seas for a lading of salt. He much preferred sitting at home with a pipe
and a glass. Well, the man let him have it, but the skipper was in such
a hurry to get away with it that he had no time to ask how to handle the
mill. He got on board his ship as fast as he could and set sail. When he
had sailed a good way off, he brought the mill on deck and said, "Grind
salt, and grind both good and fast."

And the mill began to grind salt so that it poured out like water, and
when the skipper had got the ship full he wished to stop the mill, but
whichever way he turned it, and however much he tried, it did no good;
the mill kept on grinding, and the heap of salt grew higher and higher,
and at last down sank the ship.

There lies the mill at the bottom of the sea, and grinds away to this
very day, and that is the reason why the sea is salt--so some folks say.




THE SQUIRE'S BRIDE


There was once a very rich squire who owned a large farm, had plenty of
silver at the bottom of his chest, and money in the bank besides; but
there was something he had not, and that was a wife.

One day a neighbor's daughter was working for him in the hayfield. The
squire liked her very much and, as she was a poor man's daughter, he
thought that if he only mentioned marriage she would be more than glad
to take him at once. So he said to her, "I've been thinking I want to