A soldier had served a king his master many years, till at last he was turned off without pay or reward. How he should get his living he did not know: so he set out and journeyed homeward all the day in a very downcast mood, until in the evening he came to the edge of a deep wood. The road leading that way, he pushed forward, but he had not gone far before he saw a light glimmering through the trees, towards which he bent his weary steps; and soon came to a hut where no one lived but an old witch. The poor fellow begged for a night's lodging and something to eat and drink; but she would listen to nothing: however, he was not easily got rid of; and at last she said, "I think I will take pity on you this once: but if I do you must dig over all my garden for me in the morning." The soldier agreed very willingly to anything she asked, and he became her guest.
