As he went on, always putting one foot before the other, he saw a horsemantrotting quickly and merrily by on a lively horse. "Ah!" said Hans quiteloud, "what a fine thing it is to ride! There you sit as on a chair;you stumble over no stones, you save your shoes, and get on, you don'tknow how."
The rider, who had heard him, stopped and called out, "Hollo! Hans,why do you go on foot, then?"
"I must," answered he, "for I have this lump to carry home; it is truethat it is gold, but I cannot hold my head straight for it, and it hurtsmy shoulder."
"I will tell you what," said the rider, "we will exchange: I will giveyou my horse, and you can give me your lump."
"With all my heart," said Hans, "but I can tell you, you will have tocrawl along with it."
The rider got down, took the gold, and helped Hans up; then gave him thebridle tight in his hands and said, "If you want to go at a really goodpace, you must click your tongue and call out, "Jup! Jup!"
Hans was heartily delighted as he sat upon the horse and rode away so boldand free. After a little while he thought that it ought to go faster,and he began to click with his tongue and call out, "Jup! Jup!" Thehorse put himself into a sharp trot, and before Hans knew where he was,he was thrown off and lying in a ditch which separated the field from thehighway. The horse would have gone off too if it had not been stopped bya countryman, who was coming along the road and driving a cow before him.
Hans got his limbs together and stood up on his legs again, but he wasvexed, and said to the countryman, "It is a poor joke, this riding,especially when one gets hold of a mare like this, that kicks and throwsone off, so that one has a chance of breaking one's neck. Never againwill I mount it. Now I like your cow, for one can walk quietly behindher, and have, over and above, one's milk, butter and cheese every daywithout fail. What would I not give to have such a cow." "Well," saidthe countryman, "if it would give you so much pleasure, I do not mindgiving the cow for the horse." Hans agreed with the greatest delight;the countryman jumped upon the horse, and rode quickly away.
Hans drove his cow quietly before him, and thought over his luckybargain. "If only I have a morsel of bread—-and that can hardly failme—-I can eat butter and cheese with it as often as I like; if I amthirsty, I can milk my cow and drink the milk. Good heart, what morecan I want?"
When he came to an inn he made a halt, and in his great content ate upwhat he had with him—-his dinner and supper—-and all he had, and withhis last few farthings had half a glass of beer. Then he drove his cowonwards along the road to his mother's village.
As it drew nearer mid-day, the heat was more oppressive, and Hans foundhimself upon a moor which it took about an hour to cross. He felt itvery hot and his tongue clave to the roof of his mouth with thirst. "Ican find a cure for this," thought Hans; "I will milk the cow now andrefresh myself with the milk." He tied her to a withered tree, and ashe had no pail he put his leather cap underneath; but try as he would,not a drop of milk came. And as he set himself to work in a clumsy way,the impatient beast at last gave him such a blow on his head with itshind foot, that he fell on the ground, and for a long time could notthink where he was.
By good fortune a butcher just then came along the road with awheel-barrow, in which lay a young pig. "What sort of a trick isthis?" cried he, and helped the good Hans up. Hans told him what hadhappened. The butcher gave him his flask and said, "Take a drink andrefresh yourself. The cow will certainly give no milk, it is an old beast;at the best it is only fit for the plough, or for the butcher." "Well,well," said Hans, as he stroked his hair down on his head, "who wouldhave thought it? Certainly it is a fine thing when one can kill a beastlike that at home; what meat one has! But I do not care much for beef,it is not juicy enough for me. A young pig like that now is the thingto have, it tastes quite different; and then there are the sausages!"
"Hark ye, Hans," said the butcher, "out of love for you I will exchange,and will let you have the pig for the cow." "Heaven repay you for yourkindness!" said Hans as he gave up the cow, whilst the pig was unboundfrom the barrow, and the cord by which it was tied was put in his hand.
Hans went on, and thought to himself how everything was going justas he wished; if he did meet with any vexation it was immediatelyset right. Presently there joined him a lad who was carrying a finewhite goose under his arm. They said good morning to each other,and Hans began to tell of his good luck, and how he had always madesuch good bargains. The boy told him that he was taking the goose to achristening-feast. "Just lift her," added he, and laid hold of her by thewings; "how heavy she is—-she has been fattened up for the last eightweeks. Whoever has a bit of her when she is roasted will have to wipethe fat from both sides of his mouth." "Yes," said Hans, as he weighedher in one hand, "she is a good weight, but my pig is no bad one."
