lloped back, and found that the cow had fallen off the roof and got
strangled by the rope round its neck, while the weight of the cow had
pulled the old woman by her wrist up the chimney, where she had got
stuck half-way and been smothered by the soot!

"That is one bigger silly," quoth the young squire as he journeyed on.
"So now for two more!"

He did not find any, however, till late one night he arrived at a little
inn. And the inn was so full that he had to share a room with another
traveller. Now his room-fellow proved quite a pleasant fellow, and they
forgathered, and each slept well in his bed.

But next morning, when they were dressing, what does the stranger do but
carefully hang his breeches on the knobs of the tallboy!

"What are you doing?" asks young squire.

"I'm putting on my breeches," says the stranger; and with that he goes
to the other end of the room, takes a little run, and tried to jump into
the breeches.

But he didn't succeed, so he took another run and another try, and
another and another and another, until he got quite hot and flustered,
as the old woman had got over her cow that wouldn't go up the ladder.
And all the time young squire was laughing fit to split, for never in
his life did he see anything so comical.

Then the stranger stopped a while and mopped his face with his
handkerchief, for he was all in a sweat. "It's very well laughing," says
he, "but breeches are the most awkwardest things to get into that ever
were. It takes me the best part of an hour every morning before I get
them on. How do you manage yours?"

Then young squire showed him, as well as he could for laughing, how to
put on his breeches, and the stranger was ever so grateful and said he
never should have thought of that way.

"So that," quoth young squire to himself, "is a second bigger silly."
But he travelled far and he travelled fast without finding the third,
until one bright night when the moon was shining right overhead he came
upon a village. And outside the village was a pond, and round about the
pond was a great crowd of villagers. And some had got rakes, and some
had got pitchforks, and some had got brooms. And they were as busy as
busy, shouting out, and raking, and forking, and sweeping away at the
pond.

"What is the matter?" cried young squire, jumping off his horse to help.
"Has any one fallen in?"

"Aye! Matter enough," says they. "Can't 'ee see moon's fallen into the
pond, an' we can't ge