"The countess uttered a half-suppressed scream.
"'He has slain an old enemy, and brought back an old friend.'
"'An enemy,' said the countess, 'how is this: I cannot understand it?'
"'Enemy enough, full surely,' said the knight, 'none other than the wolf!'
"'Thank God for that!'
"'Amen: but let us not forget the instrument He has used.'
"So the knight told the whole story of the wolf's capture and death, not forgetting to mention how the lad had purchased a goat for his mother in place of the cow whom the wolf had slain, and how he had afterwards made a present of it to the old soldier, when his mother no longer required it.
"The countess praised the boy for his courage; she thanked him again and again for having saved the life of her son, and said:
"'I would that Conrad was more like you in his temper and disposition; it would be of greater honor to him than all the gold lace on his clothes.'
"There was great feasting in the hall that night, and the merriest company that you can well conceive. When the hour of rest came, the boy was led to a comfortable chamber, and left alone. What did he do first?"