“That was a butcher,” replied the old woman.
“But, oh, I was most terrified,” continued the girl, “when I peeped through your window, and saw not you, but a creature with a fiery head.”
“Then you have seen the witch in her proper dress,” said the old woman. “For you I have long waited, and now you shall give me light.”
So saying the witch changed the little girl into a block of wood, and then threw it on the fire; and when it was fully alight, she sat down on the hearth and warmed herself, saying:—
“How good I feel! The fire has not burned like this for a long time!”
SHIPPEITARO
A JAPANESE FOLK-TALE:
BY MARY F. NIXON-ROULET (ADAPTED) [10] [ [!-- Note --]
10 ([return])
[ From Japanese Folk-Stories and Fairy Tales. Copyright, 1908, by American Book Company.]