All the
same, how much might you be disposed to offer me for this beautiful
young horse of mine?'
The gipsy looked the horse over, and then he looked Toad over with
equal care, and looked at the horse again. 'Shillin' a leg,' he said
briefly, and turned away, continuing to smoke and try to stare the
wide world out of countenance.
'A shilling a leg?' cried Toad. 'If you please, I must take a little
time to work that out, and see just what it comes to.'
He climbed down off his horse, and left it to graze, and sat down by
the gipsy, and did sums on his fingers, and at last he said, 'A
shilling a leg? Why, that comes to exactly four shillings, and no
more. O, no; I could not think of accepting four shillings for this
beautiful young horse of mine.'
'Well,' said the gipsy, 'I'll tell you what I will do. I'll make it
five shillings, and that's three-and-sixpence more than the animal's
worth. And that's my last word.'
Then Toad sat and pondered long and deeply. For he was hungry and
quite penniless, and still some way--he knew not how far--from home,
and enemies might still be looking for him.
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