“I like that!” exclaimed both the Englishmen together.  “Always going downhill, and always merry; that’s worth the money.”

So they paid a hundredweight of gold to the peasant, who was not scolded, but kissed.

Yes, it always pays, when the wife sees and always asserts that her husband knows best, and that whatever he does is right.

You see, that is my story.  I heard it when I was a child; and now you have heard it too, and know that “What the old man does is always right.”

THE FAIRIES OF THE CALDON-LOW

By Mary Howitt

“And where have you been, my Mary,
   And where have you been from me?”
“I’ve been to the top of the Caldon-Low,
   The midsummer night to see!”

“And what did you see, my Mary,
   All up on the Caldon-Low?”
“I saw the blithe sunshine come down,
   And I saw the merry winds blow.”

“And what did you hear, my Mary,
   All up on the Caldon-Hill?”
“I heard the drops of water made,
   And I heard the corn-ears fill.”

“Oh, tell me all, my Mary—­
   All, all that ever you know;
 For you must have seen the fairies
   Last night on the Caldon-Low.”

“Then take me on your knee, mother,
   And listen, mother of mine: 
 A hundred fairies danced last night,
   And the harpers they were nine;

“And merry was the glee of the harp-strings,
   And their dancing feet so small;
 But, oh! the sound of their talking
   Was merrier far than all!”

 [Illustration]

“And what were the words, my Mary,
   That you did hear them say?”
“I’ll tell you all, my mother,
   But let me have my way.

“And some they played with the water,
   And rolled it down the hill;
 ‘And this,’ they said, ’shall speedily turn
   The poor old miller’s mill;

“’For there has been no water
   Ever since the first of May;
 And a busy man shall the miller be
   By the dawning of the day!

“’Oh, the miller, how he will laugh,
   When he sees the milldam rise! 
 The jolly old miller, how he will laugh,
   Till the tears fill both his eyes!’

“’And some they seized the little winds,
   That sounded over the hill,
 And each put a horn into his mouth,
   And blew so sharp and shrill!

[Illustration]

“‘And there,’ said they, ’the merry winds go
   Away from every horn;
 And those shall clear the mildew dank
   From the blind old widow’s corn: 

“’Oh, the poor blind widow—­
   Though she has been blind so long,
 She’ll be merry enough when the mildew’s gone,
   And the corn stands stiff and strong!’

“And some they brought the brown linseed,
   And flung it down from the Low;
 ‘And this,’ said they, ’by the sunrise,
   In the weaver’s croft shall grow!