Stribor's Forest

II ~ Whoever is that?

That evening the daughter-in-law said to the Mother: "We aregoing out to supper with godmother. Mind you have hot waterfor me when I come back." 

The daughter-in-law was greedy and always on the look-outto get invited for a meal. 

So the others went out, and the old woman was left alone.She took out the kindling-wood which the poor girl had givenher, lit the fire on the hearth, and went into the shed for wood. As she was in the shed fetching the wood, she suddenlyheard something in the kitchen a-bustling and a-rustling —"hist, hist!"

"Whoever is that?" called the old Mother from the shed."Brownies! Brownies!" came the answer from the kitchen invoices so tiny, for all the world like sparrows chirping underthe roof.

The old woman wondered what on earth was going on therein the dark, and went into the kitchen. And when she got therethe kindling-chips just flared up on the hearth, and round theflame there were Brownies dancing in a ring — all tiny littlemen no bigger than half an ell. They wore little fur coats; theircaps and shoes were red as flames; their beards were grey asashes, and their eyes sparkled like live coal.

More and more of them danced out of the flames, one foreach chip. And as they appeared they laughed and chirped,turned somersaults on the hearth, twittered with glee, and thentook hands and danced in a ring.

And how they danced! Round the hearth, in the ashes, under the cupboard, on the table, in the jug, on the chair! Roundand round! Faster and faster! They chirped and they chattered, chased and romped all over the place. They scattered the salt;they spilt the barm; they upset the flour — all for sheer fun. Thefire on the hearth blazed and shone, crackled and glowed; andthe old woman gazed and gazed. She never regretted the saltnor the barm, but was glad of the jolly little folk whom Godhad sent to comfort her. 

It seemed to the old woman as though she were growingyoung again. She laughed like a dove; she tripped like a girl;she took hands with the Brownies and danced. But all the timethere was the load on her heart, and that was so heavy that thedance stopped at once.

"Little brothers," said the Mother to the Brownies, "can younot help me to get a sight of my daughter-in-law's tongue, sothat when I can show my son what I have seen with my owneyes he will perhaps come to his senses?" 

And the old woman told the Brownies all that had happened.The Brownies sat round the edge of the hearth, their little feetthrust under the grate, each wee mannikin beside his neighbour, and listened to the old woman, all wagging their heads inwonder. And as they wagged their heads, their red caps caughtthe glow of the fire, and you'd have thought there was nothingthere but the fire burning on the hearth.

When the old woman had finished her story, one of the Brownies called out, and his name was Malik: "I will helpyou! I will go to the sunshiny land and bring you magpies'eggs. We will put them under the sitting hen, and when themagpies are hatched your daughter-in-law will betray herself.She will crave for little magpies like any ordinary forest snake,and so put out her tongue."

All the Brownies twittered with joy because Malik had thought of something so clever. They were still at the heightof their glee when in came the daughter-in-law from supperwith a cake for herself. 

She flew to the door in a rage to see who was chattering in thekitchen. But just as she opened the door, the door went bang!the flame leapt, up jumped the Brownies, gave one stamp allround the hearth with their tiny feet, rose up above the flames,flew up to the roof, — the boards in the roof creaked a bit, andthe Brownies were gone! 

Only Malik did not run away, but hid among theashes.When the flame leapt so unexpectedly and the door bangedto, the daughter-in-law got a start, so that for sheer fright she plumped on the floor like a sack. The cake broke in her hand;her hair came down, combs and all; her eyes goggled, and shecalled out angrily: "What was that, you old hag?"

"The wind blew up the flame when the door opened," saidthe Mother, and kept her wits about her.

"And what is that among the ashes?" said the daughter-inlaw again. For from the ashes peeped the red heel of Malik's shoe. 

"That is a live ember," said the Mother.However, the daughter-in-law would not believe her, but, alldishevelled as she was, she got up and went over to see close towhat was on the hearth. As she bent down with her face overthe ashes Malik quickly let out with his foot, so thathis heel caught the daughter-in-law on the nose. The Womanscreamed as if she were drowning in the sea; her face was allover soot, and her tumbled hair all smothered with ashes."What was that, you miserable old woman?" hissed the daughter-in-law."A chestnut bursting in the fire," answered the Mother; and Malik in the ashes almost split with laughter.While the daughter-in-law went out to wash, the Mother showed Wee Tintilinkie where the daughter-in-law had set the hen,so as to have little chickens for Christmas. That very night Malik fetched magpies' eggs and put them under the hen instead of hens' eggs.