Lilac Fairy Book

Chapter 41 Purple Berry Worm

"Bah!" Lisa exclaimed.

"Wow!" Ina yelled.

"What's the matter?" asked the eldest sister.

"A bug!" Lisa replied.

"On the berry!" Ina replied.

"Kill it!" Otto yelled.

"Is a small bug worth making a fuss about?" the eldest sister said mockingly.

"That's right, after we cleaned the purple berries carefully." Lisa replied.

"Crawled out of the biggest one," Ina put in.

"Suppose someone ate the purple berries," Lisa said.

"Then they eat the bugs too," Ina said.

"Really, so what?" Otto asked.

"Eat bugs!" Lisa screamed.

"Killed it in one bite!" Ina grumbled.

"Imagine it!" Otto said with a smile.

"Bugs are crawling on the table!" Aina cried again.

"Blow it off!" the eldest sister ordered.

"Stamp it to death!" Otto laughed.

Lisa picked up a purple berry leaf and carefully swept the worms over the leaf and carried it to the yard.Ina noticed a sparrow on the fence and was about to pounce on the little bug, so she took the leaves and sent the bug into the woods, where it hid itself under a bunch of purple berries so that the greedy sparrows would not find it.Yes, but what else is there to say about a purple berry bug?I'd give three straws for the poor little thing?Yes, but who wouldn't want to live in a home like a bug, in that fresh, fragrant dark red house, in a quiet forest, surrounded by flowers and greenery?

It was now lunch time, so they had raspberries and cream for lunch. "Be careful when putting sugar, Otto." The elder sister scolded.Otto's dinner plate is like a snowdrift in winter, with only a little red under the white snow.

Not long after lunch, the eldest sister said: "We have eaten all the purple berries, and none of them are left to make berry jam for winter. We'd better pick two baskets of purple berries, wash them at night, and cook them in the pot tomorrow." Now, make raspberry jam for bread."

"Come on, let's go pick purple berries in the woods." Lisa shouted.

"Okay, let's go," Ina echoed, "You take the yellow basket, and I'll get the green one."

"Don't get lost, come back safe and sound at night." The eldest sister ordered.

"Say hello to that purple berry bug," joked Otto, "next time I see him, I'll definitely do him a favor and eat him."

So Ina and Lisa went to the woods.what!What a joy to be in the woods!how beautiful!Sure, climbing over a fallen tree, or getting snagged on a branch, or fighting acacias and midges can be a nuisance sometimes, but what does it matter?The girl wore a short skirt and soon reached the depths of the woods.

There were plenty of lingonberries and elderberries in the woods, but no purpleberries.They go and go, and they come to... no, that can't be true! ...they came to a big purple berry grove.There had been a fire in the forest, and now there were purpleberry bushes, and there were purpleberries everywhere you looked.Each clump was laden with large black and red overripe purple berries, all bent under the weight.There are so many purple berries, the two little berry pickers have never seen so many purple berries!

Lisa plucked and plucked, Ina plucked and plucked.Lisa ate and ate, Ina ate and ate.After a while, their baskets were full.

"Now let's go home," Ina said. "No, let's pick a few more," Lisa replied.So they put the basket on the ground, and filled it with the apron, and it was not long before the apron was full too.

"Now let's go home," Lisa said. "Okay, let's go home now." Aina agreed.Both girls rushed home with a basket in one hand and an apron in the other.But this is easier said than done.They had never been so far before in the Great Wood, and they could not find their way, and soon found themselves lost.

Worst of all, the evening sun made the shade so long the birds started flying home and it was getting dark.At last the sun went down behind the tops of the pine trees, and it was cool and dark in the great forest.

The girls were a little anxious, but they kept on walking, hoping to get to the edge of the woods soon so they could see the smoke rising from the chimneys at home.

They walked around for a long time, and it began to get dark.At last they came to a large bushy level place, and looking about them, as far as they could see in the darkness, they found themselves among the beautiful purpleberry bushes again.At this time, they were so tired that they sat down on a stone and began to cry.

"I'm so hungry," Lisa said.

"Yes," Ina said, "if only we had two sandwiches now."

Before she finished speaking, she felt something in her hand, and when she looked down, she found that it was a large piece of bread with chicken sandwiched in it.At the same time she heard Lisa say, "How strange! I have a sandwich in my hand."

"I have it too," Ina said, "Do you dare to eat it?"

"Of course I would," replied Lisa, "oh, if only we had a glass of milk!"

Before she finished speaking, she felt a glass of milk in her hand, and at the same time she heard Aina yelling, "Lisa! Lisa! I have a glass of milk in my hand! Do you think it's weird?"

