Stribor's Forest

I ~ What a pretty snake

            One day a young man went into Stribor's Forest. He had no idea that the Forest was enchanted and that a lot ofmagic was in there. Some of its magic was good and some was bad — to each one according to his preferences. 

          Now this Forest was to remain enchanted until it should beentered by someone who preferred his sorrows to all the joysof this world. 

           The young man set to and cut wood, and presently sat downon a stump to rest, for it was a fine winter's day. And out ofthe stump slipped a snake, and began to fawn upon him. Nowthis wasn't a real snake, but a human being transformed into asnake for its sins, and it could only be set free by one who waswilling to wed it. The snake sparkled like silver in the sun as itlooked up into the young man's eyes. 

          "Dear me, what a pretty snake! I should rather like to take ithome," said the young man in fun. 

          "Here's the silly fool who is going to help me out of my trouble," thought the sinful soul within the snake. So she madehaste and turned herself at once out of a snake into a mostbeautiful woman standing there before the young man. Hersleeves were white and embroidered like butterflies' wings, andher feet were tiny like a countess's. But because her thoughts had been evil, the tongue in her mouth remained a serpent'stongue. 

          "Here I am! Take me home and marry me!" said the snakewoman to the youth. 

           Now if this youth had only had presence of mind and remembered quickly to brandish his hatchet at her and call out:"I certainly never thought of wedding a piece of forest magic,"why, then the woman would at once have turned again intoa snake, wriggled back into the stump, and no harm done toanybody.

          But he was one of your good-natured, timid and shy youths; moreover, he was ashamed to say "No" to her, when she hadtransformed herself all on his account. Besides, he liked herbecause she was pretty, and he couldn't know in his innocencewhat had remained inside her mouth. 

         So he took the Woman by the hand and led her home. Nowthat youth lived with his old Mother, and he cherished hisMother as though she were the image of a saint. 

         "This is your daughter-in-law," said the youth, as he enteredthe house with the Woman.        

         "The Lord be thanked, my son," replied his Mother, and lookedat the pretty girl. But the Mother was old and wise, and knewat once what was inside her daughter-in-law's mouth. The daughter-in-law went out to change her dress, and theMother said to her son: "You have chosen a very pretty bride,my boy; only beware, lest she be a snake." 

        The youth was dumbfounded with astonishment. How couldhis Mother know that the other had been a snake? And his heartgrew angry within him as he thought: "Surely my Mother is awitch." And from that moment he hated his Mother.

So the three began to live together, but badly and discordantly. The daughter-in-law was ill-tempered, spiteful, greedyand proud. 

          Now there was a mountain peak there as high as the clouds,and one day the daughter-in-law bade the old Mother go upand fetch her snow from the summit for her to wash in. "There is no path up there," said the Mother."Take the goat and let her guide you. Where she can go up,there you can tumble down," said the daughter-in-law.The son was there at the time, but he only laughed at thewords, simply to please his wife.This so grieved the Mother that she set out at once for thepeak to fetch the snow, because she was tired of life. As shewent her way she thought to ask God to help her; but shechanged her mind and said: "For then God would know thatmy son is undutiful."

          But God gave her help all the same, so that she safely broughtthe snow back to her daughter-in-law from the cloud-cappedpeak. 

          Next day the daughter-in-law gave her a fresh order: "Go outon to the frozen lake. In the middle of the lake there is a hole. Catch me a carp there for dinner." 

"The ice will give way under me, and I shall perish in thelake," replied the old Mother. 

"The carp will be pleased if you go down with him," said thedaughter-in-law. 

And again the son laughed, and the Mother was so grievedthat she went out at once to the lake. The ice cracked under theold woman, and she wept so that the tears froze on her face. 

But yet she would not pray to God for help; she would keep itfrom God that her son was sinful. "It is better that I should perish," thought the Mother as shewalked over the ice.But her time had not yet come. And therefore a gull flew overher head, bearing a fish in its beak. The fish wriggled out ofthe gull's beak and fell right at the feet of the old woman. TheMother picked up the fish and brought it safely to her daughterin-law. 

On the third day the Mother sat by the fire, and took up herson's shirt to mend it. When her daughter-in-law saw that, sheflew at her, snatched the shirt out of her hands, and screamed:"Stop that, you blind old fool! That is none of your business." 

And she would not let the Mother mend her son's shirt.Then the old woman's heart was altogether saddened, so thatshe went outside, sat in that bitter cold on the bench before thehouse, and cried to God: "Oh God, help me!" 

At that moment she saw a poor girl coming towards her. The girl's bodice was all torn and her shoulder blue with the cold,because the sleeve had given way. But still the girl smiled, forshe was bright and sweet-tempered. Under her arm she carrieda bundle of kindling-wood."Will you buy wood for kindling, Mother?" asked the girl."I have no money, my dear; but if you like I will mend yoursleeve," sadly returned the old Mother, who was still holdingthe needle and thread with which she had wanted to mend herson's shirt. 

So the old Mother mended the girl's sleeve, and the girl gaveher a bundle of kindling-wood, thanked her kindly, and wenton happy because her shoulder was no longer cold.