which means the beggar fell down upon his face; and
then snatching up the sixpence, the little boy ran away laughing very
heartily at the accident.

This was the last trick this ungrateful boy had it in his power to
play, for seeing two men come up to the beggar and enter into
discourse with him, he was afraid of being pursued, and therefore ran
as fast as he was able over several fields. At last he came into a
lane which led to a farmer's orchard, and as he was preparing to
clamber over the fence a large dog seized him by the leg and held him
fast. He cried out in an agony of terror, which brought the farmer
out, who called the dog off, but seized the boy very roughly, saying:
"So, sir, you are caught at last, are you? You thought you might come
day after day and steal my apples without detection; but it seems you
are mistaken, and now you shall receive the punishment you have so
long deserved." The farmer then began to chastise him very severely
with a whip he had in his hand, and the boy in vain protested he was
innocent, and begged for mercy. At last the farmer asked him who he
was and where he lived; but when he heard his name, he cried out:
"What! are you the little rascal that frightened my sheep this
morning, by which means several of them are lost? and do you think to
escape?" Saying this he lashed him more severely than before, in spite
of all his cries and protestations. At length, thinking he had
punished him enough, he turned him out of the orchard, bade him go
home, and frighten sheep again if he liked the consequences.

The little boy slunk away crying very bitterly, for he had been very
severely beaten, and now began to find out that no one can long hurt
others with impunity; so he determined to go away quietly home, and
behave better for the future.

But his sufferings were not yet at an end, for as he jumped down from
a stile he felt himself very roughly seized, and, looking up, found
that he was in the power of the lame beggar whom he had thrown upon
his face. It was in vain that he now cried, entreated, and begged for
pardon; the man, who had been much hurt by his fall, thrashed him very
severely with his stick before he would part with him.

He now again went on crying and roaring with pain, but at least
expected to escape without any further damage. But here he was
mistaken, for as he was walking slowly through a lane, just as he
turned a corner he found himself in the middle of the very troop