not so bad, be it? The pore fellow's fair wore out, but still,
d'ye see, he fetches that at the last, and 'tis better nor puttin' an
end to en for nothin'. Ah, there be a deal o' money in twenty-two
shillin'!"

Mrs. Bold sighed. Perhaps she knew almost better than her husband how
much toil and trouble it cost to get twenty-two shillings together.
Twenty pounds of butter, twenty-two dozen eggs, eighty-eight quarts of
milk! What early risings, what goings to and fro, what long sittings
with cramped limbs and aching back, milking cow after cow in summer
heat and winter cold, how many weary hours' standing in the flagged
dairy before twenty-two shillings could be scraped together! She
turned away, without another word.

Later in the evening poor old Blackbird was brought out of his stall,
and, after receiving the farewell caresses of master and mistress, was
led away, limping, to the kennel pasture.

"Don't 'urry en," called the farmer to the lad who had charge of him.
"Tis a long journey for he--two mile and more; let en take his time.
He'll get there soon enough."

The next morning, just as Mrs. Bold had finished getting breakfast,
her husband came to the dairy in a state of amused excitement.

"There, ye'll never think! I al'ays did say beasts was so sensible as
Christians if ye took a bit of notice of 'em. I was a-goin' round
stables jist now, and if I didn't find wold Blackbird in his own
stall, jist same as ever. I did rub my eyes and think I must be
dreamin', but there he were layin' down, quite at home. He al'ays had
a trick of openin' gates, ye know, and he must jist ha' walked away i'
th' night. He wur awful tired, pore beast--'twas so much as I could do
to get en off again."

"Ye sent en off again!" cried Mrs. Bold indignantly. "Well, I
shouldn't ha' thought ye could have found it in yer heart! The poor
wold horse did come back to we, so trustin', and you to go an drive en
away again to his death! Dear, men be awful hard-hearted!"

"Of all the onraisonable creeturs, you are the onraisonablest," cried
the farmer, much aggrieved. "Was I to go and take the folks' money and
keep the money's worth? A nice name I'd get in the country! They'd be
sayin' I stole en away myself, very like. No, I did send en up so soon
as I could, so as they shouldn't be s'archin' for 'en."

Mrs. Bold clapped a plate upon the table.

"Sit down," she cried imperatively. "Ye'll be ready for your own
breakfast, though you wouldn't g