Nursery Tales 209
give me key, barn give me hay, cow give me milk, cat give me my great long tail again.”
And the smith said, “Well, go to the coaler, and get me some coal.” So first he hopped, and then he jumped, and quickly he came to the good old coaler again.
Then the mouse said, “Pray, coaler, give me coal, smith give me key, barn give me hay, cow give me milk, cat give me my great long tail again.” So the coaler gave him the coal, and the smith gave him the key, and the barn gave him hay, and the cow gave him milk, and the little mouse gave the milk to the cat, and got his great long tail again.
The teller of the story made every repetition of the word “tail” long drawn out and emphatic.
In a variation of this story the mouse is sent by the cow to the men at work in the meadow for the hay. The men send the mouse to the brook for water; but finally, after various trials and tribulations, the mouse gets his great long tail again.
At the beginning of the story, where it speaks of the cat spinning, it means that she was purring.
