net across the dusty road. He went out to him and asked:
“What are you doing?”
“Fishing.”
“Fishing in a dusty road? Are you daft?”
“Well,” the man said, “it’s just as easy for me to catch fish in a dusty road as it is for a wagon to foal.”
Then the burgomaster recognized the man as the owner of the mare and he had to confess that what he said was true.
“Of course the colt belongs to your mare and must be returned to you. But tell me,” he said, “who put you up to this? You didn’t think of it yourself.”
The farmer tried not to tell but the burgomaster questioned him until he found out that Manka was at the bottom of it. This made him very angry. He went into the house and called his wife.
“Manka,” he said, “do you forget what I told you would happen if you went interfering in any of my cases? Home you go this very day. I don’t care to hear any excuses. The matter is settled. You may take with you the one thing you like best in my house for I won’t have people saying that I treated you shabbily.”
