What the Old Man Does Is Always Right · page 21 2101Now we shall have plenty of milk, and butter, and cheese on the table.102That was a capital exchange."103"Yes, but I changed the cow for a sheep."104"Ah, better still!" cried the wife. "105You always think of everything; we have just enough pasture for a sheep.106Ewe's milk and cheese, woollen jackets and stockings!107The cow could not give all these, and her hair only falls off.108How you think of everything!"109"But I changed away the sheep for a goose."110"Then we shall have roast goose to eat this year.111You dear old man, you are always thinking of something to please me.112This is delightful.113We can let the goose walk about with a string tied to her leg, so she will be fatter still before we roast her."114"But I gave away the goose for a fowl."115"A fowl!116Well, that was a good exchange," replied the woman. "117The fowl will lay eggs and hatch them, and we shall have chickens; we shall soon have a poultry-yard.118Oh, this is just what I was wishing for."119"Yes, but I exchanged the fowl for a sack of shrivelled apples."120"What!121I really must give you a kiss for that!" exclaimed the wife. "122My dear, good husband, now I'll tell you something.123Do you know, almost as soon as you left me this morning, I began to think of what I could give you nice for supper this evening, and then I thought of fried eggs and bacon, with sweet herbs; I had eggs and bacon, but I wanted the herbs; so I went over to the schoolmaster's: I knew they had plenty of herbs, but the schoolmistress is very mean, although she can smile so sweetly.124I begged her to lend me a handful of herbs. '125Lend!' she exclaimed, 'I have nothing to lend; nothing at all grows in our garden, not even a shrivelled apple; I could not even lend you a shrivelled apple, my dear woman.126But now I can lend her ten, or a whole sackful, which I'm very glad of; it makes me laugh to think about it;" and then she gave him a hearty kiss.127"Well, I like all this," said both the Englishmen; "always going down the hill, and yet always merry; it's worth the money to see it."128So they paid a hundred-weight of gold to the peasant, who, whatever he did, was not scolded but kissed.129Yes, it always pays best when the wife sees and maintains that her husband knows best, and whatever he does is right.130That is a story which I heard when I was a child; and now you have heard it too, and know that "What the old man does is always right."1 2← previousThe Old Housenext →The Old Street Lamp↑ back to Fairy Tales of Hans Christian AndersenThis page in Markdown → https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg27200/132/page/2/