‘All right,’ replied the uncle, and they went to the door of the room.
‘It seems very dark,’ said the boy; ‘I must go and get a light;’ and when he came back with one, he set fire to the straw, and the serpent was burnt.
Then the mother broke into sobs and tears. ‘Oh, you wretched boy! What have you done? Your father was in that straw, and you have killed him!’
‘Now, how was I to know that my father was lying in that straw, instead of in the kitchen?’ said the boy.
But his mother only wept the more, and sobbed out, ‘From this day you have no father. You must do without him as best you can!’
‘Why did you marry a serpent?’ asked the boy. ‘I thought he was a man! How did he learn those odd tricks?’
As the sun rose, she woke her brother, and said, ‘Go and take the goats to pasture!’
‘I will come too,’ said the little boy.
‘Go then!’ said his mother, and they went together.
On the way the boy began: ‘Dear uncle, this night my mother means to kill both of us, by poisoning us with the bones of the serpent, which she will grind to powder and sprinkle in our food.’