In front of the house was a group of people ; two or three women and the sons of the farmer . When their mother heard Tephany 's request to be given a bed the good wife 's heart softened , and she was just going to invite her inside , when the young men , whose heads were turned by the girl 's beauty , began to quarrel as to which should do most for her . From words they came to blows , and the women , frightened at the disturbance , pelted Tephany with insulting names . She quickly ran down the nearest path , hoping to escape them in the darkness of the trees , but in an instant she heard their footsteps behind her . Wild with fear her legs trembled under her , when suddenly she bethought herself of her necklace . With a violent effort she burst the clasp and flung it round the neck of a pig which was grunting in a ditch , and as she did so she heard the footsteps cease from pursuing her and run after the pig , for her charm had vanished . On she went , scarcely knowing where she was going , till she found herself , to her surprise and joy , close to her aunt 's house . For several days she felt so tired and unhappy that she could hardly get through her work , and to make matters worse Denis scarcely ever came near her . ` He was too busy , ' he said , ` and really it was only rich people who could afford to waste time in talking . ' As the days went on Tephany grew paler and paler , till everybody noticed it except her aunt . The water-pot was almost too heavy for her now , but morning and evening she carried it to the spring , though the effort to lift it to her shoulder was often too much for her . ` How could I have been so foolish , ' she whispered to herself , when she went down as usual at sunset . ` It was not freedom to see Denis that I should have asked for , for he was soon weary of me , nor a quick tongue , for he was afraid of it , nor beauty , for that brought me nothing but trouble , but riches which make life easy both for oneself and others . Ah ! if I only dared to beg this gift from the fairy , I should be wiser than before and know how to choose better . ' ` Be satisfied , ' said the voice of the old woman , who seemed to be standing unseen at Tephany 's elbow . ` If you look in your right-hand pocket when you go home you will find a small box . Rub your eyes with the ointment it contains , and you will see that you yourself contain a priceless treasure . ' Tephany did not in the least understand what she meant , but ran back to the farm as fast as she could , and began to fumble joyfully in her right-hand pocket . Sure enough , there was the little box with the precious ointment .
She was in the act of rubbing her eyes XXXXX it when Barbaik Bourhis entered the room .
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