Meanwhile the lad looked suspiciously from one side to the other,and shook his head. "Look here," he said at length, "it may not be allright with your pig. In the village through which I passed, the Mayorhimself had just had one stolen out of its sty. I fear—-I fear that youhave got hold of it there. They have sent out some people and it wouldbe a bad business if they caught you with the pig; at the very least,you would be shut up in the dark hole."
The good Hans was terrified. "Goodness!" he said, "help me out of thisfix; you know more about this place than I do, take my pig and leave meyour goose." "I shall risk something at that game," answered the lad,"but I will not be the cause of your getting into trouble." So he tookthe cord in his hand, and drove away the pig quickly along a by-path.
The good Hans, free from care, went homewards with the goose underhis arm. "When I think over it properly," said he to himself, "I haveeven gained by the exchange; first there is the good roast-meat, thenthe quantity of fat which will drip from it, and which will give medripping for my bread for a quarter of a year, and lastly the beautifulwhite feathers; I will have my pillow stuffed with them, and then indeedI shall go to sleep without rocking. How glad my mother will be!"
As he was going through the last village, there stood a scissors-grinderwith his barrow; as his wheel whirred he sang—-
"I sharpen scissors and quickly grind,
My coat blows out in the wind behind."
Hans stood still and looked at him; at last he spoke to him and said,"All's well with you, as you are so merry with your grinding." "Yes,"answered the scissors-grinder, "the trade has a golden foundation. Areal grinder is a man who as often as he puts his hand into his pocketfinds gold in it. But where did you buy that fine goose?"
"I did not buy it, but exchanged my pig for it."
"And the pig?"
"That I got for a cow."
"And the cow?"
"I took that instead of a horse."
"And the horse?"
"For that I gave a lump of gold as big as my head."
"And the gold?"
"Well, that was my wages for seven years' service."
"You have known how to look after yourself each time," said thegrinder. "If you can only get on so far as to hear the money jingle inyour pocket whenever you stand up, you will have made your fortune."
"How shall I manage that?" said Hans. "You must be a grinder, as I am;nothing particular is wanted for it but a grindstone, the rest findsitself. I have one here; it is certainly a little worn, but you neednot give me anything for it but your goose; will you do it?"
"How can you ask?" answered Hans. "I shall be the luckiest fellow onearth; if I have money whenever I put my hand in my pocket, what needI trouble about any longer?" and he handed him the goose and receivedthe grindstone in exchange. "Now," said the grinder, as he took up anordinary heavy stone that lay by him, "here is a strong stone for youinto the bargain; you can hammer well upon it, and straighten your oldnails. Take it with you and keep it carefully."
Hans loaded himself with the stones, and went on with a contented heart;his eyes shone with joy. "I must have been born with a caul," he cried;"everything I want happens to me just as if I were a Sunday-child."
Meanwhile, as he had been on his legs since daybreak, he began to feeltired. Hunger also tormented him, for in his joy at the bargain by whichhe got the cow he had eaten up all his store of food at once. At lasthe could only go on with great trouble, and was forced to stop everyminute; the stones, too, weighed him down dreadfully. Then he could nothelp thinking how nice it would be if he had not to carry them just then.
He crept like a snail to a well in a field, and there he thought thathe would rest and refresh himself with a cool draught of water, but inorder that he might not injure the stones in sitting down, he laid themcarefully by his side on the edge of the well. Then he sat down on it, andwas to stoop and drink, when he made a slip, pushed against the stones,and both of them fell into the water. When Hans saw them with his owneyes sinking to the bottom, he jumped for joy, and then knelt down, andwith tears in his eyes thanked God for having shown him this favour also,and delivered him in so good a way, and without his having any need toreproach himself, from those heavy stones which had been the only thingsthat troubled him.
"There is no man under the sun so fortunate as I," he cried out. With alight heart and free from every burden he now ran on until he was withhis mother at home.
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