The Hut in the Forest
A poor wood-cutter lived with his wife and three daughters in a
little hut on the edge of a lonely forest. One morning as he was about to go to his work,
he said to his wife, let our eldest daughter bring me my dinner into the forest, or I
shall never get my work done, and in order that she may not miss her way, he added, I will
take a bag of millet with me and strew the seeds on the path. When, therefore, the sun was
just above the centre of the forest, the girl set out on her way with a bowl of soup, but
the field-sparrows, and wood-sparrows, larks and finches, blackbirds and siskins had
picked up the millet long before, and the girl could not find the track. Trusting to
chance, she went on and on, until the sun sank and night began to fall. The trees rustled
in the darkness, the owls hooted, and she began to be afraid. Then in the distance she
perceived a light which glimmered between the trees. There ought to be some people living
there, who can take me in for the night, thought she, and went up to the light. It was not
long before she came to a house the windows of which were all lighted up. She knocked, and
a rough voice from inside cried, come in. The girl stepped into the dark entrance, and
knocked at the door of the room. Just come in, cried the voice, and when she opened the
door, an old gray-haired man was sitting at the table, supporting his face with both
hands, and his white beard fell down over the table almost as far as the ground. By the
stove lay three animals, a hen, a cock, and a brindled cow. The girl told her story to the
old man, and begged for shelter for the night. The man said, my pretty hen, my pretty
cock, my pretty brindled cow, what are you saying now. Duks, answered the animals, and
that must have meant, we are willing, for the old man said, here you shall have shelter
and food, go to the fire, and cook us our supper. The girl found in the kitchen abundance
of everything, and cooked a good supper, but had no thought of the animals. She carried
the full bowl to the table, seated herself by the gray-haired man, ate and satisfied her
hunger. When she had had enough, she said, but now I am tired, where is there a bed in
which I can lie down, and sleep. The animals replied, thou hast eaten with him, thou hast
drunk with him, thou hast had no thought for us, so find out for thyself where thou canst
pass the night. Then said the old man, just go upstairs, and you will find a room with two
beds, shake them up, and put white linen on them, and then I, too, will come and lie down
to sleep. The girl went up, and when she had shaken the beds and put clean sheets on, she
lay down in one of them without waiting any longer for the old man. After some time the
gray-haired man came, held his candle over the girl and shook his head. When he saw that
she had fallen into a sound sleep, he opened a trap-door, and let her down into the
cellar. Late at night, the wood-cutter came home, and reproached his wife for leaving him
to hunger all day. It is not my fault, she replied, the girl went out with your dinner,
and must have lost herself, but surely she will come back to-morrow. The wood-cutter,
however, arose before dawn to go into the forest, and requested that the second daughter
should take him his dinner that day. I will take a bag with lentils, said he, the seeds
are larger than millet, the girl will see them better, and can't lose her way. At
dinner-time, therefore, the girl took out the food, but the lentils had disappeared. The
birds of the forest had picked them up as they had done the day before, and had left none.
