Самые лучшие английские сказки / The best english fairy tales - стр. 6

There was once upon a time a good man who had two children: a girl by a first wife,[29] and a boy by the second. The girl was as white as milk, and her lips were like cherries. Her hair was like golden silk, and it hung to the ground. Her brother loved her dearly, but her wicked stepmother hated her. “Child,” said the stepmother one day, “go to the grocer’s shop and buy me a pound of candles.” She gave her the money; and the little girl went, bought the candles, and started on her return.[30] But there was a stile on her way. How to cross it? She put down the candles while she got over the stile. Suddenly a dog came and ran off with the candles.

The girl went back to the grocer’s, and the grocer gave her a second bunch. She came to the stile, set down the candles, and began to climb it over. Again came the dog and ran off with the candles.

The girl went again to the grocer’s, and the grocer gave her a third bunch. But the same thing happened![31] The big dog came again and ran off with the candles as usual.

Then the girl came to her stepmother crying, because she had spent all the money and had lost three bunches of candles.

The stepmother was angry, but she pretended not to mind the loss.[32] She said to the child, “Come, lay your head on my lap that I may comb your hair.” So the little girl laid her head in the woman’s lap, who proceeded to comb the yellow hair. And when she combed the hair fell over her knees, and rolled right down to the ground.

Then the stepmother hated her more for the beauty of her hair; so she said to her, “I cannot part your hair on my knee, fetch a billet of wood.” So she fetched it. Then said the stepmother, “I cannot part your hair with a comb, fetch me an axe.” So she fetched it.

“Now,” said the wicked woman, “lay your head down on the billet while I part your hair.”

Well! she laid down her little golden head without fear; and whist![33] down came the axe,[34] and it was off.[35] So the mother wiped the axe and laughed.

Then she took the heart and liver of the little girl, and she stewed them and brought them into the house for supper. The husband tasted them and shook his head. He said they tasted very strangely. She gave some to the little boy, but he would not eat. She tried to force him, but he refused, and ran out into the garden, and took up his little sister, and put her in a box, and buried the box under a rose-tree; and every day he went to the tree and wept, till his tears ran down on the box.

One day the rose-tree flowered. It was spring, and there among the flowers was a white bird. The bird sang, and sang, and sang like an angel out of heaven. Then it flew away. It went to a cobbler's shop, and perched itself on a tree nearby; and thus it sang,