Page:Europa's Fairy Book.djvu/183

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A Visitor from Paradise
161

these by my own self. Ain't you got a horse or a donkey that I can take along with me to carry them? I'll bring them back tomorrow."

Then the woman said, "There's our old Dobbin in the stable; I can't lend you mare Juniper cos my husband's ploughing with her just now."

"Ah, well, Dobbin'll do as its only till tomorrow."

So the woman got out Dobbin and saddled him, and the man took the clothes and the beer and the pipe and rode off with them.

Shortly afterwards her husband came home and said,

"What's become of Dobbin? He's not in the stable."

So his wife told him all that had happened. And he said,

"I don't like that. How do we know that he is going to Paradise? And how do we know that he'll bring Dobbin back tomorrow? I'll saddle Juniper and get the things back. Which way did he go?"

So he saddled Juniper and rode after the man, who saw him coming afar off and guessed what had happened. So he got off from Dobbin and drove him into a clump of trees near the roadside, and then went and laid down on his back and looked up to the sky.

When the farmer came up to him he got down from Juniper and said, "What are you doing there?"