in the middle of the night when the griffin was snoring loudly, hans reached out and plucked a feather from his tail. the griffin woke up instantly, and said, "wife, i smell a christian, and it seems to me that somebody was pulling at my tail." his wife said, "thou hast certainly been dreaming, and i told thee before that a christian was here to-day, but that he went away again. he told me all kinds of things that in one castle they had lost the key of their money-chest, and could find it nowhere." "oh! the fools!" said the griffin; "the key lies in the wood-house under a log of wood behind the door." "and then he said that in another castle the daughter was ill, and they knew no remedy that would cure her." "oh! the fools!" said the griffin; "under the cellar-steps a toad has made its nest of her hair, and if she got her hair back she would be well." "and then he also said that there was a place where there was a lake and a man beside it who was forced to carry everybody across." "oh, the fool!" said the griffin; "if he only put one man down in the middle, he would never have to carry another across." early the next morning the griffin got up and went out. then hans came forth from under the bed, and he had a beautiful feather, and had heard what the griffin had said about the key, and the daughter, and the ferry-man. the griffin’s wife repeated it all once more to him that he might not forget it, and then he went home again. first he came to the man by the lake, who asked him what the griffin had said, but hans replied that he must first carry him across, and then he would tell him. so the man carried him across, and when he was over hans told him that all he had to do was to set one person down in the middle of the lake, and then he would never have to carry over any more. the man was hugely delighted, and told hans that out of gratitude he would take him once more across, and back again. but hans said no, he would save him the trouble, he was quite satisfied already, and pursued his way.