hole pretty comfortably; for,
though she was poor, she was able to keep a few goats, that supplied
her with milk, and a flock of chickens, that gave her fresh eggs every
morning: and then she had a small garden, which she cultivated with
her own hands, and that supplied her with cabbages and other
vegetables, besides gooseberries and apples for dumplings. Her goats
browsed upon the short grass just outside the garden, and her chickens
ran about everywhere, and picked up everything they could find. There
were some fine old trees which defended the cottage on three sides
from the cold winds, and the front was to the south; so it was very
snug and sheltered. The forest afforded her sticks and young logs for
fuel, so that she never was in want of a fire; and, altogether, she
managed to make out a pretty comfortable life of it, as times went.

The only friend and companion the old woman had, was her gray cat. Now,
the cat was a middle-aged cat: she had arrived at a time of life when
people grow reflective; and she sat by the hearth and reflected very
often. What did she reflect about? That is rather a long story. You
must know, then, that a few leagues from the old woman's hut, on the
other side of the forest, there rose a grand castle, belonging to a
very great baron. And sometimes, on fine summer mornings, as the old
woman and the cat were sitting in the sunshine, by the door, the old
woman at her spinning-wheel, and puss curled up for a nap after her
breakfast, the forest would suddenly ring with the sound of
hunting-horns, shouts and laughter; and a train of gay ladies and
richly dressed gentlemen would sweep by on horseback, with hawk and
hound, and followed by servants in splendid liveries; for the baron was
fond of hawking and hunting, and frequently took those diversions in
the neighboring forests. Now, it so happened, that in one of the tall
trees behind the cottage, there lived a magpie: not by any means an
ordinary magpie, but a bird that had seen a good deal of the world;
indeed, at one time of her life, she had, as she took care to inform
every body, lived in the service of the Countess Von
Rustenfustenmustencrustenberg. How she happened to leave such a grand
situation, the magpie never explained: to be sure, some ill-natured
people _did_ say that there had been an awkward story about the loss of
one of the countess's diamond bracelets, which was found one fine
morning, in the inside of a hollow tree in the gard