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Once upon
a time...
There was once a woman who had three daughters, of whom the
eldest was called Little One-eye, because she had only one eye in
the middle of her forehead; and the second, Little Two-eyes, because
she had two eyes like other people; and the youngest, Little
Three-eyes, because she had three eyes, and her third eye was also
in the middle of her forehead. But because Little Two- eyes did not
look any different from other children, her sisters and mother could
not bear her. They would say to her, 'You with your two eyes are no
better than common folk; you don't belong to us.' They pushed her
here, and threw her wretched clothes there, and gave her to eat only
what they left, and they were as unkind to her as ever they could
be.
It happened one day that Little Two-eyes had to go out into the
fields to take care of the goat, but she was still quite hungry
because her sisters had given her so little to eat. So she sat down
in the meadow and began to cry, and she cried so much that two
little brooks ran out of her eyes. But when she looked up once in
her grief there stood a woman beside her who asked, 'Little
Two-eyes, what are you crying for?' Little Two-eyes answered, 'Have
I not reason to cry? Because I have two eyes like other people, my
sisters and my mother cannot bear me; they push me out of one corner
into another, and give me nothing to eat except what they leave.
To-day they have given me so little that I am still quite hungry.'
Then the wise woman said, 'Little Two-eyes, dry your eyes, and I
will tell you something so that you need never be hungry again. Only
say to your goat,
"Little goat, bleat, Little table, appear,"
and a beautifully spread table will stand before you, with the most
delicious food on it, so that you can eat as much as you want. And
when you have had enough and don't want the little table any more,
you have only to say,
"Little goat, bleat, Little table, away,"
and then it will vanish.' Then the wise woman went away.
But Little Two-eyes thought, 'I must try at once if what she has
told me is true, for I am more hungry than ever'; and she said,
'Little goat, bleat, Little table appear,'
and scarcely had she uttered the words, when there stood a little
table before her covered with a white cloth, on which were arranged
a plate, with a knife and fork and a silver spoon, and the most
beautiful dishes, which were smoking hot, as if they had just come
out of the kitchen. Then Little Two-eyes said the shortest grace she
knew, and set to work and made a good dinner. And when she had had
enough, she said, as the wise woman had told her,
'Little goat, bleat, Little table, away,'
and immediately the table and all that was on it disappeared again.
'That is a splendid way of housekeeping,' thought Little Two-eyes,
and she was quite happy and contented.
In the evening, when she went home with her goat, she found a little
earthenware dish with the food that her sisters had thrown to her,
but she did not touch it. The next day she went out again with her
goat, and left the few scraps which were given her. The first and
second times her sisters did not notice this, but when it happened
continually, they remarked it and said, 'Something is the matter
with Little Two-eyes, for she always leaves her food now, and she
used to gobble up all that was given her. She must have found other
means of getting food.' So in order to get at the truth, Little
One-eye was told to go out with Little Two-eyes when she drove the
goat to pasture, and to notice particularly what she got there, and
whether anyone brought her food and drink.
Now when Little Two-eyes was setting out, Little One-eye came up to
her and said, 'I will go into the field with you and see if you take
good care of the goat, and if you drive him properly to get grass.'
But Little Two-eyes saw what Little One-eye had in her mind, and she
drove the goat into the long grass and said, 'Come, Little One-eye,
we will sit down here, and I will sing you something.'
Little One-eye sat down, and as she was very much tired by the long
walk to which she was not used, and by the hot day, and as Little
Two-eyes went on singing.
'Little One-eye, are you awake? Little One-eye, are you asleep?'
she shut her one eye and fell asleep. When Little Two-eyes saw that
Little One-eye was asleep and could find out nothing, she said,
'Little goat, bleat, Little table, appear,'
and sat down at her table and ate and drank as much as she wanted.
Then she said again,
'Little goat, bleat, Little table, away.'
and in the twinkling of an eye all had vanished.
