. The snow lay all over 
 the ground, like soft feathers, and the hay-ricks looked as 
 though each one wore a dunce-cap, like the dull boy in 
 Dame Week's school over by the green. The icicles hung 
 down by the thatch, and the little birds crouched shivering 
 in the bare and leafless hedge-rows. 
 
 But inside the farm-house all was warm and pleasant ; 
 the great logs snapped and crackled and roared in the wide 
 chimney-place, throwing red light up and down the walls, 
 
 so that the dark night only looked in through the latticed 
 
 6 9 
 
70 
 
 PEPPER AND SALT 
 
 windows. Farmer Griggs sat warming his knees at the 
 blaze, smoking his pipe in great comfort, while his crock 
 of ale, with three roasted crab-apples bobbing about with- 
 
 in it, warmed in the hot ashes beside the blazing logs, 
 simmering pleasantly in the ruddy heat. 
 
 Dame Griggs's spinning-wheel went humm-m-m! 
 hum-m-m-m-m ! like a whole hiveful of bees, the cat purred 
 
PEPPER AND SALT 71 
 
 in the warmth, the dog basked in the blaze, and little red 
 sparks danced about the dishes standing all along in a row 
 on the dresser. 
 
 But, rap ! tap ! tap ! came a knock at the door. 
 
 Then Farmer Griggs took his pipe from out his mouth. 
 "Did 'ee hear un, dame?" said he. "Zooks now, there be 
 somebody outside the door." 
 
 "Well then, thou gert oaf, why don't 'ee let un in?" 
 said Dame Griggs. 
 
 "Look 'ee now," said Georgie Griggs to himself, "sure 
 women be of quicker wits than men!" So he opened the 
 door. Whoo ! In rushed the wind, and the blaze of the 
 logs made as though it would leap up the chimney for 
 fear. 
 
 "Will you let me in out of the cold, Georgie Griggs?" 
 piped a small voice. Farmer Griggs looked down and saw 
 a little wight no taller than his knee standing in the snow 
 on the door-step. His face was as brown as a berry, and 
 he looked up at the farmer with great eyes as bright as 
 those of a toad. The red light of the fire shone on him, and 
 Georgie Griggs saw that his feet were bare and that he 
 wore no coat. 
 
 "Who be 'ee, little man?" said Farmer Griggs. 
 
 "I'm a boggart, at your service." 
 
 "Na, na," said Farmer Griggs, "thee's at na sarvice o' 
 mine. I'll give na room in my house to the likes o' thee"; 
 and he made as though he would have shut the door in the 
 face of the little urchin. 
 
 "But listen, Georgie Griggs," said the boggart; "I will 
 do you a good service." 
 
72 
 
 PEPPER AND SALT 
 
 Then Farmer Griggs did listen. "What sarvice will 
 'ee do me, then?" said he. 
 
 "I'll tend your fires," said the manikin, "I'll bake your 
 
 bread, I'll wash your dishes, I'll scour your pans, I'll scrub 
 your floors, I'll brew your beer, I'll roast your meat, I'll 
 boil your water, I'll stuff your sausages, I'll skim your 
 milk, I'll make your butter, I'll press your cheese, I'll 
 
73 
 
74 PEPPER AND SALT 
 
 pluck your geese, I'll spin your thread, I'll knit your stock- 
 ings, I'll mend your clothes, I'll patch your shoes — I'll 
 be everywhere and do all of the work in your house, so 
 that you will not have to give so much as a groat for wages 
 to cook, scullion, or serving wench!" 
 
 Then Farmer Griggs listened a little longer without 
 shutting the door, and so did Dame Griggs. "What's thy 
 name, boggart?" said he. 
 
 "Hardfist," said the boggart; and he came a little 
 farther in at the door, for he saw that Farmer Griggs had 
 a mind to let him in all of the way. 
 
 "I don't know," said Georgie Griggs, scratching his 
 head doubtfully; "it's an ill thing, lettin' mischief intull 
 the house! Thee's better outside, I doubt." 
 
 "Shut the door, Georgie!" called out Dame Griggs; 
 "thou'rt lettin' th' cold air intull th' room." 
 
 Then Farmer Griggs shut the door, but the boggart 
 was on the inside. 
 
 This is the way in which the boggart came into Farmer 
 Griggs's house, and there he was to stay, for it is no such 
 easy matter getting rid of the likes of him when we once 
 let him in, I can tell you. 
 
 The boggart came straightway over to the warm fire, 
 and the dog growled — "chur-r-r-r!" — and showed his 
 teeth, and the cat spit anger and jumped up on the dresser, 
 with her back arched and her tail on end. But the boggart 
 cared never a whit for this, but laid himself comfortably 
 down among the warm ashes. 
 
 Now imps, like this boggart, can only be seen as the 
 frost is seen — when it is cold. So as he grew warmer and 
 
PEPPER AND SALT 75 
 
 warmer, he grew thin, like a jelly-fish, and at last, when 
 he had become thoroughly warmed through, Farmer 
 Griggs and the dame could see him no more than though 
 he was thin air. But he was in the house, and he stayed 
 there, I can tell you. For a time everything went as smooth 
 as cream; all of the work of the house was done as though 
 by magic, for the boggart did all that he had promised; he 
 made the fires, he baked the bread, he washed the dishes, he 
 scoured the pans, he scrubbed the floors, he brewed the 
 beer, he roasted the meat, he stuffed the sausages, he skim- 
 med the milk, he made the butter, he pressed the cheese, he 
 plucked the geese, he spun the thread, he knit the stock- 
 ings, he mended the clothes, he patched the shoes — he was 
 everywhere and did all of the work of the house. When 
 Farmer Griggs saw these things done, and so deftly, he 
 rubbed his hands and chuckled to himself. He sent cook 
 and scullion and serving maid a-packing, there being noth- 
 ing for them to do, for, as I said, all of these things were 
 done as smooth as cream. But after a time, and when the 
 boggart's place had become easy to him, like an old shoe, 
 mischief began to play the pipes and he began to show his 
 pranks. The first thing that he did was to scrape the 
 farmer's butter, so that it was light of weight, and all of the 
 people of the market town hooted at him for giving less 
 than he sold. Then he skimmed the children's milk, so that 
 they had nothing but poor watery stuff to pour over their 
 pottage of a morning. He took the milk from the cat, so 
 that it was like to starve; he even pilfered the bones and 
 scrapings of the dishes from the poor house-dog, as though 
 he was a very magpie. He blew out the rush-lights, so that 
 
76 PEPPER AND SALT 
 
 they were all in the dark after sunset; he made the fires 
 burn cold, and played a hundred and forty other impish 
 tricks of the like kind. As for the poor little children, 
 they were always crying and complaining that the boggart 
 did this and the boggart did that ; that he scraped the butter 
 from their bread and pulled the coverlids off of them at 
 night. 
 
