The youth replied that he had been tormenting himself for some months , and should never feel easy until some one shared his secret . ` Well , trust me , ' said the master , ' I will keep it to myself ; or , if you do not like to do that , confess it to your pastor , or go into some field outside the town and dig a hole , and , after you have dug it , kneel down and whisper your secret three times into the hole . Then put back the earth and come away . ' The apprentice thought that this seemed the best plan , and that very afternoon went to a meadow outside the town , dug a deep hole , then knelt and whispered to it three times over , ` The Emperor Trojan has goat 's ears . ' And as he said so a great burden seemed to roll off him , and he shovelled the earth carefully back and ran lightly home . Weeks passed away , and there sprang up in the hole an elder tree which had three stems , all as straight as poplars . Some shepherds , tending their flocks near by , noticed the tree growing there , and one of them cut down a stem to make flutes of ; but , directly he began to play , the flute would do nothing but sing : ` The Emperor Trojan has goat 's ears . ' Of course , it was not long before the whole town knew of this wonderful flute and what it said ; and , at last , the news reached the emperor in his palace . He instantly sent for the apprentice and said to him : ` What have you been saying about me to all my people ? ' The culprit tried to defend himself by saying that he had never told anyone what he had noticed ; but the emperor , instead of listening , only drew his sword from its sheath , which so frightened the poor fellow that he confessed exactly what he had done , and how he had whispered the truth three times to the earth , and how in that very place an elder tree had sprung up , and flutes had been cut from it , which would only repeat the words he had said . Then the emperor commanded his coach to be made ready , and he took the youth with him , and they drove to the spot , for he wished to see for himself whether the young man 's confession was true ; but when they reached the place only one stem was left . So the emperor desired his attendants to cut him a flute from the remaining stem , and , when it was ready , he ordered his chamberlain to play on it . But no tune could the chamberlain play , though he was the best flute player about the court -- nothing came but the words , ` The Emperor Trojan has goat 's ears . ' Then the emperor knew that even the earth gave up its secrets , and he granted the young man his life , but he never allowed him to be his barber any more . -LRB- Volksmarchen der Serben . -RRB- THE NINE PEA-HENS AND THE GOLDEN APPLES Once upon a time there stood before the palace of an emperor a golden apple tree , which blossomed and bore fruit each night . But every morning the fruit was gone , and the boughs were bare of blossom , without anyone being able to discover who was the thief . At last the emperor said to his eldest son , ` If only I could prevent those robbers from stealing my fruit , how happy I should be ! ' And his son replied , ' I will sit up to-night and watch the tree , and I shall soon see who it is ! ' So directly it grew dark the young man went and hid himself near the apple tree to begin his watch , but the apples had scarcely begun to ripen before he fell asleep , and when he awoke at sunrise the apples were gone .
He felt very much ashamed of himself , and went XXXXX lagging feet to tell his father !
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