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THE LITTLE FARMER. 261
‘All right; but first you must go down below and look
about you a little,” and they rolled the cask into the water.
Upon that the farmers went home, and when they reached
the village, there they met the Little Farmer driving a flock of
sheep, and looking quite calm and contented. The farmers
were astonished and cried, | |
‘Little Farmer, whence come you? how did you get out
of the water?”
" Oh, easily,” answered he, “I sank and sank until I came
to the bottom ; then I broke through the cask and came out
of it, and there were beautiful meadows and plenty of sheep
feeding, so I brought away this flock with me.”
Then said the farmers, " Are there any left ?”
‘Oh yes,” answered the Little Farmer, " more than you
can possibly need.”
Then the farmers agreed that they would go and fetch
some sheep also, each man a flock for himself; and the
bailiff said, " Me first.” And they all went together, and in
the blue sky there were little fleecy clouds like lambkins, and
they were reflected in the water ; and the farmers cried out,
‘There are the sheep down there at the bottom.”
When the bailiff heard that he pressed forward and said,
‘J will go first and look about me, and if things look well,
I will call to you.”
And he jumped plump into the water, and they all thought
that the noise he made meant " Come,” so the whole company
jumped in one after the other. So perished all the proprietors
of the village, and the Little Farmer, as sole heir, became a
rich man.