the great stone and closed
the door behind him. He took the basket of eggs with him; where he took
it neither Peter nor I will ever be able to tell you.

So Peter trudged along homeward, until, after a while, the day waxing
warm, he grew tired. "I wish," said he, "that I had a fine white horse
to ride."

Then he took the cork out of the bottle. Pop! pop! and out came the two
tall fellows, just as they had done for the little old man. "What will
you have, sir?" said the first of them.

"I will have," said Peter, "a fine white horse to ride."

No sooner said than done; for there, before him in the road, stood a
fine white horse, with a long mane and tail, just like so much spun
silk. In his mouth was a silver bit; on his back was a splendid saddle,
covered all over with gold and jewels; on his feet were shoes of pure
gold, so that he was a very handsome horse indeed.

Peter mounted on his great horse and rode away home, as grand as though
he were a lord or a nobleman.

Every one whom he met stopped in the middle of the road and looked after
him. "Just look at Peter!" cried they; but Peter held his chin very
high, and rode along without looking at them, for he knew what a fine
sight he was on his white horse.

And so he came home again.

"What didst thou get for thy eggs, my little duck?" said his mother.

"I got a bottle, mother," said Peter.

Then at first Peter's mother began to think as others thought, that
Peter was a dull block. But when she saw what a wonderful bottle it was,
and how it held many good things and one over, she changed her mind
again, and thought that her Peter was as wise as the moon.

And now nothing was lacking in the cottage; if Peter and his mother
wanted this, it came to them; if they wished for that, the two tall men
in the bottle fetched it. They lined the house all inside with pure
gold, and built the chimneys of bricks of silver, so that there was
nothing so fine between all the four great rivers. Peter dressed in
satin and his mother in silk, and everybody called him "Lord Peter."
Even the minister of the village said that he was no dull boy, for
nobody is dull who rides on horseback and never wears wooden shoes. So
now Peter was a rich man.

[Illustration: Clever Peter rides to the King's Palace upon his fine
Horse.]

One morning Peter said to his mother, "Mother, I am going to ask the
King to let me marry his daughter."

To this his mother said nothing, for surely her Pe