Then Johnny began to cry again, and I don’t wonder at it.
‘Never no luck,’ says he. ‘They gave me a sheaf, and a chicken ate it; they gave me a chicken, and a cow crushed it; they gave me a cow, and the maid killed it. Boo-hoo!’
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‘Oh bother! take the maid and don’t blubber,’ said the farmer. He didn’t like to keep a girl in the house who threw pitchforks about when she lost her temper.
Johnny did not wait to be asked twice. He took the maid, tied her hands and feet, put her in a sack, heaved her on to his back, and away went Johnny.
‘When I do get to Hergnies,’ said he to himself, ‘I’ll marry the maid, and we’ll have roast goose at the wedding supper,’ for his intentions were strictly honourable.
But the further he went the more Johnny didn’t find the way; and at last, as the maid was pretty heavy, he set her down by a tavern door and went in and asked for a pot of beer.