"I declare," said our peasant, "they are the rotten apples which I intended to carry home to my wife!"

And then he told them the whole story of the horse, which he had exchanged for a cow, and all the rest of it, down to the apples.

"Well, your good wife will give it to you soundly when you get home," said one of the Englishmen.

"What!" cried the peasant. "Why, she will only kiss me, and say that what I do is always right!"

"Let us lay a wager on it," said the Englishmen. "We'll wager you a ton of coined gold, a hundred pounds to the hundredweight, against your rotten apples, that she'll give you a very different reception from that."

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"No; a bushel will be enough," answered the peasant. "I have only a bushel of apples, and I'll throw myself and my good woman into the bargain; that will pile up the measure, you know."

"Very well," said the Englishmen. And so the wager was taken.

III

Then a coach was brought round to the door, and the two Englishmen and the peasant got in, and away they drove. It was not very long till they arrived at the peasant's cottage.

"Good evening, good wife," said the peasant. "Good evening, kind husband," she answered. "I've disposed of the horse," said he.

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"Ah, well, you understand what you're about," said the woman. Then she kissed him, and paid no attention to the strangers, nor did she notice the sack.

"I got a cow in exchange for the horse."

"Oh, how delightful," said she. "Now we shall have plenty of milk and butter and cheese on the table. That was a capital exchange."

"Yes; but I exchanged the cow for a sheep." "Ah, better still!" cried the wife. "You always think of everything; we have just enough pasture for a sheep. And only think of the woolen jackets and stockings! The cow could not give us these, and her hairs only fall off. How you do think of everything!"

"But I made another exchange, and

sheep for a goose."

gave the

Then we shall have a roast goose to eat on Christmas. You dear old man, you are always thinking of something to please me. This is delightful! We can let the goose walk about with a string tied to her leg, so she will be fatter still before we roast her."

"But I gave away the goose for a fowl."

"A fowl! Well, that was a good exchange," answered the woman. "The fowl will lay eggs and hatch them, and we shall have chickens; we shall soon have a poultry-yard. Oh, this is just what I have been wishing for!"

"Yes; but I exchanged the fowl for a sack of rotten apples."

"What! How very wise and kind you are!" said the wife. "My dear, good husband, now I'll tell you something. Do you know, almost as soon as you left me this morning, I began to think of what I could give you for supper this evening, and then I thought of fried eggs and bacon, with sweet herbs. I had the eggs and bacon, but I lacked the herbs.

"So I went over to the schoolmaster's; I knew that they had plenty of herbs, but the schoolmaster's wife doesn't always like to lend, although she can smile so sweetly. I begged her to lend me a handful of herbs.

"Lend!' she cried, I have nothing to lend. I could not even lend you a rotten apple, my dear woman.' But now I can lend her ten, or a

whole sackful."

And then she gave him a hearty kiss.

"Well, I like this," said both the Englishmen ; "always going down hill, and yet always merry; it's worth the money to see it."

So they paid a hundredweight of gold to the peasant, who, whatever he did, was never scolded.

Adapted.

A SUDDEN SHOWER

BY JAMES WHITCOMB RILEY

Barefooted boys scud up the streets,
Or scurry under sheltering sheds;

And schoolgirl faces, pale and sweet,

Gleam from the shawls about their heads.