A woodcutter, his boy and girl, their evil stepmother, a house in the woods. Sound familiar? Think again.
Transcript:
Near the borders of a large forest dwelt in olden times a poor wood-cutter, who had two children—a boy named Harry, and his sister, Gary. They had very little to live upon, and once when there was a dreadful season of scarcity in the land, the poor wood-cutter could not earn sufficient to supply their daily food.
One evening, after the children were gone to bed, the parents sat talking together over their sorrow, and the poor husband sighed, and said to his wife, who was not the mother of his children, but their stepmother, “What will become of us, for I cannot earn enough to support myself and you, much less the children? What shall we do with them, for they must not starve?”
“I know what to do, husband,” she replied. “Early to-morrow morning we will take the children for a walk across the forest and leave them in the thickest part; they will never find the way home again, you may depend, and then we shall only have to work for ourselves.”
“No, wife,” said the man. “That I will never do. How could I have the heart to leave my children all alone in the wood, where the wild beasts would come quickly and devour them?”
“Oh, you fool,” replied the stepmother. “If you refuse to do this, you know we must all four perish with hunger; you may as well go and cut the wood for our coffins.” And after this she let him have no peace till he became quite worn out, and could not sleep for hours, but lay thinking in sorrow about his children.
Early in the morning the stepmother called to Harry and Garry, who were fast asleep, and said, “Get up, you lazy ones, and come for a walk with me across the forest, but be sure not to lag behind.” And she took hold of the hands of the two children and led them away, while the poor wood-cutter returned to his half-finished work.
As they walked on, the stepmother said to the children, “You must not speak to each other, or look behind you, but go straight forward till we come to the thickest part of the wood, where the wild beasts dwell, and there we will leave you. You will find a heap of stones, and you must sit upon them, and when we are out of sight you may talk as much as you like, for nobody will see you.” And thus saying, she went on with the children till they came to a large stone-heap, and then left them.
Harry and Garry sat down upon the stones and began to weep, but they had not sat there long when a little mannikin came up to them and said, “Why are you weeping, little children?”
“Alas!” they replied, “we are lost in the wood, and no one cares for us.”
“Not so,” replied the mannikin, “I will take care of you, and lead you to my home, where you shall be well provided for.”
And he led them to his home, which was a house built of bread and roofed with cakes, and there they were well received and feasted upon cakes and sweetmeats. The mannikin was a powerful being, and could change himself into any shape he pleased, and he determined to keep the children in this house for a time, that he might watch over them, and one day he said to them, “Look at my cattle and sheep, and at my corn-fields and orchards, and all the good things I have. You shall have them all for your own, and you can live here and be happy, and never know want any more.”
Then, as he perceived that the children were quite contented, he assumed the shape of a little bird, and flew away.
Harry and Garry, who had never known what it was to be hungry, soon began to feel the want of food. “Alas!” said Harry, “what shall we do? What shall we eat?”
“I know what we can do,” replied Garry, “we will take a piece of this bread and butter, and we will go and sit upon the heap of stones, and eat it there.”
“But,” said Harry, “what if the mannikin should see us?”
“He will not see us,” replied Garry, “and even if he should see us, we shall not be hurt, as long as we do not look behind us.”
“No, no,” replied Harry, “we must not look behind us.” So saying, they took a piece of bread and a piece of butter, and went and sat upon the heap of stones in the middle of the wood.
Before they had eaten half the bread and butter, however, Harry said to his sister, “I am so very hungry that I should like to eat all the bread; do you think that the mannikin would be angry if I should do so?”
“No,” replied Garry, “I do not think he would be angry; but I know what we can do; we shall not eat any more of the bread and butter; we will go and pick some berries, and then we shall not have to be hungry again.”
“I am very glad you thought of that,” replied Harry; “let us go and pick some berries.” Then they ran round the wood and found a place where there were many blueberries, and they picked as many as they wanted, and when they had finished, they returned to the heap of stones.
The next day the mannikin came again, and asked the children if they had been looking behind them, and they both replied, “No, they had not.” Then the mannikin said to them, “You have done well. To-day I will trust you with my flock of sheep, but do not drive them into the wood, or they may be devoured by the wolves.”
Then he gave them a little whip with a golden handle, and said, “If you are in want of food, strike the earth with this little whip, and it will immediately produce whatever you want.”
The mannikin then changed himself into a little sheep, and the children drove his flock out into the open country. After walking about for a short time, they sat down and lamented their own situation, and wished for home, but presently, looking up, and seeing a large flock of sheep before them, Garry struck the ground with the whip and said, “Oh, little whip, bring us some milk and black bread.”
Immediately the milk and the bread, and a table and dishes of silver appeared before them, and they ate and were satisfied.
