"Good evening, wife."
"Same to you, good-man."
"Well, I have exchanged the horse, not sold it."
"Of course," said the wife, taking his hand, and in her eagerness to listen noticing neither the sack nor the strangers.
"I exchanged the horse for a cow."
"O! how delightful! now we can have milk, butter, and cheese, on our table. What a capital idea!"
"Yes, but I exchanged the cow for a sheep."
"Better and better!" cried the wife. "You are always so thoughtful; we have only just grass enough for a sheep. But now we shall have ewe's milk, and ewe's cheese, and woolen stockings, nay, woolen jackets too; and a cow would not give us that; she loses all her hairs. But you are always such a clever fellow."
"But the ewe I exchanged again for a goose."
"What! shall we really keep Michaelmas this year, good-man? You are always thinking of what will please me, and that was a beautiful thought. The goose can be tethered to the willow-tree and grow fat for Michaelmas Day."