hadn't ducked his head he might have been scalded to death. Then Claus
ran out into the street, for he saw that there was no place for him to
stay in that house.

Now in the street there was a cock and a hen, scratching and clucking
together in the dust, and Claus understood every word that they said to
each other, so he stopped and listened to them.

This is what they said:

The cock said to the hen, "Yonder goes our new serving-man."

And the hen said to the cock, "Yes, yonder he goes."

And the cock said to the hen, "He is leaving the best behind him."

[Illustration: THE MASTER IS ANGRY]

And the hen said to the cock, "What is it that he is leaving?"

And the cock said to the hen, "He is leaving behind him the witch-hazel
staff that he brought with him."

And the hen said to the cock, "Yes, that is so. He would be a fool to
leave that behind, yet he is not the first one to think that peas are
pebbles."

As for Claus, you can guess how he opened his eyes, for he saw how the
land lay, and that he had other ears than he had before.