The girls were so hungry that they devoured their bread and milk.Afterwards, Ina yawned, stretched, and said, "Oh, it would be nice to have a soft and clean bed to sleep in!"

Before she finished speaking, she felt that there was a soft and clean bed beside her, and Lisa also had one beside her.This made the girls feel more and more unbelievable, but they were too tired and sleepy, so they climbed into the crib, pulled up the quilt to cover their heads, and soon fell asleep without thinking about it.

When they awoke, the sun was high in the sky, and the forest was beautiful on a summer morning, with birds flying about in the branches and treetops.

At first, the girls are amazed to find themselves sleeping among the purpleberry bushes in the forest.They looked at each other, and at their respective beds, which were made of the finest linen and covered with leaves and moss.Finally, Lisa said, "Are you awake, Ina?"

"Yes." Ina replied.

"I must still be dreaming," Lisa said.

"No," said Ina, "but there must be good fairies in these purple berry bushes. Ah, if only we could have a cup of hot coffee, and a piece of white bread to dip it in!"

Before she finished speaking, she found a small silver tray with a gold-plated coffee pot, two rare porcelain cups, a crystal sugar bowl, silver sugar tongs, and some fresh white bread.The girls made beautiful coffee, with milk and sugar, and tasted it.They had never had such good coffee in their entire lives.

"Now I'd like to know who sent this." Lisa said gratefully.

"It's me, girls." Just then, a voice came from the purple berry bushes.

The children looked around curiously, and saw a kind little old man in a white coat and a red hat limping out of the purple berry bushes—the little old man had a slight limp in his left foot.Neither Lisa nor Ina could speak, they were too surprised.

"Don't be afraid, girls," he told them, smiling.His mouth is a little crooked, so he doesn't smile very well. "Welcome to my kingdom! Are you sleeping well, eating well, drinking well?" he asked.

"Yes, everything is fine," the two girls replied, "but please tell us..." They wanted to ask who the old man was, but they were afraid to ask.

"I will tell you who I am," said the old man. "I am the king of raspberries, and I rule the kingdom of raspberry bushes. I have lived here for more than 1000 years. The god who rules the forest, the sea, and the sky does not want I am proud of my kingship and longevity. Therefore, he decreed that every 100 years, one day, I would become a little purple berry bug, from sunrise to sunset, in that weak and helpless form Life. During that time, I hung that bug so the birds would eat me, and the little kids would pick me with the purple berries, and trample 1000 years of my life underfoot. Yesterday happened to be the day I transformed, and I Picked with the purple berries, I would have been trampled to death if you hadn't saved me. I lay helpless in the grass until sunset. When I was swept off the table, I writhed One foot, my mouth was crooked because of fear. After dusk came, I returned to my original shape, I looked for you, I wanted to thank you, and I wanted to repay you. Then I found that you are both in my kingdom, and I wanted to meet you instead. And try not to frighten you. Now I'll send a bird in the woods to show you the way home. Good-bye, boys, and thank you for your kindness. The Raspberry King will prove that he is not an ungrateful man." The children shook hands with the old man, thanked him, and felt sincerely happy for saving the little purple berry bug.They were just about to leave, but the little old man came back, and said with a mischievous smile, "Say hello to Otto for me, and tell him that when I meet him again, I will do him a favor and eat him."

"Oh, don't do that." The girls cried, terrified.

"Well, for your sakes, I'll forgive him," said the old man, "and I'm not very vindictive. Say hello to Otto and tell him he'll get a present from me too. Good-bye. "

The two girls were full of joy now, picked up the purple berries, and ran after the bird in the forest.Soon the woods began to lighten, and they wondered how they had lost their way yesterday, when it was so easy, so easy, to get out of the woods.

We can imagine how happy everyone was when the two returned home.Everyone was looking for them, and the eldest sister stayed up all night, thinking that they had been eaten by wolves.

Otto meets them.He held the basket in one hand, and said, "See, here is what an old man left you with."

Peering into the basket, the girls saw a pair of beautiful dark red gem-encrusted bracelets in the shape of ripe purple berries, with "For Lisa and Ina" engraved on them.Beside the bracelet, there was a diamond brooch in the shape of a berry worm with the inscription: "Otto, never hurt the helpless!"

Otto was ashamed: he knew exactly what that meant, but he thought the old man's revenge was noble.

The Purple Berry King didn't forget about his eldest sister either.When she came into the room to set the table for dinner, she found eleven baskets of beautiful purple berries.No one knows where the purple berries come from, but everyone is guessing.

So the unprecedented activity of making purple berry jam began.If you'd like to help out, you might be able to, because they're definitely still making the sauce to this day.

(End of this chapter)