hey drank till far on into the night.

'You _must_ sell me the wizard,' said the farmer. 'Ask anything you
like! I will pay you down a bushelful of money on the spot.'

'No, I really can't,' said Little Klaus. 'Just think how many things I
can get from this wizard!'

'Ah! I should like to have him so much!' said the farmer, begging very
hard.

'Well!' said Little Klaus at last, 'as you have been so good as to
give me shelter to-night, I will sell him. You shall have the wizard
for a bushel of money, but I must have full measure.'

'That you shall,' said the farmer. 'But you must take the chest with
you. I won't keep it another hour in the house. Who knows that _he_
isn't in there still?'

Little Klaus gave the farmer his sack with the dry skin, and got
instead a good bushelful of money. The farmer also gave him a
wheelbarrow to carry away his money and the chest. 'Farewell,' said
Little Klaus; and away he went with his money and the big chest,
wherein sat the sexton.

[Illustration: The Farmer Thinks He Sees the Devil in the Chest]

On the other side of the wood was a large deep river. The water flowed
so rapidly that you could scarcely swim against the stream. A great
new bridge had been built over it, on the middle of which Little Klaus
stopped, and said aloud so that the sexton might hear:

'Now, what am I to do with this stupid chest? It is as heavy as if it
were filled with stones! I shall only be tired, dragging it along; I
will throw it into the river. If it swims home to me, well and good;
and if it doesn't, it's no matter.'

Then he took the chest with one hand and lifted it up a little, as if
he were going to throw it into the water.

'No, don't do that!' called out the sexton in the chest. 'Let me get
out first!'

'Oh, oh!' said Little Klaus, pretending that he was afraid. 'He is
still in there! I must throw him quickly into the water to drown him!'

'Oh! no, no!' cried the sexton. 'I will give you a whole bushelful of
money if you will let me go!'

'Ah, that's quite another thing!' said Little Klaus, opening the
chest. The sexton crept out very quickly, pushed the empty chest into
the water and went to his house, where he gave Little Klaus a bushel
of money. One he had had already from the farmer, and now he had his
wheelbarrow full of money.

'Well, I have got a good price for the horse!' said he to himself when
he shook all his money out in a heap in his room. 'This will put Big
Klaus i