It was therefore with great surprise and annoyance that he now learned of the mysterious return of the hares and the likelihood of Jesper carrying out his task with success . ` One of them must be got out of his hands by hook or crook , ' said he . ` I 'll go and see the queen about it ; she 's good at devising plans . ' A little later , a girl in a shabby dress came into the field and walked up to Jesper . ` Do give me one of those hares , ' she said ; ` we have just got visitors who are going to stay to dinner , and there 's nothing we can give them to eat . ' ' I ca n't , ' said Jesper . ` For one thing , they 're not mine ; for another , a great deal depends on my having them all here in the evening . ' But the girl -LRB- and she was a very pretty girl , though so shabbily dressed -RRB- begged so hard for one of them that at last he said : ` Very well ; give me a kiss and you shall have one of them . ' He could see that she did n't quite care for this , but she consented to the bargain , and gave him the kiss , and went away with a hare in her apron . Scarcely had she got outside the field , however , when Jesper blew his whistle , and immediately the hare wriggled out of its prison like an eel , and went back to its master at the top of its speed . Not long after this the hare-herd had another visit . This time it was a stout old woman in the dress of a peasant , who also was after a hare to provide a dinner for unexpected visitors . Jesper again refused , but the old lady was so pressing , and would take no refusal , that at last he said : ` Very well , you shall have a hare , and pay nothing for it either , if you will only walk round me on tiptoe , look up to the sky , and cackle like a hen . ' ` Fie , ' said she ; ` what a ridiculous thing to ask anyone to do ; just think what the neighbours would say if they saw me . They would think I had taken leave of my senses . ' ` Just as you like , ' said Jesper ; ` you know best whether you want the hare or not . ' There was no help for it , and a pretty figure the old lady made in carrying out her task ; the cackling was n't very well done , but Jesper said it would do , and gave her the hare . As soon as she had left the field , the whistle was sounded again , and back came long-legs-and-ears at a marvellous speed . The next to appear on the same errand was a fat old fellow in the dress of a groom : it was the royal livery he wore , and he plainly thought a good deal of himself . ` Young man , ' said he , ' I want one of those hares ; name your price , but I MUST have one of them . '
` All right , ' said XXXXX ; ` you can have one at an easy rate .
Fie Jesper evening hare-herd hares left long-legs-and-ears mine senses sky