ive coals in the other.
The black cow looked at his proceedings for a while in silence, and then
asked, "What are you doing, my dear son?" "Nothing at all," he replied;
"but some cows have a bad habit of keeping back milk in their udders
after they are milked, and in such cases I find hot tongs useful to
prevent the chance of any waste." The black cow sighed deeply and seemed
scared. The prince then took the pail, milked the cow dry, and when he
tried again after a while he found not a drop of milk in her udder. Some
time after the master came into the cowhouse, and as he was also unable
to draw a drop of milk, he asked angrily, "Are you so clever yourself,
or did any one give you good advice?" But the prince answered as before,
"I have no one to help me but my own poor head and a mighty God in
heaven." The old man went off in great vexation.

When the prince went to the master in the evening, the latter said,
"There is still a heap of hay in the field that I should like to have
brought under cover during dry weather. Bring the hay home to-morrow,
but take care not to leave a particle behind, or it might cost you your
life." The prince left the room well pleased, thinking, "It's no great
job to bring hay home. I have only to load it, and the mare must draw
it. I won't spare the master's grandmother." In the evening the maiden
crept to his side, and asked about his work for to-morrow. The prince
said smiling, "I am learning all sorts of farmwork here. I have to bring
home a heap of hay to-morrow, and only to take care not to leave a scrap
behind. This is all my work for to-morrow." "O poor fellow!" sighed she,
"how will you ever do it? If you were to set to work for a week, with
the help of all the inhabitants of a large district, you could not
remove this heap. Whatever you took away from the top would grow up
again from the ground directly. Mark well what I say. You must get up
to-morrow before daybreak, and lead the white mare from the stable,
taking with you some strong cords. Then go to the haycock, fasten the
cords round it, and then bind them to the mare. When this is done, climb
on the haycock, and begin to count one, two, three, four, five, six, and
so on. The mare will ask what you are counting, and you must answer her
as I whisper." Then the maiden left the room, and the prince went to
bed.

When he awoke next morning, the first thing he remembered was the
maiden's good advice. So he took some strong ropes wi