he other three Sundays. Now for the market-days, reviews, and
other sprees he had only three crowns left. With this, he thought, it
was really humanly impossible to get along; two markets and the review
alone would use up more than that; so he had nothing at all for the
rest. He figured it over and over, tried to cut down on clothes, on
other expenses; but it couldn't be done. He had to be clothed and have
washing done; nor could he run barefoot. And so, let him figure as he
would, he always came to the sad result that, instead of putting by, he
would be falling behind.

One day soon after this calculation master and man were hauling stones
for a new stove. On the homeward way they stopped at an inn, for they
had a long and hilly road. Since the master was not so niggardly as to
order the poorest wine when the servant was with him, and only a
halfpence worth of bread for the two, Uli became talkative as they
proceeded. "Listen, master," said Uli, "I have been thinking that the
pastor who gave you your instruction wasn't altogether a fool; but he
didn't know anything about what pay a farmer lad gets and what he needs;
I suppose he thought it was about as much as a vicar's pay. But you
ought to know better, and that saving and getting rich are no go. I've
spent many a day in figuring, till I was like to burst the top of my
head off; but I always got the same result: nothing comes of nothing,
and zero from zero is zero."

"Why, how did you figure?" asked the master.

Uli went through the whole account again for him, and when he was done
he asked the master mockingly, "Now, what do you say to that? Isn't it
so?"

The master said, "By your account, to be sure; but there's a very
different way of reckoning, my lad. Here now, I'll figure it up for you
my way; I wonder what you'll say to it."

"I won't change much what you put down for clothes. It's possible that
if you want to keep yourself in good condition, and in particular to
have shirts that will save washing, and to look as a self-respecting lad
likes to look on Sundays and work-days, you'll need even more at first.
But for tobacco you've put down two crowns, and that's too much. A man
that has to go into the stable and on the barn-floor ought not to smoke
all day, not till after working hours. You don't need to smoke to offset
your hunger on my place, and if you could get out of the habit
altogether it would help you a lot. When a man doesn't smoke he always
incre