THE UNGRATEFUL CHILDREN AND
THE OLD FATHER WHO WENT TO
SCHOOL AGAIN

Once upon a time there was an old man. He lived to a great age, and
God gave him children whom he brought up to man's estate, and he
divided all his goods amongst them. "I will pass my remaining days
among my children," thought he.

So the old man went to live with his eldest son, and at first the
eldest son treated him properly, and did reverence to his old
father. "'Tis but meet and right that we should give our father to
eat and drink, and see that he has wherewithal to clothe him, and take
care to patch up his things from time to time, and let him have
clean new shirts on festivals," said the eldest son. So they did so,
and at festivals also the old father had his own glass beside him.
Thus the eldest son was a good son to his old father. But when the
eldest son had been keeping his father for some time he began to
regret his hospitality, and was rough to his father, and sometimes
even shouted at him. The old man no longer had his own set place
in the house as heretofore, and there was none to cut up his food
for him. So the eldest son repented him that he had said he would
keep his father, and he began to grudge him every morsel of bread
that he put in his mouth. The old man had nothing for it but to go to
his second son. It might be better for him there or worse, but stay
with his eldest son any longer he could not. So the father went to
his second son. But here the old man soon discovered that he had only
exchanged wheat for straw. Whenever he began to eat, his second son
and his daughter-in-law looked sour and murmured something between
their teeth. The woman scolded the old man. "We had as much as we
could do before to make both ends meet," cried she, "and now we
have old men to keep into the bargain." The old man soon had enough
of it there also, and went on to his next son. So one after
another all four sons took their father to live with them, and he was
glad to leave them all. Each of the four sons, one after the other,
cast the burden of supporting him on one of the other brothers. "It is
for him to keep thee, daddy!" said they; and then the other would
say, "Nay, dad, but it is as much as we can do to keep ourselves."
Thus between his four sons he knew not what to do. There was quite
a battle among them as to which of them should _not_ keep their old
father. One had one good excuse and another had another, and so none
of