 Still the boggart did his work well, and so Farmer 
 Griggs put up with his evil ways as long as he could. At 
 last the time came when he could bear it no longer. "Look 
 'ee, now, Mally," said he to his dame, "it's all along o' thee 
 that this trouble's coome intull th' house. I'd never let 
 the boggart in with my own good-will !" So spoke Farmer 
 Griggs, for even nowadays there are men here and there 
 who will now and then lay their own bundle of faults on 
 their wives' shoulders. 
 
 "I bade thee do naught but shut the door!" answered 
 Dame Griggs. 
 
 "Ay; it's easy enough to shut the door after the 
 trouble's come in!" 
 
 "Then turn it out again!" 
 
 "Turn un out! Odds bodkins, that's woman's wit! 
 Dost 'ee not see that there's no turnin' o' un out? Na, 
 na; there's naught to do but to go out ourselves!" 
 
 Yes; there was nothing else to be done. Go they must, 
 if they would be rid of the boggart. So one fine bright day 
 in the blessed spring-time, they packed all of their be- 
 longings into a great wain, or cart, and set off to find a new 
 home. 
 
 Off they trudged, just as you see in the picture, the 
 
STORY- OF- A*/**. 
 
 BLVE- CHIN AtfL ATE 
 
 T r here was a C°chin Chinaman , 
 Wh°se name it was Ah-Lee, 
 And the fame-was jud as fin© aman 
 As you could wifh tofee , 
 For he was rich and flrong, 
 And his queue w-&s extralong, 
 And he lived on rice and fifh and chiccory 
 
 "Which "he had alovely daughter, -^=r 
 
 And hemamewas Avai-Ri-An, ~ -{X s 
 
 And fhe youthful "Wang who sought he-r J*. r ^z. 
 
 H and was but a poor young manj j?Jk 
 
 $o her haughty father faid-, ^ 
 
 "Y°u fhal I never, never wed 
 Such apauper as this pennilefs young man) 
 
 >y 
 
 S°fhe daughter and her lover, 
 
 They eloped onefummer day, 
 "Which Ah-Lee he did difcover, 
 And purfued without delay; 
 But fhe Goddefs L°",I 4 ve heard , 
 Changed each lover to a bird , 
 And from. fhe bad Ah- "Lee fhey flew awaTO 
 
 Ah me! Ah-Lee jlhe chance is, ^ 
 
 T hat v^e al I of u s may know 
 Of unpleafant circumftances 
 Wewould like to flay, but oh! 
 The inevitable "things 
 Will take unto fhem~wings r 
 And •will fly where we may never hopeto 
 I would further like to ftate, 
 That fhe tale which, l.relale-, 
 You can fee °nanyptato 
 That was made mCo.ehin)|Ghir\a>yearS ago 
 
here was an°ld •woman, as I've heardfay, 
 Who owned b ut a ftngla' gnotb . 
 And 'flie dame. lived over toward THixtan way, 
 Andthe animal ran. at loofe . 
 It cackled up andit cackled down , 
 Disturbing the peace°faH the town; 
 Gentle and fimple, .Knight and clown* 
 Fromfhedawn to fiie clofe of day. 
 
 /"mother oMwomarvofnatrnuchnate, 
 Lived over toward Truxton way., 
 Whoownsd a goat -with a lhaggy blackccat, 
 As Tve, heard the neighbours fay. 
 Andit -was the fearofoneandaU-, 
 Butting the great,and butting rhefrnall,- 
 N° matter wham,- who happened tofall 
 In the way of this evil goat. 
 
 J aid the firftoid woman ."This ugh/ goat 
 
 Should never thus run at [cafe/ 1 
 Saldrhefecond "Iwlihmey'd cutfhe -throat 
 Of that rvolfy cackling g°°fe." 
 And fb it happened when e'er -fhatihey 
 NX'ould meet each other upon the way 
 They'd bicker and bioker die livelang day 
 In die key «tTafi:o]dlng note. 
 
 Dut all the neighbours-, great andfmall , 
 Complained of bothwifh grievous ton e» 
 
 Prom which I gather fhai we, all 
 See other* fault? andnotour°wxu 
 
77 
 
78 
 
 PEPPER AND SALT 
 
 three little children seated high up in the wain, and the 
 farmer and the dame plodding ahead. 
 
 Now, as they came to the bottom of Shooter's Hill, 
 whom should they meet but their good neighbor and 
 
 gossip, Jerry Jinks. "So, Georgie," said he, "you're 
 leavin' th' ould house at last?" 
 
 "High, Jerry," quoth Georgie. "We were forced tull 
 it, neighbor, for that black boggart torments us so that 
 there was no rest night or day for it. The poor bairns' 
 stomachs are empty, and the good dame's nigh dead for it. 
 
PEPPER AND SALT 79 
 
 So off we go, like th' field-fares in the autumn — we're 
 flittin', we're flittin' !" 
 
 Now on the wain was a tall, upright churn; as soon 
 as Georgie had ended his speech, the lid of the churn be- 
 gan to clipper-clapper, and who should speak out of it. 
 but the boggart himself. "Ay, Jerry!" said he, "we're 
 a flittin', we're a flittin', man! Good-day to ye, neighbor, 
 good-day to ye ! Come and see us soon time !" 
 
 "High!" cried Georgie Griggs, "art thou there, thou 
 black imp? Dang un! We'll all go back tull th' old 
 house, for sure it's better to bear trouble there than in a 
 new place." 
 
 So back they went again — boggart and all. 
 