The next day they had much more difficulty in driving the flock, because there were many more sheep, and they kept straying away towards the wood; but Garry struck the ground with the lash and said, “Oh, little whip, bring us some milk, and black bread, and a clean table cloth,” and immediately all these things appeared, and they ate and drank, and were served so well that they were quite contented.
But when Harry and Garry returned to the heap of stones in the evening, they again began to lament their own hard fate, and to wish for home, and Garry struck the ground with the whip, and said, “Oh, little whip, bring us some milk, and black bread, and a clean table cloth.”
Immediately the table and the chairs appeared, and the children sat down to eat and drink, but the milk suddenly turned into a great quantity of mud, and the bread into a dirty rag, and the table cloth into a piece of dirty, ragged cloth. Harry and Garry were so much alarmed at this that they ran away, and left the little whip sticking in the ground.
The next day the mannikin came, and asked the children if they had done any mischief. When they replied that they had not, he said, “To-day I will trust you with my herd of cattle, but be very careful; do not drive them into the wood, or the wolves will devour them.”
Then he gave Harry a beautiful whip, with a silver handle, and Garry a whip with a golden handle, and said, “If you are in want of food, strike the earth with one of these whips, and you will immediately have whatever you desire.”
Then the mannikin changed himself into a little bullock, and Harry drove the herd of cattle out into a beautiful green meadow, where there were many flowers and much grass, and Garry drove the sheep.
The children now drove about for some time together, till they came to a fine green spot, where there were some large trees; they then sat down, and began to lament their own hard fate, and to wish that they had never been born, and Garry struck the ground with his whip, and said, “Oh, little whip, bring us some milk, and black bread, and some clean plates and dishes.”
Immediately the milk-pail was full of milk, and the loaves were changed into two beautiful brown loaves, and the plates and dishes were all of clean pewter. They were now quite happy and satisfied, and were just going to eat, when the milk suddenly changed into dirt and the bread into dirt, and the plates and dishes into dirty pots and kettles. The children were so frightened at this that they ran away, leaving the whips behind them.
The next day the mannikin came and asked them how they had fared, and they told him that they had lost the whips. Then he scolded them, and said that they were now indeed miserable and unfortunate, and that from that time everything would go wrong with them; adding, “You have lost the whips, and I am very angry with you; it is now your fault if anything goes wrong with me.”
He then changed himself again into a bullock and Harry drove the herd of cattle out into the green meadow, where there were many wild flowers and fresh grass, and Garry drove the sheep.
Harry now kept driving about with the cattle in the meadow for some time, till he came to a very fine green spot in the midst of the wood. When he saw this, he called to Garry, and said, “Come here, brother; look at the fine spot here.”
“Yes,” said Garry; “if there were any milk or black bread here we should be very comfortable.”
“But suppose there were,” said Harry; and with that he struck the ground with his whip, and said, “Oh, little whip, bring us some milk, and black bread, and a clean table cloth.”
At that moment the bread appeared, and the children sat down to eat and drink. But when they began to eat the bread, it again changed into a dirty rag, and the milk into dirt, and the table cloth into a dirty piece of ragged cloth.
“Oh!” cried Harry, “what shall we do now?”
“I don’t know,” said Garry, “but I feel very hungry.”
“I also,” said Harry. “Well,” said Garry, “I think we had better eat wild berries, and then we shall not be hungry again.”
“Yes,” said Harry; “let us do that.”
So they went to the spot where the wild berries grew, and they filled their mouths with them, and ate till they were satisfied.
“Ah!” cried Garry, “I am now quite happy.”
“Yes,” said Harry; “and I am so too.”
“We are now,” said Garry, “quite happy and contented, and it is all through the little whip.”
“Yes,” said Harry; “the little whip has done everything for us.”
“Yes,” said Garry; “I think I will strike the earth again, and see if it will not bring us something more.”
“Oh, yes,” said Harry; “do so.”
Then Garry struck the ground with his whip, and said, “Oh, little whip, bring us some milk, and black bread, and some clean plates and dishes.”
But the whip broke in two, and the mannikin appeared, furious, and said to the children: “Much misery and misfortune shall befall you through these whips.” And with that he disappeared.
And so it happened. The children were quite unhappy, and knew not what they should do. They then went to the little hill in the meadow and sat down, and Harry said, “How shall we now get home?”
“Ah!” cried Garry, “if we only knew the way.”
“But,” said Harry, “if we go into the country we shall meet with robbers and wild beasts and witches, who will devour us.”
“Yes,” said Garry; “that is true; and if we stay in the meadow we shall be devoured by wolves.”
“Well,” said Harry, “I am quite willing to run that danger, rather than to be devoured by wolves in the meadow.”
“Then,” said Garry, “let us take the road.”
