kettleful of oatmeal.

"In the meanwhile, her husband hurried down to the pier, and got his
swiftest boat ready for a trip down the river. Then he gathered the
best rowers in the town.

"'Come with me,' he said to two of them, when everything had been
made ready for a trip. They hastened home with him, as he commanded.

"'Is the oatmeal ready?' he cried, rushing breathless into the
kitchen,

"His wife had just finished her work. The men lifted the kettle from
the fire and ran with it to the waiting boat. It was placed in the
stern and the oarsmen sprang to their places.

"'Pull, men! Pull with all the strength you have, and we will go to
Strasburg in time to show those stupid people that, if it should be
necessary, we live near enough to them to give them a hot supper.'

"How the men worked! They rowed as they had never rowed before.

"They passed one village after another. Still they moved onward
without stopping, till they found themselves at the pier of Strasburg.

"The councillor jumped out of the boat, telling two of his men to
follow with the great pot of oatmeal. He led the way to the
council-house, where he burst in with his strange present.

"'I bring you a warm answer to your cold words,' he told the