Three things are best when hung—­salt fish, a wet hat, and an Englishman.

Three things are difficult to get—­gold from the miser, love from the devil, and courtesy from the Englishman.

The three hardest things—­a granite block, a miser’s barley loaf, and an Englishman’s heart.  But perhaps the best known is one translated long ago from the Welsh: 

  A woman, a dog, and a walnut tree,
  The more they are beaten, the better they be.

But to return to Michael Scott.  Another strange story about Michael was his adventure with the witch of Falschope.  To avenge himself upon her for striking him suddenly with his own wand whereby he was transformed for a time and assumed the appearance of a hare, Michael sent his man with two greyhounds to the house where the witch lived, to ask the old lady to give him a bit of bread for the greyhounds; if she refused he was to place a piece of paper, which he handed to him, over the top of the house door.  The witch gave the man a curt refusal, and so he fastened the paper, on which were some words, including, “Michael Scott’s man sought meat and gat nane,” as directed.  This acted as a spell, and the old witch, who was making cakes for the reapers then at work in the corn, now began to dance round the fire (which, as usual in those days, was burning in the middle of the room) and to sing the words: 

  “Maister Michael Scott’s man
  Sought meat and gat nane.”

and she had to continue thus until the spell was broken.  Meantime, her husband and the reapers who were with him were wondering why the cakes had not reached them, so the old man sent one of the reapers to inquire the reason.  As soon as he went through the door he was caught by the spell and so had to perform the same antics as his mistress.  As he did not return, the husband sent man after man until he was alone, and then went himself.  But, knowing all about the quarrel between Michael and his wife, and having seen the wizard on the hill, he was rather more cautious than his men, so, instead of going through the door, he looked through the window.  There he saw the reapers dragging his wife, who had become quite exhausted, sometimes round, and sometimes through the fire, singing the chorus as they did so.  He at once saddled his horse and rode as fast as he could to find Michael, who good-naturedly granted his request, and directed him to enter his house backwards, removing the paper from above the door with his left hand as he went in.  The old man lost no time in returning home, where he found them all still dancing furiously and singing the same rhyme; but immediately he entered, the supernatural performance ended, very much, we imagine, to the relief of all concerned.