e store was exhausted, the Knave came running to the Fool
with an empty bag and a wry face, crying, "Dear friend, what shall we
do? This bag, which I had safely buried under a gooseberry-bush, has
been taken up by some thief, and all my money stolen. My savings were
twice as large as yours; but now that they are gone, and I can no
longer perform my share of the bargain, I fear our partnership must be
dissolved."

"Not so, dear friend," said the Fool, who was very good-natured; "we
have shared good luck together, and now we will share poverty. But as
nothing is left, I fear we must seek work."

"You speak very wisely," said the Knave, "And what, for instance, can
you do?"

"Very little," said the Fool; "but that little I do well."

"So do I," said the Knave. "Now can you plough, or sow, or feed
cattle, or plant crops?"

"Farming is not my business," said the Fool.

"Nor mine," said the Knave; "but no doubt you are a handicraftsman.
Are you clever at carpentry, mason's work, tailoring, or shoemaking?"

"I do not doubt that I should have been had I learned the trades,"
said the Fool, "but I never was bound apprentice."

"It is the same with myself," said the Knave; "but you may have finer
talents. Can you paint, or play the fiddle?"

"I never tried," said the Fool; "so I don't know."

"Just my case," said the Knave. "And now, since we can't find work, I
propose that we travel till work finds us."

The two comrades accordingly set forth, and they went on and on, till
they came to the foot of a hill, where a merchantman was standing by
his wagon, which had broken down.

"You seem two strong men," said he, as they advanced; "if you will
carry this chest of valuables up to the top of the hill, and down to
the bottom on the other side, where there is an inn, I will give you
two gold pieces for your trouble."

The Knave and the Fool consented to this, saying, "Work has found us
at last;" and they lifted the box on to their shoulders.

"Turn, and turn about," said the Knave; "but the best turn between
friends is a good turn; so I will lead the way up-hill, which is the
hardest kind of travelling, and you shall go first down-hill, the easy
half of our journey."

The Fool thought this proposal a very generous one, and, not knowing
that the lower end of their burden was the heavy one, he carried it
all the way. When they got to the inn, the merchant gave each of them
a gold piece, and, as the accommodation was goo