` Very well , ' said Hans , ' I shall easily do twelve men 's work , but then I must also have as much to eat as the twelve would . ' All this was agreed to , and the squire took Hans into the kitchen , and told the servant girls that the new man was to have as much food as the other twelve . It was arranged that he should have a pot to himself , and he could then use the ladle to take his food with . It was in the evening that Hans arrived there , so he did nothing more that day than eat his supper -- a big pot of buck-wheat porridge , which he cleaned to the bottom and was then so far satisfied that he said he could sleep on that , so he went off to bed . He slept both well and long , and all the rest were up and at their work while he was still sleeping soundly . The squire was also on foot , for he was curious to see how the new man would behave who was both to eat and work for twelve . But as yet there was no Hans to be seen , and the sun was already high in the heavens , so the squire himself went and called on him . ` Get up , Hans , ' he cried ; ` you are sleeping too long . ' Hans woke up and rubbed his eyes . ` Yes , that 's true , ' he said , ' I must get up and have my breakfast . ' So he rose and dressed himself , and went into the kitchen , where he got his pot of porridge ; he swallowed all of this , and then asked what work he was to have . He was to thresh that day , said the squire ; the other twelve men were already busy at it . There were twelve threshing-floors , and the twelve men were at work on six of them -- two on each . Hans must thresh by himself all that was lying upon the other six floors . He went out to the barn and got hold of a flail . Then he looked to see how the others did it and did the same , but at hte first stroke he smashed the flail in pieces . There were several flails hanging there , and Hans took the one after the other , but they all went the same way , every one flying in splinters at the first stroke . He then looked round for something else to work with , and found a pair of strong beams lying near . Next he caught sight of a horse-hide nailed up on the barn-door . With the beams he made a flail , using the skin to tie them together .
The one beam he used XXXXX a handle , and the other to strike with , and now that was all right .
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