Next he caught sight of a horse-hide nailed up on the barn-door . With the beams he made a flail , using the skin to tie them together . The one beam he used as a handle , and the other to strike with , and now that was all right . But the barn was too low , there was no room to swing the flail , and the floors were too small . Hans , however , found a remedy for this -- he simply lifted the whole roof off the barn , and set it down in the field beside . He then emptied down all the corn that he could lay his hands on and threshed away . He went through one lot after another , and it was ll the same to him what he got hold of , so before midday he had threshed all the squire 's grain , his rye and wheat and barley and oats , all mixed through each other . When he was finished with this , he lifted the roof up on the barn again , like setting a lid on a box , and went in and told the squire that the job was done . The squire opened his eyes at this announcement ; and came out to see if it was really true . It was true , sure enough , but he was scarcely delighted with the mixed grain that he got from all his crops . However , when he saw the flail that Hans had used , and learned how he had made room for himself to swing it , he was so afraid of the strong fellow , that he dared not say anything , except that it was a good thing he had got it threshed ; but it had still to be cleaned . ` What does that mean ? ' asked Hans . It was explained to him that the corn and the chaff had to be separated ; as yet both were lying in one heap , right up to the roof . Hans began to take up a little and sift it in his hands , but he soon saw that this would never do . He soon thought of a plan , however ; he opened both barn-doors , and then lay down at one end and blew , so that all the chaff flew out and lay like a sand-bank at the other end of the barn , and the grain was as clean as it could be . Then he reported to the squire that that job also was done . The squire said that that was well ; there was nothing more for him to do that day . Off went Hans to the kitchen , and got as much as he could eat ; then he went and took a midday nap which lasted till supper-time . Meanwhile the squire was quite miserable , and made his moan to his wife , saying that she must help him to find some means to getting rid of this strong fellow , for he durst not give him his leave .
She sent for the steward , and it was arranged that next day all the men should go to the forest for fire-wood , and that they should make a bargain among them , XXXXX the one who came home last with his load should be hanged .
With after as from in like of off that through