The Big Oven
Once upon a time a man had a big house, and in the house there was a big oven; but this man’s family was small—only himself and his wife.
When winter came, the man tried to keep his oven going; and in one month he burnt up all his firewood. He had nothing to feed the fire, and it was cold.
Then the man began to break up his fences, and use the boards for fuel. When he had burnt up all of his fences, the house, now without any protection against the wind, was colder than ever, and still they had no firewood.
Then the man began to tear down the ceiling of his house, and burn that in the oven.
A neighbor noticed that he was tearing down his ceiling, and said to him:—