“Like to own them, sir? Indeed I should, but I have no money, nor have I any way of getting it.”
“I’ll tell you how to make a good bargain though,” said the little man, coming closer. “I’ll trade you the harp and my musician, the bee, for the cow you’ve brought to the fair to sell. Come, what do you say to that?”
“Oh, how I should like to have them, sir! But mother must have money for the landlord. She is very sad and downhearted because we cannot pay the rent.”
“Yes, yes, but think how the tiny musician will make her laugh, my boy. She needs cheering,” persuaded the little man.
“So she does, sir,” said Tim. “I’ll trade with you.”
The little man took the cow and disappeared, and Timothy put the harp, the stool, and the bee into his pocket and went home.
“You’ve sold the cow, my boy?” said his mother, anxiously. “How much money did you get for her?”
“Money, mother! I got something much better than money,” said Tim, excitedly.
Then out of his pocket he took the harp, the stool, and the bee, and set them on the floor. After a deep bow the bee seated himself on the stool, cocked his head on one side, and began to play a lively tune. The little fellow looked so comical that Timothy’s mother couldn’t keep a straight face. She burst into a peal of laughter. The lad joined her, and then the pots and the pans, the table and chairs, everything in the house began to reel and jig. Tim and his mother began to hop up and down in the funniest manner. This kept on for some time, and then Tim took up the harp, the stool, and the bee, and put them into his pocket. In a second, everything quieted down. Tim’s mother, however, kept on laughing for some minutes. Finally she stopped, and then she grew very angry.