unfortunate," said the landlord, wringing his hands.
"This all comes of my fiery temper. Dear Little Claus, I will give you
a bushel of money; I will bury your grandmother as if she were my own;
only keep silent, or else they will cut off my head, and that would be
disagreeable."
So it happened that Little Claus received another bushel of money,
and the landlord buried his old grandmother as if she had been his
own. When Little Claus reached home again, he immediately sent a boy
to Great Claus, requesting him to lend him a bushel measure. "How is
this?" thought Great Claus; "did I not kill him? I must go and see for
myself." So he went to Little Claus, and took the bushel measure
with him. "How did you get all this money?" asked Great Claus, staring
with wide open eyes at his neighbor's treasures.
"You killed my grandmother instead of me," said Little Claus;
"so I have sold her for a bushel of money."
"That is a good price at all events," said Great Claus. So he went
home, took a hatchet, and killed his old grandmother with one blow.
Then he placed her on a cart, and drove into the town to the
apothecary, and asked him if he would buy a dead body.
"Whose is it, and where did you get it?" asked the apothecary.
"It is my grandmother," he replied; "I killed her with a blow,
that I might get a bushel of money for her."
"Heaven preserve us!" cried the apothecary, "you are out of your
mind. Don't say such things, or you will lose your head." And then
he talked to him seriously about the wicked deed he had done, and told
him that such a wicked man would surely be punished. Great Claus got
so frightened that he rushed out of the surgery, jumped into the cart,
whipped up his horses, and drove home quickly. The apothecary and
all the people thought him mad, and let him drive where he liked.
"You shall pay for this," said Great Claus, as soon as he got into
the highroad, "that you shall, Little Claus." So as soon as he reached
home he took the largest sack he could find and went over to Little
Claus. "You have played me another trick," said he. "First, I killed
all my horses, and then my old grandmother, and it is all your
fault; but you shall not make a fool of me any more." So he laid
hold of Little Claus round the body, and pushed him into the sack,
which he took on his shoulders, saying, "Now I'm going to drown you in
the river."
He had a long way to go before he reached the river, and Little
Claus was not a
|