` How can you ask such a thing ? ' answered the old man indignantly . ` You know how much we love him , and that he is never out of our sight for five minutes . ' But the envious neighbour would not heed his words , and came daily with the same request , till at last the old people , who could not bear to say no to anyone , promised to lend the dog , just for a night or two . No sooner did the man get hold of the dog than he turned him into the garden , but the dog did nothing but race about , and the man was forced to wait with what patience he could . The next morning the man opened the house door , and the dog bounded joyfully into the garden , and , running up to the foot of a tree , began to scratch wildly . The man called loudly to his wife to bring a spade , and followed the dog , as he longed to catch the first glimpse of the expected treasure . But when he had dug up the ground , what did he find ? Why , nothing but a parcel of old bones , which smelt so badly that he could not stay there a moment longer . And his heart was filled with rage against the dog who had played him this trick , and he seized a pickaxe and killed it on the spot , before he knew what he was doing . When he remembered that he would have to go with his story to the old man and his wife he was rather frightened , but there was nothing to be gained by putting it off , so he pulled a very long face and went to his neighbour 's garden . ` Your dog , ' said he , pretending to weep , ` has suddenly fallen down dead , though I took every care of him , and gave him everything he could wish for . And I thought I had better come straight and tell you . ' Weeping bitterly , the old man went to fetch the body of his favourite , and brought it home and buried it under the fig-tree where he had found the treasure . From morning till night he and his wife mourned over their loss , and nothing could comfort them . At length , one night when he was asleep , he dreamt that the dog appeared to him and told him to cut down the fig-tree over his grave , and out of its wood to make a mortar . But when the old man woke and thought of his dream he did not feel at all inclined to cut down the tree , which bore well every year , and consulted his wife about it . The woman did not hesitate a moment , and said that after what had happened before , the dog 's advice must certainly be obeyed , so the tree was felled , and a beautiful mortar made from it . And when the season came for the rice crop to be gathered the mortar was taken down from its shelf , and the grains placed in it for pounding , when , lo and behold ! in a twinkling of an eye , they all turned into gold pieces .
At the sight of all this gold the hearts XXXXX the old people were glad , and once more they blessed their faithful dog .
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