Then the wee bannock tried dodgings again, and the goodwife cried on the goodman to help her grip it.

“Aye, mother!” says he, “but where’s it gone?”

“Over there!” cries she.  “Quick! run to t’other side o’ yon chair.”  And the chair upset, and down came the goodman among the thorns.  And the goodwife she flung the soup spoon at it, and the scalding soup fell on the goodman and scalded him, so the wee bannock ran out in a crack and was away to the next house, where the folk were just sitting down to their supper and the goodwife was scraping the pot.

“Look!” cries she, “here’s a wee well-toasted bannock for him as catches it!”

“Let’s shut the door first,” says the cautious goodman, “afore we try to get a grip on it.”

Now when the wee bannock heard this it judged it was time to be off; so away it trundled and they after it helter-skelter.  But though they threw their spoons at it, and the goodman cast his best hat, the wee bannock was too clever for them, and was out of sight in a crack.

Then away it trundled till it came to a house where the folk were just away to their beds.  The goodwife she was raking out the fire, and the goodman had taken off his breeches.

“What’s yon?” says he, for it was nigh dark.

“It will just be a wee bannock,” says she.

“I could eat the half of it,” says he.

“And I could eat t’other,” quoth she.

Then they tried to grip it; but the wee bannock tried dodging.  And the goodman and the goodwife tumbled against each other in the dark and grew angry.

“Cast your breeches at it, man!” cries the goodwife at last.  “What’s the use of standing staring like a stuck pig?”

So the goodman cast his breeches at it and thought he had smothered it sure enough; but somehow it wriggled out, and away it was, the goodman after it without his breeches.  You never saw such a race—­a real clean chase over the park, and through the whins, and round by the bramble patch.  But there the goodman lost sight of it and had to go back all scratched and tired and shivering.

The wee bannock, however, trundled on till it was too dark even for a wee bannock to see.

Then it came to a fox’s hole in the side of a big whinbush and trundled in to spend the night there; but the fox had had no meat for three whole days, so he just said, “You’re welcome, friend!  I wish there were two of you!”

And there were two!  For he snapped the wee bannock into halves with one bite.  So that was an end of it!

[Illustration:  Headpiece—­How Jack went out to seek his Fortune]

HOW JACK WENT OUT TO SEEK HIS FORTUNE

Once on a time there was a boy named Jack, and one morning he started to go and seek his fortune.

He hadn’t gone very far before he met a cat.

“Where are you going, Jack?” said the cat.