The rogue and the herdsman

it in pieces. Then it dashed away to the wood, the youth following; over hedges and ditches they both went, till they reached the rocky pass which bordered the herdsman`s land. Here the ox, thinking itself safe, stopped to rest, and thus gave the young man a chance to come up with it. Not knowing how to catch it, he collected all the wood he could find and made a circle of fire round the ox, who by this time had fallen asleep, and did not wake till the fire had caught its head, and it was too late for it to escape. Then the young man, who had been watching, ran home to his master.
`You have been away a long while,` said the herdsman. `Where are the cattle?`
The young man gasped, and seemed as if he was unable to speak. At last he answered:
`It is always the same story! The oxen aregonegone!`
`G-g-gone?` cried the herdsman. `Scoundrel, you lie!`
`I am telling you the exact truth,` answered the young man. `Directly we came to the meadow they grew so wild that I could not keep them together. Then the big ox broke away, and the others followed till they all disappeared down a deep hole into the earth. It seemed to me that I heard sounds of bellowing, and I thought I recognised the voice of the golden horned ox; but when I got to the place from which the sounds had come, I could neither see nor hear anything in the hole itself, though there were traces of a fire all round it.`
`Wretch!` cried the herdsman, when he had heard this story, `even if you did not lie before, you are lying now.`
`No, master, I am speaking the truth. Come and see for yourself.`
`If I find you have deceived me, you are a dead man, said the herdsman; and they went out together.
`What do you call that?` asked the youth. And the herdsman looked and saw the traces of a fire, which seemed to have sprung up from under the earth.
`Wonder upon wonder,` he exclaimed, `so you really did speak the truth after all! Well, I cannot reproach you, though I shall have to pay heavily to my royal master for the value of that ox. But come, let us go home! I will never set you to herd cattle again, henceforward I will give you something easier to do.`
`I have thought of exactly the thing for you,` said the herdsman as they walked along, ` and it is so simple that you cannot make a mistake. Just make me ten scythes, one for every man, for I want the grass mown in one of my meadows to-morrow.`
At these words the youth`s heart sank, for he had never been trained either as a smith or a joiner. However, he dared not say no, but smiled and nodded.
Slowly and sadly he went to bed, but he could not sleep, for wondering how the scythes were to be made. All the skill and cunning he had shown before was of no use to him now, and after thinking about the scythes for many hours, there seemed only one way open to him. So, listening to make sure that all was still, he stole away to his parents, and told them the whole story. When they had heard everything, they hid him where no one could find him.
Time passed away, and the young man stayed at home doing all his parents bade him, and showing himself very different from what he had been before he went out to see the world; but one day he said to his father that he should like to marry, and have a house of his own.
`When I served the king`s chief herdsman,` added he, `I saw his daughter, and I am resolved to try if I cannot win her for my wife.`
`It will cost you your life, if you do,` answered the father, shaking his head.
`Well, I will do my best,` replied his son; `but first give me the sword which hangs over your bed!`
The old man did not understand what good the sword would do, however he took it down, and the young man went his way.
Late in the evening he arrived at the house of the herdsman, and knocked at the door, which was opened by a little boy.
`I want to speak to your master,` said he.
`So it is you?` cried the herdsman, when he had received the message. `Well, you can sleep here to-night if you wish.`
`I have come for something else besides a bed,` replied the young man, drawing his sword, `and if you do not promise to give me your youngest daughter as my wife I will stab you through the heart.`
What could the poor man do but promise? And he fetched his youngest daughter, who seemed quite pleased at the proposed match, and gave the youth her hand.
Then the young man went home to his parents, and bade them get ready to welcome his bride. And when the wedding was over he told his father-in-law, the herdsman, what he had done with the sheep, and pigs, and cattle. By-and-by the story came to the king`s ears, and he thought that a man who was so clever was just the man to govern the country; so he made him his minister, and after the king himself there was no one so great as he.