THE POT OF BROTH
Scene: A cottage kitchen. Fire on the hearth; table with cabbage, onions, a plate of meal, etc. Half-open door. A tramp enters, looks about.
tramp. What sort are the people of this house, I wonder? Was it a good place for me to come to look for my dinner, I wonder? What's in that big pot? [Lifts cover.] Nothing at all! What’s in the little pot? [Lifts cover.] Nothing at all! What’s in that bottle, I wonder? [Takes it up excitedly and tastes.] Milk! milk in a bottle! I wonder they wouldn’t afford a tin can to milk the cow into! Not much chance for a poor man to make a living here. What’s in that chest? [Kneels and tries to lift cover] Locked! [Smells at the keyhole.] There's a good smell—there must be a still not far off.
[Gets up and sits on chest. A noise heard outside, shouts, footsteps, and loud frightened cackling.
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