"
Next day he set about it, and dug so far down in the ground that he
could hardly reach the top to climb out again; but not a drop of
water was found.
"Perhaps you did not dig deep enough," his wife said, when he told
her of his failure.
So the following day he made a long ladder, which he put into the
hole; and then he dug, and dug, and dug, until the top of the ladder
barely reached the top of the hole. But still there was no water.
When the woman next went to the brook with her pail she saw the
beetle sitting upon a stone beside her path. So she stopped and
said:
"My husband has dug the well; but there is no water."
"Did he put the pump in the well?" asked the beetle.
"No," she answered.
"Then do as I commanded; put in the pump, and if you do not get
water I promise you something still more precious."
Saying which, the beetle swiftly slid from the stone and
disappeared. The woman went back to the house and told her husband
what the bug had said.
"Well," replied the simple fellow, "there can be no harm in trying."
So he got the pump from the barn and placed it in the well, and then
he took hold of the handle and began to pump, while his wife stood
by to watch what would happen.
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