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 As it did not come back she sent a third rolling after it, and thought, ‘Perhaps they are waiting for company, and don’t like walking alone.’

When all three stayed away, she said: ‘I don’t know what is the meaning of this! it may be that the third one lost its way; I will send the fourth one to call it back.’ Nothing was seen of the fourth any more than of the third.

At last Kate got quite angry, and threw down the fifth and sixth, and they were the last.

For a time she stood looking to see if they were coming, but as they did not appear, she said: ‘Oh, you would be good folks to send in search of death, you would be a long time coming back. You need not think I am going to wait any longer for you; I am going on, and you may just come after me, your legs are younger than mine.’

So Kate went on, and caught up Fred, who had stopped because he wanted something to eat. ‘Now give me the food you brought with you.’

She handed him some dry bread.

‘What has become of the butter and cheese?’ said the man.

‘O Fred!’ said Kate, ‘I smeared the cart ruts with the butter, but the cheese will soon be here. One of them slipped away from me, and then I sent the others to fetch it back.’

Then said Fred: ‘You should not have wasted the butter, Kate, or sent the cheeses rolling down the hill.’

‘Well, Fred, you ought to have told me so,’ said Kate.

So they ate the dry bread together, and Fred said: ‘Did you lock up the house, Kate, before you came away?’

‘No, Fred; you should have told me sooner.’

Her husband said: ‘Well, then, go home and lock up the house before we go any further, and bring something else to eat. I will wait for you here.’

So Kate went, and she thought to herself, ‘As Fred wants omething else to eat, I suppose he does not like bread and cheese, I will take him some dried apples and a jug of vinegar to drink.’