The man jumped in again, and soon came out with a silver ax.
"Is this your ax?" asked the man.
"No," said the woodcutter, "my ax was not a silver ax."
Again the man jumped in.
This time he came out with the ax that the woodcutter had lost.
"Is this your ax?" he asked.
"Yes," said the woodcutter, "thank you! How glad I am! But who are you, kind sir? You must be more than a man."
"I am Mercury," said the other, "and you are an honest woodcutter. I will give you the golden ax and the silver ax."
The woodcutter thanked him and went home.
Soon he met another woodcutter and told what Mercury had done.