 By this you may see, my dear, if you warm an imp by 
 your fire, he will soon turn the whole house topsy-turvy. 
 Likewise, one cannot get rid of a boggart by going from 
 here to there, for it is sure to be in the cart with the house- 
 hold things. 
 
 But how did Georgie Griggs get rid of his boggart? 
 That I will tell you. 
 
 He went to Father Grimes, the wise man, who lived on 
 in a little house on the moor. "Father Grimes," said he, 
 "how shall I get rid of my boggart?" 
 
 Then Father Grimes told him to take this and that, 
 and to do thus and so with them, and see what followed. 
 So Farmer Griggs went to Hugh the tailor's, and told him 
 to make a pretty red coat and a neat pair of blue breeches. 
 Then he went to William the hatter's, and bade him to 
 make a nice little velvet cap with a bell at the top of it. 
 Then he went to Thomas the shoemaker's, and bade him 
 to make a fine little pair of shoes. So they all did as he 
 
80 PEPPER AND SALT 
 
 told them, and after these things were made he took them 
 home with him. He laid them on a warm spot on the 
 hearth where the boggart used to come to sleep at night. 
 Then he and his dame hid in the closet to see what would 
 follow. 
 
 Presently came the boggart, whisking here and danc- 
 ing there, though neither the farmer nor the dame could 
 see him any more than though he had been a puff of wind. 
 
 "Heigh-ho!" cried the boggart, "these be fine things 
 for sure." So saying, he tried the hat upon his head, and 
 it fitted exactly. Then he tried the coat on his shoulders, 
 and it fitted like wax. Then he tried the breeches on his 
 legs, and they fitted as though they grew there. Then he 
 tried the shoes on his feet, and there never was such a fit. 
 So he was clad in all his new clothes from top to toe, 
 whereupon he began dancing until he made the ashes on 
 the hearth spin around with him as though they had gone 
 mad, and, as he danced, he sang : 
 
 "Cap for the head, alas poor head! 
 Coat for the back, alas poor back! 
 Breeks for the legs, alas poor legs! 
 Shoen for the feet, alas poor feet! 
 If these be mine, mine cannot be 
 The house of honest man, Georgie!" 
 
 So he went singing and dancing, and skipping and 
 leaping, out of the house and away. As for Georgie 
 Griggs and his dame, they never heard a squeak from him 
 afterwards. 
 
 Thus it was that Farmer Griggs got rid of his boggart. 
 All I can say is, that if I could get rid of mine as easily 
 
OVERCONFIDENC E, : 
 
 peacock, sat °ny® garden wall 
 CSee picture here t° y a right), I 
 
 And.y e folkcarne crowding- great and Invall- 
 F° r i t chanced that none i n y e town. a.t al 1 
 
 Had ever teen fuch ajight. 
 If you'd have been there perhaps you'd havehearc 
 Y e f lk.talkthu5-, as they looked at y e bird, : Jiff* 
 
 " O crickety I - L aw!- J& 
 
 jimmeny me!- 
 
 1 never yet iaw!- 
 Who ever did see 
 
 5uch a beautiful sight in the world before , 
 Since y e animals marched fromy e old ark door? 
 
 O! Lookaty e fpots 
 
 Inhistail! Andy e Jots 
 Of green and of blue in his beautiful wing 
 I'd give a new fhil ling t° know if he fi ng 
 
 Y e peacock fays ," Surely, they'll greatly rejoice 
 To hear but a touch of my delicate voice. 
 
 (.Sings.) 
 
 i_ 
 
 " O dear ! O dear 
 
 O ftopit!-Odo!- 
 
 We never did hear , 
 
 $uch a-hullaballoof.-.' 
 'Tis worle fhan.y & noi(e, that y e carpenters mal 
 Whentheyfharpen their faws!-Now, for charity's" 
 
 Give over this fqualling , 
 
 And catermawalling \" 
 Cried al I y ° good people who c hanced to be near ; 
 Eachthrufting a finger-tip into each ear 
 
 You fee y e poop dunce had attempted to thine 
 Inaway that was out of his natural line 
 

 
 "jHE-poRCE- of-J\|eed-^ 
 
 p=^ — 
 
 oy,Robin! ho, Robin! 
 
 .Singing on fhe tree, 
 I will give you whitebroad, 
 
 If you will come to me." 
 
 "Oh! the little breeze is finging 
 T° fho nodd ing dailies white ; 
 And fhe tender grafs is fpringing, 
 
 And fhe sun i> warm and bright; 
 And my little mate is ■waiting 
 
 In fhe budding hedge forme-, 
 S°,°n fhe whoLeJ'll n°t accept 
 
 "Y°ur kindly courtefy-" 
 
 "Hey, Robin! ho, Robin! 
 
 Now fhe north 'winds blow; 
 Wherefore do you come here, 
 In fhe ice and snow ? " 
 
 "The wind is raw, fhe flowers are dead, 
 The frofl is on fhe fhorn , 
 S°ril gladly take a crust of bread, 
 And come where it is warm-" 
 
 Oh,ChiIdren! little Children! 
 
 H ave you ever chanced to fee 
 One beg for crust that sneered at 
 
 Inbrightprofperity? crumi) 
 
PEPPER AND SALT 
 
 81 
 
 (for I have one in my own housed I would make him 
 a suit of clothes of the finest silks and satins, and would 
 hang a bell of pure silver on the point of his cap. But, 
 alackaday ! there are no more wise men left to us, like good 
 Father Grimes, to tell one an easy way to get rid of one's 
 boggart. 
 
ONCE there was a prince, and his 
 name was John. One day his 
 father said to him, "See, John; I am 
 growing old, and after a while the time 
 will come when I must go the way of everybody else. 
 Now I would like to see you married before I leave you." 
 
 "Very well," said the Prince, for he always answered 
 the King in seemly fashion; "and who shall it be?" 
 
 "Why not the Princess of the White Mountain?" said 
 the old King. 
 
 "Why not, indeed?" said the young Prince, "only she 
 is too short." 
 
 "Why not the Princess of the Blue Mountain?" said 
 the old King. 
 
 "Why not, indeed?" said the young Prince, "only she 
 is too tall." 
 
