‘Wilt thou sell her to me?’
‘Pray, my lord, do not mock and laugh at my daughter, since none but a great lady is a fitting match for your lordship.’
‘That matters little to thee; all thou hast to do is to sell her to me.’
As the peasant did not name the price he asked for her, the nobleman give him two handfuls of ducats. The peasant, quite enraptured, grasped the money, but instead of going home to his wife, he went to a Jew’s. He asked the Jew to give him something to eat and drink, but the Jew refused, being certain that he had no money to pay him with; however, as soon as the peasant had shown him the large sum that he had, the delighted Jew seated him at the table and gave him food and drink. He made the old peasant drunk, and stole away all his money. The peasant went home to his wife. She asked him where had he left his daughter?
‘Wife, I have placed her in service with a great lord.’
The wife asked him if he had brought anything to her. He replied that he was himself hungry, but that this nobleman had said to him that he had taken one daughter, and that he would take the two others as well. His wife bade him take them away. He went away with these two daughters, and one of them he sold to another lord. This one gave him a hatful of money. Then the peasant said to his remaining daughter, ‘Wait for me here in the forest; I will bring thee something to eat and drink; do not stray from here.’ He went to the same Jew that had robbed him of his money. This Jew again stole from him the money he had received from the other lord. The peasant returned to his daughter, and brought her some bread, which she ate with [[163]]delight. There came a third nobleman, who purchased this third girl.
‘Do not go to the Jew,’ said this lord to the peasant, ‘but go straight home to thy wife, and hand over thy money to her, so that she may take charge of it; else this Jew will rob thee once more.’
The peasant went home to his wife, who was very glad.
This great lord spoke thus to him: ‘There is in a forest a beautiful castle covered with silver. Go to the town, buy some fine horses and harness, engage some peasants to work, and rest thou thyself; make the peasants do the work.’
He got into a carriage; he took his peasants; and they set out with the help of God. They came, by a magnificent road, smooth as glass, into a great forest. They met a beggar, who asked this great lord (this peasant, once poor, now grown rich) where his daughters were.