nice piece of
goods there, brother. If I had only something like that I should lack
nothing;" then, after thinking a long time, he said, "Sell it to me,
my brother."--"No," said the poor man, "I will not sell it."--After a
little time, however, the rich brother said again, "Come now! I'll
give thee for it six yoke of oxen, and a plough, and a harrow, and a
hay-fork, and I'll give thee besides, lots of corn to sow, thus thou
wilt have plenty, but give me the ram and the sack." So at last they
exchanged. The rich man took the sack and the ram, and the poor man
took the oxen and went out to the plough.

Then the poor brother went out ploughing all day, but he neither
watered his oxen nor gave them anything to eat. And next day the poor
brother again went out to his oxen, but found them rolling on their
sides on the ground. He began to pull and tug at them, but they didn't
get up. Then he began to beat them with a stick, but they uttered not
a sound. The man was surprised to find them fit for nothing, and off
he ran to his brother, not forgetting to take with him his drum with
the henchmen.

When the poor brother came to the rich brother's, he lost no time in
crossing his threshold, and said, "Hail, my brother!"--"Good health to
thee also!" replied the rich man, "why hast thou come hither? Has thy
plough broken, or thy oxen failed thee? Perchance thou hast watered
them with foul water, so that their blood is stagnant, and their flesh
inflamed?"--"The murrain take 'em if I know thy meaning!" cried the
poor brother. "All that I know is that I thwacked 'em till my arms
ached, and they wouldn't stir, and not a single grunt did they give;
till I was so angry that I spat at them, and came to tell thee. Give
me back my sack and my ram, I say, and take back thy oxen, for they
won't listen to me!"--"What! take them back!" roared the rich brother.
"Dost think I only made the exchange for a single day? No, I gave them
to thee once and for all, and now thou wouldst rip the whole thing up
like a goat at the fair. I have no doubt thou hast neither watered
them nor fed them, and that is why they won't stand up."--"I didn't
know," said the poor man, "that oxen needed water and food."--"Didn't
know!" screeched the rich man, in a mighty rage, and taking the poor
brother by the hand, he led him away from the hut. "Go away," said he,
"and never come back here again, or I'll have thee hanged on a
gallows!"--"Ah! what a big gentleman we are!"