Stranica 187 [187]
= er = ¬
— ——_i a ins "ae
— /- = - = t=
CLEVER ELSE. 147
“Our Else is clever indeed !” and, sitting down, she wept
with the rest.
Upstairs the husband waited a little while, but as his wife
did not return, and as his thirst constantly increased, he said,
-] must go down to the cellar myself, and see what has
become of Else.” And when he came into the cellar, and
found them all sitting and weeping together, he was told that
it was all owing to the child that Else might possibly have, and
the possibility of its being killed by the pickaxe so happening
to fall just at the time the child might be sitting underneath it
drawing beer; and when he heard all this, he cried,
‘How clever is our Else!” and sitting down, he joined his
tears to theirs.
The intended bridegroom stayed upstairs by himself a long
time, but as nobody came back to him, he thought he would
go himself and see what they were all about. And there he
found all five lamenting and crying most pitifully, each one
louder than the other.
. What misfortune has happened ?” cried he.
“OQ my dear Hans,” said Else, “if we marry and have a
child, and it grows big, and we send it down here to draw
beer, perhaps that pickaxe which has been left sticking up
there might fall down on the child’s head and kill it; and how
can we help crying at that!”
“Now,” said Hans, "I cannot think that greater sense
than that could be wanted in my household; so as you are so
clever, Else, I will have you for my wife,” and taking her by the
hand he led her upstairs, and they had the wedding at once.
| A little while after they were married, Hans said to his wife,
: I am going out to work, in order to get money; you go
. into the field and cut the corn, so that we may have bread.”
“Very well, I will do so, dear Hans,” said she. And after
Hans was gone she cooked herself some nice stew, and took
it with her into the field. And when she got there, she said
to herself, |
“Now, what shall I do? shall I reap first, or eat first?
_ All nght, I will eat first.” Then she ate her fill of stew, and
, when she could eat no more, she said to herself,
“Now, what shall I do? shall I reap first, or sleep first ?
All right, I will sleep first.” Then she lay down in the corn