carve the fowls, he sharpened it upon the step. Presently
came the guest, knocking very genteelly and softly at the front door.
Grethel ran and looked to see who it was, and when she caught sight of
the guest she put her finger on her lip saying, "Hush! make the best
haste you can out of this, for if my master catches you, it will be bad
for you; he asked you to come to supper, but he really means to cut off
your ears! Just listen how he is sharpening his knife!"

The guest, hearing the noise of the sharpening, made off as fast as he
could go. And Grethel ran screaming to her master. "A pretty guest you
have asked to the house!" cried she.

"How so, Grethel? what do you mean?" asked he.

"What indeed!" said she; "why, he has gone and run away with my pair of
fowls that I had just dished up."

"That's pretty sort of conduct!" said the master, feeling very sorry
about the fowls; "he might at least have left me one, that I might have
had something to eat." And he called out to him to stop, but the guest
made as if he did not hear him; then he ran after him, the knife still
in his hand, crying out, "Only one! only one!" meaning that the guest
should let him have one of the fowls and not take both, but the guest
thought he meant to have only one of his ears, and he ran so much the
faster that he might get home with both of them safe.

The DEATH of the HEN

ONCE on a time the cock and the hen went to the nut mountain, and they
agreed beforehand that whichever of them should find a nut was to divide
it with the other. Now the hen found a great big nut, but said nothing
about it, and was going to eat it all alone, but the kernel was such a
fat one that she could not swallow it down, and it stuck in her throat,
so that she was afraid she should choke.

"Cock!" cried she, "run as fast as you can and fetch me some water, or I
shall choke!"

So the cock ran as fast as he could to the brook, and said, "Brook, give
me some water, the hen is up yonder choking with a big nut stuck in her
throat." But the brook answered, "First run to the bride and ask her for
some red silk."

So the cock ran to the bride and said,

"Bride, give me some red silk; the brook wants me to give him some red
silk; I want him to give me some water, for the hen lies yonder choking
with a big nut stuck in her throat."

But the bride answered,

"First go and fetch me my garland that hangs on a willow." And the cock
ran to the willow and pu