Imagine working for seven whole years! That's exactly what a young man named Hans did. When his time was up, his master said, "Hans, you've been a good worker. Here is your pay." And he gave Hans a lump of gold as big as his head!

Hans was happy. "This gold is heavy," he thought, as he started his journey home to his mother.
Soon, he saw a man riding a fine, prancing horse. "Oh!" thought Hans. "Riding is much better than walking with this heavy gold."
"Hello!" Hans called out. "Would you trade your horse for my gold?"
The man on the horse looked at the big lump of gold and said, "Gladly!"
So Hans gave him the gold and climbed onto the horse. "Giddy-up!" he shouted. But the horse bucked and threw Hans into a ditch! "Oof! This horse is too wild for me," Hans decided.

A little later, he met a farmer leading a cow. "Moo," said the cow.
"Aha!" thought Hans. "A cow gives milk, butter, and cheese! Much better than a wild horse."
So he asked the farmer, "Will you trade your cow for my horse?"
The farmer, happy to get a horse, agreed. Hans took the cow. But when he tried to milk her, she kicked him! And she gave no milk. "This cow is old and stubborn," sighed Hans.

Next, he met a butcher pushing a wheelbarrow with a fat pig in it. "Oink, oink!"
"A pig!" Hans thought. "Pork and sausages! Much tastier than an old cow that gives no milk."
He offered the cow to the butcher for the pig. The butcher laughed but made the trade.
Hans walked on, leading his pig.

Soon, he passed a boy carrying a fine white goose. "Honk, honk!"
"Hmm," Hans mused. "A goose can be roasted for a feast, and its feathers make soft pillows! Better than a pig, I think."
So he traded his pig for the boy's goose.
The goose was quite heavy to carry. As he walked, he saw a scissor-grinder with his sharpening stone. The stone went whirr, whirr.
"Now that's a good trade!" thought Hans. "If I have a sharpening stone, I can earn money wherever I go. And it won't try to run away or need feeding!"
He offered the goose for the grindstone. The scissor-grinder, thinking of a good dinner, happily agreed.

Hans picked up the heavy stone. "Phew, this is weighty!" he puffed. He walked and walked until he was very tired and thirsty. He came to a well. He put the heavy grindstone on the edge of the well while he bent down to drink.
But oops! He accidentally knocked the stone, and ker-PLUNK! It fell right into the deep well.
Hans watched it sink. Then, he jumped up and down with joy!
"Oh, I am the luckiest man in the world!" he cried. "That heavy stone was such a bother. Now I have nothing to carry, nothing to worry about! I am free!"
And with a light heart and empty hands, Hans skipped the rest of the way home to his mother, feeling perfectly happy.

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