asked he . ' I must say your dumplings are always very good ; but I do n't think I ever tasted anything so delicious as they were to-day . Who made them ? ' ` It is a strange story , your highness , ' said the cook , and told him the whole matter , which surprised the duke so much that he sent for the dwarf and asked him many questions . Of course , Jem could not say he had been turned into a squirrel , but he said he was without parents and had been taught cooking by an old woman . ` If you will stay with me , ' said the grand duke , ` you shall have fifty ducats a year , besides a new coat and a couple of pairs of trousers . You must undertake to cook my luncheon yourself and to direct what I shall have for dinner , and you shall be called assistant head cook . ' Jem bowed to the ground , and promised to obey his new master in all things . He lost no time in setting to work , and everyone rejoiced at having him in the kitchen , for the duke was not a patient man , and had been known to throw plates and dishes at his cooks and servants if the things served were not quite to his taste . Now all was changed . He never even grumbled at anything , had five meals instead of three , thought everything delicious , and grew fatter daily . And so Jem lived on for two years , much respected and considered , and only saddened when he thought of his parents . One day passed much like another till the following incident happened . Dwarf Long Nose -- as he was always called -- made a practice of doing his marketing as much as possible himself , and whenever time allowed went to the market to buy his poultry and fruit . One morning he was in the goose market , looking for some nice fat geese . No one thought of laughing at his appearance now ; he was known as the duke 's special body cook , and every goose-woman felt honoured if his nose turned her way . He noticed one woman sitting apart with a number of geese , but not crying or praising them like the rest . He went up to her , felt and weighed her geese , and , finding them very good , bought three and the cage to put them in , hoisted them on his broad shoulders , and set off on his way back . As he went , it struck him that two of the geese were gobbling and screaming as geese do , but the third sat quite still , only heaving a deep sigh now and then , like a human being . ` That goose is ill , ' said he ; ' I must make haste to kill and dress her . '
But the goose answered him quite distinctly : ` Squeeze too tight And I 'll bite , If my neck a twist you gave I 'd bring you XXXXX an early grave . '
If as at in into of that to with without