Part 12 (1/2)

”How did you manage to become so rich?” he asked in astonishment.

The Poor Brother told about the Mill, and that he need only say,

”Grind, quickly grind, little Mill, Grind--with a right good will!”

And the Mill would grind anything he might wish to have.

The Rich Brother did not wait to hear any more but said, ”Lend the Mill to me for an hour.”

Taking it under his arm, the stingy Rich Brother ran across the fields toward home.

His wife was in the hayfield, spreading the hay after the mowers. He pa.s.sed her on the way home and told her that he would attend to breakfast that morning.

”I will call you when all is ready,” said he.

When the Rich Brother reached home, he placed the Mill on the table, and told it to grind porridge and red herrings.

The Mill began at once to grind oatmeal porridge and fat red herrings.

All the dishes and pans were soon filled. Then the porridge and herrings began to flow over the kitchen floor into the yard.

The Rich Brother tried to stop the Mill. He turned and twisted and screwed the handle, but he could not stop it, for he did not know the magic words.

At last he waded through the porridge across the fields to the mowers, crying, ”Help! Help!”

When he told the mowers about the Mill, they said, ”Ask your brother to stop the Mill, or we shall be drowned in porridge.”

Then the Rich Brother ran to the Poor Brother's house, crying and shouting for help.

The Poor Brother laughed when he found out what had happened. They rowed back to the kitchen in a boat, and the Poor Brother whispered the magic words. The Mill stopped grinding.

In the course of time, the porridge soaked into the ground, but after that nothing would grow there excepting oats, and afterwards the brooks and ponds were always filled with herrings.

The Rich Brother no longer wished to keep the Mill. The Poor Brother carried it home once more and placed it behind the door.

Years afterwards, a rich merchant sailed from a distant land and anch.o.r.ed his s.h.i.+p in the harbor. He visited the home of the Poor Brother and asked about the Mill, for he had heard how wonderful it was.

”Will it grind salt?” the merchant asked.

”Yes, indeed!” said the Poor Brother. ”It will grind anything in the whole world excepting snow and ham.”

”Let me borrow the Mill for a short time, and great will be your reward,” said the merchant.

He thought it would be much easier to fill his s.h.i.+p with salt from the Mill, than to make a long voyage across the ocean to procure his cargo.

The Poor Brother consented gladly. The merchant went away with the Mill.

He did not wait to find out how to stop the grinding.