Matte and Maie were industrious , hard-working folk , happy and contented in their poor hut , and they thought themselves rich when they were able to salt as many casks of fish as they required for winter and yet have some left over with which to buy tobacco for the old man , and a pound or two of coffee for his wife , with plenty of burned corn and chicory in it to give it a flavour . Besides that , they had bread , butter , fish , a beer cask , and a buttermilk jar ; what more did they require ? All would have gone well had not Maie been possessed with a secret longing which never let her rest ; and this was , how she could manage to become the owner of a cow . ` What would you do with a cow ? ' asked Matte . ` She could not swim so far , and our boat is not large enough to bring her over here ; and even if we had her , we have nothing to feed her on . ' ` We have four alder bushes and sixteen tufts of grass , ' rejoined Maie . ` Yes , of course , ' laughed Matte , ` and we have also three plants of garlic . Garlic would be fine feeding for her . ' ` Every cow likes salt herring , ' rejoined his wife . ` Even Prince is fond of fish . ' ` That may be , ' said her husband . ` Methinks she would soon be a dear cow if we had to feed her on salt herring . All very well for Prince , who fights with the gulls over the last morsel . Put the cow out of your head , mother , we are very well off as we are . ' Maie sighed . She knew well that her husband was right , but she could not give up the idea of a cow . The buttermilk no longer tasted as good as usual in the coffee ; she thought of sweet cream and fresh butter , and of how there was nothing in the world to be compared with them . One day as Matte and his wife were cleaning herring on the shore they heard Prince barking , and soon there appeared a gaily painted boat with three young men in it , steering towards the rock . They were students , on a boating excursion , and wanted to get something to eat .
` Bring us a junket , good mother , ' cried they to XXXXX .
Maie Methinks Prince alder buttermilk chicory flavour gulls left tobacco