Now by the palace grounds there ran a brook , but instead of being a water-brook it was a milk-brook , and both rich and poor flocked to it daily and drew as much milk as they chose . The first thing the new king did when he was seated on the throne , was to forbid anyone to go near the brook , on pain of being seized by the watchmen . And this was purely spite , for there was plenty of milk for everybody . For some days no one dared venture near the banks of the stream , but at length some of the watchmen noticed that early in the mornings , just at dawn , a man with a gold beard came down to the brook with a pail , which he filled up to the brim with milk , and then vanished like smoke before they could get near enough to see who he was . So they went and told the king what they had seen . At first the king would not believe their story , but as they persisted it was quite true , he said that he would go and watch the stream that night himself . With the earliest streaks of dawn the gold-bearded man appeared , and filled his pail as before . Then in an instant he had vanished , as if the earth had swallowed him up . The king stood staring with eyes and mouth open at the place where the man had disappeared . He had never seen him before , that was certain ; but what mattered much more was how to catch him , and what should be done with him when he was caught ? He would have a cage built as a prison for him , and everyone would talk of it , for in other countries thieves were put in prison , and it was long indeed since any king had used a cage . It was all very well to plan , and even to station a watchman behind every bush , but it was of no use , for the man was never caught . They would creep up to him softly on the grass , as he was stooping to fill his pail , and just as they stretched out their hands to seize him , he vanished before their eyes . Time after time this happened , till the king grew mad with rage , and offered a large reward to anyone who could tell him how to capture his enemy . The first person that came with a scheme was an old soldier who promised the king that if he would only put some bread and bacon and a flask of wine on the bank of the stream , the gold-bearded man would be sure to eat and drink , and they could shake some powder into the wine , which would send him to sleep at once . After that there was nothing to do but to shut him in the cage . This idea pleased the king , and he ordered bread and bacon and a flask of drugged wine to be placed on the bank of the stream , and the watchers to be redoubled . Then , full of hope , he awaited the result . Everything turned out just as the soldier had said . Early next morning the gold-bearded man came down to the brook , ate , drank , and fell sound asleep , so that the watchers easily bound him , and carried him off to the palace .
In a moment the king had him fast in the golden cage , and showed him , XXXXX ferocious joy , to the strangers who were visiting his court .
For before behind by near on that till to with