60 Fairy Tales

beasts which lived in the forest, and when
the powder ran short there were traps and
snares to fall back upon, and at this work
his elder boys were almost as clever as
himself. But getting food was no doubt
a hard thing, especially in winter, when
the creatures went far themselves in search
of prey; and one very cold winter, when the
snow began early, and the man’s wife fell
ill, so that all the nursing and the cooking
came upon her husband, he began to lose
heart altogether, and at night when he sat
moodily watching the fire, after the chil-
dren had gone hungry to bed, his trouble
broke out.

“Wife,” he said, “it is of no use trying
to scramble on like this: there are too
many mouths to fill, and too little to put
into them.” And with that he stopped and
kicked one of the logs till the sparks
jumped right and left. Being a man he
wanted her to say something which he did
not like to say himself.

The poor soul looked sadly at him, tears