And then he made the best of his way home, where his wife was trying to comfort the children, wondering all the time what in the world was keeping Tom. And when she saw him return without so much as one stick of wood to boil the potatoes, her anger burst out. But Tom soon quieted her by placing the mill on the table and telling her how he had got it from the Little Redcap.
“We’ll try it directly,” said she. And they pulled the table into the middle of the floor, and commenced grinding away with the mill. Before long a stream of beautiful meal began pouring from it; and in a short time they had filled every dish and pail in the house. Tom’s wife was delighted, as you may believe, and the children managed the best they could for that night by eating plenty of raw meal.
Well, after that everything went very well with Tom and his family. The mill gave them all the meal they wanted, and they grew as fat and sleek as coach-horses. But one morning when Tom was away from home, his wife needed money. So she took a few pecks of the meal to town and sold it in the market.
And sorry enough she was, for that night, when Tom came home and began to grind the mill, not a speck of meal would come from it! He could not for the life of him find out the reason, for his wife was afraid to tell him about her selling the meal.
“Sure, and the little old fellow cheated me well!” thought Tom, as mad as a nest of hornets. So he put his axe under his arm, and away he went to the old fort, determined to punish the Little Redcap by cutting down his bushes. But scarcely had he lifted his axe, when the Little Redcap appeared, and mighty angry he was, too, that Tom should come cutting his bushes, after having made a fair bargain with him.
“You deceitful, little, ugly vagabond!” cried Tom, flourishing his axe, “to give me a mill that wasn’t worth a sixpence! If you don’t give me a good one for it, I’ll cut down every bush!”
“What a blusterer you are, Tom!” said the Little Redcap, “but you’d better be easy and let the bushes alone, or maybe you’ll pay for it! Deceive you, indeed! Didn’t I tell you that mill would lose its power if you sold any of the meal?”
“And sure and I didn’t, either,” said Tom.
“Well, it’s all one for that,” answered the Little Redcap, “for if you didn’t, your wife did. And as to giving you another mill, it’s out of the question. For the one I gave you was the only one in the fort. And a hard battle we had to get it away from another party of the Good People! But I’ll tell you what I’ll do with you, Tom; let the bushes alone, and I’ll make a doctor of you.”
“A doctor, indeed!” said Tom. “Maybe it’s a fool you’re making of me!”