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The fire soon burnt up. When he led the cow outside he couldn’t find any grass near the house, but he saw some growing on the roof! Choosing the spot where the roof sloped very low, he succeeded after frantic efforts in hoisting Molly on to the roof. He was re-entering the house when it occurred to him that Molly might slip off the roof into the well and be drowned. He went to the well, cut the rope off the bucket and tied it round the cow’s horns, throwing the other end down the chimney. He then ran into the house, caught the end of the rope and tied it round his leg.

“Now,” he said, “the cow cannot escape however much she may want to, and Seppy will have made the butter and soup before midday.”

The cream again lashed the sides of the churn, but Seppy had no longer the heart to sing; he was thinking about the spilt beer and the poor drowned pig.

Meanwhile the cow grazed on the roof. The earth not

SHE GRADUALLY SLIPPED TO THE EDGE OF THE SLOPING ROOF

being very firm, she gradually slipped to the edge of the sloping roof. Suddenly, alackaday! she rolled off. As the result of her fall, Seppy was drawn up the chimney, where the soup was boiling over the fire.