to be satisfied.

When Saturday came, however, the King contrived a shoe so much
superior to any he had yet made that the Lad, examining it, was
compelled to say, "It is better than the other." Then Pepper, who
always stood in a noose beside the door awaiting her moment, lifted
up her near forefoot of her own accord, and the King took it in his
hand.

"How odd!" he exclaimed a moment later. "The nag has a stone in this
foot also. It is not strange that she went so ill."

"It is not a stone," said the Lad. "It is a pearl."

And he held out to the King a pearl of such a shining purity that it
was as though it had been rounded within the spirit of a saint.

"This makes you a rich man," said the Lad moodily, "and you can
journey whither you please."

But the King shook his head. "Keep it," he said, "for you have
lodged me for a week, and I have given you only the clumsy service
of my hands."

"Very well," said the Lad simply, and put the pearl in his pocket.
"My Great-Aunt is expecting me. There's a cake in the larder."

So saying he walked off, and the King was left alone. As before, he
bathed himself and changed his linen, and left the contents of the
larder untouched; and an hour before sunset he climbed the hill for