पृष्ठ 262 / 626

The parson ran out as fast as he could, and the miller said: 'It

was true; I saw the black rascal with my own eyes.' The peasant,

however, made off next morning by daybreak with the three hundred

talers.

At home the small peasant gradually launched out; he built a

beautiful house, and the peasants said: 'The small peasant has

certainly been to the place where golden snow falls, and people

carry the gold home in shovels.' Then the small peasant was

brought before the mayor, and bidden to say from whence his

wealth came. He answered: 'I sold my cow's skin in the town, for

three hundred talers.' When the peasants heard that, they too

wished to enjoy this great profit, and ran home, killed all their

cows, and stripped off their skins in order to sell them in the

town to the greatest advantage. The mayor, however, said: 'But my

servant must go first.' When she came to the merchant in the

town, he did not give her more than two talers for a skin, and

when the others came, he did not give them so much, and said:

'What can I do with all these skins?'