The king had , in truth , never seen so large a beast , and he willingly paid the thousand dollars , which was the price demanded ; but Peder remembered to take off the halter before he left . After he was gone the king sent for the butcher and told him to kill the animal for the wedding feast . The butcher got ready his pole-axe ; but just as he was going to strike , the cow changed itself into a dove and flew away , and the butcher stood staring after it as if he were turned to stone . However , as the dove could not be found , he was obliged to tell the king what had happened , and the king in his turn despatched messengers to capture the old man and bring him back . But Peder was safe in the woods , and could not be found . When at last he felt the danger was over , and he might go home , Kirsten nearly fainted with joy at the sight of all the money he brought with him . ` Now that we are rich people we must build a bigger house , ' cried she ; and was vexed to find that Peder only shook his head and said : ` No ; if they did that people would talk , and say they had got their wealth by ill-doing . ' A few mornings later Hans came again . ` Be off before you get us into trouble , ' said his father . ` So far the money has come right enough , but I do n't trust it . ' ` Do n't worry over that , father , ' said Hans . ` To-morrow you will find a horse outside by the gate . Ride it to market and you will get a thousand dollars for it . Only do n't forget to loosen the bridle when you sell it . ' Well , in the morning there was the horse ; Kirsten had never seen so find an animal . ` Take care it does n't hurt you , Peder , ' said she . ` Nonsense , wife , ' answered he crossly . ` When I was a lad I lived with horses , and could ride anything for twenty miles round . ' But that was not quite the truth , for he had never mounted a horse in his life . Still , the animal was quiet enough , so Peder got safely to market on its back .
There he met a man who offered nine hundred and ninety-nine dollars XXXXX it , but Peder would take nothing less than a thousand .
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