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 The WidoWs Son. 217 his finger into the kettle, but when he pulled it out again it was gilded all over. The boy scraped and washed it, but the gilding wotald not come off, so he tied a rag round it, and when the man came home and asked what was the matter with his finger the lad said that he had cut himself very badly. But the man tore off the rag, and then he saw easily enough what really ailed the finger. He was at first going to kili the lad ; but as he began crying and praying for himself again, he gave him such a sound thrashing instead that he had to keep his bed for three days, and then the man took a jar down from the wall, and rubbed the lad with some of its contents and he was as well as ever again. Before long the man went away again, and was not coming back for a month. But he told the lad that if he went into the fourth room he must not have any hope of escaping with his life that time. For two or three weeks the lad managed to resist the temp tation, but then he couldn't help himself any longer, — he must and would go into that room, and so he did. There stood a big black horse in a box by himself, and with a manger of glowing cinders at his head, and a truss of hay at his tail. The lad thought this was altogether wrong ; he changed them about and put the truss of hay at the horse's head. So the horse said : " Since you have such a good heart that you let me have something to eat, I will save you from the troll, for that's what the man is that you are with. But now you must go up into the room just above here and take a suit of armour out of those hanging there, and mmd you do not take any of the bright ones, but the most rusty you see. Take that one ! And sword and saddle you must look out for yourself in the same way." The lad did as he was told, but it was very heavy work to carry it all at once. When he came back the horse told him to take all his clothes off and jump into the kettle which stood and boiled in the room below, and to have a good dip there. " I shall be an awful sight then," thought <*he lad, but he did as the horse had told him. When he had finished his bath he