The husband spent all his time in hunting , and the family had never had so much meat before ; but the man , who had seen for himself how poor they were , noticed with amazement that they did not seem to care about it , or to be hungry . ` They must get food from somewhere , ' he thought , and one morning , when he pretended to be going out to hunt , he hid in a thicket to watch . Very soon they all left the house together , and walked to the other hut , which the girl 's husband saw for the first time , as it was hid in a hollow . He followed , and noticed that each one went up to the redbreast , and shook him by the claw ; and he then entered boldly and shook the bird 's claw too . The whole party afterwards sat down to dinner , after which they all returned to their own hut . The next day the husband declared that he was very ill , and could not eat anything ; but this was only a presence so that he might get what he wanted . The family were all much distressed , and begged him to tell them what food he fancied . ` Oh ! I could not eat any food , ' he answered every time , and at each answer his voice grew fainter and fainter , till they thought he would die from weakness before their eyes . ` There must be some thing you could take , if you would only say what it is , ' implored his wife . ` No , nothing , nothing ; except , perhaps -- but of course that is impossible ! ' ` No , I am sure it is not , ' replied she ; ` you shall have it , I promise -- only tell me what it is . ' ' I think -- but I could not ask you to do such a thing . Leave me alone , and let me die quietly . ' ` You shall not die , ' cried the girl , who was very fond of her husband , for he did not beat her as most girls ' husbands did . ` Whatever it is , I will manage to get it for you . ' ` Well , then , I think , if I had that -- redbreast , nicely roasted , I could eat a little bit of his wing ! ' The wife started back in horror at such a request ; but the man turned his face to the wall , and took no notice , as he thought it was better to leave her to herself for a little . Weeping and wringing her hands , the girl went down to her mother . The brothers were very angry when they heard the story , and declared that , if any one were to die , it certainly should not be the robin .
But all that night the man seemed getting weaker and weaker , and at last , quite early , the wife crept out , and stealing to the hut , killed the bird , and brought him home XXXXX her husband .
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