When he got there he took an ax and killed his old grandmother; then he dumped the poor old woman’s body in his carriage and drove into town. He went at once to the apothecary and asked if he wanted to buy a corpse.

“Who is it and where did you get it from?” the apothecary inquired.

“Oh, it is my grandmother, and I have killed her so I could sell her body for a bushel of money,” Big Claus said.

“God save us!” cried the apothecary. “You don’t know what you’re saying.… If you talk like that you’ll lose your head.” And the apothecary lectured him, telling him how wicked a crime murder was and that it was committed only by the most evil of men, who deserved the severest punishment. Big Claus was terrified and leaped into his carriage. He set off in the direction of his home, wildly whipping his horses. But no one tried to stop him, for everyone believed that he had gone mad.

“I’ll make you pay for this!” Big Claus cried as soon as he was well out of town. “Little Claus is going to pay for this,” he repeated when he got home. Then he took a large sack and went to see Little Claus.

“So you fooled me again!” he shouted. “First I killed my horses and then my grandmother; and it’s all your fault. But you have fooled me for the last time!” Grabbing Little Claus around the waist, he shoved him into the sack. As he flung the sack over his shoulder he said loudly, “And now I am going to drown you!”

It was quite far to the river, and as he walked the sack with Little Claus in it seemed to grow heavier and heavier. The road went past the church, and Big Claus heard the organ being played and the congregation singing. “It would be nice to hear a hymn or two before I go on,” he thought. “Everybody’s in church and Little Claus can’t get out of the sack.” So Big Claus put down the sack near the entrance and went into the church.

“Poor me! Poor me!” sighed Little Claus. He twisted and turned but he could not loosen the cord that had been tied around the opening of the sack.

At that moment an old herdsman happened to pass. He had snow-white hair and walked with a long crook. In front of him he drove a large herd of cows and bulls. One of the bulls bumped into the sack and Little Claus was turned over.

“Poor me! Poor me!” cried Little Claus. “I am so young and am already bound for heaven.”

“Think of poor me; I am an old man,” said the herdsman, “and am not allowed to enter it.”

“Open up the sack!” shouted Little Claus. “You get inside it, instead of me, and then you will get to heaven right away!”

“Nothing could be better,” said the old man. He untied the sack and Little Claus crawled out at once.

“Take good care of my cattle,” the herdsman begged as he climbed into the sack. Little Claus promised that he would and tied the sack securely. Then he went on his way, driving the herd before him.

A little later Big Claus came out of the church and lifted the sack onto his back. He was surprised how much lighter it was now, for the old man weighed only half as much as Little Claus.

“How easy it is to carry now; it did do me good to hear a hymn!” he thought.

Big Claus went directly down to the river that was both deep and wide and dumped the sack into the water, shouting after it: “You have made a fool of me for the last time!” For of course he believed that Little Claus was still inside the sack that was disappearing into the river.

On his way home he met Little Claus with all his cattle at the crossroads.

“What!” exclaimed Big Claus. “Haven’t I drowned you?”

“Oh yes,” answered Little Claus, “You threw me in the river about half an hour ago.”

“But where did you get that huge herd of cattle?” Big Claus demanded.

“They are river cattle,” replied Little Claus. “I’ll tell you everything that happened to me. But, by the way, first I want to thank you for drowning me. For now I shall never have anything to worry about again, I am really rich.… Believe me, I was frightened when you threw me over the bridge. The wind whistled in my ears as I fell into the cold water. I sank straight to the bottom; but I didn’t hurt myself because I landed on the softest, most beautiful green grass you can imagine.