o tie her up. One end of the rope he made fast
to the cow's neck and the other he slipped down the chimney and tied
round his own thigh; and he had to make haste, for the water now began
to boil in the pot, and he had still to grind the oatmeal.

So he began to grind away; but while he was hard at it, down fell the
cow off the house-top after all, and as she fell, she dragged the man
up the chimney by the rope. There he stuck fast; and as for the cow,
she hung half-way down the wall, swinging between heaven and earth,
for she could neither get down nor up.

And now the goody had waited seven lengths and seven breadths for her
_Husband_ to come and call them home to dinner; but never a call they
had. At last she thought she'd waited long enough, and went home. But
when she got there and saw the cow hanging in such an ugly place, she
ran up and cut the rope in two with her scythe. But, as she did this,
down came her _Husband_ out of the chimney; and so, when his old dame
came inside the kitchen, there she found him standing on his head in
the porridge pot.

THE LAD WHO WENT TO THE NORTH WIND

Once on a time there was an old widow who had one son; and as she was
poorly and weak, her son had to go up into the safe to fetch meal for
cooking; but when he got outside the safe, and was just going down the
steps, there came the _North Wind_ puffing and blowing, caught up the
meal, and so away with it through the air. Then the _Lad_ went back
into the safe for more; but when he came out again on the steps, if
the _North Wind_ didn't come again and carry off the meal with a puff:
and, more than that, he did so the third time. At this the _Lad_ got
very angry; and as he thought it hard that the _North Wind_ should
behave so, he thought he'd just look him up, and ask him to give up
his meal.

So off he went, but the way was long, and he walked and walked; but at
last he came to the _North Wind's_ house.

"Good day!" said the _Lad_, "and thank you for coming to see us
yesterday."

"GOOD DAY!" answered the _North Wind_, for his voice was loud and
gruff, "AND THANKS FOR COMING TO SEE ME. WHAT DO YOU WANT?"

"Oh!" answered the _Lad_, "I only wished to ask you to be so good as
to let me have back that meal you took from me on the safe steps, for
we haven't much to live on; and if you're to go on snapping up the
morsel we have, there'll be nothing for it but to starve."

"I haven't got your meal," said the _North Wind_;