More English Fairy Tales, part 1 · page 21 2101So they went on for a bit, and then, one day, she thought to herself, "'T is time to clean up my house."102When she was taking down her big bed she found a bag of groats on the tester.103So when Jan came home, she up and said to him, "Jan, what is that bag of groats on the tester for?"104"That is for Hereafterthis, my dear."105Now, there was a robber outside the window, and he heard what Jan said.106Next day, he waited till Jan had gone to market, and then he came and knocked at the door. "107What do you please to want?" said Mally.108"I am Hereafterthis," said the robber, "I have come for the bag of groats."109Now the robber was dressed like a fine gentleman, so she thought to herself it was very kind of so fine a man to come for the bag of groats, so she ran upstairs and fetched the bag of groats, and gave it to the robber and he went away with it.110When Jan came home, she said to him, "Jan, Hereafterthis has been for the bag of groats."111"What do you mean, wife?" said Jan.112So she up and told him, and he said, "Then I'm a ruined man, for that money was to pay our rent with.113The only thing we can do is to roam the world over till we find the bag of groats."114Then Jan took the house-door off its hinges, "That's all we shall have to lie on," he said.115So Jan put the door on his back, and they both set out to look for Hereafterthis.116Many a long day they went, and in the night Jan used to put the door on the branches of a tree, and they would sleep on it.117One night they came to a big hill, and there was a high tree at the foot.118So Jan put the door up in it, and they got up in the tree and went to sleep.119By-and-by Jan's wife heard a noise, and she looked to see what it was.120It was an opening of a door in the side of the hill.121Out came two gentlemen with a long table, and behind them fine ladies and gentlemen, each carrying a bag, and one of them was Hereafterthis with the bag of groats.122They sat round the table, and began to drink and talk and count up all the money in the bags.123So then Jan's wife woke him up, and asked what they should do.124"Now's our time," said Jan, and he pushed the door off the branches, and it fell right in the very middle of the table, and frightened the robbers so that they all ran away.125Then Jan and his wife got down from the tree, took as many money-bags as they could carry on the door, and went straight home.126And Jan bought his wife more cows, and more pigs, and they lived happy ever after.127The Golden Ball128There were two lasses, daughters of one mother, and as they came from the fair, they saw a right bonny young man stand at the house-door before them.129They never saw such a bonny man before.checked by a teacher130He had gold on his cap, gold on his finger, gold on his neck, a red gold watch-chain--eh! but he had brass.131He had a golden ball in each hand.132He gave a ball to each lass, and she was to keep it, and if she lost it, she was to be hanged.133One of the lasses, 't was the youngest, lost her ball.134I'll tell thee how.135She was by a park-paling, and she was tossing her ball, and it went up, and up, and up, till it went fair over the paling; and when she climbed up to look, the ball ran along the green grass, and it went right forward to the door of the house, and the ball went in and she saw it no more.1 2← previousThe Black Bull of Norrowaynext →More English Fairy Tales, part 2↑ back to More English Fairy TalesThis page in Markdown → https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg14241/15/page/2/