keyhole
and get behind the rogue's head, and stay there two or three hours
sucking his hair."

"What good would there be in that?" asked the ass. "Wait, and you'll
know!" said the weasel.

Next morning the merchant was quite mad to find the state his hair was
in.

"But I'll be a match for you to-night, my fine mouse," said he. So he
unchained the cats next night and made them sit by his bedside and
watch.

Just as he was dropping asleep the weasel and the mouse were outside the
door, and gnawing away till they had scooped out a hole in the bottom of
it. In went the mouse, and it was not long before he had the egg quite
safe.

They were soon on the road again; the mouse in the ass's ear, the weasel
on his back, and the egg in the weasel's mouth.

When they came to the river, and were swimming across, the ass began to
bray. "Hee-haw, hee-haw," cried he. "Is there anyone like me in all the
world? I am carrying the mouse and the weasel and the great enchanted
egg that can do anything. Why do you not praise me?"

But the mouse was asleep, and the weasel dared not open his mouth for
fear of dropping the egg. "I'll shake you all off, you thankless pack,
if you won't praise me," cried the ass, and the poor weasel forgot the
egg, and cried out: "Oh, don't, don't!" when down went the egg into the
deepest pool in the river. "Now you have done it," said the weasel, and
you may be sure the ass looked very foolish.

"Oh, what are we to do?" groaned he. "Keep a good heart," said the
weasel. Then looking down into the deep water, he cried: "Hear! all you
frogs and fish. There is a great army of storks and cranes coming to
take you all out and eat you up red-raw. Make haste! Make haste!" "Oh,
and what can we do?" cried they, coming up to the top. "Gather up the
stones from below and hand them to us, and we'll build a big wall on the
bank to defend you." So the fish and frogs fell to work like mad, and
were at it hard and fast, reaching up all the stones and pebbles they
found at the bottom of the pool.

At last a big frog came up with the egg in his mouth, and when the
weasel had hold of it he climbed into a tree and cried out, "That will
do; the army has got a great fright at our walls, and they are all
running away." So the poor things were greatly relieved.

You may be sure that Jack jumped for joy to see his friends and the egg
again. They were soon back in their castle, and when Jack began to feel
lonely he did not fi