The Wicked Stepmother

There was once on a time a stepmother who hated her step-daughter

exceedingly, because she was more beautiful than her own daughter whom

she had brought with her into the house. By-and-by, the father learned

also to hate his own child: he scolded her, and beat her, in order to

please his wife. One day his wife said to him, 'Let us send your

daughter away! Let her look out for herself in the world!' Upon this

the man asked, 'Where can we send her? Where can the poor girl go

alone?' To this the wife answered, 'If you will not do this, husband,

I will no longer live with you. You had better take her to-morrow out

of the house. You can lead her into the forest, and then steal away

from her and hurry home!' She repeated this so often that at length he

consented, but said, 'At least prepare the girl something for her

journey, that she may not die the first day of hunger.'

The stepmother thereupon made a cake, and, the next morning early, the

father led the girl far away into the very heart of the forest, and

there left her and went back home.

The poor girl, thus left alone, wandered all day about the wood

seeking for a path, but could find no way out of it. When it grew dark

she got up into a tree to pass the night, fearing lest some wild

beasts would eat her if she remained on the ground. And, indeed, all

night long the wolves were howling under the tree, so that the poor

girl trembled so much that she could hardly keep her herself from

falling. When day dawned she descended from the tree and walked on

again, hoping to find some way out of the forest. But the wood grew

thicker and thicker, and seemed to have no end. In the evening whilst

she was looking for a tree in which she might remain safely over the

night, all at once she saw something shining in the forest. So she

went on, hoping to find some shelter, and at length came to a fine

large house. The gates were open, so she went in, and walked through a

great many rooms, each one more beautiful than the other. On a table

in one room she found a candle burning. She thought this must be the

house of some robbers; but she was not afraid, for she reasoned with

herself, 'Rich men have reason to fear robbers, but I have none--I

will tell them that I will serve them gladly for a piece of bread.'

She then took the cake from her bag, said grace, and began to eat.

Just as she had begun to eat a cock came into the room, and sprung

upon the table to reach the cake, so the girl crumbled some of it for

him. Then a little dog came in and jumped quite friendly upon her, so

she broke a piece from her cake for the little dog, and took him on

her knee, and petted and fed him. After that came in a cat also, and

the girl fed her too.

At length the girl heard a loud noise as if some great beast was

coming, and was greatly frightened when a lion came into the room. But

the lion moved his tail in such a friendly way, and looked so very

kindly, that she took heart, and offered him a piece of her cake. The

lion took it and began to lick her hand, and the girl had no longer

any fear of him, so she stroked him gently and fed him with the rest

of the cake. Suddenly she heard a great noise of weapons, and almost

swooned as a creature in a bear-skin entered the room. The cock, the

dog, the cat, and the lion, all ran to it, and jumped about it

affectionately, showing in all possible ways their great joy. The poor

girl thought it a very strange beast, and expected it would jump upon

her and kill her. But the fearful thing threw the bear-skin from its

head and shoulders, and all the room shone and glittered with its

golden garments. The poor girl almost lost her senses when she saw

before her a handsome man, beautifully dressed. But he came up to her

and said, 'Don't be afraid, my dear! I am not a bad man, I am the son

of the king, and when I wish to hunt I come here and use this

bear-skin as a disguise lest the people should recognise me. Those who

see me believe that I am a ghost and run away from me. No one dares to

come into this house, knowing that I often come here. You are the only

person who has ventured in. How did you know that I am not a ghost?'

Then she told him she had never heard of him nor of the house, but

that her stepmother had driven her away from home, and she told him

all that had happened to her. When he heard this, he was very sorry,

and said, 'Your stepmother hated you, but God has been kind to you. I

will marry you if you are willing to be my wife--will you consent?'

'Yes!' she replied. Next day he took her to his father's palace and

married her. After some time she begged to be allowed to go to see her

father. So her husband allowed her to go, and she dressed herself all

in gold and went to her father's house. The father happened to be away

from home, and the stepmother, seeing her coming, was afraid lest she

had come to revenge herself. So she hurried to meet her and said, 'You

see that it was I who sent you on the road to happiness.' The

step-daughter kissed her, and embraced her step-sister. Then the girl

said she was very sorry that she had not found her father at home,

and, on her going away, she gave plenty of money to her stepmother.

When, however, she had gone away the stepmother shook her fist after

her and cried, 'Wait a little, you shall not be the only one so

dressed out; to-morrow I will send my own daughter after you the same

way!'

When her husband came home at night she told him all that had

happened, and said, 'What do you think, husband? would it not be a

good thing to send my girl also into the wood to try her fortune; for

your girl, whom we sent there, never came back until now, and now she

has come glittering in gold?'

The man sighed and agreed to the proposal. Next day the stepmother

prepared for her daughter plenty of cakes and roasted meats, and then

sent her with the father into the forest. The man led her deep into

the forest, as he had done his own daughter, and there left her.

Finding the father did not return, she began to seek a way to get

home, and soon came in sight of the house in the forest. She entered

it, and seeing no one, fastened the door inside, saying as she did so,

'If God himself comes I will not open to Him.' Then she took out of

her bag the baked meats and cakes and began to eat. Whilst she was

eating, the cock, the dog, and the cat came in suddenly, and began to

play about her affectionately, hoping she would give them something;

but she became quite angry, and exclaimed, 'The devil take you! I have

hardly enough for myself: do you think I will give any to you?' Then

she began to beat them; whereat the dog howled, and the lion hearing

it rushed in furiously, caught the girl and killed her.

Next day the king's son came with his wife to hunt. She immediately

recognised her sister's dress, and gathered together the fragments of

the body, which she took to her stepmother. She found her father at

home this time, and he was greatly pleased to hear that his daughter

was married to the king's son. When, however, he heard what had

happened with the daughter of his wife, he was very sorry, but said,

'Her mother has deserved this from the hand of God, because she hated

you without a cause. There she is at the well, I will go and tell

her.'

When the stepmother heard what had happened to her daughter, she said

to her husband, 'I cannot bear your daughter! I cannot bear to look at

her! Let us kill her and her husband. If you will not consent, I will

jump down into this well!' 'I cannot kill my own child,' returned he.

'Well, then,' cried she, 'if _you_ will not kill her, _I_ cannot

endure her!' and so she jumped down into the well.