" "Oh, but you
are speaking in ignorance," answered the man; "with me you would learn
a very different kind of tailoring, which is respectable and proper,
and for the most part very honorable." So he let himself be persuaded,
and went with the man, and learnt his art from the very beginning.
When they parted, the man gave the youth a needle, and said, "With this
you can sew together whatever is given you, whether it is as soft as
an egg or as hard as steel; and it will all become one piece of stuff,
so that no seam will be visible."
When the appointed four years were over, the four brothers arrived
at the same time at the cross-roads, embraced and kissed each other,
and returned home to their father. "So now," said he, quite delighted,
"the wind has blown you back again to me." They told him of all that had
happened to them, and that each had learnt his own trade. Now they were
sitting just in front of the house under a large tree, and the father
said, "I will put you all to the test, and see what you can do." Then he
looked up and said to his second son, "Between two branches up at the top
of this tree, there is a chaffinch's nest, tell me how many eggs there are
in it?" The astronomer took his glass, looked up, and said, "There are
five.
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