ning came the thief got up early and hid himself
under a truss of hay in the hay-loft.

When the liar appeared to demand his three florins, the wife met him
with tears in her eyes, and told him that her husband was dead.

'Where have you buried him?' asked the liar.

'In the hay-loft,' answered the wife.

'Then I will go there, and take away some hay in payment of his debt,'
said the liar. And proceeding to the hay-loft, he began to toss about
the hay with a pitchfork, prodding it into the trusses of hay, till, in
terror of his life, the thief crept out and promised his partner to pay
him the three florins on the following Saturday.

When the day came he got up at sunrise, and going down into the crypt of
a neighbouring chapel, stretched himself out quite still and stiff in an
old stone coffin. But the liar, who was quite as clever as his partner,
very soon bethought him of the crypt, and set out for the chapel,
confident that he would shortly discover the hiding-place of his friend.
He had just entered the crypt, and his eyes were not yet accustomed
to the darkness, when he heard the sound of whispering at the grated
windows. Listening intently, he overheard the plotting of a band of
robbers, who had brought their treasure to the crypt, meaning to hide
it there, while they set out on fresh adventures. All the time they were
speaking they were removing the bars from the window, and in another
minute they would all have entered the crypt, and discovered the liar.
Quick as thought he wound his mantle round him and placed himself,
standing stiff and erect, in a niche in the wall, so that in the dim
light he looked just like an old stone statue. As soon as the robbers
entered the crypt, they set about the work of dividing their treasure.
Now, there were twelve robbers, but by mistake the chief of the band
divided the gold into thirteen heaps. When he saw his mistake he said
they had not time to count it all over again, but that the thirteenth
heap should belong to whoever among them could strike off the head of
the old stone statue in the niche with one stroke. With these words he
took up an axe, and approached the niche where the liar was standing.
But, just as he had waved the axe over his head ready to strike, a voice
was heard from the stone coffin saying, in sepulchral tones: 'Clear out
of this, or the dead will arise from their coffins, and the statues
will descend from the walls, and you will be driven out more d