 "Why not the Princess of the Red Mountain?" said 
 the old King. 
 
 "Why not, indeed?" said the young Prince, "only she 
 is too dark." 
 
 "Then whom will you have?" said the old King. 
 
 82 
 
PEPPER AND SALT 83 
 
 "That I do not know," said the young Prince, "only 
 this: that her brow shall be as white as milk, and her 
 cheeks shall be as red as blood, and her eyes shall be 
 as blue as the skies, and her hair shall be like spun gold." 
 
 "Then go and find her!" said the old King, in a huff, 
 for his temper was as short as chopped flax. "And don't 
 come back again till you've found her!" he bawled after 
 the Prince as he went out to the door. 
 
 So the Prince went out into the wide world to find 
 such a maiden as he spoke of — whose brow was as 
 white as milk, whose cheeks were as red as blood, whose 
 eyes were as blue as the skies, and whose hair was like 
 spun gold — and he would have to travel a long dis- 
 tance to find such a one nowadays, would he not? 
 
 So off he went, tramp! tramp! tramp! till his shoes 
 were dusty and his clothes were gray. Nothing was in 
 his wallet but a lump of brown bread and a cold sausage, 
 for he had gone out into the world in haste, as many a 
 one has done before and since his day. 
 
 So he went along, tramp ! tramp ! tramp ! and by-and- 
 by he came to a place where three roads met, and there sat 
 an old woman. 
 
 "Hui! hui! but I am hungry!" said the old woman. 
 
 Now the Prince was a good-hearted fellow, so he said 
 to the old woman, "It is little I have, but such as it is you 
 are welcome to it." Thereupon he gave the old woman 
 the lump of brown bread and the cold sausage that was 
 in his wallet, and the old woman ate it up at a bite. 
 
 "Hui! hui! but I am cold!" said she. 
 
 "It is little that I have, but such as it is you are wel- 
 come to it," said the Prince, and he gave the old woman 
 
84 
 
 PEPPER AND SALT 
 
 the dusty coat off his back. After that he had nothing 
 more to give her. 
 
 "One does not give something for nothing," said the 
 old woman, so she began fumbling about in her pocket 
 
 until she found an old rusty key. And the best part of 
 the key was, that whenever one looked through the ring 
 of it, one saw everything just as it really was and not 
 as it seemed to be. 
 
PEPPER AND SALT 85 
 
 Who would not give his dinner and the coat off his 
 back for such a key? 
 
 After that the Prince stepped out again, right foot 
 foremost, tramp ! tramp ! tramp ! until evening had come, 
 and he felt as hungry as one is like to do when one 
 goes without one's dinner. At last he came to a dark 
 forest, and to a gray castle that stood just in the middle 
 of it. This castle belonged to a great, ugly troll, though 
 the Prince knew nothing of that. 
 
 "Now I shall have something to eat," said he, and he 
 opened the door of the castle and went in. 
 
 Only one person was within, and that was a maiden; 
 but she was as black from head to foot as Fritz the 
 charcoal burner. The Prince had never seen the like of 
 her in all of his life before, so he drew the rusty key 
 out of his pocket and took a peep at her through the 
 ring of it, to see what manner of body she really was. 
 
 Then he saw that she was no longer black and ugly, 
 but as beautiful as a ripe apple; for her forehead was as 
 white as milk, her cheeks were as red as blood, her eyes 
 were as blue as the skies, and her hair was like spun gold. 
 Moreover, any one could see with half an eye that she 
 was a real princess, for she wore a gold crown on her 
 head, such as real princesses are never without. 
 
 "You are the one whom I seek," said the Prince. 
 
 "Yes, I am the one you seek," said she. 
 
 "And how can I free you from your enchantment?" 
 said he. 
 
 "If you will abide here three nights, and will bear all 
 that shall happen to you without a word, then I shall 
 be free," said she. 
 
86 PEPPER AND SALT 
 
 "Oh yes, I will do that," said the Prince. 
 
 After that the black Princess set a good supper be- 
 fore him, and the Prince ate like three men. 
 
 By-and-by there was a huge noise, and the door 
 opened and in came an ugly troll with a head as big 
 
 as a bucket. He rolled his great saucer eyes around till 
 he saw the Prince where he sat beside the fire. 
 
 "Black cats and spotted toads!" bellowed he, "what 
 are you doing here?" 
 
 But to this the Prince answered never a word. 
 
PEPPER AND SALT 87 
 
 "We shall see whether or no there is sound in you!" 
 roared the troll. Thereupon he caught the Prince by the 
 hair and dragged him out into the middle of the room. 
 Then he snatched up a great cudgel and began beating 
 the Prince as though he were a sack of barley-flour; 
 but the Prince said never a word. At last the troll had to 
 give over beating him, for the morning had come and the 
 troll was afraid the sun would catch him; and if that were 
 to happen, he would swell up and burst with a great 
 noise. "We shall see whether you will come again!" said 
 he, and then he left the Prince lying on the floor more 
 dead than alive; and if anybody was sore in all of the 
 world, the Prince was that man. 
 
 After the troll had left the house, the black Princess 
 came and wept over the Prince; and when her tears 
 fell on him, pain and bruise left him, and he was as 
 whole as ever. When he looked he saw that the black 
 Princess's feet were as white as silver. 
 
 The next night the troll came again, and with him two 
 others. "Black cats and spotted toads!" bellowed he, 
 "are you here again?" Then he caught the Prince by the 
 hair and dragged him out into the middle of the floor, 
 and all three of the trolls fell upon the Prince and 
 beat him with clubs, as though he had been a sack of 
 barley-flour. But the Prince bore this too without a 
 word. At last the morning came, and they had to give 
 over beating him. "We shall see if you will come again," 
 said the troll of the house. 
 
 After the trolls had gone, the black Princess came 
 and wept over the Prince as she had done before, and 
 when her tears fell on him he was made whole again. 
 
88 
 
 PEPPER AND SALT 
 
 And now the hands of the black Princess were as white 
 as silver. 
 
