THERE were once a young husband and wife, and their names were Fred and
Kate. One day said Fred,
"I must go now to my work in the fields, Kate, and when I come back you
must have on the table some roast meat to satisfy my hunger, and some
cool drink to quench my thirst."
"All right, Fred," answered Kate; "be off with you, I will see to it."
When dinner-time began to draw near, she took down a sausage from the
chimney, put it in a frying-pan with some butter, and stood it over the
fire. The sausage began to frizzle and fry, and Kate stood holding the
handle of the pan, and fell into deep thought; at last she said to
herself,
"While the sausage is cooking I might as well be drawing the beer in the
cellar."
So she saw that the frying-pan was standing firmly, and then took a can
and went down into the cellar to draw the beer. Now, while Kate was
watching the beer run into the can, a sudden thought came into her mind.
"Holloa! the dog is not fastened up; he may perhaps get at the sausage,"
and in a trice she was up the cellar steps: but already the dog had it
in his mouth, and was making off with it. Then Kate, with all haste,
followed after him and chased him a good way into the fields, but the
dog was quicker than Kate, and, never letting slip the sausage, was soon
at a great distance.
"Well, it can't be helped!" said Kate turning back, and as she had
tired herself with running, she took her time about going home, and
walked slowly to cool herself. All this time the beer was running out of
the cask, for Kate had not turned off the tap, and as the can was soon
full, it began to run over on the cellar floor, and ran, and ran, until
the cask was empty. Kate stood on the steps and saw the misfortune.
"Dear me!" cried she, "what am I to do to prevent Fred from noticing
it!"
She considered for a while, and then remembered that there was remaining
in the loft from the last fair time a sack of fine wheat-flour; she
determined to bring it down, and strew it over the beer.
"To be sure," said she, "those who know how to save have somewhat in
time of necessity."
And going up to the loft, she dragged the sack down and threw it right
upon the can full of beer, so that Fred's drink ran about the cellar
with the rest.
"It is all right," said Kate; "where some goes the rest must follow,"
and she strewed the meal all over the cellar. When all was done, she was
highly pleased, and thought how clean and neat it looked.
At dinner-time home came Fred.
"Now, wife, what have you got for me?" said he.
"O Fred," answered she, "I was going to cook a sausage for you, but
while I was drawing the beer the dog got it out of the pan, and while I
was running after the dog the beer all ran away, and as I was going to
stop up the beer with the wheat-meal I knocked over the can: but it is
all right now; the cellar is quite dry again." But said Fred,
"O Kate, Kate! what have you been about, letting the sausage be carried
off, and the beer run out of the cask, and then to waste all our good
meal into the bargain?"
"Well, Fred, I did not know; you should have told me," said Kate. So the
husband thought to himself,
"If my wife is like this, I must look after things a little better."
Now he had saved a very pretty sum of money, and he changed it all to
gold, and said to Kate,
"Do you see these yellow counters? I am going to make a hole in the
stable underneath the cows' manger and bury them; see that you do not
meddle with them, or it will be the worse for you."