is hanging on the gallows, and that his hands are tied behind him,
and he hears his wife's laments.]

JEPPE. Be calm, my dear wife, we must all go the same way. Go home
and look after the house and take good care of my children. You can
have my red jacket made over for little Christoffer, and what's left
will do for a cap for Marthe. Above all, see to it that my piebald
horse is well cared for, for I loved that beast as if he had been my
own brother. If I weren't dead, I'd have more to say to you.

NILLE. O--o--o--! What is that? What do I hear? Can a dead man talk?

JEPPE. Don't be afraid, Nille, I shan't hurt you.

NILLE. But, my dearest husband, how can you talk when you're dead?

JEPPE. I don't know myself how it happens. But listen, my dear wife!
Run like wildfire and bring me eightpence worth of brandy, for I am
thirstier now than I ever was when I was alive.

NILLE. Shame, you beast! You scoundrel! You hopeless drunkard!
Haven't you drunk enough brandy in your living lifetime? Are you
still thirsty, you sot, now that you are dead? I call that being a
full-blown hog.

JEPPE. Shut your mouth, you scum of the earth! and run for the
brandy. If you don't, devil take me if I don't haunt you in the
house every night. You shall soon find out that I am not afraid of
Master Eric any more, for now I can't feel a beating.