 The third night the troll of the house came, and 
 brought with him six others. Then the same thing hap- 
 pened as before, and they beat the Prince with great 
 cudgels as thick as my thumb. At last the morning came, 
 
 and they went away bellowing and howling, for their 
 enchantment had gone. As for the Prince, he lay upon 
 the floor more dead than alive, for he could neither see 
 nor hear anything that happened about him. 
 
 Then the Princess came for the third time and wept 
 over him, and he was whole and sound again. As for 
 
PEPPER AND SALT 89 
 
 the Princess, she stood before him, and now her brow was 
 as white as milk, and her cheeks were as red as blood, and 
 her eyes were as blue as the skies, and her hair was 
 like spun gold. But the beautiful Princess had little 
 or nothing upon her, so the Prince wrapped her in a 
 ram's skin that was in the troll's house. Then he turned 
 his toes the way he had come, and started away for home, 
 taking her along with him. 
 
 So they went along and along till they had come so 
 near to the King's house that they could see the high 
 roofs and the weathercocks over the crest of the next hill. 
 There the Prince bade the Princess to wait for him till 
 he went home and brought her a dress of real silver and 
 gold, such as was fitting for her to wear. Then he 
 left her, and the Princess sat down beside the roadside 
 to wait until he should come again. 
 
 Now as the Princess sat there, there came along the 
 old goose-herd of the palace, and with her came her 
 daughter; for they were driving the royal geese home 
 again from where they had been eating grass. When 
 they saw the beautiful Princess, clad in her ram's hide, 
 they stared as though they would never shut their eyes 
 again. Then they wanted to know all about her — who 
 she was, and where she came from, and what she sat 
 there for. So the Princess told them all that they wanted 
 to know, and that she waited there for the Prince to 
 come with a dress all of silver and gold, which would 
 suit her better than the old ram's hide which she wore. 
 
 Then the old goose-woman thought that it would be 
 a fine thing to have her daughter in the Princess's place, 
 so that she might have the dress of real silver and gold, 
 
90 
 
 PEPPER AND SALT 
 
 and marry the Prince. So the goose-herd's daughter 
 held the Princess, and the old goose-herd stripped the 
 ram's hide off from her. 
 
 No sooner had they done this than the Princess was 
 changed into a beautiful golden bird, and flew away over 
 hill and over valley. Then the goose-herd's daughter 
 clad herself in the ram's hide, and sat down in the 
 Princess's place. 
 
 "Yes, my pretty little bird," said the old goose-herd, 
 "thou wilt make a fine Princess!" But, prut! she was no 
 more like a Princess than I am, for she was squat, and 
 round-shouldered, and had hair of the color of tow. 
 
 Then the old goose-herd drove her geese away, and 
 the goose-girl waited for the coming of the Prince. 
 
 Sure enough, after a while the Prince came with a 
 fine dress, all of real silver and gold; but when he saw 
 the goose-girl he beat his head with his knuckles, for 
 he thought that it was the Princess, and that she was 
 enchanted again. 
 
PEPPER AND SALT 91 
 
 Why did he not look through the ring of his magic 
 key? 
 
 Perhaps for this, perhaps for that — one cannot be 
 always wise. 
 
 Then the Prince dressed the goose-girl in the fine 
 dress of gold and silver, and took her home with him. 
 Hui! how everybody stared and laughed when they 
 saw what kind of a Princess it was that the Prince 
 brought home with him! As for the poor old King, he 
 
92 PEPPER AND SALT 
 
 rubbed his spectacles and looked and looked, for he 
 thought that this was a strange sort of a wife for the 
 Prince to make such a buzz about. However, he said 
 nothing, for he thought to himself that perhaps she would 
 grow prettier by-and-by. 
 
 So orders were given for a grand wedding on Thurs- 
 day, and the old King asked all of the neighbors to come, 
 and even those who lived at a distance, for this was to 
 be a very grand wedding indeed. 
 
 But the old goose-herd told her daughter to mix a 
 sleeping powder with the Prince's wine at supper, for, 
 if the real Princess were to come at all, she would come 
 that night. So the goose-girl did as she was told, and 
 the Prince drank the sleeping powder with his wine, 
 and knew nothing of it. 
 
 That night the golden bird came flying, and sat in the 
 linden tree just outside of the Prince's chamber window. 
 Then she clapped her wings and sang: 
 
 "I wept over you once, 
 I wept over you twice, 
 I wept over you three times. 
 In the ram's skin I waited, 
 And out of the ram's skin I flew. 
 Why are you sleeping, 
 Life of my life?" 
 
 But the Prince slept as sound as a dormouse, and 
 when the dawn came and the cocks crew the golden bird 
 was forced to fly away. 
 
 The next night the false Princess did as she had done 
 before, and mixed a sleeping powder with the Prince's 
 cup of wine. 
 
PEPPER AND SALT 93 
 
 That night the golden bird came again, and perched 
 in the linden tree outside of the Prince's window, and 
 sang: 
 
 "I wept over you once, 
 I wept over you twice, 
 I wept over you three times. 
 In the ram's skin I waited, 
 And out of the ram's skin I flew. 
 Why are you sleeping, 
 Life of my life?" 
 
 But once more the Prince slept through it all, and 
 when morning had come the golden bird was forced 
 to fly away. 
 
 Now it chanced that that night some of the folk of 
 the King's household heard the bird singing, and they 
 told the Prince all about it. So when the third night 
 came, and the false Princess gave the Prince the cup of 
 wine with the sleeping powder in it, he threw the wine 
 over his shoulder, and never touched so much as a drop 
 of it. 
 
 That night the bird came for the third time, and sang 
 as it had done before. 
 
 But this time the Prince was not sleeping. He 
 jumped out of his bed and ran to the window, and there 
 he saw the bird, and its feathers shone like fire because 
 they were of pure gold. Then he got his magic key and 
 looked through the ring of it, and whom should he see 
 but his own Princess sitting in the linden tree. 
 
 Then the Prince called to her, "What shall I do 
 to set you free from this enchantment?" 
 
 "Throw your knife over me," said the Princess. 
 
94 
 
 PEPPER AND SALT 
 
 No sooner said than done. The Prince threw his 
 knife over her, and there she stood in her own true shape. 
 Then the Prince took her to the King, and when the 
 King saw how pretty she was, he skipped and danced 
 till his slippers flew about his ears. 
 
