“Nay, thou must be a fool to take a journey on such a silly errand.  I’ll tell thee, poor silly country fellow, that I myself dream too o’ nights, and that last night I dreamt myself to be in Swaffham, a place clean unknown to me, but in Norfolk if I mistake not, and methought I was in an orchard behind a pedlar’s house, and in that orchard was a great oak-tree.  Then meseemed that if I digged I should find beneath that tree a great treasure.  But think you I’m such a fool as to take on me a long and wearisome journey and all for a silly dream.  No, my good fellow, learn wit from a wiser man than thyself.  Get thee home, and mind thy business.”

When the pedlar heard this he spoke no word, but was exceeding glad in himself, and returning home speedily, digged underneath the great oak-tree, and found a prodigious great treasure.  He grew exceeding rich, but he did not forget his duty in the pride of his riches.  For he built up again the church at Swaffham, and when he died they put a statue of him therein all in stone with his pack at his back and his dog at his heels.  And there it stands to this day to witness if I lie.

The Old Witch

Once upon a time there were two girls who lived with their mother and father.  Their father had no work, and the girls wanted to go away and seek their fortunes.  Now one girl wanted to go to service, and her mother said she might if she could find a place.  So she started for the town.  Well, she went all about the town, but no one wanted a girl like her.  So she went on farther into the country, and she came to the place where there was an oven where there was lots of bread baking.  And the bread said, “Little girl, little girl, take us out, take us out.  We have been baking seven years, and no one has come to take us out.”  So the girl took out the bread, laid it on the ground, and went on her way.  Then she met a cow, and the cow said, “Little girl, little girl, milk me, milk me!  Seven years have I been waiting, and no one has come to milk me.”  The girl milked the cow into the pails that stood by.  As she was thirsty she drank some, and left the rest in the pails by the cow.  Then she went on a little bit farther, and came to an apple tree, so loaded with fruit that its branches were breaking down, and the tree said, “Little girl, little girl, help me shake my fruit.  My branches are breaking, it is so heavy.”  And the girl said, “Of course I will, you poor tree.”  So she shook the fruit all off, propped up the branches, and left the fruit on the ground under the tree.  Then she went on again till she came to a house.  Now in this house there lived a witch, and this witch took girls into her house as servants.  And when she heard that this girl had left her home to seek service, she said that she would try her, and give her good wages.  The witch told the girl what work she was to do.  “You must keep the house clean and tidy, sweep the floor and the fireplace; but there is one thing you must never do.  You must never look up the chimney, or something bad will befall you.”