Andrew Lan's Twelve-Color Fairy Tale Series: Pink Fairy Tale Books

Chapter 3 The House in the Forest
Once upon a time, there was a poor woodcutter who lived with his wife and three daughters in a small hut near a big forest.

One morning, when the woodcutter was going to work, he said to his wife, "Ask my eldest daughter to send my lunch to the forest. In order to prevent her from getting lost, I will take a small bag of millet and sprinkle it on the road."

As the sun rose over the forest, the oldest daughter got up and started on the road with a can of soup.But the sparrows, skylarks, and greenbirds of the field and forest had already pecked the millet away, and the girl lost her way and lost her way.

She walked and walked until the sun went down and it was dark.The trees rustled in the dark, the owls hooted, and she was frightened.But at this moment, she vaguely saw a light in the forest in the distance.She thought: "Someone must live there, and I can stay overnight." So she walked towards the light.

Soon the girl came to a house with lights in the windows.She knocked on the door, and a rough voice called from inside, "Come in." The girl went into the hall, which was dark, and knocked on the door of the room. "Just come in." It was the same voice just now.She opened the door, and saw a white-haired old man sitting beside the table. He propped his face with his hands, and his white beard was so long that it was hanging down from the table, almost dragging it to the ground.

Three animals were lying by the fire: a cockerel, a hen, and a flower-cow.The girl told the old man about her experience of the day, hoping to stay here overnight.

The old man said: "A beautiful little rooster, a beautiful little hen, and a beautiful flower cow, do you agree or not?"

The three little ones replied, "Ducks!" which must have meant "We very much agree."Because the old man then said to the girl: "There are a lot of things here, you go to the back kitchen and cook us a dinner."

The girl saw so many delicious things in the kitchen, so she made a big dinner, but she didn't think about what the little ones liked to eat.

She filled the table with dishes, sat opposite the old man, and had a big meal.

After the good meal, she said, "Now I'm tired, where shall I sleep?"

The animals replied: "You have eaten enough with him, and you have drunk enough with him, but you have not thought about us at all, go to sleep wherever you should!"

The old man said: "Go upstairs, there is a room there, dust it off, put clean sheets on it, and then you can sleep."

The girl went up, made the bed, and fell asleep.

After a while, the white-haired old man came. He shone the light on the girl and shook his head.Confirming that the girl was fast asleep, he opened the cellar door and let her fall into the cellar.

The woodcutter came home very late and blamed his wife for keeping him hungry all day.

"No, I won't," the wife replied, "My daughter is going to bring you food. She must have lost her way, but she will definitely come back tomorrow."

At dawn, the woodcutter got up and went to work in the forest.This time he asked his second daughter to bring him meals.

"I'll take a bag of lentils this time," said the woodcutter. "The grains of lentils are bigger than millet. My daughter can see clearly and won't go wrong."

At noon, the second daughter sent food, but the lentils were gone.As on the first day, the forest birds ate up all the lentils, leaving not a single one.

The girl lost her way in the forest. Until night, she also came to the white-haired old man's house like her sister.She begged the old man to give herself something to eat, and hoped to stay there for the night.

The white-haired old man asked the three animals again: "The beautiful little rooster, the beautiful little hen, and the beautiful flower cow, do you agree or not?"

The animals answered again: "Dux." Everything was the same as the day before.

The girl cooked a good meal and ate and drank with the old man, regardless of the three animals.

When she asked herself where she should sleep, the animals replied: "You have eaten enough with him, and you have drunk enough with him, but you have not thought about us at all. Go to sleep wherever you should!"

When she fell asleep, the old man also shook his head at her, and let her fall into the cellar.

On the third morning, the woodcutter said to his wife, "Send our youngest daughter to bring me food today. She has always been obedient and obedient, and she will definitely walk on the right path, and will not be like a wild bumblebee like her two older sisters." run."

But my mother refused, she said: "Do you want me to lose my most beloved child?"

