Page:History and comical transactions of Lothian Tom (1).pdf/3

 you do it, done says Tom, it shall cost you no more; and away he runs a foot through the fields, until he came before the butcher, hard by the place where he stole the calf from him the day before: and here he lies behind the hedge, and as the butcher came past, he puts his hand on his mouth, and cries baw baw, like a calf; the butcher hearing this, swears to himself, that there was the calf he had lost the day before, down he comes, throws the calf on the ground, gets in through the hedge in all haste, thinking he had no more to do but take it up ? but as he came in at one part of the hedge, Tom jumps in at another, and gets the calf on his back; then gets in over the hedge on the other side, and thro’ the fields came safely home, with the calf on his back, whilst the poor butcher spent his time and labour in vain, running from hedge to hedge, and hole to hole, seeking what was not there to be found. So the butcher returned to his horse again, and finding his other calf gone, he concluded it to done by some invisible spirit about that spot of ground; and so went home, and raised a bad report of the devil, saying, he was turned a highwayman, and had taken two calves from him. So Tom washing the white face of the stolen calf, his master sent the butcher word, to come and buy another calf, which he accordingly did a few days after, and Tom sold him the same calf the third time; then told him the whole affair as it was acted, giving him his money again, so the butcher got but for his trouble.

CHAP. II.

THERE was an old rich blind woman, who lived hard by, that had a young girl, her only daughter,