[QUEEN HULDA AND THE FLAX]
There was once a poor peasant, Hans by name. He lived with his wife and children in a valley at the foot of a snow-capped mountain.
Hans often drove his sheep to pasture up the mountain side.
He always carried his crossbow with him, to protect the sheep. He was a skillful marksman.
Once in a while, Hans would shoot a deer. The deer meat would serve as food for his family during many days.
One day Hans was watching his sheep while they grazed on the mountain side. Suddenly a deer appeared. Its spreading antlers glittered in the morning sunlight with wonderful brightness.
The deer bounded across the pasture to the rocks higher up the mountain. Hans followed quickly, hoping to approach near enough to shoot an arrow.
From rock to rock, higher and higher, Hans followed the deer, until at last they were at the summit of the mountain.
They sped over the snow until the deer disappeared in the Blue Grotto.
Hans followed more slowly, along a dark and narrow tunnel that led to the Blue Grotto. Suddenly he caught a glimpse of a bright light in the distance.