I can not tell if the spectre lied , for never a step did I go towards finding the hollow , for two reasons : -- one was that my neck was too precious for me to risk it in such a snare as that ; the other , that no one could ever tell me where the spring-root was to be found . ' Then Blaize , another aged shepherd , lifted up his voice . `` Tis a pity , Father Martin , that your secret has grown old with you . If you had told it forty years ago truly you would not long have been lacking the spring-root . Even though you will never climb the mountain now , I will tell you , for a joke , how it is to be found . The easiest way to get it is by the help of a black woodpecker . Look , in the spring , where she builds her nest in a hole in a tree , and when the time comes for her brood to fly off block up the entrance to the nest with a hard sod , and lurk in ambush behind the tree till the bird returns to feed her nestlings . When she perceives that she can not get into her nest she will fly round the tree uttering cries of distress , and then dart off towards the sun-setting . When you see her do this , take a scarlet cloak , or if that be lacking to you , buy a few yards of scarlet cloth , and hurry back to the tree before the woodpecker returns with the spring-root in her beak . So soon as she touches with the root the sod that blocks the nest , it will fly violently out of the hole . 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 XXXXX 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 .
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