So he climbed the tree, fixed the door, and Mrs. Vinegar lay down on it, and being dead tired was soon fast asleep.  But her weight tilted the door sideways, so, after a time, Mr. Vinegar, being afraid she might slip off, sate down on the other side to balance her and keep watch.

Now in the very middle of the night, just as he was beginning to nod, what should happen but that a band of robbers should meet beneath that very tree in order to divide their spoils.  Mr. Vinegar could hear every word said quite distinctly, and began to tremble like an aspen as he listened to the terrible deeds the thieves had done to gain their ends.

“Don’t shake so!” murmured Mrs. Vinegar, half asleep.  “You’ll have me off the bed.”

“I’m not shaking, lovey,” whispered back Mr. Vinegar in a quaking voice.  “It is only the wind in the trees.”

But for all his cheerfulness he was not really very brave inside, so he went on trembling and shaking, and shaking and trembling, till, just as the robbers were beginning to parcel out the money, he actually shook the door right out of the tree-fork, and down it came—­with Mrs. Vinegar still asleep upon it—­right on top of the robbers’ heads!

As you may imagine, they thought the sky had fallen, and made off as fast as their legs would carry them, leaving their booty behind them.  But Mr. Vinegar, who had saved himself from the fall by clinging to a branch, was far too frightened to go down in the dark to see what had happened.  So up in the tree he sate like a big bird until dawn came.

Then Mrs. Vinegar woke, rubbed her eyes, yawned, and said, “Where am I?”

“On the ground, lovey,” answered Mr. Vinegar, scrambling down.

And when they lifted up the door, what do you think they found?

One robber squashed flat as a pancake, and forty golden guineas all scattered about!

My goodness!  How Mr. and Mrs. Vinegar jumped for joy!

“Now, Vinegar!” said his wife when they had gathered up all the gold pieces, “I will tell you what we must do.  You must go to the next market-town and buy a cow; for, see you, money makes the mare to go, truly; but it also goes itself.  Now a cow won’t run away, but will give us milk and butter, which we can sell.  So we shall live in comfort for the rest of our days.”

“What a head you have, lovey!” said Mr. Vinegar admiringly, and started off on his errand.

“Mind you make a good bargain,” bawled his wife after him.

“I always do,” bawled back Mr. Vinegar.  “I made a good bargain when I married such a clever wife, and I made a better one when I shook her down from the tree.  I am the happiest man alive!”

So he trudged on, laughing and jingling the forty gold pieces in his pocket.

Now the first thing he saw in the market was an old red cow.

“I am in luck to-day,” he thought; “that is the very beast for me.  I shall be the happiest of men if I get that cow.”  So he went up to the owner, jingling the gold in his pocket.