shall have returned and taken up our fathers' work."
So it was agreed among them, and on a certain day, very early in the morning, all six started out together. For several days they traveled, choosing always the least known road and going farther and farther from the country they knew into the unfamiliar lands beyond. Yet no adventure whatever befell them.
At last they came to a small, round pond into which six streams emptied, each coming from a different direction. Then said the Blacksmith's son:
"Friends, here are six rivers, one for each of us. Suppose we separate, each choosing one stream and following it alone to its source. It may be that Dame Adventure is shy and will not meet us all together, whereas to each of us apart she will bring some rare happening."
This saying pleased the other five, and they agreed at once. "Moreover," said
