"
The Knave and the Fool consented to this, saying, "Work has found us
at last;" and they lifted the box on to their shoulders.
"Turn, and turn about," said the Knave; "but the best turn between
friends is a good turn; so I will lead the way up-hill, which is the
hardest kind of travelling, and you shall go first down-hill, the easy
half of our journey."
The Fool thought this proposal a very generous one, and, not knowing
that the lower end of their burden was the heavy one, he carried it
all the way. When they got to the inn, the merchant gave each of them
a gold piece, and, as the accommodation was good, they remained where
they were till their money was spent. After this, they lived there
awhile on credit; and when that was exhausted, they rose one morning
whilst the landlord was still in bed, and pursued their journey,
leaving old scores behind them.
They had been a long time without work or food, when they came upon a
man who sat by the roadside breaking stones, with a quart of porridge
and a spoon in a tin pot beside him.
"You look hungry, friends," said he, "and I, for my part, want to get
away. If you will break up this heap, you shall have the porridge for
supper. But when you have eaten it, put the pot and spoon under the
hedge, that I may find them when I return."
"If we eat first, we shall have strength for our work," said the
Knave; "and as there is only one spoon, we must eat by turns.
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