road below, beheld a
man aiming with a gun into the distance.

'Hallo!' he shouted to him, 'what are you aiming at? As far as eye can
see, there is no bird in sight.'

'What would be the good of my taking a near shot?' replied the man; 'I
can hit beast or bird at a hundred miles' distance. That is the kind
of shot I enjoy.'

'Come into the ship with us,' answered the Simpleton; and the man was
only too glad to join them, and he got in; and the ship flew on,
farther and farther, till again the Simpleton from his outlook saw a
man on the road below, carrying on his back a basket full of bread.
And he waved to him, calling out:

'Hallo! where are you going?'

'To fetch bread for my breakfast.'

'Bread? Why, you have got a whole basket-load of it on your back.'

'That's nothing,' answered the man; 'I should finish that in one
mouthful.'

'Come along with us in my ship, then.'

And so the glutton joined the party, and the ship mounted again into
the air, and flew up and onward, till the Simpleton from his outlook
saw a man walking by the shore of a great lake, and evidently looking
for something.

'Hallo!' he cried to him, 'what are you seeking?'

'I want water to drink, I'm so thirsty,' replied the man.

'Well, there's a whole lake in front of you; why don't you drink some
of that?'

'Do you call that enough?' answered the other. 'Why, I should drink it
up in one gulp.'

'Well, come with us in the ship.'

[Illustration: The Comrades in the Flying Ship Meet the Drinker]

And so the mighty drinker was added to the company; and the ship flew
farther, and even farther, till again the Simpleton looked out, and
this time he saw a man dragging a bundle of wood, walking through the
forest beneath them.

'Hallo!' he shouted to him, 'why are you carrying wood through a
forest?'

'This is not common wood,' answered the other.

'What sort of wood is it, then?' said the Simpleton.

'If you throw it upon the ground,' said the man, 'it will be changed
into an army of soldiers.'

'Come into the ship with us, then.'

And so he too joined them; and away the ship flew on, and on, and on,
and once more the Simpleton looked out, and this time he saw a man
carrying straw upon his back.

'Hallo! Where are you carrying that straw to?'

'To the village,' said the man.

'Do you mean to say there is no straw in the village?'

'Ah! but this is quite a peculiar straw. If you strew it about even in
the hottest summe