Very soon she began to grow, and grow, and in a short time she was ten yards high. Then he remembered the words of the old wood-cutter, and trembled. However, he only said to her, ‘How you are growing, auntie.’ ‘Oh, no, my son,’ she answered, ‘I am only warming myself.’ She still grew taller and taller, and had grown as tall as the beech-tree, when he again exclaimed, ‘But how you are growing, old woman!’
‘Oh, no, my son. I am only warming myself,’ she repeated as before.
But he saw that she meant him mischief, so he shouted to his companions, ‘Hold her, my dog! hold her, my little bear! hold her, my little wolf! hold her, my pussy!’ Thereupon they all jumped on the old woman, and began to tear her. Seeing she was unable to help herself, she begged him to save her from her furious enemies, and promised she would give him whatever he asked. ‘Well,’ said he, ‘I demand that you bring back to life my two brothers, with their companions, and all those you have destroyed. Besides that, I demand ten loads of ducats. If you will not comply with these demands, I shall leave you to be torn to pieces by my animals.’ The old woman agreed to do all this, only she begged hard that one man should not be brought back to life, because she had said, when she had turned him to ashes, ‘When you arise, may I lie down in your place!’ and, therefore, she was afraid she should be turned to ashes herself if he came back to life.
As the eldest brother, however, thought that she was trying to cheat him, he would not comply with her request.
Finding that she could not otherwise help herself, she at length said to him, ‘Take some ashes from that heap under the tree, and throw them over yourself and your company, and whilst you do so say, “Arise up, dust and ashes—what I am now may you also be!”’
Wonder of wonders! The moment he did as she told him, there arose up crowds of men—more than ten thousand of them. On seeing such a multitude of people coming from under the tree, he was almost struck senseless with astonishment. But he explained to them briefly what had happened. Most of them thanked him heartily; some, however, of them would not believe him, and said with anger, ‘We would rather you had not awakened us.’ Then they went away in crowds; some took one way, some another, until they were all dispersed. Only his two brothers remained behind; though they, too, for some time could not believe that he was their brother. However, when they saw that their animals recognised his, they remembered that no one but themselves had had such a strange company of beasts. Having recognised each other, the brothers fell into each other’s arms, and embraced affectionately. Then they divided the ducats which the old woman had given to the eldest, loaded their animals with their treasures, and went straight away towards the place where they were born, and where their parents had died.
As for the old woman, when the last man arose from the ashes under the oak-tree, she herself crumbled into ashes under it.
The three brothers built three fine palaces for themselves, and lived therein some time unmarried. At length, however, they began to think what would become of all their property after their deaths, and said to each other that it would be a pity for them to die without heirs. So they resolved to marry, that their wealth might be left to their sons and daughters.
The eldest brother said, ‘Let me go and find the best wives I can for all three of us; meantime you two will remain here, and take care of our property.’ The others gladly agreed to this, as the eldest brother had given proofs enough that he was by far the wisest of the three, and they felt sure that he would be able also to bring this important business to a successful issue. So he made the needful preparations, and started on his journey to look out for three wives for himself and the two younger brothers who remained at home.
After long travelling he arrived at a large city, and resolved to remain there all night, and to continue his journey in the morning.