me?" asked the man.

"Why, John Goody, of course," said the woman. "Did you know him in
Paradise?"

"What, John Goody!" said the man. "Him and me was as thick as
thieves."

"Does he want for anything?" said the woman. "I suppose up in Paradise
you get all you want."

"All we want! Why, look at me," said the man pointing to his rags and
tatters. "They treat some of us right shabby up there."

"Dear me, that's bad. Are you likely to go back?"

"Go back to Paradise, marm; I should say! We have to be in every night
at ten."

"Well, perhaps you wouldn't mind taking back some things for my poor
old John," said the woman.

"In course, marm, delighted to help my old chum John."

So the woman went indoors and got a big pile of clothes and a long
pipe and three bottles of beer, and a beer jug, and gave them to the
man.

"But," he said, "please marm, I can't carry all these by my own self.
Ain't you got a horse or a donkey that I can take along with me to
carry them? I'll bring them back to-morrow."

Then the woman said, "There's our old Dobbin in the stable; I can't
lend you mare Juniper cos my husband's ploughing with her just now."

"Ah, well, Dobbin'll do as its only till to-morrow."

So the woman got out Dobbin and saddled him, and the man took the
clothes and the beer and the pipe and rode off with them.

Shortly afterwards her husband came home and said,

"What's become of Dobbin? He's not in the stable."

So his wife told him all that had happened. And he said,

"I don't like that. How do we know that he is going to Paradise? And
how do we know that he'll bring Dobbin back to-morrow? I'll saddle
Juniper and get the things back. Which way did he go?"

So he saddled Juniper and rode after the man, who saw him coming afar
off and guessed what had happened. So he got off from Dobbin and drove
him into a clump of trees near the roadside, and then went and laid
down on his back and looked up to the sky.

When the farmer came up to him he got down from Juniper and said,
"What are you doing there?"

"Oh, such a funny thing," said the man; "a fellow came along here on a
horse with some clothes and things, and when he got to the top of the
hill here he simply gave a shout and the horse went right up into the
sky; and I was watching him when you came up."

"Oh, it's all right then," said the farmer. "He's gone to Paradise,
sure enough," and went back to his wife.

Next day they waited, and they waited for