One day he had to watch a hen and her chickens, but she ran through aquick-set hedge with them, and a hawk darted down instantly, and carriedher off through the air. The boy called, "Thief! thief! rascal!" withall the strength of his body. But what good did that do? The hawk did notbring its prey back again. The man heard the noise, and ran to the spot,and as soon as he saw that his hen was gone, he fell in a rage, and gavethe boy such a beating that he could not stir for two days. Then he hadto take care of the chickens without the hen, but now his difficulty wasgreater, for one ran here and the other there. He thought he was doinga very wise thing when he tied them all together with a string, becausethen the hawk would not be able to steal any of them away from him. Buthe was very much mistaken. After two days, worn out with running aboutand hunger, he fell asleep; the bird of prey came, and seized one of thechickens, and as the others were tied fast to it, it carried them alloff together, perched itself on a tree, and devoured them. The farmer wasjust coming home, and when he saw the misfortune, he got angry and beatthe boy so unmercifully that he was forced to lie in bed for several days.
When he was on his legs again, the farmer said to him, "Thou arttoo stupid for me, I cannot make a herdsman of thee, thou must go aserrand-boy." Then he sent him to the judge, to whom he was to carrya basketful of grapes, and he gave him a letter as well. On the wayhunger and thirst tormented the unhappy boy so violently that he atetwo of the bunches of grapes. He took the basket to the judge, but whenthe judge had read the letter, and counted the bunches he said, "Twoclusters are wanting." The boy confessed quite honestly that, drivenby hunger and thirst, he had devoured the two which were wanting. Thejudge wrote a letter to the farmer, and asked for the same number ofgrapes again. These also the boy had to take to him with a letter. Ashe again was so extremely hungry and thirsty, he could not help it,and again ate two bunches. But first he took the letter out of thebasket, put it under a stone and seated himself thereon in order thatthe letter might not see and betray him. The judge, however, again madehim give an explanation about the missing bunches. "Ah," said the boy,"how have you learnt that? The letter could not know about it, for Iput it under a stone before I did it." The judge could not help laughingat the boy's simplicity, and sent the man a letter wherein he cautionedhim to keep the poor boy better, and not let him want for meat and drink,and also that he was to teach him what was right and what was wrong.
"I will soon show thee the difference," said the hard man, "if thouwilt eat, thou must work, and if thou dost anything wrong, thou shaltbe quite sufficiently taught by blows."
The next day he set him a hard task. He was to chop two bundles of strawfor food for the horses, and then the man threatened: "In five hours,"said he, "I shall be back again, and if the straw is not cut to chaff bythat time, I will beat thee until thou canst not move a limb." The farmerwent with his wife, the man-servant and the girl, to the yearly fair,and left nothing behind for the boy but a small bit of bread. The boyseated himself on the bench, and began to work with all his might. As hegot warm over it he put his little coat off and threw it on the straw. Inhis terror lest he should not get done in time he kept constantly cutting,and in his haste, without noticing it, he chopped his little coat as wellas the straw. He became aware of the misfortune too late; there was norepairing it. "Ah," cried he, "now all is over with me! The wicked mandid not threaten me for nothing; if he comes back and sees what I havedone, he will kill me. Rather than that I will take my own life."
The boy had once heard the farmer's wife say, "I have a pot with poisonin it under my bed." She, however, had only said that to keep away greedypeople, for there was honey in it. The boy crept under the bed, broughtout the pot, and ate all that was in it. "I do not know," said he, "folkssay death is bitter, but it tastes very sweet to me. It is no wonder thatthe farmer's wife has so often longed for death." He seated himself in alittle chair, and was prepared to die. But instead of becoming weaker hefelt himself strengthened by the nourishing food. "It cannot have beenpoison," thought he, "but the farmer once said there was a small bottleof poison for flies in the box in which he keeps his clothes; that, nodoubt, will be the true poison, and bring death to me." It was, however,no poison for flies, but Hungarian wine. The boy got out the bottle,and emptied it. "This death tastes sweet too," said he, but shortlyafter when the wine began to mount into his brain and stupefy him, hethought his end was drawing near. "I feel that I must die," said he,"I will go away to the churchyard, and seek a grave." He staggered out,reached the churchyard, and laid himself in a newly dug grave. He losthis senses more and more. In the neighbourhood was an inn where a weddingwas being kept; when he heard the music, he fancied he was already inParadise, until at length he lost all consciousness. The poor boy neverawoke again; the heat of the strong wine and the cold night-dew deprivedhim of life, and he remained in the grave in which he had laid himself.
When the farmer heard the news of the boy's death he was terrified,and afraid of being brought to justice indeed, his distress took sucha powerful hold of him that he fell fainting to the ground. His wife,who was standing on the hearth with a pan of hot fat, ran to him to helphim. But the flames darted against the pan, the whole house caught fire,in a few hours it lay in ashes, and the rest of the years they had to livethey passed in poverty and misery, tormented by the pangs of conscience.
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