the duke thought he could . " i have taken great pains to spare you , and i really believe that i can get along without you , " he replied . " but the castle here and all the other things i could not well dispense with , since i never again could find an architect like yourself , and you may take for granted that i have no wish to ornament the gallows - tree a second time . therefore i will not , of my own free will , give you back the scrap of paper , " said he . " while it is in your possession i have nothing to fear , " answered lasse . " but should the paper fall into other hands , then i should have to begin to run and work all over again and that , just that , is what i would like to prevent . when a fellow has been working a thousand years , as i have , he is bound to grow weary at last . " so they came to the conclusion that the duke should put the scrap of paper in its little box and bury it seven ells underground , beneath a stone that had grown there and would remain there as well . then they thanked each other for pleasant comradeship and separated . the duke did as he had agreed to do , and no one saw him hide the box . he lived happily with his princess , and was blessed with sons and daughters . when the king died , he inherited the whole kingdom and , as you may imagine , he was none the worse off thereby , and no doubt he is still living and ruling there , unless he has died . as to the little box containing the scrap of paper , many are still digging and searching for it . 
to prevent someone else from finding it and forcing lasse to begin to run and work all over again .
why did the duke bury the scrap of paper in its little box even ells underground ?
why did the duke bury the scrap of paper in its little box even ells underground ?