red fairy book

Chapter 5 Brother and Sister

The brother held his sister's hand and said, "Sister, we have never been happy since mother died. The stepmother beat us every day, and kicked us whenever we came near her, except for the hard and dry crust. We ain't got nothing to eat, and even the dog under the table eats better than we do--at least she throws a bite or two to the dog. Oh, God! If only mother knew such things! Come with me, we'll be there Go and see the outside world."

They set off and walked all day through fields and pastures and fences and ditches, and then it rained, and my sister said, "God cried with us."

When night fell, they came to a forest, tired and hungry, got into a big tree hole, and soon fell asleep.

When they awoke the next morning, the sun was high in the sky, and its warm, bright rays were shining on the trees.

The elder brother said, "I'm thirsty. Sister, let's find a stream. There must be one nearby." He jumped up, grabbed his sister's hand, and went to find the stream.

Their cruel stepmother was actually a witch, and she knew that the boys had run away, and she followed them furtively, and put a spell on all the brooks.

The children found a running brook shining among the stones, and the elder brother wanted to drink it, but the younger sister heard a voice whispering in the rush, "Whoever drinks my water becomes a tiger! Whoever drinks my water water, and it becomes a tiger!"

She cried, "Dear brother! Don't drink, you will turn into a beast and tear me to pieces!"

The elder brother was very thirsty, but he didn't drink: "Then wait for the next stream."

They came to the second brook, and the sister heard the voice again: "Whoever drinks my water will become a wolf! Whoever drinks my water will become a wolf!"

She cried again, "Oh, brother! Don't drink, you will become a wolf and eat me!"

The elder brother didn't drink again, and said: "Then let's wait for the next stream. Then, no matter what you say, I will drink it. I am already too thirsty!"

They found a third brook, and when the sister heard it flow by, she said, "Whoever drinks of my water becomes a deer!

Whoever drinks my water will become a deer! "

She begged, "Oh brother, don't drink, you'll turn into a deer and run away from me."

But her brother was already kneeling by the stream, bending over to drink.No sooner had his lips touched the water than he fell on the grass and became a deer.

The younger sister cried sadly, and the little deer sat beside her and cried too. Finally, the girl said, "It's okay, little deer, I won't abandon you." She took off the golden garter and tied it around the little deer's neck.

She plucked a lot of grass, weaved it into a rope, tied it, and then led the deer to go on until she reached the depths of the forest.

They walked a long, long way, and they saw a small house, and the girl looked inside, and found it was empty, and she thought, "Maybe we can live here."

She gathered leaves and moss, and made a soft bed for the fawn, and every morning and evening she went out to gather roots and berries, and young grass for the fawn.He just ate grass from the palm of her hand, jumping up and down beside her, very happy.At night, when she had said her prayers, she slept on the fawn's back, and it would be the happiest life if her brother were restored to human form.

They lived for some time in the forest.The king's hunting season has come, and the forest is full of horns, dogs barking, and joyful cries, and the fawn hears it and wants to play too.

"Ah!" said my sister, "stay away from hunting! Let me be quiet."

He begged her, and finally, she agreed.

"But you have to come back at night. I will lock the door very early at night. When you knock, say, my dear sister, open the door. I am back. Then I will know it is you. If you don't say, I will Do not open the door."

The fawn hopped off, delighted by the fresh air.

The king and his hunters soon spotted the pretty little creature, and began rounding it up, but they could not keep up with it, and every time they thought they were about to catch it, it jumped into the bushes again and disappeared.

At night, it ran home, knocked on the door and said, "My dear sister, open the door, I'm back." The door opened, it ran in, and slept on the soft bed all night.

The next morning, the hunting started again. When the deer heard the sound of the horn and the "oh" and "oh" of the hunters, he couldn't stand it anymore and said, "Sister, open the door, I want to go out."

The younger sister opened the door and said, "When you come back at night, don't forget our password."

When the king and his hunters saw the fawn with the golden collar, they all came round and rounded it up.But it was too agile, and after running all day, the hunters slowly surrounded it, and one of the hunters wounded its foot, which slowed it down.

The hunter followed it until he reached the door of the hut, and heard it say, "My dear sister, open the door, I am home." Then the door opened, the fawn ran in, and the door quickly closed again.

The huntsman remembered, and went back to the king, and told him this.

"Continue tomorrow," said the king.

The poor sister was terrified when she saw the fawn was hurt.She washed off the blood, covered its wound with grass, and said:

"Honey, go to rest, the wound will be healed."

