“‘A likely story—a very likely story indeed!’ exclaimed the father. ‘If you have brought the sheep and the goat home, you would do well to take them back where you got them, else we shall all be put in jail for stealing and for harboring stolen property.’
“‘Now don’t talk that way to your own children,’ said the tender-hearted mother. ‘For my part, I believe every word they say;’ then she kissed them, and hugged them, and cried over them a little, while the father sat by, looking sour and glum. The children, when they placed the goat and the sheep in the stable, had each taken a handful of gold and silver coins from the horns of the wonderful animals. So now the boy went forward and placed upon the table near his father a handful of gold and silver. The girl did the same.
“The father heard the rattle and jingle of coin, and, looking around, saw there at his elbow more money than he had ever seen before in all his life. He was both astonished and alarmed.
“‘Worse and worse!’ he cried, throwing up his hands. ‘Worse and worse! We are ruined! Tell me where you got that treasure, that I may take it back to its owner. Make haste! If there’s any delay about it, we shall all be thrown into prison.’
“‘Come with us,’ said the boy, ‘and we will show you where we found the treasure.’
“So they went out of the house and into the stable, and there the children showed their father where the treasure came from.
“‘Wonderful! most wonderful!’ exclaimed the father. ‘Wonderful! most wonderful!’ cried the mother. Then they hugged and kissed their children again and again, and all were very happy. It made no difference now whether crops were good or bad.”
“The man was mighty honest,” remarked Mr. Rabbit.
“Yes,” said Mrs. Meadows. “But a man can be honest and thick-headed at the same time, and that was the way with this man. He was too honest to keep other people’s money, and too thick-headed to know how to keep his own.”
“Excuse me!” exclaimed Mr. Rabbit, with a bow that made his ears flop; “excuse me! I thought the story had come to an end. You said they were all very happy; so I says to myself, ‘Now is the time to make a slight remark.’”