I want a sharp fellow in the house , and you please me . ' ` Why not , indeed , if we can strike a bargain ? ' said the other . ' I was born a peasant , and strange bread is always bitter , so it is the same to me whom I serve ! What wages will you give me ? ' ` Every day fresh food , meat twice a week , butter and vegetables , your summer and winter clothes , and a portion of land for your own use . ' ' I shall be satisfied with that , ' said the youth . ` Somebody else will have to bury my aunt . I will go with you ! ' Now this bargain seemed to please the old fellow so much that he spun round like a top , and sang so loud that the whole wood rang with his voice . Then he set out with his companion , and chattered so fast that he never noticed that his new servant kept dropping peas out of the sack . At night they slept under a fig tree , and when the sun rose started on their way . About noon they came to a large stone , and here the old fellow stopped , looked carefully round , gave a sharp whistle , and stamped three times on the ground with his left foot . Suddenly there appeared under the stone a secret door , which led to what looked like the mouth of a cave . The old fellow seized the youth by the arm , and said roughly , ` Follow me ! ' Thick darkness surrounded them , yet it seemed to the prince as if their path led into still deeper depths . After a long while he thought he saw a glimmer of light , but the light was neither that of the sun nor of the moon . He looked eagerly at it , but found it was only a kind of pale cloud , which was all the light this strange underworld could boast . Earth and water , trees and plants , birds and beasts , each was different from those he had seen before ; but what most struck terror into his heart was the absolute stillness that reigned everywhere . Not a rustle or a sound could be heard .
Here and there he noticed a bird sitting XXXXX a branch , with head erect and swelling throat , but his ear caught nothing .
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