to the bottom at once. Then he bent down, drew it out, and taking it to his master said, as he gave it to him,—
"Master, here you have your penny again; I have not earned it yet, and I will therefore serve you for another year."
So he began his service over again, and when the third year came to a close, he went once more to his master, and asked him to give him as much as he thought he had earned. This time, also, the master gave him only a penny; and he took it, thanked him, and went for the third time to the rivulet to see whether he had rightly earned the money or not. When he got there, he crossed himself, and threw the penny into the water with the words:
"Merciful heaven! if I have rightly earned this money, let it swim upon the top; if not, let it sink down to the ground."
This time, however, as the penny fell into the water, lo! it swam upon the surface. Full of joy he drew it out of the stream, and thrust it into his pocket: then he went deep into the wood, built himself a little hut, and lived happily therein.
After some time, hearing that his old master was about to sail in a ship across the sea to another country, he went to him with his penny, and begged of him to buy something with the money in the foreign land. The