"Don't worry," replied the woodcutter, "my little girl is clever and won't get lost. I'll take more peas to scatter on the road. Peas are bigger than lentils, so that she can see clearly and find her way."

But when the little girl went out with a basket full of food, the pigeons in the forest had already swallowed the peas, and she didn't know where to go.The girl was very sad, and she kept thinking about her father who was hungry and her mother who was worried about herself.At last, when it was dark, she also saw the light, and came to the house of the old man with white hair in the forest.She politely asked herself if she could spend the night there, and the white-haired old man asked his three animals: "The beautiful little rooster, the beautiful little hen, and the beautiful flower cow, do you agree or not?"

The animals answered again, "Docks."

The girl came to the fire, and tenderly stroked the cockerel and the pullet, and gently tickled the flower-cow.

According to the old man's instructions, she also prepared a sumptuous dinner. When the dishes were put on the table, she said, "Don't tell the cute animals to eat nothing when I'm full? There's still a lot of food outside. I should take care of them first."

She went and got some barley, and put it before the cock and hen, and got a good handful of hay for the cow.

"Eat well, sweet little ones," she said, "I'm full and thirsty, and I'll give you water."

Then she went to fetch a bucket full of water, and the cockerel and pullet jumped up to the side of the bucket, put their beaks in, and threw up their heads like birds drinking water.The flower cow also drank enough.After the three little things were finished eating and drinking, the girl sat down beside the old man at the table and ate what he left for her.Soon, the little rooster and the pullet began to hide their heads under their wings to go to sleep, and the flower cow half-closed her eyes from sleepiness."Shouldn't we all rest now?" said the girl.

"The beautiful little rooster, the beautiful little hen, and the beautiful flower cow, do you agree or not?" the old man asked again.

All the animals said, "Ducks! You keep us well fed, you keep us well drunk, you take care of us well, and we wish you a good night's sleep!"

The girl went upstairs and made the bed, put on clean sheets, and went to sleep.She slept soundly, but in the middle of the night she was suddenly awakened by a loud noise in the room.Everything was trembling and shaking, and the violent shaking made the animals unable to stand up, unable to control themselves, and kept bumping into things and walls in the house.Can scare them!The girders of the house creaked and shook desperately, as if they were about to collapse, the stairs seemed to be about to collapse, and the entire roof kept shaking as if they would soon collapse with a bang!But strangely, everything returned to calm soon.The girl was safe and well, and seeing that everything was normal, she lay down and fell asleep again.

When the girl woke up the next day, it was already broad daylight, and she was stunned by what she saw as soon as she opened her eyes!Wow, what a magnificent palace!The light green walls are inlaid with flowers made of gold silk, so noble and elegant, the ivory bed is covered with a beautiful velvet quilt, and a pair of pearl-studded slippers are neatly placed on the stool next to it, dazzling and dazzling.The girl thought she was dreaming, when three well-dressed servants entered and asked her what she wanted.

"It's all right," answered the girl, "I'll get up and cook for the old man right away, and then I'll get something to eat for the beautiful little rooster, the beautiful hen, and the beautiful flower cow."

Then the door opened, and a very handsome young man came in, and he said to the girl, "I am a prince, who was bewitched into a gray old man by a wicked witch, and she made me live in the forest. I was only allowed to stay with three servants here, who were transformed into a cockerel, a pullet, and a flower-cow. We shall wait until a good girl comes, who must be kind to people and animals alike. Be kind, friendly, caring, and only in this way can the magic be broken. This kind girl is you! The magic was lifted in the middle of the night last night, and we all returned to our original state, and the house next to the forest became the palace again."

Later, the prince and the girl fell in love, and the prince ordered his three servants to take the girl's parents into the palace to attend their wedding.

"But where are my two sisters?" the girl asked the prince.

"I shut them up in the cellar, and to-morrow I send them to the forest, to toil at a charcoal burner, till they realize their error, and never let the poor animals go hungry again."

(End of this chapter)