‘Two out of the sack!’
And out came the two pretty boys, who quickly brought in the oak tables, spread the silken covers, and laid out all sorts of delicious dishes and refreshing drinks.
Never in their lives had the cousin and her daughters seen such a supper, and they were delighted and astonished at it. But the cousin quietly made up her mind to steal the sack, so she called to her daughters: ‘Go quickly and heat the bathroom: I am sure our dear guest would like to have a bath before he goes to bed.’
When the man was safe in the bathroom she told her daughters to make a sack exactly like his, as quickly as possible. Then she changed the two sacks, and hid the man’s sack away.
The man enjoyed his bath, slept soundly, and set off early next morning, taking what he believed to be the sack the crane had given him.
All the way home he felt in such good spirits that he sang and whistled as he walked through the wood, and never noticed how the birds were twittering and laughing at him.
As soon as he saw his house he began to shout from a distance, ‘Hallo! old woman! Come out and meet me!’
His wife screamed back: ‘You come here, and I’ll give you a good thrashing with the poker!’
The man walked into the house, hung his sack on a nail, and said, as the crane had taught him:
‘Two out of the sack!’