The wound was indeed very mild, and it healed completely the next day, and the deer didn't feel a thing at all.After a while, when he heard the sound of hunting, he said again: "I can't take it anymore. I have to go again. Be careful, they won't be able to catch me."

The younger sister cried and said, "They will kill you. I live alone in the forest, cut off from the world, and I won't let you go."

"Then I'll die of grief," said the deer. "I hear the horn, and feel as if I'm going to jump out of my skin."

At last, the younger sister had no choice but to open the door with a heavy heart, and the fawn galloped out, happily running into the forest.

The king saw the fawn and said to the hunter, "Go after it for a day, but be careful not to hurt it."

When the sun was about to set, the king said again: "Come, take me to see the hut in the woods."

When the king came to the house, he knocked on the door and said, "My dear sister, open the door. I am coming." The door opened, and the king went in, and there stood a girl, the most beautiful girl he had ever seen. lovely one.

The girl was startled, for it was not the fawn she was waiting for that came in, but a man wearing a crown.But the King looked at her kindly, and held out his hand, and said, "Will you come back with me, and be my wife?"

"Oh, I would!" said the girl, "but you must let the fawn go too, and I cannot abandon him."

"It will be with you as long as you live," the king swore.

At this time, the deer came in, and the younger sister wove a rope, led it, and left the hut in the forest together.

The king put the girl on his horse, and took her to his castle, where a great wedding was held.

Enjoying all kinds of pampering, the deer runs heartily in the garden of the palace.

Now, that evil stepmother, it is because of her that the two children are so unfortunate and wandering outside.She thought the girl had been torn to pieces by wild beasts, and the boy had been killed by hunters.

When she heard that they were so happy, she was filled with hatred, and she wanted to create new misfortunes for them.Her one-eyed daughter was so ugly that she scolded her and said, "I should be the queen."

"Be quiet," said the old woman. "When the time comes, it will."

After some days, one day, when the king was out hunting, the queen gave birth to a beautiful son.The old witch felt that her chance had come.She changed into a maid, and ran into the queen's chamber, calling, "The bath water is ready, it will make you strong, come, hurry, the water will be cold." Her daughter was also there, and they He helped the weak queen into the bathroom, locked her in, and ran away.

They had lighted a great fire under the bathtub beforehand, so that the queen would be suffocated.They felt the matter was settled, and the old woman fastened a hat on her daughter's head, and made her lie in a queen's bed, and managed to make her somewhat queen-like in shape and appearance, but even if she knew witchcraft, To be able to refit her daughter's eye, she had to lie on her side, covering the missing eye, so that the king would not notice it.

In the evening, when the king returned, he heard the news of his son's birth, and immediately went to his wife's bedside to see her.But the old witch cried, "Be careful, don't draw the curtains, and don't let the light shine into the queen's eyes, and she must keep absolutely still." So the king went away, not knowing that there was a false queen lying on the bed.

In the middle of the night, when everyone in the palace was fast asleep, the nurse by the cradle saw the door open slightly, and the real queen entered. She took the child out of the cradle, fed him, and then gently arranged the pillows on the crib, Tucked the quilt beside him.

She didn't forget about the deer, she walked to the corner where it was lying, patted its back lightly, and left the room quietly.The next morning, the nanny asked the sentry if they had seen anyone entering the castle, and they all said they hadn't.

Many nights the queen came to see them in this way, but never said a word, and the nurse was too frightened to say anything about it.

After a few days the Queen spoke, and she said, "How is my child? How is my deer? I will come twice more, and then I will say goodbye forever."

The nurse made no answer, and as soon as the queen left she ran to the king and told the story.The king exclaimed: "My God! What are you talking about? I will go and see for myself tonight."

In the evening, he went.In the middle of the night the Queen came and said, "How is my child? How is my deer? I will come again, and then farewell."

She hugged the baby, as usual, and disappeared.The king couldn't believe his eyes and didn't speak, but the next day he came again.

The Queen came and said, "How is my child? How is my deer? This is the last time and farewell."

The king, unable to contain himself any longer, jumped up to her and said, "You are my irreplaceable wife!"

"Yes," she said, "I am your dear wife." And at that moment she arose, as healthy and ruddy as ever.She told the king everything.

The king immediately arrested the mother and daughter and sentenced them to death.The daughter was thrown into the forest to be fed to wild animals, and the old witch was burned to death.She died and the spell was gone.The deer immediately recovered its human form, and from then on, the brother and sister lived happily with the king.

(End of this chapter)