"Yes, I do," said the walnut, "and here have I trickled and run these
hundreds of years, waiting for you, Boots."

"Well, here I am," said Boots, as he took up a lump of moss, and plugged
up the hole, that the water might not run out. Then he put the walnut
into his wallet, and ran down to his brothers.

"Well, now," said Peter and Paul, "have you found out where the water
comes from? A rare sight it must have been!"

"Oh, after all, it was only a hole it ran out of," said Boots; and so
the others laughed and made fun of him again, but Boots didn't mind that
a bit.

"After all, I had the fun of seeing it," said he.

So when they had gone a bit farther, they came to the King's palace; but
as every one in the kingdom had heard how he might win the Princess and
half the realm, if he could only fell the big oak and dig the King's
well, so many had come to try their luck that the oak was now twice as
stout and big as it had been at first; for two chips grew for every one
they hewed out with their axes, as I dare say you remember I told you.
So the King had now laid down as a punishment, that if any one tried and
could not fell the oak, he should be put on a barren island, much like a
prison.

The two brothers did not let themselves be scared by that, however, for
they were quite sure they could fell the oak, and Peter, as he was the
eldest, was to try his hand first. But it went with him as with all the
rest who had hewn at the oak. For every chip he had cut out, two grew in