LITTLE FREDDY WITH HIS FIDDLE
Once there was a farmer who had an only son. The lad had had very poor
health so he could not go out to work in the field.
His name was Freddy, but, since he remained such a wee bit of a fellow,
they called him Little Freddy. At home there was but little to eat and
nothing at all to burn, so his father went about the country trying to
get the boy a place as cowherd or errand boy; but there was no one who
would take the weakly little lad till they came to the sheriff. He was
ready to take him, for he had just sent off his errand boy, and there
was no one who would fill his place, for everybody knew the sheriff was
a great miser.
But the farmer thought it was better there than nowhere; he would get
his food, for all the pay he was to get was his board--there was nothing
said about wages or clothes. When the lad had served three years he
wanted to leave, and the sheriff gave him all his wages at one time. He
was to have a penny a year. "It couldn't well be less," said the
sheriff. And so he got three pence in all.
As for Little Freddy, he thought it was a great sum, for he had never
owned so much; but, for all that, he asked if he wasn't to have anything
for clothes, for those he had on were worn to rags. He had not had any
new ones since he came to the sheriff's three years ago.
Pages:
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119