“Rotten apples，” answered the ostler; “a whole sackful of them. They will do to feed thepigs with.”
“Why that will be terrible waste，” he replied; “I should like to take them home to my oldwoman. Last year the old apple-tree by the grass-plot only bore one apple， and we kept it inthe cupboard till it was quite withered and rotten. It was always property， my old womansaid; and here she would see a GREat deal of property—a whole sackful; I should like toshow them to her.”
“What will you give me for the sackful?” asked the ostler.
“What will I give? Well， I will give you my fowl in exchange.”
So he gave up the fowl， and received the apples， which he carried into the inn parlor. Heleaned the sack carefully against the stove， and then went to the table. But the stove washot， and he had not thought of that. Many guests were present—horse dealers， cattledrovers， and two Englishmen. The Englishmen were so rich that their pockets quite bulged outand seemed ready to burst; and they could bet too， as you shall hear. “Hiss-s-s， hiss-s-s.”What could that be by the stove? The apples were beginning to roast. “What is that?” askedone.
“Why， do you know”—said our peasant. And then he told them the whole story of thehorse， which he had exchanged for a cow， and all the rest of it， down to the apples.
“Well， your old woman will give it you well when you get home，” said one of theEnglishmen. “Won't there be a noise?”
“What! Give me what?” said the peasant. “Why， she will kiss me， and say， 'what theold man does is always right.'”
“Let us lay a wager on it，” said the Englishmen. “We'll wager you a ton of coined gold， ahundred pounds to the hundred-weight.”
“No; a bushel will be enough，” replied the peasant. “I can only set a bushel of applesagainst it， and I'll throw myself and my old woman into the bargain; that will pile up themeasure， I fancy.”
“Done! taken!” and so the bet was made.
then the landlord's coach came to the door， and the two Englishmen and the peasant gotin， and away they drove， and soon arrived and stopped at the peasant's hut. “Goodevening， old woman.” “Good evening， old man.” “I've made the exchange.”
“Ah， well， you understand what you're about，” said the woman. Then she embracedhim， and paid no attention to the strangers， nor did she notice the sack.
“I got a cow in exchange for the horse.”
“Thank Heaven，” said she. “Now we shall have plenty of milk， and butter， and cheese onthe table. That was a capital exchange.”
“Yes， but I changed the cow for a sheep.”
“Ah， better still!” cried the wife. “You always think of everything; we have just enoughpasture for a sheep. Ewe's milk and cheese， woollen jackets and stockings! The cow couldnot give all these， and her hair only falls off. How you think of everything!”
“But I changed away the sheep for a goose.”
“then we shall have roast goose to eat this year. You dear old man， you are alwaysthinking of something to please me. This is delightful. We can let the goose walk about with astring 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，” replied the woman. “The fowl will lay eggsand hatch them， and we shall have chickens; we shall soon have a poultry-yard. Oh， this isjust what I was wishing for.”
“Yes， but I exchanged the fowl for a sack of shrivelled apples.”
“What! I really must give you a kiss for that!” exclaimed the wife. “My dear， goodhusband， now I'll tell you something. Do you know， almost as soon as you left me thismorning， I began to think of what I could give you nice for supper this evening， and then Ithought of fried eggs and bacon， with sweet herbs; I had eggs and bacon， but I wanted theherbs; so I went over to the schoolmaster's： I knew they had plenty of herbs， but theschoolmistress is very mean， although she can smile so sweetly. I begged her to lend me ahandful of herbs. 'Lend!' she exclaimed， 'I have nothing to lend; nothing at all grows in ourgarden， not even a shrivelled apple; I could not even lend you a shrivelled apple， my dearwoman.' But now I can lend her ten， or a whole sackful， which I'm very glad of; it makes melaugh to think about it;” and then she gave him a hearty kiss.