HERE was once a poor man who walked about in the woods gathering fuel. His wife and children at home were in want of all that was necessary both to bite and to burn. As he moved about the trees picking up the dead branches, a stranger came along, who stopped and addressed him. When the poor man told of his miserable condition, and how he could not, even by the hardest work, procure the necessities of life for himself, his wife, and children, the stranger said: "Indeed! That is a dog's life; but it will depend upon yourself whether or not your conditions be improved—I may assist you. If you are willing to give me the first thing that you see when you reach your hut, I shall see that you are provided with all that you need for the rest of your lifetime."

The man considered this proposition a moment. "What I see first," thought he, "is generally the old jack in the clearing in front of the house. He may have that, if he cares; I can easily make another." So he closed the bargain, and they separated.