Page:Merry tales of the wise men of Gotham (4).pdf/6

 but a great eel Ah! ſaid they, a miſchief on this eel, for he hath eaten up our fiſh. What muſt we do with him ? ſaid one to the other; kill him, ſaid 'one, chop him in pieces, ſaid another. Nay, not ſo, ſaid the other, but let us drown him. Be it accord- ingly ſo, replied they all. So they immediately went to another pond, and caſt the eel into the water. Lie there, ſaid theſe wife men, and ſhift for thyſelf, ſince you may not expect any help from us. So they left the eel to be drowned.

T А L E VIII.

ON a tie the men of Gotham had forgotten to pay their rents to their landlords. So one ſaid to the other, To-morrow muſt be pay-day, by whom can we ſend our money to our landlord ? So one ſaid to them, I have this day taken a hare, and he may carry it, for he is very quick-footed; be it ſo, replied the reſt; he ſhall have a letter, and a large purſe to put our money in, and we can direct her the ready way. When the letter was written, and the money put into a purſe, they immediately tied them about the hare's neck, ſaying, You muſt firſt go to Lough- borough, and then to Leiceſter, and at Newark is our landlord; then commend us unto him, and there is his due. The hare, as ſoon as ſhe got out of their hands, ran a quite contrary way. Some ſaid, thou muſt firſt go to Loughborough ; others ſaid, let the hare alone, for ſhe can tell a nearer way than the beſt of us; let her go.

T A L E IX.

A Man of Gotham that went mowing in the mea- dow, found a large graſshopper. He immedi- ately threw down his ſcythe, and ran home to his neighbours, and ſaid that the devil was there in the