_How Tom served his Hostess, and a Tobacco
Seller, being another of his Jests._
It happened that Tom was sent on an errand forty miles from his
abode, over heaths and plains, where having dispatched his business,
he chanced to be lodged in a room that opened into a yard, where his
hostess kept many turkeys; which Tom seeing, he thrusts pins into two
of their heads and in the night they died. The woman in the morning
wondered how the fowls should come to die, Tom persuaded her that there
was a great sickness where he dwelt amongst all manner of fowls, and
wished his hostess to fling them away, the which she did. Tom watched
where she flung them, and when he took his leave of his hostess, it
was at such a time when she was busy setting bread into the oven, so
that he was sure she could not look after him. So he goes and wraps
the turkeys in his coat, and away he runs; but finding his two turkeys
heavy, he sees a man that sold tobacco up and down the country, at the
foot of a hill, when he alighted to lead his horse down the hill, at
the bottom of which he falls down, and lies crying as if he had broke
one of his legs, and makes to the man a most piteous lamentation; that
he was six or seven miles from any town, there being no house near; and
that he was like to perish for want of succour. The man asked, Where
he dwelt? he said with a knight, to whom Tom did live as a jester. The
man knowing the knight, and thinking Tom's leg had really been broken,
with much ado lifted him upon the horse. Tom was mounted, he prayed
the man to give him his master's turkeys. Tom made the horse to gallop
away, crying out, I shall be killed! I shall be killed! O my leg! what
shall I do! O my leg! The man seeing him gone stood in amaze, and knew
not what to think; nevertheless, he durst not leave his turkeys behind
him, for fear of displeasing the knight, but carried them lugging along
fretting and swearing in his boots, till he came to the next town,
where he hired a horse to overtake Tom, but could not, until he came to
the knight's house, where Tom stood to attend his coming, looking out
at the window. When the man alighted, Tom then called to him so loud,
that most of the house heard him; O, said he, now I see thou art an
honest man, I had thought you had set me upon your headstrong horse, on
purpose to deceive me of my turkeys. The man replied, A pox take you
and your turkeys, for I never was play'd the knave with so in my life;
I hope that you will pay for the hire of the horse, which I was forced
to borrow to follow you withal. That I will, said Tom, with all my
heart.