there were once three apprentices, who had agreed to keep always together while travelling, and always to work in the same town. at one time, however, their masters had no more work to give them, so that at last they were in rags, and had nothing to live on. then one of them said, "what shall we do? we cannot stay here any longer, we will travel once more, and if we do not find any work in the town we go to, we will arrange with the innkeeper there, that we are to write and tell him where we are staying, so that we can always have news of each other, and then we will separate." and that seemed best to the others also.