When the girl went home in the evening, and took all the hemp, worked up, to her stepmother, she was greatly astonished, and next morning gave her yet more hemp to spin and wind. When at night she brought that home ready the stepmother thought she must be helped by some other girls, her friends; therefore the third day she gave her much more hemp than before. But when the girl had gone with the cow to the pasture, [[27]]the woman sent her own daughter after her to find out who was helping her. This girl went quietly towards her stepsister so as not to be heard, and saw the cow chewing the hemp and the girl drawing the thread from her ear and winding it, so she hastened home and told all to her mother. Then the stepmother urged the husband to kill the cow. At first he resisted; but, seeing his wife would give him no peace, he at last consented to do as she wished, and fixed the day on which he would kill it. As soon as the stepdaughter heard this she began to weep, and when the cow asked her why she wept she told her all about it. But the cow said, “Be quiet; do not cry. Only when they kill me take care not to eat any of the meat, and be sure to gather all my bones and bury them behind the house, and whenever you need anything come to my grave and you will find help.” So when they killed the cow the girl refused to eat any of the flesh, saying she was not hungry, and afterwards carefully gathered all the bones and buried them behind the house, on the spot the cow had told her.
The real name of this girl was Mary, but as she had worked so much in the house, carrying water, cooking, washing dishes, sweeping the house, and doing all sorts of housework, and had very much to do about the fire and cinders, her stepmother and half-sister called her “Papalluga” (Cinderella).
One day the stepmother got ready to go with her own daughter to church, but before she went she spread [[28]]over the house a basketful of millet, and said to her stepdaughter, “You Papalluga! If you do not gather up all this millet and get the dinner ready before we come back from church, I will kill you.”
When they had gone to church the poor girl began to weep, saying to herself: “It is easy to see after the dinner; I shall soon have that ready; but who can gather up all this quantity of millet!” At that moment she remembered what the cow had told her, that in case of need she should go to her grave and would there find help, so she ran quickly to the spot, and what do you think she saw there? On the grave stood a large box full of valuable clothes of different kinds, and on the top of the box sat two white doves, who said, “Mary, take out of this box the clothes which you like best and put them on, and then go to church; meanwhile we will pick up the millet seeds and put everything in order.” The girl was greatly pleased, and took the first clothes which came to hand. These were all of silk, and, having put them on, she went away to church. In the church everyone, men and women, wondered much at her beauty and her splendid clothes, but no one knew who she was or whence she came. The king’s son, who happened to be there, looked at her all the time and admired her greatly. Before the service was ended she stood up and quietly left the church. She then ran away home, and as soon as she got there took off her fine clothes and again laid them in the box, which instantly shut itself and disappeared.
“On the grave stood a large box of valuable clothes of different kinds”
[[29]]
Then she hurried to the hearth and found the dinner quite ready, all the millet gathered up, and everything in very good order. Soon after the stepmother came back with her daughter from the church, and was extremely surprised to find all the millet picked up and everything so well arranged.
Next Sunday the stepmother and her daughter again dressed themselves to go to church, and, before she went away, the stepmother threw much more millet about the floor, and said to her stepdaughter, “If you do not gather up all this millet, prepare the dinner, and get everything into the best order, I shall kill you.” When they were gone the girl instantly ran to her mother’s grave, and there found the box open as before, with the two doves sitting on its lid. The doves said to her, “Dress yourself, Mary, and go to church; we will pick up all the millet and arrange everything.” Then she took from the box silver clothes, and, having dressed herself, went to church. In the church everyone, as before, admired her very much, and the king’s son never moved his eyes from her. Just before the end of the service the girl again got up very quietly and stole through the crowd. When she got out of church she ran away very quickly, took off the clothes, laid them in the box, and went into the kitchen. When the stepmother and her daughter came home they were more surprised than before; the millet was gathered up, dinner was ready, and everything in the very best order. They wondered very much how it was all done. [[30]]
On the third Sunday the stepmother dressed herself to go with her daughter to church, and again scattered millet about on the ground, but this time far more than on the other Sundays. Before she went out she said to her stepdaughter, “If you do not gather up all this millet, prepare the dinner, and have everything in order when I come from church, I will kill you.” The instant they were gone the girl ran to her mother’s grave and found the box open with the two white doves sitting on the lid. The doves told her to dress herself and go to church and to have no care about the millet or dinner.