Year: 1859




shall soon follow him; have no more
trials to pass through"


--$


The HUsBAED WHO WAS TO MIND THE
HoUsE.-Once on a time there was a man
so surly and cross he never thought his
wife did anything right in the house. SO,
one evening, in hay-naking time, he came
home, scolding and swearing, and show
ing his teeth and making a dust


Dear love, don't be so angry: there's
a good man" said his goody; tomorrow
let's change our work. I'll 60 out with
the mowers and NOV, and you shall mind
the house at home"


Yes the husband thought that would
do very well-he was quite willing, he
said.


So. early next morning, his goOdy took
a scythe over her neck, and went out into
| the bayfield, with the mowers, and began
! to NOW; but the man was to mind the
| house. and do the work at home.
| First of all. he wanted to churn the but
| ter; but when he had churned a while,
| he got thirsty, and went down to the eel
lar to tap a barrel of ale. So Just when
he had knocked in the bung, and was
putting the tap into the cask, he heard
overhead the pig come into the kitchen.
| Then off he ran up the cellar steps with
the tap in his hand, as fast as he could, E
look after the pig lest it should upset the
churn but when he got up, and saw the
pig had already knocked the churn over,
and stood there, roofing and grunting
amongst the cream which was running all
over the floor, he got so wild with rage,
that he quite forgot the ale barrel, and
ran at the pig as hard as he could. He
caught it Just as it run out of doors, and
gave it such a kick, that piggy lay for
dead on the spot. Then all at once he
remembered he had the tap in his hand;


but when he got down to the cellar, every
drop of ale had run out of the cask.


Then he went into the dairy and found
enough cream left to fill the churn again,


and so he began to churn, for butter they


must have at dinner. When he had


churned bit, he remembered that their


milking COW was still shut up in the byre,


and hadn't had bit to eat or drop TO


drink all the morning, though the sun


was high. Then all at once he thought


twas too far to take her down to the
meadow, so he'd just get her up on the


house-top-for the house you must know.
was thatched with sods, and fine crop OF


grass was growing there. Now their
) house lay close up against a steep down,
and he thought if he had laid a plank
across to the thatch at the back he'd easi
ly get the COW up.


: But still he couldn't leave the churn
| for there was his little babe crawling about
on the floor, and IF | leave it," ht
| thought, the child is sure to upset it.
: So he took the churn on his back, anC


went out with it but then .he thought
1 he'd better first water the COW before he
e turned her out on the thatch; so he tool
| up the bucket TO draw water out of the
t we'll, but as he stopped down at the we'll


brink, all the cream ran out of the churl
4 over his shoulders, and so down into tn,
: we'll.


/ Now, it was near dinner time, and h
o hadn't even got the butter yet so h
( thought he'd best boil the porridge, an,
e hung it over the fire. When he had don
t that, he thought the COW might perhap
S fall off the thatch and break her legs O
l. her neck. So he got up on the house t
Y tie her up. One end of the rope he mad
l. fast to the cows neck, and the other h
n slipped down the chimney and tied roun
It his own thigh and he had to make hast,
r for the water now began to boil in tn
N pot, and he had still to grind the oatmea


So he began to grind away; but Will
1T he was hard at it, down fell the COW o
,e the house-top after all and as she fell sh
= dragged the man up the chimney by tn
or rope. There he stuck fast; and as tC
as the COW. she hung half way down the wal
d swinging between heaven and earth, Il
rs she could neither get down nor up.
de And now the gOody had waited seve
ce lengths and seven breadths for her hu
n band to come and call her to dinner; bl
r, never a call they had. At last, 81
at- thought she'd waited long enough, al
90 went home. But when she got there al
Ir. saw the COW hanging in such an ug
TO place she ran up and cut the rope in ~
mis- with her scythe. But as she did Il
he down came her husband out of the CHI
=" ney and so when his old dame came
ID side the kitchen, there she found h
,ut standing on his head in the porridge p
* Morse Tales