_How Owlglass ate a roasted Fowl off the spit, and did only half
Work._
The first village Owlglass came to he went straight to the Priest's
house. Here he was hired, the Priest telling him that he should live as
well as he and his cook, and do only half the work.
Owlglass agreed, promising himself to the very letter to act up to what
had been said. The cook, who had but one eye, put two chickens to the
fire to roast, bidding him turn the spit. This he readily did, thinking
all the while of the Priest's words, that he should live as well as he
and his cook; and, when the chickens were well roasted, took one of
them off the spit, and ate it then and there.
When dinner-time had come the cook went to the fire to baste the
chickens, and seeing only one, said to Owlglass, "What has become of
the other fowl?" To this he answered, "Open your other eye, my good
Woman, and you will see the two." She flew into a passion at having her
defect of the loss of one eye thus thrown in her teeth, and straightway
went to her master, to whom she complained of the insult offered to
her, and how that his new servant understood cooking so well that
two chickens dwindled down into one. The Priest thereupon went into
the kitchen, and said, "Why is it, Owlglass, that you have mocked my
servant? I see that there is only one fowl on the spit, whereas there
were two; what has become of the other?" Owlglass answered, "Open
both your eyes, and you will see that the other fowl is on the spit.
I only said the same to your cook, when she grew angry." The Priest
laughed, and said, "My cook cannot open both eyes since she has only
one." Owlglass replied, "That you say, I do not say so." The Priest
continued, "With all this, there is but one fowl." Owlglass said, "The
other I have eaten, for you said I should live as well as you and your
cook, and therefore one chicken was for me, and the other for you two.
I should have been grieved that what you said were not true, and thus
I took my share beforehand." "Well, well, my good Fellow," his master
said, "it matters little about the eaten fowl, only you do in future
what my cook tells you." Owlglass said, "Yes, my dear Master, as you
told me so will I do." Now, at the hiring, the Priest had said Owlglass
should do half the work which the cook would tell him, so that he only
did the half of what she told him to do.
[Illustration: _Owlglass eats the Priest's Fowl._]
When told to fetch a pail full of water, he brought it only half full,
and when he was to put two logs of wood on the fire, he only put one
on. The cook saw well enough that all this was done to vex her, and
said to her master that if he kept such a perverse fellow in his house
she would leave it. Owlglass defended himself, saying, it was quite
natural that having only one eye she should see the work only half
done. At this the Priest laughed; but to appease his cook was obliged
to dismiss his man, promising, however, that he would be a friend to
him.
[Decoration]