bore one apple, and we kept it in the cupboard till it was quite withered and
rotten. It was always property, my old woman said; and here she would see
a great deal of property-a whole sackful; I should like to show them to her.”
“What will you give me for the sackful?” asked the ostler.
“What will I give? Well, I will give you my fowl in exchange.”
So he gave up the fowl, and received the apples, which he carried into the
inn parlor. He leaned the sack carefully against the stove, and then went to
the table. But the stove was hot, and he had not thought of that. Many
guests were present-horse dealers, cattle drovers, and two Englishmen. The
Englishmen were so rich that their pockets quite bulged out and seemed
ready to burst; and they could bet too, as you shall hear. “Hiss-s-s, hiss-s-s.”
What could that be by the stove? The apples were beginning to roast. “What
is that?” asked one.
“Why, do you know”-said our peasant. And then he told them the whole
story of the horse, which he had exchanged for a cow, and all the rest of it,
down to the apples.
“Well, your old woman will give it you well when you get home,” said
one of the Englishmen. “Won’t there be a noise?”
“What! Give me what?” said the peasant. “Why, she will kiss me, and
say, ‘what the old man does is always right.’”
“Let us lay a wager on it,” said the Englishmen. “We’ll wager you a ton
of coined gold, a hundred pounds to the hundred-weight.”
“No; a bushel will be enough,” replied the peasant. “I can only set a
bushel of apples against it, and I’ll throw myself and my old woman into
the bargain; that will pile up the measure, I fancy.”
“Done! taken!” and so the bet was made.
Then the landlord’s coach came to the door, and the two Englishmen and
the peasant got in, and away they drove, and soon arrived and stopped at the
peasant’s hut. “Good evening, old woman.” “Good evening, old man.” “I’ve
made the exchange.”
