at him to a jelly. She was in such a rage that she would
certainly have beaten him to death, or made him a cripple for life, if
the farmer, hearing his cries and sobs, had not compassionately come to
his aid. But as he knew the temper of the furious woman, he would not
venture to interfere directly, but sought to soften her, and said
beseechingly, "Don't beat the boy quite to pieces, or he won't be able
to look for the lost cow. We shall get more profit out of him if you
don't quite kill him." "True enough," said the woman, "his carrion won't
be worth as much as the good beef." Then she gave him a few more good
whacks, and packed him off to look for the cow, saying, "If you come
back without the cow, I'll beat you to death." The boy ran from the door
sobbing and crying, and went back to the forest where he had been with
the herd in the daytime, and searched all night, but could not find a
trace of the cow anywhere. But when the sun rose next morning, he made
up his mind what to do. "Whatever may happen to me," he said, "I won't
go back again." Then he made a start, and ran straight forward at one
stretch, till he had left the house far behind him. He himself could not
tell how far he ran before his strength failed, and he sank down half
dead when it was already almost noon. When at length he awoke from a
long heavy sleep, he felt something cool in his mouth, and on opening
his eyes, he saw a little old man with a long grey beard putting the
ladle back into a milk-can. "Please give me a little more to drink,"
said the boy. "You have had enough for to-day," answered the old man.
"If I had not been passing this way by accident, you would have slept
your last sleep, for you were already half dead when I found you." Then
the old man asked the boy whence he came and whither he was going. The
boy related everything that had happened to him, as far back as he could
remember, down to last night's beating. The old man listened attentively
to the story, but without interrupting, and after a while he remarked,
"My dear child, you have fared neither better nor worse than many others
whose dear friends and protectors lie beneath the sod. As you have run
away, you must seek your fortune elsewhere in the world. But as I have
neither house nor farm, nor wife nor child, I cannot do anything to help
you but give you good advice gratis. Sleep here quietly through the
night, and to-morrow morning note carefully the exact spot where the sun
ri