Atondido Stories
One night when the two girls were walking home together
from a spinning bee, they came to a ditch in the road. Dorla
jumped quickly across and then reached back her hand and said:
“My dear sister, let me hold your spindle. You may fall and hurt
yourself.”
Poor Lenka, suspecting nothing unkind, handed Dorla her
full spindle. Dorla took it and ran home and then boasted to her
mother and her stepfather how much she had spun.
“Lenka,” she said, “has no yarn at all. She did nothing but
play and waste her time.”
“You see,” said the woman to her husband. “This is what I’m
always telling you but you never believe me. That Lenka of
yours is a lazy, good-for-nothing girl who expects me and my
poor daughter to do all the work. I’m not going to stand her in
the house any longer. Tomorrow morning out she goes to make
her own way in the world. Then perhaps she’ll understand what
a good home she’s had with me!”
The poor man tried to defend Lenka but his wife would hear
nothing. Lenka must go and that was all there was to it.
Early the next morning while it was still dark the woman
started Lenka off. She gave her a sack that she said was full of
good meal and smoked meat and bread. But instead of meal she
put in ashes, instead of smoked meat straw, and instead of bread
stones.
“Here is meal and smoked meat and bread for your jour-
ney,” she said. “You will be a long time finding any one who will
be as good to you as I have been! Now be off with you and never
let me see you again! Let your father put you out in service if he
can!”
The poor man put his ax on his shoulder and started off with
Lenka. He had no place to take her and he hardly knew what
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