There was once a forester who went into the forest to hunt,
and as he entered it he heard a sound of screaming as if a
little child were there. He followed the sound, and at last
came to a high tree, and at the top of this a little child was
sitting, for the mother had fallen asleep under the tree with the
child, and a bird of prey had seen it in her arms, had flown down,
snatched it away, and set it on the high tree.
The forester climbed up, brought the child down, and thought to
himself, you will take him home with you, and bring him up with
your lina. He took it home, therefore, and the two children grew
up together. And the one, which he had found on a tree was called
fundevogel, because a bird had carried it away. Fundevogel and
lina loved each other so dearly that when they did not see each
other they were sad.
Now the forester had an old cook, who one evening took two pails
and began to fetch water, and did not go once only, but many times,
out to the spring. Lina saw this and said, listen old sanna, why
are you fetching so much water. If you will never repeat it to
anyone, I will tell you why. So lina said, no, she would never
repeat it to anyone, and then the cook said, early tomorrow
morning, when the forester is out hunting, I will heat the water,
and when it is boiling in the kettle, I will throw in fundevogel,
and will boil him in it.
Early next morning the forester got up and went out hunting, and
when he was gone the children were still in bed. Then lina said
to fundevogel, if you will never leave me, I too will never
leave you. Fundevogel said, neither now, nor ever will I leave
you. Then said lina, then I will tell you. Last night, old
sanna carried so many buckets of water into the house that I asked
her why she was doing that, and she said that if I would promise
not to tell anyone she would tell me, and I said I would be
sure not to tell anyone, and she said that early to-morrow morning
when father was out hunting, she would set the kettle full of
water, throw you into it and boil you, but we will get up quickly,
dress ourselves, and go away together.
The two children therefore got up, dressed themselves quickly, and
went away. When the water in the kettle was boiling, the cook
went into the bed-room to fetch fundevogel and throw him into
it. But when she came in, and went to the beds, both the children
were gone. Then she was terribly alarmed, and she said to herself,
what shall I say now when the forester comes home and sees that
the children are gone. They must be followed instantly to get
them back again.
Then the cook sent three servants after them, who were to run and
overtake the children. The children, however, were sitting
outside the forest, and when they saw from afar the three servants
running, lina said to fundevoel, never leave me, and I will never
leave you. Fundevogel said, neither now, nor ever. Then said
lina, do you become a rose-tree, and I the rose upon it. When
the three servants came to the forest, nothing was there but a
rose-tree and one rose on it, but the children were nowhere.
Then said they, there is nothing to be done here, and they went
home and told the cook that they had seen nothing in the forest
but a little rose-bush with one rose on it. Then the old cook
scolded and said, you simpletons, you simpletons, you should have
cut the rose-bush in two, and have broken off the rose and brought
it home with you, go, and do it once. They had therefore to go
out and look for the second time. The children, however, saw them
coming from a distance. Then lina said, fundevogel, never leave
me, and I will never leave you. Fundevogel said, neither now,
nor ever. Said lina, then do you become a church, and I'll be
the chandelier in it. So when the three servants came,
nothing was there but a church, with a chandelier in it. They
said therefore to each other, what can we do here, let us go home.
When they got home, the cook asked if they had not found them, so
they said no, they had found nothing but a church, and that
there was a chandelier in it. And the cook scolded them and said,
you fools, why did you not pull the church to pieces, and bring
the chandelier home with you. And now the old cook herself got
on her legs, and went with the three servants in pursuit of the
children. The children, however, saw from afar that the three
servants were coming, and the cook waddling after them. Then
said lina, fundevogel, never leave me, and I will never leave
you. Then said fundevogel, neither now, nor ever. Said lina,
be a fishpond, and I will be the duck upon it. The cook,
however, came up to them, and when she saw the pond she lay
down by it, and was about to drink it up. But the duck swam
quickly to her, seized her head in its beak and drew her into the
water, and there the old witch had to drown. Then the
children went home together, and were heartily delighted, and
if they have not died, they are living still.
