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By Root 2222 0

to the door and knocked. When he had knocked for the third time, an old woman with a brown face and red eyes opened the door. She had spectacles on her long nose, and looked sharply at him; then she asked what he wanted. “Entrance, food, and a bed for the night,” replied the drummer. “That you shall have,” said the old woman, “if you will perform three services in return.” “Why not?” he answered, “I am not afraid of any kind of work, however hard it may be.” The old woman let him go in, and gave him some food and a good bed at night. The next morning when he had slept his fill, she took a thimble from her wrinkled finger, reached it to the drummer, and said: “Go to work now, and empty out the pond with this thimble; but you must have it done before night, and must have sought out all the fishes which are in the water and laid them side by side, according to their kind and size.” “That is strange work,” said the drummer, but he went to the pond, and began to empty it. He baled the whole morning; but what can anyone do to a great lake with a thimble, even if he were to bale for a thousand years?

When it was noon, he thought: “It is all useless, and whether I work or not it will come to the same thing.” So he gave it up and sat down. Then came a maiden out of the house who set a little basket with food before him, and said: “What ails you, that you sit so sadly here?” He looked at her, and saw that she was wondrously beautiful. “Ah,” said he, “I cannot finish the first piece of work, how will it be with the others? I came forth to seek a king’s daughter who is said to dwell here, but I have not found her, and I will go farther.” “Stay here,” said the maiden, “I will help you out of your difficulty. You are tired, lay your head in my lap, and sleep. When you awake again, your work will be done.” The drummer did not need to be told that twice. As soon as his eyes were shut, she turned a wishing-ring and said: “Rise, water. Fishes, come out.” Instantly the water rose on high like a white mist, and moved away with the other clouds, and the fishes sprang on the shore and laid themselves side by side each according to his size and kind. When the drummer awoke, he saw with amazement that all was done. But the maiden said: “One of the fish is not lying with those of its own kind, but quite alone; when the old woman comes to-night and sees that all she demanded has been done, she will ask you: ‘What is this fish lying alone for?’ Then throw the fish in her face, and say: ‘This one shall be for you, old witch.’ ” In the evening the witch came, and when she had put this question, he threw the fish in her face. She behaved as if she did not notice it, and said nothing, but looked at him with malicious eyes. Next morning she said: “Yesterday it was too easy for you, I must give you harder work. To-day you must hew down the whole of the forest, split the wood into logs, and pile them up, and everything must be finished by the evening.” She gave him an axe, a mallet, and two wedges. But the axe was made of lead, and the mallet and wedges were of tin. When he began to cut, the edge of the axe was blunted, and the mallet and wedges were beaten out of shape. He did not know how to manage, but at mid-day the maiden came once more with his dinner and comforted him. “Lay your head on my lap,” said she, “and sleep; when you awake, your work will be done.” She turned her wishing-ring, and in an instant the whole forest fell down with a crash, the wood split, and arranged itself in heaps, and it seemed just as if unseen giants were finishing the work. When he awoke, the maiden said: “Do you see that the wood is piled up and arranged, one bough alone remains; but when the old woman comes this evening and asks you about that bough, give her a blow with it, and say: ‘That is for you, you witch.’ ”

The old woman came: “There you see how easy the work was!” said she; “but for whom have you left that bough?” “For you, you witch,” he replied, and gave her a blow with it. But she pretended not to feel it, laughed scornfully, and said: “Early to-morrow morning