Section 1
Once, there lived a woman who was truly a witch, she had two daughters - one who was unattractive and malevolent, and the witch loved her dearly as she was her biological child, the other daughter was beautiful and kind, but the witch despised her as she was her stepdaughter. On one occasion, the stepdaughter wore a lovely apron, which caught the eye of her stepsister, feeling envious, the stepsister expressed her desire to have the apron to her mother and insisted that she must possess it at all costs. The elderly woman replied, "Hush now, my dear child. You shall have the apron. Your stepsister deserves to die, and tonight, while she is sleeping, I will come and decapitate her." The witch instructed her daughter, "Just make sure to stand at the far end of the bed and push her towards the front, but be careful." Fortunately, the stepsister was standing in a corner at that moment and overheard the conversation. If she hadn't, she would have been done for. The stepsister remained indoors throughout the day and waited until bedtime, however, the witch's daughter got into bed first, occupying the far end. But once she fell asleep, the stepsister gently pushed her towards the front and took the place at the back near the wall. During the night, the witch snuck into the room, carrying an axe in her right hand, with her left hand, she felt to see if someone was sleeping at the outer side of the bed, satisfied that her target was there, she grabbed the axe with both hands and proceeded to cut off her own daughter's head.
After the witch had left the room, the stepsister got out of bed and went to her lover's house, his name was Roland, and she knocked on his door. Upon Roland's arrival, the stepsister said to him, "My dearest Roland, we must flee immediately, my stepmother tried to kill me but ended up murdering her own child instead. When she discovers her mistake at daybreak, we'll be in grave danger." "But," replied Roland, "I advise you to take her magic wand first. If she chases us, we won't be able to flee." The maiden retrieved the wand and took the dead girl's head, she then dripped three drops of blood onto the floor - one in front of the bed, one in the kitchen, and one on the stairs. Afterward, she hastily departed with her lover.
The following morning, the witch woke up and called for her daughter to give her the apron, but she didn't respond. The witch called out, "Where are you?" and heard a voice from the stairs, "I'm here, sweeping," which was actually the first drop of blood she had dripped. The old woman went to the stairs but found no one there, she called out again, "Where are you?" and heard the second drop of blood respond, "I'm here in the kitchen, warming myself." She went to the kitchen but found no one there. The old woman called out again, "Where are you?" and heard the third drop of blood respond, "Oh, I'm here in bed, sleeping." She went to the room and found her own child lying in bed, bathed in her own blood with her head cut off. The witch became furious and ran to the window. From there, she could see far into the world and spotted her stepdaughter fleeing with her lover, Roland. "That won't help you," she cried. "Even if you've gone far away, you won't be able to escape me." She put on her boots, which covered an hour's walk with every step, and soon caught up with them. Upon seeing the old woman approaching her, the girl used her magic wand to transform her lover, Roland, into a lake and herself into a duck swimming in the middle of it. The witch positioned herself by the shoreline and made an effort to lure the duck by throwing breadcrumbs into the water, but despite her persistent attempts, the duck remained untempted and didn't fall for her trick, as a result, the old woman had no choice but to leave empty-handed just as she had arrived. Afterward, the girl and her lover Roland transformed back to their original appearances and continued to walk throughout the entire night until morning. At daybreak, the young woman changed into an attractive blossom situated in the center of a thorny bush while Roland became a musician playing thefiddle. Before long, the witch approached them and addressed the musician, "My dear musician, would you permit me to pick that lovely flower for myself?" "Certainly," he responded, "I will play music for you while you do it." As she quickly entered the thorny hedge to pluck the flower, fully aware of its true identity, he began to play his music, and despite her unwillingness, she was compelled to dance by the enchanting tune. As the musician played with increasing speed, the witch was compelled to make more vigorous leaps and jumps, the thorny bushes around her tore her clothes off her body, and their prickly spikes wounded her so severely that she bled, despite her agony, the musician did not cease playing, and she was forced to continue dancing until she collapsed lifeless on the ground.
