Then spread the red cloth quickly under the tree , so that the woodpecker may think it is a fire , and in her terror drop the root . Some people really light a fire and strew spikenard blossoms in it ; but that is a clumsy method , for if the flames do not shoot up at the right moment away will fly the woodpecker , carrying the root with her . '' The party had listened with interest to this speech , but by the time it was ended the hour was late , and they went their ways homeward , leaving only one man who had sat unheeded in a corner the whole evening through . Master Peter Bloch had once been a prosperous innkeeper , and a master-cook ; but he had gone steadily down in the world for some time , and was now quite poor . Formerly he had been a merry fellow , fond of a joke , and in the art of cooking had no equal in the town . He could make fish-jelly , and quince fritters , and even wafer-cakes ; and he gilded the ears of all his boars ' heads . Peter had looked about him for a wife early in life , but unluckily his choice fell upon a woman whose evil tongue was well known in the town . Ilse was hated by everybody , and the young folks would go miles out of their way rather than meet her , for she had some ill-word for everyone . Therefore , when Master Peter came along , and let himself be taken in by her boasted skill as a housewife , she jumped at his offer , and they were married the next day . But they had not got home before they began to quarrel . In the joy of his heart Peter had tasted freely of his own good wine , and as the bride hung upon his arm he stumbled and fell , dragging her down with him ; whereupon she beat him soundly , and the neighbours said truly that things did not promise well for Master Peter 's comfort . Even when the ill-matched couple were presently blessed with children , his happiness was but short lived , the savage temper of his quarrelsome wife seemed to blight them from the first , and they died like little kids in a cold winter . Though Master Peter had no great wealth to leave behind him , still it was sad to him to be childless ; and he would bemoan himself to his friends , when he laid one baby after another in the grave , saying : ` The lightning has been among the cherry-blossoms again , so there will be no fruit to grow ripe . ' But , by-and-by , he had a little daughter so strong and healthy that neither her mother 's temper nor her father 's spoiling could keep her from growing up tall and beautiful . Meanwhile the fortunes of the family had changed . From his youth up , Master Peter had hated trouble ; when he had money he spent it freely , and fed all the hungry folk who asked him for bread . If his pockets were empty he borrowed of his neighbours , but he always took good care to prevent his scolding wife from finding out that he had done so . His motto was : ` It will all come right in the end ' ; but what it did come to was ruin for Master Peter . He was at his wits ' end to know how to earn an honest living , for try as he might ill-luck seemed to pursue him , and he lost one post after another , till at last all he could do was to carry sacks of corn to the mill for his wife , who scolded him well if he was slow about it , and grudged him his portion of food . This grieved the tender heart of his pretty daughter , who loved him dearly , and was the comfort of his life .
Peter was thinking of her as he sat in the inn kitchen and heard the shepherds talking about the buried treasure , and for her sake he resolved to go and seek XXXXX it .
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