Hans in Luck · page 21 2101Why, you must turn grinder like myself,’ said the other; ‘you only want a grindstone; the rest will come of itself.102Here is one that is but little the worse for wear: I would not ask more than the value of your goose for it--will you buy?’103‘How can you ask?’ said Hans; ‘I should be the happiest man in the world, if I could have money whenever I put my hand in my pocket: what could I want more? there’s the goose.’104‘Now,’ said the grinder, as he gave him a common rough stone that lay by his side, ‘this is a most capital stone; do but work it well enough, and you can make an old nail cut with it.’105Hans took the stone, and went his way with a light heart: his eyes sparkled for joy, and he said to himself, ‘Surely I must have been born in a lucky hour; everything I could want or wish for comes of itself.106People are so kind; they seem really to think I do them a favour in letting them make me rich, and giving me good bargains.’107Meantime he began to be tired, and hungry too, for he had given away his last penny in his joy at getting the cow.108At last he could go no farther, for the stone tired him sadly: and he dragged himself to the side of a river, that he might take a drink of water, and rest a while.109So he laid the stone carefully by his side on the bank: but, as he stooped down to drink, he forgot it, pushed it a little, and down it rolled, plump into the stream.110For a while he watched it sinking in the deep clear water; then sprang up and danced for joy, and again fell upon his knees and thanked Heaven, with tears in his eyes, for its kindness in taking away his only plague, the ugly heavy stone.111‘How happy am I!’ cried he; ‘nobody was ever so lucky as I.’ Then up he got with a light heart, free from all his troubles, and walked on till he reached his mother’s house, and told her how very easy the road to good luck was.1 2← previousThe Golden Birdnext →Jorinda and Jorindel↑ back to Grimms' Fairy TalesThis page in Markdown → https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg2591/3/page/2/