Stribor's Forest

III ~ And what will become of my son?

The daughter-in-law bade the Mother take good care of the henand to tell her at once whenever the chickens were hatched. Because the daughter-in-law intended to invite the whole villageto come and see that she had chickens at Christmas, when nobody else had any. 

In due time the magpies were hatched. The Mother told herdaughter-in-law that the chickens had come out, and the daughter-in-law invited the village. Gossips and neighbours camealong, both great and small, and the old woman's son was theretoo. The Wife told her mother-in-law to fetch the nest and bringit into the passage.

The Mother brought in the nest, lifted off the hen, and behold,there was something chirping in the nest. The naked magpiesscrambled out, and hop, hop, hopped all over the passage.

When the Snake-Woman so unexpectedly caught sight of magpies, she betrayed herself. Her serpent's nature craved its prey;she darted down the passage after the little magpies and shotout her thin quivering tongue at them as she used to do in theForest. 

Gossips and neighbours screamed and crossed themselves,and took their children home, because they realised that thewoman was indeed a snake from the Forest. 

But the Mother went up to her son full of joy."Take her back to where you brought her from, my son. Nowyou have seen with your own eyes what it is you are cherishingin your house;" and the Mother tried to embrace her son.But the son was utterly infatuated, so that he only hardenedhimself the more against the village, and against his Mother,and against the evidence of his own eyes. He would not turnaway the Snake-Woman, but cried out upon his Mother: "Wheredid you get young magpies at this time of year, you old witch? Get out of my house!"

Eh, but the poor Mother saw that there was no help for it.She wept and cried, and only begged her son not to turn herout of the house in broad daylight for all the village to see whatmanner of son she had reared.

So the son allowed his Mother to stay in the house until nightfall.

When evening came, the old Mother put some bread into herbag, and a few of those kindling-chips which the poor girl hadgiven her, and then she went weeping and sobbing out of herson's house.

But as the Mother crossed the threshold, the fire went out onthe hearth, and the crucifix fell from the wall. Son and daughterin-law were left alone in the darkened cottage. And now theson felt that he had sinned greatly against his Mother, and herepented bitterly. But he did not dare to speak of it to his wife,because he was afraid. So he just said: "Let's follow Mother andsee her die of cold."

Up jumped the wicked daughter-in-law, overjoyed, and fetched their fur coats, and they dressed and followed the old womanfrom afar.

The poor Mother went sadly over the snow, by night, overthe fields. She came to a wide stubble-field, and there she wasso overcome by the cold that she could go no farther. So shetook the kindling-wood out of her bag, scraped the snow aside,and fit a fire to warm herself by.

But look! no sooner had the chips caught fire than the Browniescame out of them, just the same as on the household hearth!They skipped out of the fire and all round in the snow, andthe sparks flew about them in all directions into the night.The poor old woman was so glad she could almost have criedfor joy because they had not forsaken her on her way. And theBrownies crowded round her, laughed and whistled.

"Oh, dear Brownies," said the Mother, "I don't want to beamused just now; help me in my sore distress!"Then she told the Brownies how her silly son had grown stillmore bitter against her since even he and all the village hadcome to know that his wife truly had a serpent's tongue: "Hehas turned me away; help me if you can."

For a while the Brownies were silent, for a while their littleshoes tapped the snow, and they did not know what to advise.At last Malik said: "Let's go to Stribor, our master.He always knows what to do." 

And at once Malik shinned up a hawthorn-tree;he whistled on his fingers, and out of the dark and over thestubble-field there came trotting towards them a stag and twelvesquirrels!

They set the old Mother on the stag, and theBrownies got on the twelve squirrels, and off they went toStribor's Forest

Away and into the night they rode. The stag had mightyantlers with many points, and at the end of each point thereburned a little star. The stag gave light on the way, and at hisheels sped the twelve squirrels, each squirrel with eyes thatshone like two diamonds. They sped and they fled, and far behind them toiled the daughter-in-law and her husband, quiteout of breath.

So they came to Stribor's Forest, and the stag carried the oldwoman through the forest.Even in the dark the daughter-in-law knew that this was Stribor's Forest, where she had once before been enchanted for hersins. But she was so full of spite that she could not think of hernew sins nor feel fear because of them, but triumphed all themore to herself and said: "Surely the simple old woman willperish in this Forest amid all the magic!" and she ran still fasterafter the stag. 

But the stag carried the Mother before Stribor. Now Striborwas lord of that Forest. He dwelt in the heart of the Forest, in anoak so huge that there was room in it for seven golden castles, and a village all fenced about with silver. In front of the finestof the castles sat Stribor himself on a throne, arrayed in a cloakof scarlet

"Help this old woman, who is being destroyed by her serpentdaughter-in-law," said the Brownies to Stribor, after both theyand the Mother had bowed low before him. And they told himthe whole story. But the son and daughter-in-law crept up tothe oak, and looked and listened through a wormhole to seewhat would happen.

When the Brownies had finished, Stribor said to the old woman: "Fear nothing. Mother! Leave your daughter-in-law. Lether continue in her wickedness until it shall bring her again tothe state from which she freed herself too soon. As for yourself,I can easily help you. Look at yonder village, fenced about withsilver." 

The Mother looked, and there! It was her own native village,where she had lived when she was young, and in the villagethere was holiday and merry-making. Bells were ringing, fiddles playing, flags waving, and songs resounding."Cross the fence, clap your hands, and you will at once regainyour youth. You will remain in your village to be young andblithe once more as you were fifty years ago," said Stribor.

At that the old woman was glad as never before in her life.She ran to the fence; already her hand was on the silver gate,when she suddenly bethought herself of something, and askedStribor: "And what will become of my son?" 

"Don't talk foolishness, old woman!" replied Stribor. "Howwould you know about your son? He will remain in this presenttime, and you will go back to your youth. You will know nothing about any son!"

When the old woman heard that, she considered sadly. Andthen she turned slowly away from the gate, went back to Stribor,bowed low before him, and said: "I thank you, kind lord, for allthe favour you would show me. But I would rather abide in mymisery and know that I have a son than that you should giveme all the riches and happiness in the world and I forget myson."

As the Mother said this, the whole Forest rang again. Therewas an end to the magic in Stribor's Forest, because the Motherpreferred her sorrows to all the joys of this world.

The entire Forest quaked, the earth fell in, and the huge oak,with its castles and its silver-fenced village, sank underground.Stribor and the Brownies vanished, the daughter-in-law gave ashriek, turned into a snake, wriggled away down a hole, andMother and Son were left alone side by side in the middle ofthe Forest.

The son fell on his knees before his mother, kissed the hemof her garment and her sleeve, and then he lifted her up in hisarms and carried her back to their home, which they happilyreached by daybreak.

The son prayed God and his Mother to forgive him. Godforgave him, and his Mother had never been angry with him.Later on the young man married that poor but sweet girl whohad brought the Brownies to their house. They are all threeliving happily together to this day, and Malik loves tovisit their hearth of a winter's evening.

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