for the calf went
over rough and smooth, over hill and dale, and, the more the bailiff
cried and screamed, the faster the calf went. When daylight began to
appear, the bailiff was half dead; and so glad was he to leave loose
of the calf's tail, that he forgot the sack of money and all else. He
walked now slowly--more slowly than the sheriff and the attorney had
done, but, the slower he went, the more time had everyone to stare and
look at him; and they used it too, and no one can imagine how tired out
and ragged he looked after his dance with the calf.

On the following day the wedding was to take place in the King's palace,
and the elder brother was to drive to church with his bride, and the
brother who had been with the giant with her sister. But when they had
seated themselves in the coach and were about to drive off from the
palace one of the trace-pins broke, and, though they made one, two, and
three to put in its place, that did not help them, for each broke in
turn, no matter what kind of wood they used to make them of. This went
on for a long time, and they could not get away from the palace, so they
were all in great trouble. Then the sheriff said (for he too had been
bidden to the wedding at Court): "Yonder away in the thicket dwells a
maiden, and if you can get her to lend you the handle of the shovel that
she uses to make up her fire I know very well that it will hold fast."
So they sent off a messenger to the thicket, and begged so prettily that
they might have the loan of her shovel-handle of which the sheriff had
spoken that they were not refused; so now they had a trace-pin which
would not snap in two.

But all at once, just as they were starting, the bottom of the coach
fell in pieces. They made a new bottom as fast as they could, but, no
matter how they nailed it together, or what kind of wood they used,
no sooner had they got the new bottom into the coach and were about to
drive off than it broke again, so that they were still worse off than
when they had broken the trace-pin. Then the attorney said, for he too
was at the wedding in the palace: "Away there in the thicket dwells
a maiden, and if you could but get her to lend you one-half of her
porch-door I am certain that it will hold together." So they again sent
a messenger to the thicket, and begged so prettily for the loan of the
gilded porch-door of which the attorney had told them that they got it
at once. They were just setting out again, but