And the hermit said, “Tell me what else you have seen on the way?”
The godson told him about the woman and how she had tried to clean the table, and of the peasants who had tried to make the hoops, and the shepherds who had tried to light a fire.
The hermit waited until he had finished, then he went into his cell and brought out a jagged axe.
“Come,” he said.
The hermit walked away from the cell and pointed to a tree. “Cut it down,” he said.
The godson felled it.
“Chop it into three parts.”
The godson chopped it into three parts. The hermit again went into his cell and brought out a light.
“Set fire to those three logs,” he said.
The godson made a fire and burnt the three logs till only three pieces of charcoal were left.