“‘One would think ’twas a work of art you were trying to dispose of,’ ses the man with the stick. ‘I’ll give you the market price and not a ha’penny more.’
“‘Very well,’ ses the owner, ‘I’m satisfied.’
“‘And what do you want for that old hen?’ ses the man with the stick.
“‘Oh,’ ses the owner, ‘she is no more use to me, and for that reason I must charge you ten or a hundred times her legitimate value. She is an antique. You can have her for ten shillings, and be under a compliment to me for my decency, besides.’
“‘I’ll owe you the money,’ ses the man with the stick, ‘so that you won’t forget your generosity.’ And with that they walked away, and I jumped off the ditch and turned home,” said Micus.
“’Tis a queer world,” said Padna.
“A queer world, surely!” said Micus.
The White Horse of Banba
“Come in, come in, and make yourself at home; for the flowers of spring couldn’t be more heartily welcome,” said Micus Pat to his friend Padna Dan, as he held the latch of his cottage door. And when Padna crossed the threshold, Micus turned from his place by the hearth and said: “Close the door, take off your topcoat, and pull the blinds, while I will heap logs and faggots on the fire, for ’tis five feet of snow there may be on the ground before morning, I’m thinking. And who knows but the house itself may be covered up, and we may not be able to move from where we are for days and days, or a week inself.”