On the edge of a forest lived a poor woodcutter with his wife and three daughters. One day, he was going deep into the woods. So, he asked his eldest daughter to bring his lunch. He would mark the way by dropping millet seeds which he carried with them.
But some birds pecked the millet seeds and his daughter couldn’t find the way till it grew dark. She reached a hut in the forest and found an old man living there with a speckled cow, a hen and a rooster.
“You may stay and share our food,” said the old man, “But you’ll have to cook something.”
The girl was grateful and made some food. She fed the old man but forgot the cow, the hen and the rooster. Then the old man told her to go upstairs and sleep on the bed there.
When she was asleep, the old man came and opened a trapdoor. The girl slid off into a cellar, cold and damp!
The woodcutter returned home tired and hungry. He wondered where the eldest girl was. The next day, he asked the second girl to bring his lunch. He would scatter lentils to show her the way.
But once again, the birds ate up the lentils and the girl lost her way. She reached the hut in the forest and the same thing happened to her.
On the third day, the woodcutter’s youngest daughter took his lunch but the birds had eaten up the peas that the woodcutter dropped. So, she reached the same hut.
But she was a kind–hearted girl. She gave some barley to the hen and the rooster and hay to the cow. After that, she served soup to the old man and had some herself.
The youngest girl was fast asleep when she felt that she heard what sounded like thunder. She thought that there was a storm outside, but soon fell asleep again.
In the morning, she was amazed to see that everything around her was transformed! The old man was actually a handsome prince and the three animals were his servants.
“You broke the spell that a wicked witch had placed on us with your kindness to me and my animals,” said the prince, “I have set your sisters free to return home. Will you marry me?”
The youngest girl married the prince and they lived happily everafter in the palace. The sisters went home where they learnt to be kind to all creatures.
