crew, and looked out that they did not oversleep themselves in the
morning; and when the house was ready, and the roof lined with birch
bark and thatched with turf, there they lived by themselves and were
merry and well.

But you must know that a bit farther on in the wood was a wolf's den,
and there lived two graylegs. When they saw that a new house had been
built near by, they wanted to become acquainted with their neighbors.
One of them made up an errand and went into the new house and asked for
a light for his pipe. But as soon as he got inside the door the sheep
gave him such a butt that he fell head foremost into the hearth. Then
the pig began to bite him, and the goose to nip and peck him, and the
cock upon the roost to crow and chatter, and as for the hare, he was so
frightened that he ran about aloft and on the floor and scratched and
scrambled in every corner of the house.

So after a time the wolf came out.

"Well," said the one who waited for him outside, "you must have been
well received since you stayed so long. But what became of the light?
You have neither pipe nor smoke."

"Yes, yes," said the other, "a pleasant company indeed. As soon as I got
inside the door, the shoemaker began to beat me with his last, so that I
fell head foremost into the open fire, and there sat two smiths who blew
the bellows, and made the sparks fly, and struck and punched me with
red-hot tongs and pincers. As for the hunter, he went scrambling about
looking for his gun, and it was good luck he did not find it. And all
the while there was another who sat up under the roof and slapped his
arms and cried out, 'Drag him hither, drag him hither!' That was what he