“Yes,” said Harry; “if we only knew what road that is, we could go.”
Then they thought of the mannikin, and of how he had told them that everything depended on their not going into the wood, and they resolved to go into the wood, and to go in farther and farther every day, till they came home to their father.
So they went into the wood, and Harry carried his whip, and Garry carried his whip; and when they had gone a little way Garry said, “What shall we do if the wolves should come now?”
“Let us strike the earth with our whips,” said Harry, “and see if we will not then have something to protect us.”
“Yes,” said Garry; “that is a good thing to do.” Then Harry struck the ground with his whip, and said, “Oh, little whip, take us home again.”
But the whip did not break, and Harry said, “That was not the right way.”
Then Garry struck the ground, and said, “Oh, little whip, make us very small.”
And then the children became very small, but they had still the same clothes on them. And then they began to walk about, to get home. And when they came to a stile, Harry said, “Now we have still a long way to go.”
“Yes,” said Garry; “but we are still small, and that is a good thing.”
When they had gone a little farther, Garry said, “I am tired now.”
“Yes,” said Harry, “I am so too; but we must still go on.”
“Yes,” said Garry, “and then we shall soon get home.”
And then Harry struck the ground with his whip, and said, “Oh, little whip, take us home again.”
And then the whip broke, and they became again as they were when they went into the wood. And then they finally saw their home through the trees in the distance, and they thought how they were to get there.
And then they saw a poor woman, who was cutting a piece of turf in the bog, and they went to her and asked her if she knew the way.
And the woman said, “Yes, I know the way, but it will not be a pleasant way for you to go now.”
“Well,” said Harry, “do tell us.”
Then the woman said, “Go along the road, till you come to a stile; and then pass over the stile; and then go a little farther, till you come to a big tree; and then pass under the big tree; and then go a little farther, till you come to a great river. And then you must ask the first person you meet to show you the way across the river. And you must give him this string of beads in return for his trouble.”
And then the two children went on, and when they came to the stile, they crossed over; and then they came to the big tree, and they went under it; and next they came to the river, and they asked the first man they met to show them the way across the river.
Then the man took them across the river, and said, “Now give me the string of beads.”
And then Harry took the beads out of his pocket, and gave them to the man. And then the man said, “If you had not given me the beads you would have been lost.”
And then Harry said, “We have given all we had, and our mother will be very unhappy if we do not get home.”
“Well,” said the man, “go on till you come to a house. And when you go into the house, there will be a great big dog in the kitchen; and when the dog sees you, he will run out of the door, and run back again. And then, when he runs back, you must run after him, and go on till you come to a stable; and when you go into the stable, you will find a horse standing in one corner. Take the horse, and put it out of the stable, and then put it into the other corner. Then go on till you come to a town, and there you will find a carriage, made of glass and silver; and the horse will pull it, and the two wheels will turn round and round. And when you come to the gate of the town, there will be two lions at the gate. And you must take the whip out of your pocket, and beat the lions with it. And when you come to the king’s palace, you will find the king’s daughter on the steps, and she will ask you to come in. But you must not go in; you must go on till you come to another door, and there you must go in. And when you go into the room, there you will find seven little birds sitting on a tree. And when the birds see you, they will come after you. But you must not run; you must stand still, and hold out your hand, and then they will come and sit on your finger. And then you must ask the birds how to get to your home, and they will tell you."
"This all sounds very convoluted", said Garry. We will just follow these signs that say "Harry and Garry's home" instead, and so they did. As they reached their home, their father was very angry with them for having stayed away so long. He took them each by the hand, and he said, “Now children, we will all leave this place, and go far away, where you will both be put to death.”
But, in a little while, they came to a town, and the town was full of soldiers, with swords and guns. And then their father said to the children, “This is a very dangerous town, but we must go in, or they will kill us”; and they went into the town.
And then the people of the town came out of their houses, and took them, and put them into prison, and put a chain round their necks, and made them stand on the gallows. And then their father said to them, “I am sorry now that I brought you here.”
“But he did not go to the gallows. He ran away; and, when he found himself safe, he came back to the town, and took the children out of prison. And then they all went away from that town.
And one day, as they were traveling along, they met a man who had a long beard, and Garry asked him what the name of the town was. And the man said that the town was called Jerusalem.”
“And how far away was it?” asked Garry.
“About seventy miles,” said the man.
“And what is the name of the country?” asked Harry.
“Ireland,” said the man.
“And how far is it from Ireland?” asked Garry.
“About two hundred miles,” said the man.
“And how far is it from Ireland to Germany?” asked Harry.
“About three thousand miles,” said the man.
Then Harry and Garry put their hands in each other’s pockets, and they laughed, and they laughed, and they laughed, till they fell down.