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What the farmer said was true. The ring really brought them good fortune. But they both still worked hard all day. And in the evening the farmer usually sat on the steps, smoked his pipe and talked with his neighbours.

The years went by, their children grew up, but the farmer still kept his wish. Sometimes his wife spoke to him about it, but he always answered,

“No, no, my dear. We have still a lot of time. We must not use our wishing ring yet.”

At last she saw that she couldn’t make him use the ring and gave up speaking about it. Though the farmer often looked at his ring and even turned it on his finger, he never said a wish. Thirty, forty years went by. The farmer and his wife grew old, their hair was white as snow.

And so they lived happily on till one day, when they both died together, at the same time. Their children and grand-children stood around them and cried. The youngest son wanted to take the ring from the father’s finger as a remembrance; but the eldest son said,

“No, don’t take the ring. Let our dear Father keep it. He liked it so much. And Mother also often looked at it. Perhaps she once gave it to Father, when they were young.”

So they left the ring on the finger of the old farmer, who always thought it was a wishing ring, though it was not. And yet the ring had brought him as much happiness as a man could wish. Indeed, a bad thing in good hands is better than a good thing in bad hands.

Binnorie

Once upon a time there were two king’s daughters. They lived in a bower near the bonny mill-dams of Binnorie. And Sir William came wooing the eldest and won her love and plighted troth with glove and with ring. But after a time he looked upon the youngest, with her cherry cheeks and golden hair, and his love grew towards her till he cared no longer for the eldest one. So she hated her sister for taking away Sir William’s love, and day by day her hate grew upon her, and she plotted and she planned how to get rid of her.

So one fine morning, fair and clear, she said to her sister, “Let us go and see our father’s boats come in at the bonny mill-stream of Binnorie.” So they went there hand in hand. And when they got to the river’s bank the youngest got upon a stone to watch for the coming of the boats. And her sister, coming behind her, caught her round the waist and dashed her into the rushing mill-stream of Binnorie.

“O sister, sister, reach me your hand!” she cried, as she floated away, “and you shall have half of all I’ve got or shall get.”

“No, sister, I’ll reach you no hand of mine, for I am the heir to all your land. Shame on me if I touch the hand that has come ’twixt me and my own heart’s love.”

“O sister, O sister, then reach me your glove!” she cried, as she floated further away, “and you shall have your William again.”