oing to do,
my son?"

"I live some miles from here, good father," he replied, "and I have
borrowed a few nets and traps to try to catch some doves to sell, so
as to get a little butter for our bread; for with that and a draught
of water from the spring my wife and I are satisfied; or else to get
some work to do, that I may earn enough for our support, for we have
neither bread nor a single farthing to buy it."

The hermit took the man into his hermitage, and gave him the little
offerings of food which had been brought that morning by the
villagers, leaving Providence to provide for his own simple wants.

"Brother," he said, "take this for yourself and your wife; and if you
want money I will give you some. But you must first tell me which you
choose, to earn a single coin honestly, or a hundred, dishonestly."

The poor man hesitated, for great was the temptation.

"I will consult with my wife," he said at last, "and return to-morrow
to inform you."

With the food in his hands he returned to his miserable home, where he
and his wife made an excellent meal, for which they returned thanks to
Heaven. They then consulted together about the money, and, though the
temptation was great to take the hundred coins, yet, being God-fearing
folks, they decided upon taking the one coin honestly acquired and let
alone the hundred.

The man accordingly returned to the hermit, and told him what they had
decided.

The good monk gave him two half _reals_.

"Take this money," he said; "and may Heaven prosper you."

Full of joy, the man departed. But on the road home, in a solitary
spot, he encountered two lads fighting desperately; they were dealing
each other terrible blows, and blood was streaming down their faces.
The man rushed up to separate them, but all his efforts only served to
make them fiercer.

"Why do you fight like this?" he cried.

"We are fighting for that stone," replied one of the lads; "I saw it
first!"

"No, you didn't," replied the other; "it was I, and it belongs to me!"
and once more they fell to blows more desperate than before.

The poor man, fearing that the quarrel might end fatally, cried out to
them--

"Here, take each of you one of these coins, and let alone the stone;
it is of no value, for it is no bigger than a walnut. And be off with
you!"

The lads were glad to take the money, and ran away, thinking
themselves lucky to make so good a bargain.

His wife was at the cottage door impatie