It chanced that, as she leaned out, the third brother glanced up.
“If that is my brother’s wife,” said he, “she is indeed a beauty!” And he sighed, wishing that such luck had come his way.
When the girl saw his face, she thought:
“That is no great lord, but he is a handsome fellow, for all that. I will see, at least, that he gets the best of everything in the house.”
So when the table was spread, and before the three brothers came into the dining-room, the girl said to the magpie that hung in a cage behind the window-curtain:
“Take notice of every word that is said to-night, and repeat it to me, or I will wring your neck!”
The magpie promised, and she went forward to receive the guest.
“Here,” said the second brother, “is madam, my wife.”
With that the youngest brother kissed his sister-in-law heartily.
“I knew he was no fool,” said the girl to herself.