And after a while they heard something
come to the door; and the skull came in, and it got up on the table, and
it ate all the dinner that was there; and after that it went out again.
"Why didn't you speak to it?" said the farmer to the priest. "Why didn't
you speak to it yourself?" said the priest. "What will it do to me at
all when I go to see it to-morrow night?" said the farmer; "but I must
hold to my promise when it came here first."
'So the next evening he set out for the churchyard, and he could see
nothing at all in it. And then he went down three steps that were beside
the church; and presently he was in a field, and it full of men fighting
one against the other with spades and reaping-hooks. "Is it looking for
a head you are?" they said; "it's gone into that field beyond."
'So he went on into the other field; and it was full of men and women,
all of them fighting one against the other. "Are you looking for a
head?" they said; "it's after going into that field beyond."
'So he went into the third field; and there he saw a big house, and he
went into it. And he saw a fire on the hearth, and a lady in the room,
and a serving-girl. And the lady was walking up and down the room; and
whenever she would go near to the fire to warm herself, the serving-girl
would put her away from it.
'Then they said: "If it's for a head you're looking, it's within in the
room."
'So he went into the room; and the head was there before him, and it
asked him would he have some dinner; and he said he would, and it
brought him into a kitchen; and there were three women in it, and the
head bade one of them to give the man his dinner; and what she put
before him was a bit of brown bread and a jug of water, and he did not
think it worth his while to eat that; and then the head bade the second
woman to give him his dinner, and she gave him a worse dinner again; and
then the third woman was told to give it to him, and she spread a nice
table, and put the best of everything on it, and he ate and drank; and
then he asked the head what was the meaning of all he saw.
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