They tore the fire asunder, extinguished
the flames, set their dear sister free, and kissed and embraced her. And
now as she dared to open her mouth and speak, she told the King why she
had been dumb, and had never laughed. The King rejoiced when he heard that
she was innocent, and they all lived in great unity until their death. The
wicked step-mother was taken before the judge, and put into a barrel
filled with boiling oil and venomous snakes, and died an evil death.
10 The Pack of Ragamuffins
The cock once said to the hen, "It is now the time when our nuts are
ripe, so let us go to the hill together and for once eat our fill
before the squirrel takes them all away." "Yes," replied the hen,
"come, we will have some pleasure together." Then they went away to
the hill, and on it was a bright day they stayed till evening. Now I
do not know whether it was that they had eaten till they were too fat,
or whether they had become proud, but they would not go home on foot,
and the cock had to build a little carriage of nut-shells. When it
was ready, the little hen seated herself in it and said to the cock,
"Thou canst just harness thyself to it.
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