"I will bring him to life again," said Ulenspiegel.
"Bring him to life!" said she. "And he will fawn on me again, and he will look at me again, and he will lick me again, and he will wag his poor old stump of a tail again when he looks at me! Do this, master doctor, and thou shalt have dined here gratis, a most costly dinner, and I shall give thee a florin still over and above the bargain."
"I will bring him to life again," said Ulenspiegel; "but I must have hot water, syrup to glue the seams together, a needle and thread and sauce from the carbonadoes; and I would be alone during the operation."
The old woman gave him what he asked for; he took up the skin of the dead dog and went off to the stable.
There he smeared the old dog's muzzle with sauce, and the brute submitted to it with delight; he drew a great stripe of syrup under his belly, put syrup on his paws and sauce on his tail.
Then crying out loudly three times, he said: "Staet op! staet op! ik bevel 't, vuilen hond!"
And then lightly putting the dead dog's skin in his satchel he fetched the living dog a great kick and so pitched him into the inn chamber.
The old woman, seeing her dog alive and licking himself, was eager to embrace him; but Ulenspiegel did not permit this.
"You may not," said he, "caress this dog until he has washed off with his tongue all the syrup with which he is anointed; only then will the seams in the skin be closed up. Count out to me now my ten florins."
"One for the operation, nine for the resurrection," replied Ulenspiegel.
She counted them out to him. Ulenspiegel went off, flinging into the inn chamber the skin of the dead dog and saying:
"There, woman, keep his old skin: it will serve you to patch up the new one when it will have holes in it."
On that Sunday at Bruges was held the procession of the Blessed Blood. Claes said to his wife and to Nele to go to see it and that mayhap they might find Ulenspiegel in the town. As for himself, said he, he would keep the cottage if the pilgrim should perchance return thither.
The two women went off together; Claes, remaining at Damme, sate on the doorstep and found the town very empty and deserted. He heard nothing except the crystalline chime of some village bell, while from Bruges there came to him by fits and starts the music of the carillons and a great din of falconets and fireworks let off in honour of the Blessed Blood.