and my old woman
into the bargain--and I fancy that's piling up the measure."

"Done--taken!"

And the bet was made. The host's carriage came up, and the Englishmen
got in, and the peasant got in; away they went, and soon they stopped
before the peasant's hut.

"Good evening, old woman."

"Good evening, old man."

"I've made the exchange."

"Yes, you understand what you're about," said the woman.

And she embraced him, and paid no attention to the stranger guests,
nor did she notice the sack.

"I got a cow in exchange for the horse," said he.

"Heaven be thanked!" said she. "What glorious milk we shall have, and
butter and cheese on the table! That was a capital exchange!"

"Yes, but I changed the cow for a sheep."

"Ah, that's better still!" cried the wife. "You always think of
everything: we have just pasture enough for a sheep. Ewe's-milk and
cheese, and woollen jackets and stockings! The cow cannot give those,
and her hairs will only come off. How you think of everything!"

"But I changed away the sheep for a goose."

"Then this year we shall really have roast goose to eat, my dear old
man. You are always thinking of something to give me pleasure. How
charming that is! We can let the goose walk about with a string to her
leg, and she'll grow fatter still before we roast her."

"But I gave away the goose for a fowl," said the man.

"A fowl? That was a good exchange!" replied the woman. "The fowl will
lay eggs and hatch them, and we shall have chickens: we shall have a
whole poultry-yard! Oh, that's just what I was wishing for."

"Yes, but I exchanged the fowl for a sack of shrivelled apples."

"What!--I must positively kiss you for that," exclaimed the wife. "My
dear, good husband! Now, I'll tell you something. Do you know, you had
hardly left me this morning, before I began thinking how I could give
you something very nice this evening. I thought it should be pancakes
with savoury herbs. I had eggs, and bacon too; but I wanted herbs. So
I went over to the schoolmaster's--they have herbs there, I know--but
the schoolmistress is a mean woman, though she looks so sweet. I
begged her to lend me a handful of herbs. 'Lend!' she answered me;
'nothing at all grows in our garden, not even a shrivelled apple. I
could not even lend you a shrivelled apple, my dear woman.' But now
_I_ can lend _her_ ten, or a whole sackful. That I'm very glad of;
that makes me laugh!" And with that she gave him a sounding k