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What do you mean by that?' 'Yes,' said she, 'he has taken the

chickens which I was just going to serve up, off the dish, and

has run away with them!' 'That's a nice trick!' said her master,

and lamented the fine chickens. 'If he had but left me one, so

that something remained for me to eat.' He called to him to stop,

but the guest pretended not to hear. Then he ran after him with

the knife still in his hand, crying: 'Just one, just one,'

meaning that the guest should leave him just one chicken, and not

take both. The guest, however, thought no otherwise than that he

was to give up one of his ears, and ran as if fire were burning

under him, in order to take them both with him.

THE OLD MAN AND HIS GRANDSON