Atondido Stories
to do. He led her off into the mountains, where he built her a
little two-room hut. He was ashamed to tell her that he was go-
ing to leave her alone, so he said to her:
“You stay here, my dear child, while I go farther into the for-
est and cut you some firewood.”
But instead of cutting her firewood, he hung his mallet on a
beech tree and whenever the wind blew, the mallet made a
knocking sound. All afternoon poor little Lenka hearing the
knock-knock of the mallet thought to herself: “There is my dear
father chopping wood for me!”
When evening came and he hadn’t returned, Lenka went out
to find him, but all she could find was the mallet going knock-
knock on the tree. Then the poor girl realized that her father had
deceived her but she forgave him, for she knew that it was her
stepmother’s fault.
She went back to the little hut to get her supper, but when
she opened the sack her stepmother had given her, instead of
meal and smoked meat and bread, she found only ashes and
straw and stones. Then indeed did Lenka feel deserted and
sitting down she cried with loneliness and hunger.
While she was crying an old beggar with a long beard came
into the hut.
“God grant you happiness, my child,” he said.
“May He grant you the same, old father,” Lenka said, stand-
ing up and bowing politely.
“Thank you, my child, thank you. And now will you be so
kind as to wash my face and give me a bite of supper?”
“Indeed, old father, I’d gladly wash your face and give you
food, but there’s no water here and nothing to carry it in. And as
for food, my stepmother filled the sack with ashes, straw, and
stones.”
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