A shepherd's dog had a master who took no care of him, but often let himsuffer the greatest hunger. At last he could bear it no longer; so hetook to his heels, and off he ran in a very sad and sorrowful mood.On the road he met a sparrow that said to him, 'Why are you so sad,my friend?' 'Because,' said the dog, 'I am very very hungry, and havenothing to eat.' 'If that be all,' answered the sparrow, 'come with meinto the next town, and I will soon find you plenty of food.' So on theywent together into the town: and as they passed by a butcher's shop,the sparrow said to the dog, 'Stand there a little while till I peck youdown a piece of meat.' So the sparrow perched upon the shelf: and havingfirst looked carefully about her to see if anyone was watching her, shepecked and scratched at a steak that lay upon the edge of the shelf,till at last down it fell. Then the dog snapped it up, and scrambledaway with it into a corner, where he soon ate it all up. 'Well,' saidthe sparrow, 'you shall have some more if you will; so come with me tothe next shop, and I will peck you down another steak.' When the dog hadeaten this too, the sparrow said to him, 'Well, my good friend, have youhad enough now?' 'I have had plenty of meat,' answered he, 'but I shouldlike to have a piece of bread to eat after it.' 'Come with me then,'said the sparrow, 'and you shall soon have that too.' So she took himto a baker's shop, and pecked at two rolls that lay in the window, tillthey fell down: and as the dog still wished for more, she took him toanother shop and pecked down some more for him. When that was eaten, thesparrow asked him whether he had had enough now. 'Yes,' said he; 'andnow let us take a walk a little way out of the town.' So they both wentout upon the high road; but as the weather was warm, they had not gonefar before the dog said, 'I am very much tired--I should like to take anap.' 'Very well,' answered the sparrow, 'do so, and in the meantimeI will perch upon that bush.' So the dog stretched himself out on theroad, and fell fast asleep. Whilst he slept, there came by a carter witha cart drawn by three horses, and loaded with two casks of wine. Thesparrow, seeing that the carter did not turn out of the way, but wouldgo on in the track in which the dog lay, so as to drive over him, calledout, 'Stop! stop! Mr Carter, or it shall be the worse for you.' But thecarter, grumbling to himself, 'You make it the worse for me, indeed!what can you do?' cracked his whip, and drove his cart over the poordog, so that the wheels crushed him to death. 'There,' cried thesparrow, 'thou cruel villain, thou hast killed my friend the dog. Nowmind what I say. This deed of thine shall cost thee all thou art worth.''Do your worst, and welcome,' said the brute, 'what harm can you do me?'and passed on. But the sparrow crept under the tilt of the cart, andpecked at the bung of one of the casks till she loosened it; and thenall the wine ran out, without the carter seeing it. At last he lookedround, and saw that the cart was dripping, and the cask quite empty.'What an unlucky wretch I am!' cried he. 'Not wretch enough yet!' saidthe sparrow, as she alighted upon the head of one of the horses, andpecked at him till he reared up and kicked. When the carter saw this,he drew out his hatchet and aimed a blow at the sparrow, meaning to killher; but she flew away, and the blow fell upon the poor horse's headwith such force, that he fell down dead. 'Unlucky wretch that I am!'cried he. 'Not wretch enough yet!' said the sparrow. And as the carterwent on with the other two horses, she again crept under the tilt of thecart, and pecked out the bung of the second cask, so that all the wineran out. When the carter saw this, he again cried out, 'Miserable wretchthat I am!' But the sparrow answered, 'Not wretch enough yet!' andperched on the head of the second horse, and pecked at him too. Thecarter ran up and struck at her again with his hatchet; but away sheflew, and the blow fell upon the second horse and killed him on thespot. 'Unlucky wretch that I am!' said he. 'Not wretch enough yet!' saidthe sparrow; and perching upon the third horse, she began to peck himtoo. The carter was mad with fury; and without looking about him, orcaring what he was about, struck again at the sparrow; but killed histhird horse as he done the other two. 'Alas! miserable wretch that Iam!' cried he. 'Not wretch enough yet!' answered the sparrow as she flewaway; 'now will I plague and punish thee at thy own house.' Thecarter was forced at last to leave his cart behind him, and to go homeoverflowing with rage and vexation. 'Alas!' said he to his wife, 'whatill luck has befallen me!--my wine is all spilt, and my horses all threedead.' 'Alas! husband,' replied she, 'and a wicked bird has come intothe house, and has brought with her all the birds in the world, I amsure, and they have fallen upon our corn in the loft, and are eating itup at such a rate!' Away ran the husband upstairs, and saw thousands ofbirds sitting upon the floor eating up his corn, with the sparrow in themidst of them. 'Unlucky wretch that I am!' cried the carter; for he sawthat the corn was almost all gone. 'Not wretch enough yet!' said thesparrow; 'thy cruelty shall cost thee thy life yet!' and away she flew.

The carter seeing that he had thus lost all that he had, went downinto his kitchen; and was still not sorry for what he had done, but sathimself angrily and sulkily in the chimney corner. But the sparrow saton the outside of the window, and cried 'Carter! thy cruelty shall costthee thy life!' With that he jumped up in a rage, seized his hatchet,and threw it at the sparrow; but it missed her, and only broke thewindow. The sparrow now hopped in, perched upon the window-seat, andcried, 'Carter! it shall cost thee thy life!' Then he became mad andblind with rage, and struck the window-seat with such force that hecleft it in two: and as the sparrow flew from place to place, the carterand his wife were so furious, that they broke all their furniture,glasses, chairs, benches, the table, and at last the walls, withouttouching the bird at all. In the end, however, they caught her: and thewife said, 'Shall I kill her at once?' 'No,' cried he, 'that is lettingher off too easily: she shall die a much more cruel death; I will eather.' But the sparrow began to flutter about, and stretch out her neckand cried, 'Carter! it shall cost thee thy life yet!' With that hecould wait no longer: so he gave his wife the hatchet, and cried, 'Wife,strike at the bird and kill her in my hand.' And the wife struck; butshe missed her aim, and hit her husband on the head so that he fell downdead, and the sparrow flew quietly home to her nest.