y Man had said, he had never eaten such a dinner;
still, when he had done, he shook his head, and grumbled; 'Yes, there
is plenty to eat, of course, but it only makes me thirsty, and there
is not a drop to drink anywhere.'

[Illustration: THE MAGIC BASKET]

Yet, somehow, he could never tell why, he looked up and saw the tavern
in front of him, which he thought was miles, and miles, and miles
away.

'Bring the best wine you have got, and two glasses, good mother,' he
said as he entered, 'and if you are fond of fish there is enough here
to feed the house. Only there is no need to chatter about it all over
the place. You understand? Eh?' And without waiting for an answer he
whispered to the basket: 'Little basket, little basket, do your duty.'
The innkeeper and his wife thought that their customer had gone
suddenly mad, and watched him closely, ready to spring on him if he
became violent; but both instinctively jumped backwards, nearly into
the fire, as rolls and fishes of every kind came tumbling out of the
basket, covering the tables and chairs and the floor, and even
overflowing into the street.

'Be quick, be quick, and pick them up,' cried the man. 'And if these
are not enough, there are plenty more to be had for the asking.'

The innkeeper and his wife did not need telling twice. Down they went
on their knees and gathered up everything they could lay hands on. But
busy though they seemed, they found time to whisper to each other:

'If we can only get hold of that basket it will make our fortune!'

So they began by inviting Father Grumbler to sit down to the table,
and brought out the best wine in the cellar, hoping it might loosen
his tongue. But Father Grumbler was wiser than they gave him credit
for, and though they tried in all manner of ways to find out who had
given him the basket, he put them off, and kept his secret to himself.
Unluckily, though he did not _speak_, he did drink, and it was not
long before he fell fast asleep. Then the woman fetched from her
kitchen a basket, so like the magic one that no one, without looking
very closely, could tell the difference, and placed it in Father
Grumbler's hand, while she hid the other carefully away.

It was dinner time when the man awoke, and, jumping up hastily, he set
out for home, where he found all the children gathered round a basin
of thin soup, and pushing their wooden bowls forward, hoping to have
the first spoonful. Their father burst into the m