quired Ib.

"The best of all things for you," replied the gipsy-woman.

And Ib held the nut very tight. The woman promised to lead the
children into the right path, so that they might find their way home;
and now they went forward, certainly in quite a different direction
from the path they should have followed. But that is no reason why we
should suspect the gipsy-woman of wanting to steal the children. In
the wild wood-path they met the forest bailiff, who knew Ib; and by
his help, Ib and Christine both arrived at home, where their friends
had been very anxious about them. They were pardoned and forgiven,
although they had indeed both deserved "to get into trouble;" firstly,
because they had let the sucking-pig fall into the water, and
secondly, because they had run away.

Christine was taken back to her father on the heath, and Ib remained
in the farmhouse on the margin of the wood by the great ridge. The
first thing he did in the evening was to bring forth out of his pocket
the little black nut, in which "the best thing of all" was said to be
enclosed. He placed it carefully in the crack of the door, and then
shut the door so as to break the nut; but there was not much kernel in
it. The nut looked as if it were filled with tobacco or black rich
earth; it was what we call hollow, or worm-eaten.

"Yes, that's exactly what I thought," said Ib. "How could the very
best thing be contained in this little nut? And Christine will get
just as little out of her two nuts, and will have neither fine clothes
nor the golden carriage."

* * * * *

And winter came on, and the new year began; indeed, several years went
by.

Ib was at last to be confirmed; and for this reason he went during a
whole winter to the clergyman, far away in the nearest village, to
prepare. About this time the boatman one day visited Ib's parents, and
told them that Christine was now going into service, and that she had
been really fortunate in getting a remarkably good place, and falling
into worthy hands.

"Only think," he said; "she is going to the rich innkeeper's, in the
inn at Herning, far towards the west, many miles from here. She is to
assist the hostess in keeping the house; and afterwards, if she takes
to it well, and stays to be confirmed there, the people are going to
adopt her as their own daughter."

And Ib and Christine took leave of one another. People called them
"the betrothed;" and at parting, t