Page:Tales from the Fjeld.djvu/392

370 gate. Nor could she see the green gown she had meant for her daughter-in-law either; and her piggy-wiggy, which followed her grunting wherever she went, he was not there either. So she went in to see about all this; but as soon as ever she lifted the latch, out poured the water through the doorway like a waterfall, so that they were almost borne away by the flood, both the goody and the lassie.



So they had to go round by the back-door, and when they got inside the kitchen there sat that figure of fun all befeathered.

"What have you done?" said the goody.

"I did just as you bade me, mother," said Matt. "I tried to get the water up to the fifth plank, but as fast as ever I poured it in it ran out again, and so I could only get up as high as the fourth plank."

"Well, well! but 'Fat' and 'Lean, said the goody, who wished to turn it off, "what have you done with them?"

"I did as you bade me, mother," said Matt. "I took and put them into the soup-kettle. They both scratched and bit, and they mewed and whined, and Fat was strong and kicked against it; but he had to go in at last all the same; and as for 'All,' he's cooking by himself in the brewing tub in the