 The next morning the old King went to the false 
 Princess, and said, "What should be done to one who 
 would do thus and so?" 
 
 To this the false Princess answered, as bold as brass, 
 "Such a one should be thrown into a pit full of toads 
 and snakes." 
 
 "You have spoken for yourself," said the King; and 
 he would have done just so to her had not the true Prin- 
 cess begged for her so that she was sent back again to 
 tend the geese, for that was what she was fit for. 
 
 Then they had the grandest wedding that ever was 
 seen in all of the world. Everybody was asked, and there 
 was enough for all to eat as much, as they chose, and to 
 
PEPPER AND SALT 95 
 
 take a little something home to the children beside. If 
 I had been there I would have brought you something. 
 
 What is the meaning of all this? 
 
 Listen, I will tell you something. 
 
 Once there was a man, and he winnowed a whole 
 peck of chaff, and got only three good solid grains from 
 it, and yet he was glad to have so much. 
 
 Would you winnow a whole peck of chaff for only 
 three good grains? No? Then you will never know 
 all that is meant by this story. 
 
T 
 
 MrlERE was a woman once, and she 
 had three daughters. The first 
 daughter squinted with both eyes, yet the woman loved 
 her as she loved salt, for she herself squinted with both 
 eyes. The second daughter had one shoulder higher than 
 the other, and eyebrows as black as soot in the chimney, 
 yet the woman loved her as well as she loved the other, for 
 she herself had black eyebrows and one shoulder higher 
 than the other. The youngest daughter was as pretty as 
 a ripe apple, and had hair as fine as silk and the color of 
 pure gold, but the woman loved her not at all, for, as I 
 have said, she herself was neither pretty, nor had she hair 
 of the color of pure gold. Why all this was so, even Hans 
 Pfifendrummel cannot tell, though he has read many 
 books and one over. 
 
 The first sister and the second sister dressed in their 
 Sunday clothes every day, and sat in the sun doing noth- 
 ing, just as though they had been born ladies, both of 
 
 them. 
 
 9 6 
 
A Disappointment^ 
 
 
 priuSee,tell me wh^y 
 Oh /Aaid^o jweet and rare! 
 She 
 
 £\ am y e miller's daughter,sir ; ^/y (4 " 
 
 w And live just over fh re " 
 
 5 # e 
 
 ,^Of all y e / v Yaids lever jaw, 
 ',** Y°u are beyond compare? 1 
 
 St? She P^m 
 
 'Oh;uSankyou,jip!Oh-,fhankyou,sir! % 
 
 mL Y° u i* word 5 are ve ry fa i r '■' 
 
 s£-S°Iw I<} asky°u 5 o mefhing,n o W; 'Jj 
 If I might only dare" v, /JT 
 
 'a'Now^youTnay askmewh r y°u please 
 F°r anyfhing I care ." 
 
 I 
 
 #e 
 
 Then will you marry me? Forwe ■ 
 ^ W ,d make a go°d]y pair." 
 2& She 
 
 "Ifhankyou sir ; your offer.it 
 M, Is mojt extremely rave, 
 i rBut as lam already -wed, 
 s| -You'r late,sir,ior y e Fair? 
 
 \ 
 
 \ 
 
 ■^ 
 
 t fh s y c Bachelor walked away; 
 '('And talked to himself of (h 1 Lao so gay-,,, 
 
 'Her hair is verydecidedly red> 
 
 And her eye? have somewhat of acast mher head; 
 
 And her feet are large- ; and her hands are coarse-, 
 | And,\vifhout I'm mistaken, her voice is hoarse . 
 \ c Tis a bargain of wh ch I amvery well rid; 
 
 1 am g!ad,or\ y e whole ,1 escaped as I did." 
 
e fad R ory concerning one 
 innocent little Lamb -Jp* 
 and four wicked v^olves: 
 
 little- lamb was gamboling, 
 Upon apleafant day, 
 And four grey wolves came fhambling, 
 And flopped to fee it play 
 In the sun- 
 Said the lamb ," Perhaps I may 
 Charm fhefe creatures "with my play, 
 And they'll let meg° away, 
 "When I've done." 
 
 The wolves, fhey sat afmiling at 
 
 The playful thing ,to tee 
 How exceedingly beguiling fhat 
 Its pretty play could be. 
 See ithop! 
 But Its ftrengfh began to wane,' 
 Though it gamboled on in pain , 
 Till it finally was Tain, 
 Fortofiop, 
 
 ! fhenfhere was a munching, 
 
 Of that tender little fhing, 
 d a crunching and a (crunching 
 As you'ld munch a chicken wing. 
 No avail 
 Was its cunning, merry play 
 ~ or fhe only fhing , they fay, 
 That was left of it fhat day, 
 Was- its tail, 
 owifhme-, whenl am done, 
 And the critics have begun, 
 All fhey'U leave me of my fun 
 'LI befhetale. 
 
PEPPER AND SALT 97 
 
 As for Christine — that was the name of the youngest 
 girl — as for Christine, she dressed in nothing but rags, 
 and had to drive the geese to the hills in the morning and 
 home again in the evening, so that they might feed on 
 the young grass all day and grow fat. 
 
 The first sister and the second sister had white bread 
 (and butter beside) and as much fresh milk as they 
 could drink; but Christine had to eat cheese-parings 
 and bread-crusts, and had hardly enough of them to 
 keep Goodman Hunger from whispering in her ear. 
 
 This was how the churn clacked in that house! 
 
 Well, one morning Christine started off to the hills 
 with her flock of geese, and in her hands she carried her 
 knitting, at which she worked to save time. So she went 
 along the dusty road until, by-and-by, she came to a 
 place where a bridge crossed the brook, and what should 
 she see there but a little red cap, with a silver bell at the 
 point of it, hanging from the alder branch. It was such 
 a nice, pretty little red cap that Christine thought that 
 she would take it home with her, for she had never seen 
 the like of it in all of her life before. 
 
 So she put it in her pocket, and then off she went with 
 her geese again. But she had hardly gone two-score of 
 paces when she heard a voice calling her, "Christine! 
 Christine!" 
 
 She looked, and who should she see but a queer little 
 gray man, with a great head as big as a cabbage and 
 little legs as thin as young radishes. 
 
