There was a servant girl in the house, who always when she made the beds neglected to make Tom’s, and would have him to do it himself, well then, says Tom, I have harder work to do, and I shall do that too, so next day when Tom was in the field at the plough, when he saw his master coming from the house towards him, he then left the horses and the plough standing in the field, and goes away towards his master, who cried, What is wrong, or is any thing broke with you? No, no, says Tom, but I am going home to make my bed, it has not been made these two weeks, and just now is about the time, the maid makes all the rest, so I’ll go home and make mine too. No, no sirrah, go back to your plough, and I’ll cause it to be made every night to you. Then, says Tom, I’ll plough two or three furrows more in the time.[61]
There was a butcher came to his master’s and bought a fine fat calf, so Tom laid it on the horses neck before the butcher, and when he was gone, now, says Tom, what will you hold master, but I’ll steal that calf from the butcher before he goes two miles off? Why, says his master, I’ll hold a guinea you don’t; done, says Tom; in he goes, and gets a good shoe of his master’s, and runs off another way cross the fields until he got before the butcher: near to the corner of a hedge, where there was an open and turning of the way, here Tom darns himself behind the hedge, and throws the shoe in the middle of the highway, then up comes the butcher riding and his calf before him; hey, said he to himself, there’s a good shoe, if I knew how to get on my calf again I would alight for it but what signifies one without its neighbour? so off he goes and lets it lye. Tom then slips out and takes the shoe up again, and runs across the fields until he got in before the butcher at another part of the hedge, about half a mile distant, and there he throws the shoe out again in the midst of the way; then up comes the butcher, and seeing it, says to himself, now I shall have a pair of good shoes for the lifting: and down he comes, lays the calf on the ground, and tying his horse to the hedge, runs back, thinking to get the other shoe; in which time, Tom whips up the calf and shoe, and home he comes, demanding his wager, which his master could not deny, being so fairly won.