A Kindergarten Story Book

by Jane L. Hoxie

THE HUT IN THE FOREST.

"Indra! Indra! Indra! Oh, Indra! Where are you?" called Carla and Alween. "Come, Indra, we are going home. Come, it will soon be dark. Hurry, or we shall lose our way." But Indra did not answer. In her eagerness to find the biggest berries she had strayed away from her sisters. Now it was quite dark, and she could not find the path. She called and called but heard nothing save the sound of her own voice. At last, just as she was thinking, "I will have to pass the night here all alone in the wood," she saw a light shining through the darkness. Following this light, Indra soon stood in front of a small house at the door of which she knocked. "Come in!" called a harsh voice. Stepping inside, the girl saw before her an old man whose beard was long, whose hair was white and whose back was bent almost double; while lying near him in front of the fire, were a cock, a hen and a brindled cow.

"I have lost my way in the forest," said Indra. "It is dark, I have nowhere to sleep and I am so hungry. Will you not give me something to eat and a bed to lie on?"

The old man looked at her for a long time with his sharp, gray eyes then, turning to the animals by the fire, he said,—

"My cock, my hen,
My brindled cow,
What say you now?
What say you now?"

The cock, the hen, and the brindled cow all opened their mouths and called out together,—

"Oh, let her stay!
We'll not say nay."

"Go into the kitchen and cook us some supper," said the old man turning again to Indra. The girl did as she was bidden. Soon a good meal was ready which she placed upon the table, but she gave nothing to the animals and without speaking to them, or even so much as looking at them, she sat down at the old man's side and ate heartily.

"Now I am satisfied," said Indra. "Show me where to sleep." The animals said nothing. "Go into the room above and make ready the two beds you will find there, then I will come and lie down and sleep also, for I am weary," said the old man.

Indra spread the two beds with fresh linen. Then without giving one thought to the hungry animals below, she laid herself down in one of the beds and fell fast asleep.

When at last the old man climbed to the loft and saw Indra lying in a deep slumber, he looked sorrowfully at her for a long time. Then shaking his head sadly and slowly, he opened a curious door beneath the bed on which the girl lay and let her down into the dark, underground cellar of the hut.

That night there was trouble and sorrow for good Mother Grougans and for Carla and Alween. As soon as daylight came they went forth to search for Sister Indra; but, though they scoured the forest far and wide, not a trace of her could be found, and at last they were forced to give their dear one up as lost.

Now as the two sisters Carla and Alween gathered berries in the forest one day not long after, Carla, in her eagerness to fill her pail with the biggest berries, strayed away just as her sister Indra had done. Alween was forced to return home alone, and it happened with Carla just as it had with her elder sister. She followed the light that shone from the cottage window, knocked at the door, entered, and saw the old man sitting and the animals lying by the fire. She too begged for food and a bed in which to sleep.

Turning to the animals the old man said,—

"My cock, my hen,
My brindled cow,
What say you now?
What say you now?"

The cock, the hen, and the brindled cow all opened their mouths and called out together,—

"Oh, let her stay!
We'll not say nay."

Then the old man sent Carla to prepare supper. Just as her sister had done, she cooked and ate and gave not so much as a glance or a thought to the hungry animals. "Now I am satisfied," said Carla at last. "Show me where to sleep." The animals said nothing, but the old man told her to prepare the two beds in the loft. After spreading them with fresh linen the girl laid herself down upon one of the beds and fell fast asleep.

When the old man climbed to the loft and saw Carla lying in a sound slumber, he opened the curious door again and let her also down into the cellar.

Now when Carla failed to return home. Mother Grougans was lost in grief and she forbade her youngest daughter, Alween, to go into the wood on any account whatsoever. And she said, "Shall I lose my youngest and my dearest also?" But soon mother and daughter were both so hungry that Alween was forced to go into the forbidden forest in search of food. In her eagerness to get the largest and the sweetest berries for her mother, she too strayed away from the path, and all happened with her as it had with her sisters.

When Alween entered the hut and begged for food and shelter, the old man turned to his animals and said,—

"My cock, my hen,
My brindled cow,
What say you now?
What say you now?"

The cock, the hen, and the brindled cow all opened their mouths and called out together,—

"Oh, let her stay!
We'll not say nay."

Then Alween thanked the animals for their kindness and, going close to them, she stroked the smooth feathers of the cock and the hen and patted the brindled cow on the white star in her forehead. She made ready the supper and set it before the old man; but, before satisfying her own hunger, she said, "The good animals are hungry too. I must first get food for them." So she placed a bundle of hay in front of the brindled cow and scattered wheat and barley for the cock and the hen and brought a fresh drink of water for all. Then she herself ate and was satisfied.

That night Alween slept soundly in the loft of the little hut, but not before she had seen the old man tucked snugly into his bed and fast asleep. When she wakened, with the first rays of morning light, she thought, "I must dress quickly and get breakfast for the poor old man and feed the little cock and the little hen and the pretty brindled cow." But when she opened her eyes she seemed to be no longer in the loft of the little old hut in the wood. Instead of its dingy walls she saw before her a vast hall hung with cloth of gold and rich embroideries, and light and sunshine and flowers were everywhere. "I am surely dreaming," said Alween. Pushing aside the rich silken curtain of her bed, which also seemed a part of her dream, she thought to dress herself; but the poor ragged clothes she had put off the night before were nowhere to be found. In their place lay costly garments of satin and velvet.

"Oh, this is a dream, a dream!" thought the girl. She rubbed her eyes again and again as she gazed at the rich curtains and the costly garments and the splendid walls with their gay embroideries. She called aloud. She ran to the old man's bed to see if he were still asleep,—there in his place lay a stranger, young and handsome.

"Oh, where is the little old hut in the forest and where is the poor old man? Oh, where is the little cock and the little hen and the pretty brindled cow and where, oh, where am I?" she cried. At this the stranger wakened and, sitting up in bed, he called softly: "Do not run away. Alween! Alween! Come back! Come back! Do not be frightened. We are all here. I was the old man with the long white beard and my servants yonder were the cock, the hen and the brindled cow. You have saved our lives. You have set us free. You have delivered us from worse than death. I am a king's son, but I was bewitched by a wicked old fairy and forced, in the form of an old, old man, to live here in a hut in the forest all alone, except for my three servants, who were made to take the form of a cock, of a hen, and of a brindled cow. Here we were obliged to stay until some one came to us who showed love and kindness toward my animals as well as toward myself. You have saved us. You have set us free and this great palace and all within it is yours."

And Alween married the king's son and they were very happy together for many, many years; but her sisters were forced to live lives of hardship and poverty until their hearts had grown more kindly toward all living creatures.