oast yourself by
the fire."

But _Boots_ did not care a pin for their chattering, and stumped away
as evening grew on, up the hill-side to the outlying field. There he
went inside the barn and lay down; but in about an hour's time the
barn began to groan and creak, so that it was dreadful to hear.

"Well," said _Boots_ to himself, "if it isn't worse than this, I can
stand it well enough."

A little while after came another creak and an earthquake, so that the
litter in the barn flew about the lad's ears. "Oh!" said _Boots_ to
himself, "if it isn't worse than this, I daresay I can stand it out."

But just then came a third rumbling, and a third earthquake, so that
the lad thought walls and roof were coming down on his head; but it
passed off, and all was still as death about him.

"It'll come again, I'll be bound," thought _Boots_; but no, it didn't
come again; still it was, and still it stayed; but after he had lain a
little while, he heard a noise as if a horse were standing just
outside the barn-door, and cropping the grass. He stole to the door,
and peeped through a chink, and there stood a horse feeding away. So
big, and fat, and grand a horse, _Boots_ had never set eyes on; by his
side on the grass lay a saddle and bridle, and a full set of armour
for a knight, all of brass, so bright that the light gleamed from it.

"Ho, ho!" thought the lad; "it's you, is it, that eats up our hay?
I'll soon put a spoke in your wheel, just see if I don't."

So he lost no time, but took the steel out of his tinder-box, and
threw it over the horse; then it had no power to stir from the spot,
and became so tame that the lad could do what he liked with it. So he
got on its back, and rode off with it to a place which no one knew of,
and there he put up the horse. When he got home, his brothers laughed
and asked how he had fared?

"You didn't lie long in the barn, even if you had the heart to go so
far as the field."

"Well," said _Boots_, "all I can say is, I lay in the barn till the
sun rose, and neither saw nor heard anything; I can't think what there
was in the barn to make you both so afraid."

"A pretty story," said his brothers; "but we'll soon see how you have
watched the meadow;" so they set off; but when they reached it, there
stood the grass as deep and thick as it had been over night.

Well, the next St. John's eve it was the same story over again;
neither of the elder brothers dared to go out to the outlying fi