The logic of it was this: The cattle that
had been worked the whole of the day were, to be sure, earning their
fodder for the day. And the owners felt under obligation and
necessity to feed them during their working hours. But how about
the night, when the animals rested, and did no work? Where should
the fodder for the night time come from? So the custom developed of
letting the animals browse in some neighbor's meadow during the
night. That was cheaper. But that neighbor also had cattle; he,
too, had horses that did not earn their feed during the night. Do
you know what the neighbor did? He did the same. He, too, sent out
his horses stealthily, into his neighbor's meadow. So, in the long
run, every one had his cattle browse secretly in some neighbor's
meadow, and all were happy. But when the trespassing shepherd
happened to be caught poaching, he got a whipping. And yet,
strictly speaking, it was not stealing; it was a mere usage. The
land-owners seemed to have agreed beforehand: "If you happen to
catch my shepherd poaching, you may whip him, provided you do not
object if I give a whipping to your shepherd on a similar occasion.
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