Stranica 126 [126]
"Hops, |
= E
Pas | the Piper, was a jolly companion. Like
a every true musician, he was born with an un¬
quenchable thirst; besides, he was madly fond of play,
and would have risked his soul at strajak, the favorite
game at cards in Bohemia. When he had earned a little
money he would throw aside his pipes, and drink and play
with the first comer till he returned to his home as light
in pocket as when he had left it. But he was always so
merry, witty, and good-natured that not a drinker ever
left the table while the piper was there, and his name still
lives in Bohemia as the prince of good fellows.
One day there was a festival at Mokran, and no merry¬
making was ever complete without the piper. Swanda,
after blowing his pipe till midnight and earning twenty
zwanzigers, determined to amuse himself on his own account.
Neither prayers nor promises could persuade him to go
96