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Rh the walls and roof; the goose plucked moss, and stuffed it into the seams; the cock crew, and looked out that they did not oversleep themselves in the morning; and when the house was ready, and the roof lined with birch bark and thatched with turf, there they lived by themselves, and were merry and well. Tis good to travel east and west," said the sheep, "but after all a home is best."

But you must know that a bit farther on in the wood was a wolf's den, and there lived two greylegs. So when they saw that a new house had risen up hard by, they wanted to know what sort of folk their neighbours were, for they thought to themselves that a good neighbour was better than a brother in a foreign land, and that it was better to live in a good neighbourhood than to know many people miles and miles off.

So one of them made up an errand, and went into the new house and asked for a light for his pipe. But as soon as ever he got inside the door, the sheep gave him such a butt that he fell head foremost into the stove. Then the pig began to gore and bite him, the goose to nip and peck him, the cock upon the roost to crow and chatter; and as for the hare, he was so frightened out of his wits, that he ran about aloft and on the floor, and scratched and scrambled in every corner of the house.

So after a long time the wolf came out.

"Well," said the one who waited for him outside, "neighbourhood makes brotherhood. You must have come into a perfect paradise on bare earth since you stayed so long. But what became of the light, for you have neither pipe nor smoke?"