So one brother sez to the other, ‘We’ll all take a road to ourselves. Each one will take a road, an’ in twelve months an’ a day we’ll all meet ’ere agen.’
So poor Ashypelt the sun overcame ’im, an’ ’im never bein’ out o’ the esshole, ’ee fell asleep; an’ each brother left a mark on the road which way they went, for ’im to go ’is road to ’imself. When poor Ashypelt wakened up, ’ee began lookin’ round ’im an’ rubbin’ ’is eyes. They left ’im a very old nasty lane to go up, an old nasty lane with the mud up to your knees. Poor Ashypelt bein’ very weak, he got fast several times goin’ up this old lane, an’ tumbled down in the mud; an’ the ’edges was growed very high with ’em so meetin’ together; and the briers was scratching poor Ashypelt’s eyes very near out, as ’ee was goin’ up this old lane. ’Ee travels on, over high dales an’ lofty mountains, where the cock never crowed and the divel never sounded ’is bugle horn. It’ll last tel to-morrow night, but I don’t mean to half tell you so long.[13] But poor Ashypelt got benighted up this old lane. ’Ee used to fall asleep, bein’ summer-time, an’ very early in the mornin’ come daylight ’ee wakens up, an’ ’ee kept on the same old lane all the way he was goin’. ’Ee travels on tel ’ee come to a castle an’ a new ’ouse, where [[237]]there was a man, an’ ’ee axed this man could ’ee give ’im a job.
’Ee sez, ‘Yes, Ashypelt, I can give you a job,’ ’ee sez. ’Ee sez, ‘Wot can you do?’
Ashypelt sez, ‘I can do everythink as you try to put me to.’
‘Well, Ashypelt,’ ’ee sez, ‘I’ll give you fifty pounds to sleep into the castle all night, an’ a good suit o’ clo’es.’
‘Oh! yes,’ ’ee sez; ‘I’ll sleep there,’ ’ee sed.
So ’ee sez to Ashypelt, ’ee sez, ‘You shall have a good bag o’ nuts to crack an’ plenty o’ ’bacca to smoke, an’ a good fire to sit by,’ ’ee sez.
But ’ee allowed him no can o’ beer to drink, plenty o’ water, so as he wouldn’t get trussicated. An’ ’appen about eleven o’clock at night ’ee sez, ‘Now Ashypelt, it is about the time you’ve got to come in along o’ me.’
So ’ee takes Ashypelt with ’im about eleven o’clock to this castle. ’Ee opens the door, an’ ’ee sez, ‘There you are, go an’ take your seat, an’ sit down.’ ’Ee sez ‘Here is your bag o’ nuts, an’ plenty o’ ’bacca to smoke.’
So just now Ashypelt was sittin’ down, an’ just about the hour o’ twelve ’ee could ’ear a lot o’ noise about the room. ’Ee looks around behind ’im at the door, an’ ’ee sees a man naked.