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HANS IN LUCK.
Some men are born to good luck: all
they do or try to do comes right
all that
falls
to them is so much gain
all
their geese are swans
all
their cards are
trumps
toss them which way you will, they will
always, like poor puss, alight
upon
their legs, and only move on so much the faster.
The world may very likely
not always
think of them as they think of themselves, but
what care they for the
world? what can
it know about the matter?
One of these lucky beings was neighbour
Hans. Seven long years he had worked
hard for his master. At last he said,
'Master, my time is up; I must go home and
see my poor mother once more: so pray
pay me my wages and let me go. ' And
the master said, 'You have been a
faithful and good servant, Hans, so your pay
shall be handsome. ' Then he gave him a
lump of silver as big as his head.
Hans took out his pocket
handkerchief, put the piece of silver into it,
threw it over
his shoulder, and jogged
off on his road homewards. As he went lazily on,
dragging one foot after another, a man
came in sight, trotting gaily along on a
capital horse. 'Ah! ' said Hans aloud,
'what a fine thing it is to ride on horseback!
There he sits as easy and happy as if
he was at home, in the chair by his fireside;
he trips against no stones, saves shoe
leather, and gets on he hardly knows how.
' Hans did not speak so softly but the
horseman heard it all, and said, 'Well, friend,
why do you go on foot then? ' 'Ah! '
said he, 'I have this load to carry: to be sure it
is silver, but it is so heavy that I
can't hold up my head, and you must know it hurts
my shoulder sadly. ' 'What do you say
of making an exchange? ' said the
horseman. 'I will give you my horse,
and you shall give me the silver; which will
save you a great deal of trouble in
carrying such a heavy load about with you. '
'With all my heart, ' said Hans: 'but
as you are so kind to me, I must tell you one
thing
you will
have a weary task to draw that silver about with
you. ' However,
the horseman got off,
took the silver, helped Hans up, gave him the
bridle into one
hand and the whip into
the other, and said, 'When you want to go very
fast, smack
your lips loudly together,
and cry
Hans
was delighted as he sat on the horse, drew himself
up, squared his elbows,
turned out his
toes, cracked his whip, and rode merrily off, one
minute whistling a
merry tune, and
another singing,
'No
care and no sorrow,
A fig for the morrow!
We'll laugh and be merry,
Sing neigh down
derry! '
After a time he
thought he should like to go a little faster, so
he smacked his lips
and cried 'Jip! '
Away went the horse full gallop; and before Hans
knew what he
was about, he was thrown
off, and lay on his back by the road side. His
horse
would have ran off, if a shepherd
who was coming by, driving a cow, had not
stopped it. Hans soon came to himself,
and got upon his legs again, sadly vexed,
and said to the shepherd, 'This riding
is no joke, when a man has the luck to get
upon a beast like this that stumbles
and flings him off as if it would break his neck.
However, I'm off now once for all: I
like your cow now a great deal better than this
smart beast that played me this trick,
and has spoiled my best coat, you see, in
this puddle; which, by the by, smells
not very like a nosegay. One can walk along
at one's leisure behind that cow
keep good company, and have
milk, butter, and
cheese, every day,
into the bargain. What would I give to have such a
prize! ' 'Well,
' said the shepherd,
'if you are so fond of her, I will change my cow
for your horse;
I like to do good to my
neighbours, even though I lose by it myself. '
'Done! ' said
Hans, merrily. 'What a
noble heart that good man has! ' thought he. Then
the
shepherd jumped upon the horse,
wished Hans and the cow good morning, and
away he rode.
Hans brushed his coat, wiped his face
and hands, rested a while, and then drove
off his cow quietly, and thought his
bargain a very lucky one. 'If I have only a piece
of bread (and I certainly shall always
be able to get that), I can, whenever I like,
eat my butter and cheese with it; and
when I am thirsty I can milk my cow and
drink the milk: and what can I wish for
more? ' When he came to an inn, he halted,
ate up all his bread, and gave away his
last penny for a glass of beer. When he
had rested himself he set off again,
driving his cow towards his mother's village.
But the heat grew greater as soon as
noon came on, till at last, as he found
himself on a wide heath that would take
him more than an hour to cross, he began
to be so hot and parched that his
tongue clave to the roof of his mouth. 'I can find
a cure for this, ' thought he; 'now I
will milk my cow and quench my thirst': so he
tied her to the stump of a tree, and
held his leathern cap to milk into; but not a
drop was to be had. Who would have
thought that this cow, which was to bring
him milk and butter and cheese, was all
that time utterly dry? Hans had not
thought of looking to that.
While he was trying his
luck in milking, and managing the matter very
clumsily, the
uneasy beast began to
think him very troublesome; and at last gave him
such a
kick on the head as knocked him
down; and there he lay a long while senseless.
Luckily a butcher soon came by, driving
a pig in a wheelbarrow. 'What is the
matter with you, my man? ' said the
butcher, as he helped him up. Hans told him
what had happened, how he was dry, and
wanted to milk his cow, but found the
cow was dry too. Then the butcher gave
him a flask of ale, saying, 'There, drink
and refresh yourself; your cow will
give you no milk: don't you see she is an old
beast, good for nothing but the
slaughter house? ' 'Alas, alas! ' said Hans, 'who
would have thought it? What a shame to
take my horse, and give me only a dry
cow! If I kill her, what will she be
good for? I hate cow beef; it is not tender enough
for me. If it were a pig now
like that fat
gentleman you are driving along at his
ease
one could
do something with it; it would at any rate make
sausages. ' 'Well,
' said the butcher,
'I don't like to say no, when one is asked to do a
kind,
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