 "What do you want?" said Christine, when the little 
 man had come to where she was. 
 
 Oh, the little man only wanted his cap again, for 
 
9 8 
 
 PEPPER AND SALT 
 
 without it he could not go back home into the hill — 
 that was where he belonged. 
 
 But how did the cap come to be hanging from the 
 bush? Yes, Christine would like to know that before 
 she gave it back again. 
 
 The little man asks for his cap • 
 
 Well, the little hill-man was fishing by the brook over 
 yonder when a puff of wind blew his cap into the water, 
 and he just hung it up to dry. That was all that there was 
 about it; and now would Christine please give it to him? 
 
 Christine did not know how about that; perhaps she 
 would and perhaps she would not. It was a nice, pretty 
 little cap; what would the little underground man give 
 her for it? that was the question. 
 
PEPPER AND SALT 99 
 
 Oh, the little man would give her five thalers for it, 
 and gladly. 
 
 No; five thalers was not enough for such a pretty 
 little cap — see, there was a silver bell hanging to it too. 
 
 Well, the little man did not want to be hard at a 
 bargain; he would give her a hundred thalers for it. 
 
 No; Christine did not care for money. What else 
 would he give for this nice, dear little cap? 
 
 "See, Christine," said the little man, "I will give you 
 this for the cap"; and he showed her something in his 
 hand that looked just like a bean, only it was as black 
 as a lump of coal. 
 
 "Yes, good; but what is that?" said Christine. 
 
 "That," said the little man, "is a seed from the apple 
 of contentment. Plant it, and from it will grow a tree, 
 and from the tree an apple. Everybody in the world that 
 sees the apple will long for it, but nobody in the world 
 can pluck it but you. It will always be meat and drink 
 to you when you are hungry, and warm clothes to your 
 back when you are cold. Moreover, as soon as you 
 pluck it from the tree, another as good will grow in its 
 place. Now, will you give me my hat?" 
 
 Oh yes; Christine would give the little man his cap 
 for such a seed as that, and gladly enough. So the little 
 man gave Christine the seed, and Christine gave the 
 little man his cap again. He put the cap on his head, 
 and — puff! — away he was gone, as suddenly as the light 
 of a candle when you blow it out. 
 
 So Christine took the seed home with her, and planted 
 it before the window of her room. The next morning 
 when she looked out of the window she beheld a beautiful 
 
100 
 
 PEPPER AND SALT 
 
 tree, and on the tree hung an apple that shone in the sun 
 as though it were pure gold. Then she went to the tree 
 and plucked the apple as easily as though it were a 
 gooseberry, and as soon as she had plucked it another 
 as good grew in its place. Being hungry she ate it, and 
 thought that she had never eaten anything as good, for 
 it tasted like pancake with honey and milk. 
 
 By-and-by the oldest sister came out of the house and 
 looked around, but when she saw the beautiful tree with 
 the golden apple hanging from it you can guess how she 
 stared. 
 
 Presently she began to long and long for the apple 
 as she had never longed for anything in her life. "I will 
 just pluck it," said she, "and no one will be the wiser for 
 it." But that was easier said than done. She reached and 
 reached, but she might as well have reached for the 
 moon; she climbed and climbed, but she might as well 
 
PEPPER AND SALT 
 
 101 
 
 have climbed for the sun — for either one would have been 
 as easy to get as that which she wanted. At last she had 
 to give up trying for it, and her temper was none the 
 sweeter for that, you may be sure. 
 
 After a while came the second sister, and when she 
 saw the golden apple she wanted it just as much as the 
 first had done. But to want and to get are very different 
 
 things, as she soon found, for she was no more able to get 
 it than the other had been. 
 
 Last of all came the mother, and she also strove to 
 pluck the apple. But it was no use. She had no more 
 luck of her trying than her daughters; all that the three 
 could do was to stand under the tree and look at the apple, 
 and wish for it and wish for it. 
 
 They are not the only ones who have done the like, with 
 the apple of contentment hanging just above them. 
 
 As for Christine, she had nothing to do but to pluck 
 
102 PEPPER AND SALT 
 
 an apple whenever she wanted it. Was she hungry? there 
 was the apple hanging in the tree for her. Was she 
 thirsty? there was the apple. Cold? there was the apple. 
 So you see, she was the happiest girl betwixt all the seven 
 hills that stand at the ends of the earth ; for nobody in the 
 world can have more than contentment, and that was what 
 the apple brought her. 
 
 II 
 
 One day a king came riding along the road, and all of 
 his people with him. He looked up and saw the apple 
 hanging in the tree, and a great desire came upon him to 
 have a taste of it. So he called one of the servants to him, 
 and told him to go and ask whether it could be bought for 
 a potful of gold. 
 
 So the servant went to the house, and knocked on the 
 door — rap! tap! tap! 
 
 "What do you want?" said the mother of the three 
 sisters, coming to the door. 
 
 Oh, nothing much; only a king was out there in the 
 road, and wanted to know if she would sell the apple 
 yonder for a potful of gold. 
 
 Yes, the woman would do that. Just pay her the pot 
 of gold and he might go and pluck it and welcome. 
 
 So the servant gave her the pot of gold, and then he 
 tried to pluck the apple. First he reached for it, and 
 then he climbed for it, and then he shook the limb. 
 
 But it was no use for him to try; he could no more get 
 it — well — than / could if I had been in his place. 
 
 At last the servant had to go back to the King. The 
 
PEPPER AND SALT 
 
 103 
 
 apple was there, he said, and the woman had sold it, but 
 try and try as he would he could no more get it than 
 he could get the little stars in the sky. 
 
 Then the King told the steward to go and get it for 
 him; but the steward, though he was a tall man and a 
 strong man, could no more 
 pluck the apple than the 
 servant. 
 
 So he had to go back to 
 the King with an empty fist. 
 No; he could not gather it, 
 either. 
 
 Then the King himself 
 went. He knew that he 
 could pluck it — of course 
 he could! Well, he tried 
 and tried; but nothing came 
 of his trying, and he had to 
 ride away at last without 
 having had so much as a 
 smell of the apple. 
 