The girl wandered about in the forest until night, and then she too reached the house of
the old man, was told to go in, and begged for food and a bed. The man with the white
beard again asked the animals, my pretty hen, my pretty cock, my pretty brindled cow, what
are you saying now. The animals again replied 'duks, and everything happened just as it
had happened the day before. The girl cooked a good meal, ate and drank with the old man,
and did not concern herself about the animals, and when she inquired about her bed they
answered, thou hast eaten with him, thou hast drunk with him, thou hast had no thought for
us, so find out for thyself where thou canst pass the night. When she was asleep the old
man came, looked at her, shook his head, and let her down into the cellar. On the third
morning the wood-cutter said to his wife, send our youngest child out with my dinner
to-day, she has always been good and obedient, and will stay in the right path, and not
rove about like her sisters, the wild bumble-bees. The mother did not want to do it, and
said, am I to lose my dearest child, as well. Have no fear, he replied, the girl will not
go astray. She is too prudent and sensible. Besides I will take some peas with me, strew
them about. They are still larger than lentils, and will show her the way. But when the
girl went out with her basket on her arm, the wood-pigeons had already got all the peas in
their crops, and she did not know which way she was to turn. She was full of sorrow and
never ceased to think how hungry her father would be, and how her good mother would
grieve, if she did not go home. At length when it grew dark, she saw the light and came to
the house in the forest. She begged quite prettily to be allowed to spend the night there,
and the man with the white beard again asked his animals, my pretty hen, my pretty cock,
my pretty brindled cow, what are you saying now. Duks, said they. Then the girl went to
the stove where the animals were lying, and petted the cock and hen, and stroked their
smooth feathers with her hand, and caressed the brindled cow between her horns, and when,
in obedience to the old man's orders, she had made ready some good soup, and the bowl was
placed upon the table, she said, am I to eat as much as I want, and the good animals to
have nothing. Outside is food in plenty, I will look after them first. So she went and
brought some barley and stewed it for the cock and hen, and a whole armful of
sweet-smelling hay for the cow. I hope you will like it, dear animals, said she, and you
shall have a refreshing draught in case you are thirsty. Then she fetched a bucketful of
water, and the cock and hen jumped on to the edge of it and dipped their beaks in, and
then held up their heads as the birds do when they drink, and the brindled cow also took a
hearty draught. When the animals were fed, the girl seated herself at the table by the old
man, and ate what he had left. It was not long before the cock and the hen began to thrust
their heads beneath their wings, and the eyes of the cow likewise began to blink. Then
said the girl, ought we not to go to bed. My pretty hen, my pretty cock, my pretty
brindled cow, what are you saying now. The animals answered, duks, thou hast eaten with
us, thou hast drunk with us, thou hast had kind thought for all of us, we wish thee
good-night. Then the maiden went upstairs, shook the feather-beds, and laid clean sheets
on them, and when she had done it the old man came and lay down in one of the beds, and
his white beard reached down to his feet. The girl lay down on the other, said her
prayers, and fell asleep.
She slept quietly till midnight, and then there was such a noise in
the house that she awoke. There was a sound of cracking and splitting in every corner, and
the doors sprang open, and beat against the walls. The beams groaned as if they were being
torn out of their joints, it seemed as if the staircase were falling down, and at length
there was a crash as if the entire roof had fallen in. When, however, all grew quiet once
more, and the girl was not hurt, she stayed quietly lying where she was, and fell asleep
again. But when she woke up in the morning with the brilliancy of the sunshine, what did
her eyes behold. She was lying in a vast hall, and everything around her shone with royal
splendor. On the walls, golden flowers grew up on a ground of green silk, the bed was of
ivory, and the canopy of red velvet, and on a chair close by, was a pair of slippers
embroidered with pearls. The girl believed that she was in a dream, but three richly clad
attendants came in, and asked what orders she would like to give. If you will go, she
replied, I will get up at once and make ready some soup for the old man, and then I will
feed the pretty hen, and the pretty cock, and the pretty brindled cow. She thought the old
man was up already, and looked round at his bed. He, however, was not lying in it, but a
stranger.
And while she was looking at him, and becoming aware that he was
young and handsome, he awoke, sat up in bed, and said, I am a king's son, and was
bewitched by a wicked witch, and made to live in this forest, as an old gray-haired man.
No one was allowed to be with me but my three attendants in the form of a cock, a hen, and
a brindled cow. The spell was not to be broken until a girl came to us whose heart was so
good that she showed herself full of love, not only towards mankind, but towards animals -
and that you have done, and by you at midnight we were set free, and the old hut in the
forest was changed back again into my royal palace. And when they had arisen, the king's
son ordered the three attendants to set out and fetch the father and mother of the girl to
the marriage feast. But where are my two sisters, inquired the maiden. I have locked them
in the cellar, and to-morrow they shall be led into the forest, and shall live as servants
to a charcoal-burner, until they have grown kinder, and do not leave poor animals to
suffer hunger.
--The End-- |
