" Then he drew them through the village
in the same way, and when they were passing through puddles, he cried,
"Now we are going through wet clouds." And when at last he was dragging
them up the steps of the castle, he cried, "Now we are on the steps of
heaven, and will soon be in the outer court." When he had got to the top,
he pushed the sack into the pigeon-house, and when the pigeons fluttered
about, he said, "Hark how glad the angels are, and how they are flapping
their wings!" Then he bolted the door upon them, and went away.
Next morning he went to the count, and told him that he had performed
the third task also, and had carried the parson and clerk out of the
church. "Where hast thou left them?" asked the lord. "They are lying
upstairs in a sack in the pigeon-house, and imagine that they are in
heaven." The count went up himself, and convinced himself that the master
had told the truth. When he had delivered the parson and clerk from their
captivity, he said, "Thou art an arch-thief, and hast won thy wager. For
once thou escapest with a whole skin, but see that thou leavest my land,
for if ever thou settest foot on it again, thou may'st count on thy
elevation to the gallows.
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