In the morning when the poor man awoke and put his hand under his pillow he found the mirror and the handkerchief and the scarf just as the angel had said he would. So he hid them carefully in his shirt and without telling any one where he was going he went to the woods beyond the third hill from the village. Here he found the brook and followed it until he came to a pool where he saw a lovely maiden bathing.
"Good day to you!" she said politely.
The poor man remembering the angel's warning made no answer.
The Mirror, the Handkerchief, and the Embroidered Scarf
The maiden held out a golden comb.
"Please comb my hair for me, won't you?"
The man nodded and took the comb. Then he parted the long tresses behind and searched here and there and everywhere until he found the one hair that was blood-red in color and coarser than the others. He twisted this firmly around his finger, jerked it quickly out, and fled.
"Oh!" cried the maiden. "What are you doing? Give me back my one red hair!"