you may fancy, to try their luck, for every one would have been very
glad to have the Princess, to say nothing of the kingdom; but they
all cut a sorry figure, for the Princess was so given to story-
telling, that all their lies went in at one ear and out of the other.
Among the rest came three brothers to try their luck, and the two
elder went first, but they fared no better than those who had gone
before them. Last of all the third, Boots, set off and found the
Princess in the farm-yard.

'Good-morning', he said, 'and thank you for nothing.'

'Good-morning', said she, 'and the same to you.'

Then she went on:

'You haven't such a fine farm-yard as ours, I'll be bound; for when
two shepherds stand, one at each end of it, and blow their ram's
horns, the one can't hear the other.'

'Haven't we though!' answered Boots; 'ours is far bigger; for when a
cow begins to go with calf at one end of it, she doesn't get to the
other end before the time to drop her calf is come.'

'I dare say!' said the Princess. 'Well, but you haven't such a big
ox, after all, as ours yonder; for when two men sit one on each horn,
they can't touch each other with a twenty-foot rule.'

'Stuff!' said Boots; 'is that all? why, we have an ox who is so big,
that when two men sit, one on each horn, and each blows his great
mountain-trumpet, they can't hear one another.'