Little Two-eyes then woke Little One-eye and said, 'Little One- eye,
you meant to watch, and, instead, you went to sleep; in the meantime
the goat might have run far and wide. Come, we will go home.' So
they went home, and Little Two-eyes again left her little dish
untouched, and Little One-eye could not tell her mother why she
would not eat, and said as an excuse, 'I was so sleepy
out-of-doors.'
The next day the mother said to Little Three-eyes, 'This time you
shall go with Little Two-eyes and watch whether she eats anything
out in the fields, and whether anyone brings her food and drink, for
eat and drink she must secretly.' So Little Three-eyes went to
Little Two-eyes and said, 'I will go with you and see if you take
good care of the goat, and if you drive him properly to get grass.'
But little Two-eyes knew what Little Three-eyes had in her mind, and
she drove the goat out into the tall grass and said, 'We will sit
down here, Little Three-eyes, and I will sing you something.' Little
Three-eyes sat down; she was tired by the walk and the hot day, and
Little Two-eyes sang the same little song again:
'Little Three eyes, are you awake?'
but instead of singing as she ought to have done,
'Little Three-eyes, are you asleep?'
she sang, without thinking,
'Little _Two-eyes_, are you asleep?'
She went on singing,
'Little Three-eyes, are you awake? Little _Two-eyes_, are you
asleep?'
so that the two eyes of Little Three-eyes fell asleep, but the
third, which was not spoken to in the little rhyme, did not fall
asleep. Of course Little Three-eyes shut that eye also out of
cunning, to look as if she were asleep, but it was blinking and
could see everything quite well.
And when Little Two-eyes thought that Little Three-eyes was sound
asleep, she said her rhyme,
'Little goat, bleat, Little table, appear,'
and ate and drank to her heart's content, and then made the table go
away again, by saying,
'Little goat, bleat, Little table, away.'
But Little Three-eyes had seen everything. Then Little Two-eyes came
to her, and woke her and said, 'Well, Little Three-eyes, have you
been asleep? You watch well! Come, we will go home.' When they
reached home, Little Two-eyes did not eat again, and Little Three-
eyes said to the mother, 'I know now why that proud thing eats
nothing. When she says to the goat in the field,
"Little goat, bleat, Little table, appear,"
a table stands before her, spread with the best food, much better
than we have; and when she has had enough, she says,
"Little goat, bleat, Little table, away,"
and everything disappears again. I saw it all exactly. She made two
of my eyes go to sleep with a little rhyme, but the one in my
forehead remained awake, luckily!'
Then the envious mother cried out, 'Will you fare better than we do?
you shall not have the chance to do so again!' and she fetched a
knife, and killed the goat.
When Little Two-eyes saw this, she went out full of grief, and sat
down in the meadow and wept bitter tears. Then again the wise woman
stood before her, and said, 'Little Two-eyes, what are you crying
for?' 'Have I not reason to cry?' she answered, 'the goat, which
when I said the little rhyme, spread the table so beautifully, my
mother has killed, and now I must suffer hunger and want again.' The
wise woman said, 'Little Two-eyes, I will give you a good piece of
advice. Ask your sisters to give you the heart of the dead goat, and
bury it in the earth before the house- door; that will bring you
good luck.' Then she disappeared, and Little Two-eyes went home, and
said to her sisters, 'Dear sisters, do give me something of my goat;
I ask nothing better than its heart.' Then they laughed and said,
'You can have that if you want nothing more.' And Little Two-eyes
took the heart and buried it in the evening when all was quiet, as
the wise woman had told her, before the house-door. The next morning
when they all awoke and came to the house-door, there stood a most
wonderful tree, which had leaves of silver and fruit of gold growing
on it--you never saw anything more lovely and gorgeous in your life!
