The Three Sisters

Three sisters lived in a village, and each had a small child. One day the children followed a colourful ball of yarn that rolled along the path and reached the…

Three sisters lived in a village, and each had a small child. One day the children followed a colourful ball of yarn that rolled along the path and reached the cottage of a forest craftswoman. Their hostess was dyeing yarn in a large pot. She invited the little ones to wait for the grown-ups at the table and shape buns from dough she had already made.

The eldest sister was the first to follow the trail, and she came to a forest yard. A rowan, an apple tree and a pear tree grew nearby; there were also a cow, a well and a dough trough. They all asked for a little help: remove dry twigs, tie up low branches, fill the drinking trough, close the lid and knead the dough a little more. The eldest kept glancing at a distant fork in the path and replied that she was in too much of a hurry to stop.

Soon all three sisters came to the forest yard: the eldest had gone back for the others after losing the trail at the fork. The middle sister wanted to go straight on, but the youngest suggested answering the requests first. Together, they cleared the rowan, tied up the fruit-tree branches, gave the cow water, covered the well and kneaded the bread dough. In thanks, the trees gave them fruit, the cow a jug of milk and the dough trough bread, and all their helpers showed them the way to the cottage.

A cat sat by the door. The youngest gave him bread, milk and some ripe fruit gathered on the way. He purred contentedly and led the sisters into the kitchen. There the children were rolling out dough, and the forest craftswoman was stirring thick cherry dye for woollen ribbons in her pot, not tar. Everyone was happy to be together again.

On the porch, the craftswoman apologized: she had not noticed how far the ball of yarn had rolled and should have taken the children straight home. The sisters explained to the little ones that they must not go off without grown-ups. As a parting gift, their hostess gave them a large loaf to share and tied a long bright thread to the ball of yarn. The whole group set off for the village along the marked path, with the cat leading the way. From then on, ribbons like these helped travellers notice the forks in the path.