Page:Grimm-Rackham.djvu/211

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The Little Peasant

‘That ’s a bit of luck!’ said the Miller, going to the oven and finding the joint.

The Little Peasant again squeezed the Raven to make him prophesy, and said, ‘Thirdly, he says there is some salad in the bed.’

‘That ’s a bit of luck!’ said the Miller, finding the salad.

Again the Little Peasant squeezed the Raven to make him crook, and said, ‘Fourthly, he says there is a cake under the bed.’

‘That ’s a bit of luck!’ cried the Miller, as he found the cake.

Now the two sat down at the table together; but the Miller’s Wife was in terror. She went to bed, and took all the keys with her.

The Miller would have liked to know what the fifth prophecy could be, but the Little Peasant said, ‘We will quietly eat these four things first, the fifth is something dreadful.’

So they went on eating, and then they bargained as to how much the Miller should pay for the fifth prophecy, and at last they agreed upon three hundred thalers.

Then again the Little Peasant squeezed the Raven’s head and made him crow very loud.

The Miller said, ‘What does he say?’

The Little Peasant answered, ‘He says the devil is hidden in the linen chest.’

The Miller said, ‘The devil will have to go out’; and he opened the house door and made his Wife give up the keys. The Little Peasant unlocked the linen chest, and the Priest took to his heels as fast as ever he could.

The Miller said, ‘I saw the black fellow with my own eyes; there was no mistake about it.’

The Little Peasant made off at dawn with his three hundred thalers.

After this the Little Peasant began to get on in the world; he built himself a pretty new house, and the other Peasants
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