Page:Danish fairy and folk tales.djvu/279



NCE upon a time there were two villages lying a few miles from each other, in a certain part of the country. Their names were Plaintown and Hilltown.

In our day the people of Plaintown are considered about as clever as the rest of their countrymen, but in olden times they were different. Their fertile soil and abundance of crops, their fragrant hop-gardens and extensive farms, filled their chests and drawers with gold and silver. Of hills and woods they had no idea, and any one knows that he who has never needed to climb a hill or remove the trees which stand in his way is liable to become idle and lazy, and to be less efficient than others who learn to face and overthrow the difficulties which are in their way.

Hilltown had hills and woods. The soil was not very rich, and produced only moderate crops, so those who cultivated it were forced to work hard for the necessities of life. But they learned more by working so hard than their friends in Plaintown who lived at ease.