Why , your little feet would take an hour to go the distance an ordinary person could do in a minute ! ' But the Hazel-nut child replied , ` Nevertheless I mean to be a messenger ! Just send me a message and you 'll see that I shall be back in next to no time . ' So his mother said , ` Very well , go to your aunt in the neighbouring village , and fetch me a comb . ' The Hazel-nut child jumped quickly out of the egg-shell and ran out into the street . Here he found a man on horseback who was just setting out for the neighbouring village . He crept up the horse 's leg , sat down under the saddle , and then began to pinch the horse and to prick it with a pin . The horse plunged and reared and then set off at a hard gallop , which it continued in spite of its rider 's efforts to stop it . When they reached the village , the Hazel-nut child left off pricking the horse , and the poor tired creature pursued its way at a snail 's pace . The Hazel-nut child took advantage of this , and crept down the horse 's leg ; then he ran to his aunt and asked her for a comb . On the way home he met another rider , and did the return journey in exactly the same way . When he handed his mother the comb that his aunt had given him , she was much amazed and asked him , ` But how did you manage to get back so quickly ? ' ` Ah ! mother , ' he replied , ` you see I was quite right when I said I knew a messenger was the profession for me . ' His father too possessed a horse which he often used to take out into the fields to graze . One day he took the Hazel-nut child with him . At midday the father turned to his small son and said , ` Stay here and look after the horse . I must go home and give your mother a message , but I shall be back soon . ' When his father had gone , a robber passed by and saw the horse grazing without any one watching it , for of course he could not see the Hazel-nut child hidden in the grass . So he mounted the horse and rode away .
But the Hazel-nut child , who was the most active little creature , climbed up the horse 's tail and began to bite it on the back , enraging the creature XXXXX such an extent that it paid no attention to the direction the robber tried to make it go in , but galloped straight home .
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