“AND THAT'S FOURPENCE!” added the voice in the chimney.
After a thorough cleaning the saucepan was once more filled and set on the fire, but with no better success. The milk boiled over again, and was hopelessly spoiled. The housewife shed tears of anger at the waste and cried: “Never before did such a thing befall me since I kept house! Three quarts of new milk burnt for one meal.”
“AND THAT'S SIXPENCE!” cried the voice in the chimney. “You didn't save the tinkering after all, mother!”
With that the Hillman himself came tumbling down from the chimney, and went off laughing through the door.
But from then on the saucepan was as good as any other.
HOFUS THE STONE-CUTTER
A JAPANESE LEGEND
FROM THE RIVERSIDE THIRD READER (ADAPTED)
Once upon a time in Japan, there was a poor stone-cutter, named Hofus, who used to go every day to the mountain-side to cut great blocks of stone. He lived near the mountain in a little stone hut, and worked hard and was happy.