 After the King came 
 home, he talked and 
 dreamed and thought of 
 nothing but the apple; for 
 
 the more he could not get it the more he wanted it — that 
 is the way we are made in this world. At last he grew 
 melancholy and sick for want of that which he could not 
 get. Then he sent for one who was so wise that he had 
 more in his head than ten men together. This wise man 
 told him that the only one who could pluck the fruit of 
 
104 PEPPER AND SALT 
 
 contentment for him was the one to whom the tree be- 
 longed. This was one of the daughters of the woman 
 who had sold the apple to him for the pot of gold. 
 
 When the King heard this he was very glad; he had 
 his horse saddled, and he and his court rode away, and so 
 came at last to the cottage where Christine lived. There 
 they found the mother and the elder sisters, for Christine 
 was away on the hills with her geese. 
 
 The King took off his hat and made a fine bow. 
 
 The wise man at home had told him this and that; 
 now to which one of her daughters did the apple-tree 
 belong? so said the King. 
 
 "Oh, it is my oldest daughter who owns the tree," 
 said the woman. 
 
 So, good! Then if the oldest daughter would pluck 
 the apple for him he would take her home and marry 
 her and make a queen of her. Only let her get it for him 
 without delay. 
 
 Prut! that would never do. What! was the girl to 
 climb the apple-tree before the King and all of the 
 court? No! no! Let the King go home, and she would 
 bring the apple to him all in good time; that was what 
 the woman said. 
 
 Well, the King would do that, only let her make haste, 
 for he wanted it very much indeed. 
 
 As soon as the King had gone, the woman and her 
 daughters sent for the goose-girl to the hills. Then they 
 told her that the King wanted the apple yonder, and 
 that she must pluck it for her sister to take to him ; if she 
 did not do as they said they would throw her into the 
 well. So Christine had to pluck the fruit; and as soon 
 
PEPPER AND SALT 
 
 105 
 
 as she had done so the oldest sister wrapped it up in a 
 napkin and set off with it to the King's house, as pleased 
 as pleased could be. Rap ! tap ! tap ! she knocked at the 
 door. Had she brought the apple for the King? 
 
 Oh yes, she had brought it. Here it was, all wrapped 
 up in a fine napkin. 
 
 After that they did not let her stand outside the door 
 till her toes were cold, I can tell you. As soon as she 
 had come to the King she opened her napkin. Believe 
 me or not as you please, all the same, I tell you that there 
 was nothing in the napkin but a hard round stone. When 
 the King saw only a stone he was so angry that he 
 stamped like a rabbit and told them to put the girl out 
 of the house. So they did, and she went home with 
 a flea in her ear, I can tell you. 
 
io6 
 
 PEPPER AND SALT 
 
 Then the King sent his steward to the house where 
 Christine and her sisters lived. 
 
 He told the woman that he had come to find whether 
 she had any other daughters. 
 
 Yes; the woman had another daughter, and, to tell 
 the truth, it was she who owned the tree. Just let the 
 steward go home again and the girl would fetch the apple 
 in a little while. 
 
 As soon as the steward had gone, they sent to the hills 
 for Christine again. Look! she must pluck the apple 
 
PEPPER AND SALT 107 
 
 for the second sister to take to the King; if she did not do 
 that they would throw her into the well. 
 
 So Christine had to pluck it, and gave it to the second 
 sister, who wrapped it up in a napkin and set off for 
 the King's house. But she fared no better than the 
 other, for, when she opened the napkin, there was noth- 
 ing in it but a lump of mud. So they packed her home 
 again with her apron to her eyes. 
 
 After a while the King's steward came to the house 
 again. Had the woman no other daughter than these 
 two? 
 
 Well, yes, there was one, but she was a poor ragged 
 thing, of no account, and fit for nothing in the world but 
 to tend the geese. 
 
 Where was she? 
 
 Oh, she was up on the hills now tending her flock. 
 
 But could the steward see her? 
 
io8 PEPPER AND SALT 
 
 Yes, he might see her, but she was nothing but a poor 
 simpleton. 
 
 That was all very good, but the steward would like 
 to see her, for that was what the King had sent him 
 there for. 
 
 So there was nothing to do but to send to the hills for 
 Christine. 
 
 After a while she came, and the steward asked her 
 if she could pluck the apple yonder for the King. 
 
 Yes; Christine could do that easily enough. So 
 she reached and picked it as though it had been nothing 
 but a gooseberry on the bush. Then the steward took off 
 his hat and made her a low bow in spite of her ragged 
 dress, for he saw that she was the one for whom they 
 had been looking all this time. 
 
 So Christine slipped the golden apple into her pocket, 
 and then she and the steward set off to the King's house 
 together. 
 
 When they had come there everybody began to titter 
 and laugh behind the palms of their hands to see what 
 a poor ragged goose-girl the steward had brought home 
 with him. But for that the steward cared not a rap. 
 
 "Have you brought the apple?" said the King, as 
 soon as Christine had come before him. 
 
 Yes; here it was; and Christine thrust her hand into 
 her pocket and brought it forth. Then the King took 
 a great bite of it, and as soon as he had done so he 
 looked at Christine and thought that he had never seen 
 such a pretty girl. As for her rags, he minded them no 
 more than one minds the spots on a cherry; that was 
 because he had eaten of the apple of contentment. 
 
PEPPER AND SALT 109 
 
 And were they married? Of course they were ! and a 
 grand wedding it was, I can tell you. It is a pity that 
 you were not there; but though you were not, Christine's 
 mother and sisters were, and, what is more, they danced 
 with the others, though I believe they would rather have 
 danced upon pins and needles. 
 
 "Never mind," said they; "we still have the apple of 
 contentment at home, though we cannot taste of it." But 
 no; they had nothing of the kind. The next morning it 
 stood before the young Queen Christine's window, just 
 as it had at her old home, for it belonged to her and to 
 no one else in all of the world. That was lucky for 
 the King, for he needed a taste of it now and then as 
 much as anybody else, and no one could pluck it for 
 him but Christine. 
 
 Now, that is all of this story. What does it 
 
 mean? Can you not see? Prut! rub 
 
 your spectacles and look again ! 
 
 THE END 
 
Wk