The Three Little Men in the Wood

Once upon a time, there was a man with a daughter. There was also a woman with a daughter.

The man's wife had died. The woman's husband had died too.

The woman wanted to marry the man, but he could not decide. So he hung up an old boot with a hole in it.

"If the boot holds water, I will marry her," he said. The water closed the hole, and the boot stayed full. So the man married the woman.

At first, the stepmother was nice to the man's daughter. But soon she was mean to her every day.

The man's daughter was kind and beautiful. The stepmother's own daughter was not kind and not pretty. This made the stepmother very jealous.

One cold winter day, the stepmother made a dress out of paper. She gave it to the girl.

"Go into the forest and bring me a basket of strawberries!" she said.

"But strawberries don't grow in winter!" said the girl. The stepmother did not care.

She gave the girl only a small piece of hard bread. Then she sent her out into the snow.

In the forest, the girl found a tiny house. Three little men lived there.

She knocked politely and said hello. They let her sit by the warm stove.

The little men asked for some bread. The girl gladly shared half of hers.

Then they gave her a broom. "Please sweep the snow behind our house," they said.

While she swept, the little men decided to give her three gifts:

• She will grow more beautiful every day.
• Gold coins will fall from her mouth every time she speaks.
• A king will come and marry her.

Under the snow, the girl found lots of red, ripe strawberries! She thanked the little men and ran home happily.

At home, gold coins fell from the girl's mouth with every word. Soon the whole room was full of gold!

The stepsister was jealous. She wanted gold too.

Her mother gave her a warm fur coat, bread with butter, and cake. Then she sent her into the forest.

The stepsister walked into the little house without saying hello. She sat by the stove and ate her food.

The little men asked for some. "No!" she said. "It's not even enough for me."

They asked her to sweep the snow. "Do it yourselves," she said. "I'm not your maid!"

So the little men gave her different gifts. She grew uglier every day.

And every time she spoke, a toad jumped out of her mouth! She found no strawberries and went home grumpy.

The stepmother got even angrier. She sent the girl to the frozen river to wash yarn in the icy water.

The girl was cutting a hole in the ice. Just then, a king drove by in a beautiful carriage.

He saw how lovely and kind she was. "Will you come with me?" he asked. "Yes, gladly!" she said.

They got married. A year later, they had a baby boy.

One day, the stepmother and her daughter came to visit the castle. When the king was away, they threw the young queen out of the window into the river!

Then the stepsister got into the queen's bed. The stepmother pulled the blanket all the way over her head, so no one could see her face.

When the king came back, the stepmother whispered, "Shhh! The queen is very sick. She must rest. Don't wake her up today."

The king believed her. He went away and did not look under the blanket.

The next morning, the king talked to his wife. She still hid under the blanket, so he only heard her voice.

Every time she answered, a toad jumped out of her mouth instead of a gold coin!

"What is wrong?" asked the king. The stepmother lied again: "It's only because she is sick. It will soon go away."

The king trusted her, so he did not find out the trick.

That night, the kitchen boy saw a duck swim up to the castle. "How is the king? How are my guests? How is my little baby?" the duck asked.

Then the duck turned into the queen. She went upstairs, cared for her baby, and swam away again.

On the third night, the duck spoke to the kitchen boy.

"Tell the king to come with his sword. He must swing it over me three times." The kitchen boy ran to tell the king.

The king came and swung his sword three times. And there stood the real queen, safe and healthy again!

The king was so happy.

Then the king asked the stepmother, "What should happen to someone who throws a person into the river?"

She did not know he meant her. "They should be put in a barrel and rolled into the water," she said.

So the king did exactly that. The stepmother and her daughter rolled down the hill into the river, and they never came back.

The kind queen, the king, and their little son lived happily ever after.