Mr. Vinegar and His Fortune

      Mr. Vinegar gave him the bagpipes and drew the gloves on over his half frozen fingers. "How lucky I am," he said as he trudged（跋涉）homeward. His hands were soon quite warm, but the road was rough and the walking hard. He was very tired when he came to the foot of the steep hill. "How shall I ever get to the top?" he said. Just then he met a man who was walking the other way. He had a stick in his hand which he used as a cane to help him along.

      "My friend," said Mr. Vinegar, "if only I had that stick of yours to help me up this hill, I would be the happiest man in the world!"

      "How much will you give me for it?" asked the man.

      "Well, I have no money, but I will give you this pair of warm gloves," said Mr. Vinegar.

      "Well," said the man, "you may have it for I always like to oblige a friend."

      Mr. Vinegar's hands were now quite warm, so he gave the gloves to the man and took the stout（结实的）stick to help him along. "How lucky I am!'' he said as he toiled upward.

     At the top of the hill he stopped to rest. But as he was thinking of all his good luck that day, he heard someone calling his name. He looked up and saw only a green parrot sitting in a tree.

      "Mr. Vinegar, Mr. Vinegar," it cried.

      "What now?" said Mr. Vinegar.

      "You're a dunce（傻瓜）, you're a dunce!'' answered the bird, "you went to seek your fortune and you found it, then you gave it for a cow, and the cow for some bagpipes, and the bagpipes for some gloves, and the gloves for a stick which you might of cut by the roadside. He He He, you're a dunce! You're a dunce!''

      This made Mr. Vinegar very angry. He threw the stick at the bird with all his might. But the bird only answered, "You're a dunce! You're a dunce!" And the stick lodged in the tree where he could not get it again.

      Mr. Vinegar went on slowly for he had many things to think about. His wife was standing by the roadside and as soon as she saw him, she cried out, "Where's the cow? Where's the cow?"

      "Well, I just don't know where the cow is," said Mr. Vinegar. And then he told her the whole story.