Big Book of Ancient Gabanian Fables

Book CLILI: The Lambkin and the Little Fish

There were once a little brother and a little sister, who lovedeach other with all their hearts. Their own mother, however, wasdead, and they had a step-mother who was not kind to them, andsecretly did everything she could to hurt them. It so happenedthat the two were playing with other children in a meadow beforethe house, and there was a pond in the meadow which came upto one side of the house. The children ran about it, and caughteach other, and played at counting out. Eneke beneke, let me live, and I to you my bird will give. The little bird, it straw shall seek, the straw I'll give to the cow to eat. The pretty cow shall give me milk, the milk I'll to the baker take. The baker he shall bake a cake, the cake I'll give unto the cat. The cat shall catch some mice for that, the mice I'll hang up in the smoke, and then you'll see the snow.They stood in a circle while they played this, and the one towhom the word snow fell, had to run away and all the others ranafter him and caught him. As they were running about so merrilythe step-mother watched them from the window, and grew angry.And as she understood arts of witchcraft she bewitched them both,and changed the little brother into a fish, and the little sisterinto a lamb. Then the fish swam here and there about the pond andwas very sad, and the lambkin walked up and down the meadow,and was miserable, and could not eat or touch one blade of grass.Thuspassed a long time, and then strangers came as visitors to thecastle. The false step-mother thought, this is a good opportunity,and called the cook and said to him, go and fetch the lamb fromthe meadow and kill it, we have nothing else for the visitors.Then the cook went away and got the lamb, and took it into thekitchen and tied its feet, and all this it bore patiently. Whenhe had drawn out his knife and was whetting it on the door-stepto kill the lamb, he noticed a little fish swimming backwardsand forwards in the water, in front of the gutter-stone andlooking up at him. This, however, was the brother, for when thefish saw the cook take the lamb away, it followed them and swamalong the pond to the house, then the lamb cried down to it, ah, brother, in the pond so deep, how sad is my poor heart. The cook he whets his knife to take away my life.The little fish answered, ah, little sister, up on high how sad is my poor heart while in this pond I lie.When the cook heard that the lambkin could speak and said suchsad words to the fish down below, he was terrified and thoughtthis could be no common lamb, but must be bewitched by the wickedwoman in the house. Then said he, be easy, I will not kill you,and took another sheep and made it ready for the guests, andconveyed the lambkin to a good peasant woman, to whom he relatedall that he had seen and heard.The peasant, however, was the very woman who had been foster-motherto the little sister, and she suspected at once who thelamb was, and went with it to a wise woman. Then the wise womanpronounced a blessing over the lambkin and the little fish, bymeans of which they regained their human forms, and after thisshe took them both into a little hut in a great forest, wherethey lived alone, but were contented and happy.