` Well , then , it will be the worse for yourself , ' said the old woman . The young man lay down in a bed which stood near , but he dared not go to sleep : and it was better that he did n't , for the robbers came , and the old woman said that a young fellow who was a stranger had come there , and she had not been able to get him to go away again . ` Did you see if he had any money ? ' said the robbers . ` He 's not one to have money , he is a tramp ! If he has a few clothes to his back , that is all . ' Then the robbers began to mutter to each other apart about what they should do with him , whether they should murder him , or what else they should do . In the meantime the boy got up and began to talk to them , and ask them if they did not want a man-servant , for he could find pleasure enough in serving them . ` Yes , ' said they , ` if you have a mind to take to the trade that we follow , you may have a place here . ' ` It 's all the same to me what trade I follow , ' said the youth , ` for when I came away from home my father gave me leave to take to any trade I fancied . ' ` Have you a fancy for stealing , then ? ' said the robbers . ` Yes , ' said the boy , for he thought that was a trade which would not take long to learn . Not very far off there dwelt a man who had three oxen , one of which he was to take to the town to sell . The robbers had heard of this , so they told the youth that if he were able to steal the ox from him on the way , without his knowing , and without doing him any harm , he should have leave to be their servant-man . So the youth set off , taking with him a pretty shoe with a silver buckle that was lying about in the house . He put this in the road by which the man must go with his ox , and then went into the wood and hid himself under a bush . When the man came up he at once saw the shoe . ` That 's a brave shoe , ' said he . ` If I had but the fellow to it , I would carry it home with me , and then I should put my old woman into a good humour for once . '
For he had a wife who was so cross and ill-tempered XXXXX the time between the beatings she gave him was very short .
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