St. Peter came travelling my way?"

There was a little space of silence, and then the Soldier who had
cheated the Devil spoke up. "Why yes, friend," said he, "I know your
story very well."

"I am not so fortunate," said old Bidpai. "I do not know your story.
Tell me, friend, did you really bake a man to a crisp? And how was it
then?"

"Why," said the Blacksmith, "I was trying to do what a better man than
I did, and where he hit the mark I missed it by an ell. Twas a pretty
scrape I was in that day."

"But how did it happen?" said Bidpai.

"It happened," said the Blacksmith, "just as it is going to happen in
the story I am about to tell."

"And what is your story about?" said Fortunatus.

"It is," said the Blacksmith, "about--"

Wisdom's Wages and Folly's Pay

Once upon a time there was a wise man of wise men, and a great magician
to boot, and his name was Doctor Simon Agricola.

Once upon a time there was a simpleton of simpletons, and a great booby
to boot, and his name was Babo.

Simon Agricola had read all the books written by man, and could do more
magic than any conjurer that ever lived. But, nevertheless, he was
none too well off in the world; his clothes were patched, and his shoes
gaped, and that is the way with many another wise man of whom I have
heard tell.

Babo gathered rushes for a chair-maker, and he also had too few of the
good things to make life easy. But it is nothing out of the way for a
simpleton to be in that case.

The two of them lived neighbor to neighbor, the one in the next house
to the other, and so far as the world could see there was not a pin to
choose between them--only that one was called a wise man and the other a
simpleton.

One day the weather was cold, and when Babo came home from gathering
rushes he found no fire in the house. So off he went to his neighbor the
wise man. "Will you give me a live coal to start my fire?" said he.

"Yes, I will do that," said Simon Agricola; "But how will you carry the
coal home?"

"Oh!" said Babo, "I will just take it in my hand."

"In your hand?"

"In my hand."

"Can you carry a live coal in your hand?"

"Oh yes!" said Babo; "I can do that easily enough."

"Well, I should like to see you do it," said Simon Agricola.

"Then I will show you," said Babo. He spread a bed of cold, dead ashes
upon his palm. "Now," said he, "I will take the ember upon that."

Agricola rolled up his eyes like a duck in a thunder-storm. "