"Pretty little hen, Pretty little cock, And pretty brindled cow, Whatsay ye to that?"
"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 thefire, and cook us our supper." The girl found in the kitchen abundanceof everything, and cooked a good supper, but had no thought of theanimals. She carried the full dishes to the table, seated herself by thegray-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 liedown, and sleep?" The animals replied,
"Thou hast eaten with him, Thou hast drunk with him, Thou hast had nothought for us, So find out for thyself where thou canst pass the night."
Then said the old man, "Just go upstairs, and thou wilt find a room withtwo 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 hadshaken the beds and put clean sheets on, she lay down in one of themwithout waiting any longer for the old man. After some time, however,the gray-haired man came, took his candle, looked at the girl and shookhis head. When he saw that she had fallen into a sound sleep, he openeda trap-door, and let her down into the cellar.
Late at night the wood-cutter came home, and reproached his wife forleaving him to hunger all day. "It is not my fault," she replied, "thegirl went out with your dinner, and must have lost herself, but she issure to come back to-morrow." The wood-cutter, however, arose before dawnto go into the forest, and requested that the second daughter shouldtake him his dinner that day. "I will take a bag with lentils," saidhe; "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 outthe food, but the lentils had disappeared. The birds of the forest hadpicked them up as they had done the day before, and had left none. Thegirl wandered about in the forest until night, and then she too reachedthe house of the old man, was told to go in, and begged for food and abed. The man with the white beard again asked the animals,
"Pretty little hen, Pretty little cock, And pretty brindled cow, Whatsay ye to that?"
The animals again replied "Duks," and everything happened just as ithad happened the day before. The girl cooked a good meal, ate and drankwith the old man, and did not concern herself about the animals, andwhen she inquired about her bed they answered,
"Thou hast eaten with him, Thou hast drunk with him, Thou hast had nothought for us, To 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 youngestchild out with my dinner to-day, she has always been good and obedient,and will stay in the right path, and not run about after every wildhumble-bee, as her sisters did." 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 istoo prudent and sensible; besides I will take some peas with me, andstrew them about. They are still larger than lentils, and will showher 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 shedid not know which way she was to turn. She was full of sorrow andnever ceased to think how hungry her father would be, and how her goodmother 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 quiteprettily to be allowed to spend the night there, and the man with thewhite beard once more asked his animals,
"Pretty little hen, Pretty little cock, And beautiful brindled cow,
What say ye to that?"
"Duks," said they. Then the girl went to the stove where the animals werelying, and petted the cock and hen, and stroked their smooth featherswith 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 asI 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 andstewed it for the cock and hen, and a whole armful of sweet-smellinghay 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." Thenshe fetched in a bucketful of water, and the cock and hen jumped onto the edge of it and dipped their beaks in, and then held up theirheads as the birds do when they drink, and the brindled cow also took ahearty draught. When the animals were fed, the girl seated herself at thetable by the old man, and ate what he had left. It was not long beforethe 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?"
"Pretty little hen, Pretty little cock, And pretty brindled cow, Whatsay ye to that?"
The animals answered "Duks,"
"Thou hast eaten with us, Thou hast drunk with us, Thou hast had kindthought for all of us, We wish thee good-night."
Then the maiden went upstairs, shook the feather-beds, and laid cleansheets on them, and when she had done it the old man came and lay downon one of the beds, and his white beard reached down to his feet. Thegirl lay down on the other, said her prayers, and fell asleep.
She slept quietly till midnight, and then there was such a noise in thehouse that she awoke. There was a sound of cracking and splitting in everycorner, and the doors sprang open, and beat against the walls. The beamsgroaned as if they were being torn out of their joints, it seemed as ifthe staircase were falling down, and at length there was a crash as ifthe entire roof had fallen in. As, however, all grew quiet once more, andthe girl was not hurt, she stayed quietly lying where she was, and fellasleep again. But when she woke up in the morning with the brilliancy ofthe 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 ofshoes embroidered with pearls. The girl believed that she was in a dream,but three richly clad attendants came in, and asked what orders she wouldlike to give? "If you will go," she replied, "I will get up at once andmake ready some soup for the old man, and then I will feed the prettylittle hen, and the cock, and the beautiful brindled cow." She thoughtthe 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 inbed, 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 wasallowed 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 girlcame to us whose heart was so good that she showed herself full of love,not only towards mankind, but towards animals — and that thou hast done,and by thee at midnight we were set free, and the old hut in the forestwas 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 thefather and mother of the girl to the marriage feast. "But where are mytwo sisters?" inquired the maiden. "I have locked them in the cellar,and to-morrow they shall be led into the forest, and shall live asservants to a charcoal-burner, until they have grown kinder, and do notleave poor animals to suffer hunger."
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