THE GREEDY DAUGHTER.[1]
There was a mother who had a daughter so greedy that she did not know what to do with her. Everything in the house she would eat up. When the poor mother came home from work there was nothing left.
But the girl had a godfather-wolf.[2] The wolf had a frying-pan, and the girl’s mother was too poor to possess such an article; whenever she wanted to fry anything she sent her daughter to the wolf to borrow his frying-pan, and he always sent a nice omelette in it by way of not sending it empty. But the girl was so greedy and so selfish that she not only always ate the omelette by the way, but when she took the frying-pan back she filled it with all manner of nasty things.
At last the wolf got hurt at this way of going on, and he came to the house to inquire into the matter.
Godfather-wolf met the mother on the step of the door, returning from work.
‘How do you like my omelettes?’ asked the wolf.
‘I am sure they would be good if made by our godfather-wolf,’ replied the poor woman; ‘but I never had the honour of tasting them.’
‘Never tasted them! Why, how many times have you sent to borrow my frying-pan?’
‘I am ashamed to say how many times; a great many, certainly.’
‘And every time I sent you an omelette in it.’