The Three Sisters

Three married sisters lived in a village. Once, their husbands went away somewhere. A witch came to the eldest sister to borrow a spade, but when the woman went…

Three married sisters lived in a village. Once, their husbands went away somewhere. A witch came to the eldest sister to borrow a spade, but when the woman went to fetch it and returned, both the witch and her child were gone. She ran down the road and asked a rowan tree:

“Little rowan, little rowan, have you seen a witch with a child?”

“Clean me and tidy up around me, and then I’ll tell you.”

“I haven’t time!” the peasant woman said impatiently, and hurried on.

The same thing happened when she questioned an apple tree, a pear tree, a cow, a well and a kneading trough. The apple and pear trees asked her to clean them, the cow to milk her, the well to cover it, and the trough to knead dough in it. The woman refused them all. At last she reached a little hut and went inside. There sat an old witch; pitch was boiling over the fire in the stove, and the child lay on the ledge beside it.

“Why is the pitch boiling?” asked the desperate mother.

“I want to boil your child,” the witch replied.

The mother began to beg and plead.

“Scratch my head,” said the witch.

The woman obeyed, but she had barely smoothed the witch’s hair when the pitch began to overflow from the pot.

“Move the pot aside!” said the witch. The mother seized the pot of pitch, threw it over the witch, then took her child and fled.

The cat scratched the witch’s eyes free, and she set off in pursuit. The kneading trough, well, cow, pear tree, apple tree and rowan showed her the way. The witch caught up and tore the child apart. The next day the same misfortune befell the middle sister. On the third day the witch visited the youngest sister, the simpleton, and stole her child. The youngest did as the rowan, pear tree, apple tree, cow, well and kneading trough asked. In return she received fruit from the trees, a jug of milk from the cow, a bottle of water from the well and bread from the trough. She doused the witch in pitch, but as she fled she threw the cat all the provisions she had received.

“Cat, clear my eyes!” the witch shouted.

“Wait, I’m eating the bread!”

He finished the bread, and the witch shouted again:

“Cat, clear my eyes!”

“Wait, I’m having the milk!” And so it went on.

By the time he was ready to clear the witch’s eyes, the mother and child were already home.