c loaf in his bag, he hurried off to the nearest
village to buy himself something to eat, and then returned to his sheep.
Now the Lord whose sheep the Herd-boy looked after had a very lovely
daughter, who always smiled and nodded to the youth when she walked with
her father in his fields. For a long time the Herd-boy had made up his
mind to prepare a surprise for this beautiful creature on her birthday.
So when the day approached he put on his invisible belt, took a sack of
gold pieces with him, and slipping into her room in the middle of the
night, he placed the bag of gold beside her bed and returned to his
sheep. The girl's joy was great, and so was her parents' next day when
they found the sack full of gold pieces. The Herd-boy was so pleased to
think what pleasure he had given that the next night he placed another
bag of gold beside the girl's bed. And this he continued to do for seven
nights, and the girl and her parents made up their minds that it must
be a good Fairy who brought the gold every night. But one night they
determined to watch, and see from their hiding place who the bringer of
the sack of gold really was.
On the eighth night a fearful storm of wind and rain came on while the
Herd-boy was on his way to bring the beautiful girl another bag of gold.
Then for the first time he noticed, just as he reached his master's
house, that he had forgotten the belt which made him invisible. He
didn't like the idea of going back to his hut in the wind and wet, so
he just stepped as he was into the girl's room, laid the sack of
gold beside her, and was turning to leave the room, when his master
confronted him and said, 'You young rogue, so you were going to steal
the gold that a good Fairy brings every night, were you?' The Herd-boy
was so taken aback by his words, that he stood trembling before him,
and did not dare to explain his presence. Then his master spoke. 'As you
have hitherto always behaved well in my service I will not send you to
prison; but leave your place instantly and never let me see your face
again.' So the Herd-boy went back to his hut, and taking his loaf and
belt with him, he went to the nearest town. There he bought himself
some fine clothes, and a beautiful coach with four horses, hired two
servants, and drove back to his master. You may imagine how astonished
he was to see his Herd-boy returning to him in this manner! Then the
youth told him of the piece of good luck that had befallen him,
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