“You are so crooked in your speech,” said the Princess.
“No, I am not crooked,” answered the lad; “but this is crooked”; and he brought out one of the goat-horns.
“Well, I’ve never seen the like!” cried the Princess.
“Here you see the like,” said he, and brought out the other horn.
“It seems you have come here to wear out my soul!” she said.
“No, I have not come here to wear out your soul, for I have one here which is already worn out,” answered the lad, and brought out the old boot-sole.
The Princess was so dumfounded at this that she was completely silenced.
“Now you are mine!” said Ashiepattle, and so he got her and half the kingdom into the bargain.
The Money-box
In a nursery where a number of toys lay scattered about, a Money-box stood on the top of a very high wardrobe. It was made of clay in the shape of a pig, and had been bought of the potter. In the back of the pig was a slit, and this slit had been enlarged with a knife, so that dollars, or crown pieces, might slip through; and, indeed, there were two crown pieces in the box, besides a number of pence. The money-pig was stuffed so full that it could no longer rattle, which is the highest state of perfection to which a money-pig can attain. There he stood upon the cupboard, high and lofty, looking down upon everything else in the room. He knew very well that he had enough inside him to buy up all the other toys, and this gave him a very good opinion of his own value. The rest thought of this fact also, although they did not speak of it, for there were so many other things to talk about. A large doll, still handsome, though rather old, for her neck had been mended, lay inside one of the drawers which was partly open. She called out to the others: “Let us have a game at being men and women; that is worth playing at.”