ntoine
was heavy, heavier than a whole sheaf of corn. They carried him in
turns, but even so they grew very tired and thirsty, and when a little
tavern came in sight on the roadside, they thankfully flung the sack
down on a bench and entered to refresh themselves. They never noticed
that a beggar was sitting in the shade of the end of the bench, but
Toueno's sharp ears caught the sound of someone eating, and as soon as
the farmers had gone into the inn, he began to groan softly.

'What is the matter?' asked the beggar drawing a little nearer. 'Why
have they shut you up, poor boy?'

'Because they wanted to make me a bishop, and I would not consent,'
answered Toueno.

'Dear me,' exclaimed the beggar, 'yet it isn't such a bad thing to be a
bishop.'

'I don't say it is,' replied the young rascal, 'but I should never like
it. However, if _you_ have any fancy for wearing a mitre, you need only
untie the sack, and take my place.'

'I should like nothing better,' said the man, as he stooped to undo the
big knot.

So it was the beggar and not Toueno-Bueno who was flung into the water.

* * * * *

The next morning the three wives were buried, and on returning from the
cemetery, their husbands met Toueno-Bueno driving a magnificent flock of
sheep. At the sight of him the three farmers stood still with
astonishment.

'What! you scoundrel!' they cried at last, 'we drowned you yesterday,
and to-day we find you again, as well as ever!'

'It does seem odd, doesn't it?' answered he. 'But perhaps you don't know
that beneath this world there lies another yet more beautiful and far,
far richer. Well, it was there that you sent me when you flung me into
the river, and though I felt a little strange at first, yet I soon began
to look about me, and to see what was happening. There I noticed that
close to the place I had fallen, a sheep fair was being held, and a
bystander told me that every day horses or cattle were sold somewhere
in the town. If I had only had the luck to be thrown into the river on
the side of the horse fair I might have made my fortune! As it was, I
had to content myself with buying these sheep, which you can get for
nothing.'

'And do you know exactly the spot in the river which lies over the horse
fair?'

'As if I did not know it, when I have seen it with my own eyes.'

'Then if you do not want us to avenge our dead flocks and our murdered
wives, you will have to throw us