m; only don't overburthen them."

"How could you think of such a thing, kind friend!"

So he brought the pair of oxen, and Woe got into the cart
with him, and away he drove into the open plain.

"Master!" asks Woe, "do you know the big stone on this
plain?"

"Of course I do."

"Well then if you know it, drive straight up to it."

They came to the place where it was, stopped, and got out
of the cart. Woe told the peasant to lift the stone; the peasant
lifted it, Woe helping him. Well, when they had lifted it there
was a pit underneath chock full of gold.

"Now then, what are you staring at!" said Woe to the
peasant, "be quick and pitch it into the cart."

The peasant set to work and filled the cart with gold;
cleared the pit to the very last ducat. When he saw there was
nothing more left:

"Just give a look, Woe," he said; "isn't there some money
left in there?"

"Where?" said Woe, bending down; "I can't see a thing."

"Why there; something is shining in yon corner!"

"No, I can't see anything," said Woe.

"Get into the pit; you'll see it then."

Woe jumped in: no sooner had it got there than the peasant
closed the mouth of the pit with the stone.

"Things will be much better like that," said the peasant:
"if I were to take you home with me, O Woeful Woe, sooner
or later you'd be sure to drink away all this money, too!"

The peasant got home, shovelled the money into his cellar,
took the oxen back to his neighbor, and set about considering
how he should manage. It ended in his buying a wood, building
a large homestead, and becoming twice as rich as his
brother.

After a time he went into the town to invite his brother and
sister-in-law to spend his name-day with him.

"What an idea!" said his rich brother: "you haven't a
thing to eat, and yet you ask people to spend your name-day
with you!"

"Well, there was a time when I had nothing to eat, but
now, thank God! I've as much as you. If you come, you'll see
for yourself."

"So be it! I'll come," said his brother.

Next day the rich brother and his wife got ready, and went
to the name-day party. They could see that the former beggar
had got a new house, a lofty one, such as few merchants had!
And the moujik treated them hospitably, regaled them with all
sorts of dishes, gave them all sorts of meads and spirits to
drink. At length the rich man asked hi