But they did not know how the tree had grown up in the night; only
Little Two- eyes knew that it had sprung from the heart of the goat,
for it was standing just where she had buried it in the ground. Then
the mother said to Little One-eye, 'Climb up, my child, and break us
off the fruit from the tree.' Little One-eye climbed up, but just
when she was going to take hold of one of the golden apples the
bough sprang out of her hands; and this happened every time, so that
she could not break off a single apple, however hard she tried. Then
the mother said, 'Little Three-eyes, do you climb up; you with your
three eyes can see round better than Little One- eye.' So Little
One-eye slid down, and Little Three-eyes climbed up; but she was not
any more successful; look round as she might, the golden apples bent
themselves back. At last the mother got impatient and climbed up
herself, but she was even less successful than Little One-eye and
Little Three-eyes in catching hold of the fruit, and only grasped at
the empty air. Then Little Two-eyes said, 'I will just try once,
perhaps I shall succeed better.' The sisters called out, 'You with
your two eyes will no doubt succeed!' But Little Two-eyes climbed
up, and the golden apples did not jump away from her, but behaved
quite properly, so that she could pluck them off, one after the
other, and brought a whole apron-full down with her. The mother took
them from her, and, instead of behaving better to poor Little
Two-eyes, as they ought to have done, they were jealous that she
only could reach the fruit and behaved still more unkindly to her.
It happened one day that when they were all standing together by the
tree that a young knight came riding along. 'Be quick, Little
Two-eyes,' cried the two sisters, 'creep under this, so that you
shall not disgrace us,' and they put over poor Little Two-eyes as
quickly as possible an empty cask, which was standing close to the
tree, and they pushed the golden apples which she had broken off
under with her. When the knight, who was a very handsome young man,
rode up, he wondered to see the marvellous tree of gold and silver,
and said to the two sisters, 'Whose is this beautiful tree? Whoever
will give me a twig of it shall have whatever she wants.' Then
Little One-eye and Little Three-eyes answered that the tree belonged
to them, and that they would certainly break him off a twig. They
gave themselves a great deal of trouble, but in vain; the twigs and
fruit bent back every time from their hands. Then the knight said,
'It is very strange that the tree should belong to you, and yet that
you have not the power to break anything from it!' But they would
have that the tree was theirs; and while they were saying this,
Little Two-eyes rolled a couple of golden apples from under the
cask, so that they lay at the knight's feet, for she was angry with
Little One-eye and Little Three-eyes for not speaking the truth.
When the knight saw the apples he was astonished, and asked where
they came from. Little One-eye and Little Three-eyes answered that
they had another sister, but she could not be seen because she had
only two eyes, like ordinary people. But the knight demanded to see
her, and called out, 'Little Two-eyes, come forth.' Then Little
Two-eyes came out from under the cask quite happily, and the knight
was astonished at her great beauty, and said, 'Little Two-eyes, I am
sure you can break me off a twig from the tree.' 'Yes,' answered
Little Two-eyes, 'I can, for the tree is mine.' So she climbed up
and broke off a small branch with its silver leaves and golden fruit
without any trouble, and gave it to the knight. Then he said,
'Little Two-eyes, what shall I give you for this?' 'Ah,' answered
Little Two-eyes, 'I suffer hunger and thirst, want and sorrow, from
early morning till late in the evening; if you would take me with
you, and free me from this, I should be happy!' Then the knight
lifted Little Two-eyes on his horse, and took her home to his
father's castle. There he gave her beautiful clothes, and food and
drink, and because he loved her so much he married her, and the
wedding was celebrated with great joy.
When the handsome knight carried Little Two-eyes away with him, the
two sisters envied her good luck at first. 'But the wonderful tree
is still with us, after all,' they thought, 'and although we cannot
break any fruit from it, everyone will stop and look at it, and will
come to us and praise it; who knows whether _we_ may not reap a
harvest from it?' But the next morning the tree had flown, and their
hopes with it; and when Little Two-eyes looked out of her window
there it stood underneath, to her great delight. Little Two-eyes
lived happily for a long time. Once two poor women came to the
castle to beg alms. Then Little Two-eyes looked at then and
recognised both her sisters, Little One-eye and Little Three-eyes,
who had become so poor that they came to beg bread at her door. But
Little Two-eyes bade them welcome, and was so good to them that they
both repented from their hearts of having been so unkind to their
sister.
Little One-Eye Little
Two-Eyes And Little Three-Eyes
from the Green Fairy Book
Story Edited
by Andrew Lang |
