Part 10 (1/2)

”Only come along,” replied the saint, ”and if I can earn anything, you shall go halves.”

”That will suit me excellently,” replied Brother Merry.

So they travelled on together.

They had not gone a great distance before they came to a cottage in which they heard a great lamenting and screaming. They went in to see what was the matter, and found a man sick to the death, as if about to expire, and his wife crying and weeping loudly.

”Leave off whining and crying,” said the saint. ”I will make the man well again quickly enough,” and he took a salve out of his pocket and cured the man instantly, so that he could stand up and was quite hearty. Then the man and his wife, in great joy, demanded--

”How can we repay you? What shall we give you?”

The saint would not, however, take anything, and the more the couple pressed him the more firmly he declined. Brother Merry, who had been looking on, came to his side, and, nudging him, said--

”Take something; take something. We want it badly enough.”

At length the peasant brought a lamb, which he desired the saint to accept, but he declined it still. Then Brother Merry jogged his side, and said--

”Take it, you foolish fellow; take it. We want it badly enough.”

At last the saint said--

”Well, I'll take the lamb, but I shall not carry it. You must carry it.”

”There's no great hards.h.i.+p in that,” cried Brother Merry. ”I can easily do it;” and he took it on his shoulder.

After that they went on till they came to a wood, and Brother Merry, who was very hungry, and found the lamb a heavy load, called out to the saint--

”Hallo! here is a nice place for us to dress and eat the lamb.”

”With all my heart,” replied his companion; ”but I don't understand anything of cooking, so do you begin, and I will walk about until it is ready. Don't begin to eat until I return. I will take care to be back in time.”

”Go your ways,” said Brother Merry; ”I can cook it well enough. I'll soon have it ready.”

The saint wandered away, while Brother Merry lighted the fire, killed the lamb, put the pieces into the pot, and boiled them. In a short time the lamb was thoroughly done, but the saint had not returned; so Merry took the meat up, carved it, and found the heart.

”That is the best part of it,” said he; and he kept tasting it until he had finished it.

At length the saint came back, and said--

”I only want the heart. All the rest you may have, only give me that.”

Then Brother Merry took his knife and fork, and turned the lamb about as if he would have found the heart, but of course he could not discover it. At last he said, in a careless manner--

”It is not here.”

”Not there? Where should it be, then?” said the saint.

”That I don't know,” said Merry; ”but now I think of it, what a couple of fools we are to look for the heart of a lamb. A lamb, you know, has not got a heart.”

”What?” said the saint; ”that's news, indeed. Why, every beast has a heart, and why should not the lamb have one as well as the rest of them?”