Page:Tales and Legends from the Land of the Tzar.djvu/295

Rh broken my new pitcher and spilt the milk!" And she again began to cry.

"What an old idiot! You must have very little to cry about in general!" said the soldiers, and went on farther.

On the following day the soldiers came to the king, telling him that they had seen no one cry over the dead body, though they had driven all over the town. The only person who did weep was a stupid old woman; but that was not at sight of the body, but because she happened to smash her pitcher and spill the milk.

"Why did you not seize her?" asked the king. "I dare say she did know something about the thief."

The king again called a council, and began asking how they had best catch the other thief, for he was sure that there had been another. At last, after thinking and thinking, the council decided to place a cask of wine in a certain meadow, strew some money round it, and put a man behind the bushes to watch. The thief, of course, would at once come to steal the money—how could he help it? He would then see the cask, and immediately drink the wine until he became drunk; then it would be very easy to catch him!

In the night Senka the Little started off to see what he could do in the way of stealing. He had to pass through the meadow, where, to his surprise, he saw some money strewn about. He at once began filling his pockets, when he smelt the wine.

"Come," he thought, "this is splendid. Let me taste the wine."