'Now listen to me. There is no manner of doubt that you are a
young villain. You sold us a ram knowing full well that it was a
wolf, and we came here to-day to pay you out for it. But if you
will give us that whistle, we will pardon what you have done, and
will leave you alone.'

'It is my only treasure, and I set great store by it,' answered
the boy, pretending to hesitate. 'But as you wish for it so much,
well, I suppose I can't refuse,' and he held out the whistle,
which the eldest brother put in his pocket.

Armed with the precious whistle, the three brothers returned home
full of joy, and as they went the youngest said to the others, 'I
have such a good idea! Our wives are all lazy and grumbling, and
make our lives a burden. Let us give them a lesson, and kill them
as soon as we get in. Of course we can restore them to life at
once, but they will have had a rare fright.'

'Ah, how clever you are,' answered the other two. 'Nobody else
would have thought of that.'

So gaily the three husbands knocked down their three wives, who
fell dead to the ground. Then one by one the men tried the
whistle, and blew so loudly that it seemed as if their lungs
would burst, but the women lay stark and stiff and never moved an
eyelid. The husbands grew pale and cold, for they had never
dreamed of this, nor meant any harm, and after a while they
understood that their efforts were of no use, and that once more
the boy had tricked them. With stern faces they rose to their