"Where did you get this wood?" cried the woman angrily. "There are only roses in the garden. Where have you been?"
She seized Pedro roughly by the collar of his new coat and shook him until his teeth chattered. He looked up into the saint's eyes. St. Anthony's face was stern.
"Stop, woman!" cried the voice which a moment before had been so kind and gentle. Now it thundered forth in stern accents. "This little lad has done no harm. You have been guilty of a desire to bring harm to him, For this cruelty take the punishment which you so richly merit. It is you who have sent this child out into the night. Now it is I who sends you out into the night."
From that moment Pedro's stepmother was no longer a woman. She was changed into an owl with her eyes the big round circles they had looked when she had gazed up into the fierce face of angry St. Anthony. To this very day the owl has to fly by night.
_The Story of a Man Who Outfitted Another_
Once upon a time there was a laborer who said to his master:
"Very well," said his master. "The part which grows above the ground shall be mine and you shall have in payment for your labor the part which grows below the ground."
He planted the fields with potatoes. His master had nothing but the tops outside the earth. The laborer harvested many baskets of potatoes that year and sold them for a goodly sum. The master was angry because of this.
"Next harvest time," said he, "we'll see about things! You shall give me what grows below the ground and keep for yourself what grows above."
"Agreed," said the laborer. "That is perfectly fair to me."
The laborer planted the fields with wheat. His master had nothing but the roots, while he harvested a rich crop of wheat which he sold for much money.
"Don't be afraid," said his wife. "When your master comes let me talk to him."
The woman gashed her face and hands with the pruning knife.
The master came to the door and she opened it.
"He is sharpening his nails," said she. "See what ugly scratches I already have upon my hands and face."
The master went away without punishing the laborer.
_The Story of a Maid Who Was Betrothed to One She Trusted_
There was once upon a time a fair maid who lived in the island of Fayal. She was betrothed to a young man of the same island. One day she fell ill with a disease which baffled the skill of all the physicians. Their arts, the mourning of her betrothed, the prayers and tears of her mother, all seemed of no avail. It appeared that the fair maid would die.