Page:Fairy tales and stories (Andersen, Tegner).djvu/322

 290 well as the whole story about the horse, which had been changed for the cow and so on down to the rotten apples.

"Well, your old woman will give it you when you get home," said the Englishmen; "there will be a row in the house."

"She'll give me kisses, not kicks," said the farmer; "mother will say that what the old man does is the right thing."

"Shall we have a bet?" they said; "we have gold by the barrel. A hundred pounds to a hundredweight."



"That will fill a bushel," said the farmer; "I can only fill it with apples, but I will throw in mvself and the old woman. That's piling up the measure, I should say."

"Done! We agree," they said, and so the bet was made.

The innkeeper's carriage was brought out, and the Englishmen and the farmer got into it, taking with them the bag of rotten apples, and so they arrived at the farmer's house.

"Good morning, mother."

"The same to you, father."

"Well, I have changed the horse."

"Ah, you know what vou are about," said the woman, and put her arm round his waist, forgetting both the strangers and the bag.

"I changed the horse for a cow."