ave you seen my naughty little maid
With a willy willy wag and a great big bag,
Who's stole my money--all I had?"

Then the baker replied, "Look in the oven. She may be there."

And the witch alighted from her broomstick and peered into the oven: but
she could see no one.

"Creep in and look in the farthest corner," said the baker slyly, and
the witch crept in, when----

Bang!----

he shut the door in her face, and there she was roasting. And when she
came out with the bread she was all crisp and brown, and had to go home
as best she could and put cold cream all over her!

But the kind, obliging little girl got safe home with her bag of money.

Now the ill-tempered elder sister was very jealous of this good luck,
and determined to get a bag of gold for herself. So she in her turn
packed up a bundle and started to seek service by the same road. But
when she came to the oven, and the loaves begged her to take them out
because they had been baking seven years and were nigh to burning, she
tossed her head and said:

"A likely story indeed, that I should burn my fingers to save your
crusts. No, thank you!"

And with that she went on till she came across the cow standing waiting
to be milked beside the pail. But when the cow said:

"Little girl! Little girl! Milk me! Please milk me, I've waited seven
years to be milked----"

She only laughed and replied, "You may wait another seven years for all
I care. I'm not your dairymaid!"

And with that she went on till she came to the apple tree, all
overburdened by its fruit. But when it begged her to shake its branches,
she only giggled, and plucking one ripe apple, said:

"One is enough for me: you can keep the rest yourself." And with that
she went on munching the apple, till she came to the witch-woman's
house.

Now the witch-woman, though she had got over being crisp and brown from
the oven, was dreadfully angry with all little maid-servants, and made
up her mind this one should not trick her. So for a long time she never
went out of the house; thus the ill-tempered sister never had a chance
of looking up the chimney, as she had meant to do at once. And she had
to dust, and clean, and brush, and sweep ever so hard, until she was
quite tired out.

But one day, when the witch-woman went into the garden to bury her
bones, she seized the moment, looked up the chimney, and, sure enough, a
bag of gold fell plump into her lap!

Well