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The Old Man's Daughter and The Old Woman's Daughter CLUBUL COPIILOR LUGOJ ROMANIA Story illustrated by Ionut Priala

The Old Man's Daughter and The Old Woman's Daughter

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Page 1: The Old Man's Daughter and The Old Woman's Daughter

The Old Man's Daughter and

The Old Woman's Daughter CLUBUL COPIILOR LUGOJ ROMANIA

Story illustrated by Ionut Priala

Page 2: The Old Man's Daughter and The Old Woman's Daughter

1

nce upon a time, there was an old lady

and an old man. Each of them had a

daughter. The woman‟s daughter

was ugly, lazy, grumpy and she had an unkind

heart, but because she was momma‟s girl,

she was very spoilt and left all the work

to be done by the man‟s daughter. The

latter, on the other hand, was

beautiful, hard-working, listened

to her father and had a kind heart.

But this girl was insulted and

exploited by the bad girl and her

mother.

All day long the old man‟s

daughter worked hard to fulfil her

chores, but in the end, the old

lady and her lazy daughter were

still unsatisfied.

In the evening, when they

all gathered in the village to meet with other villagers, the man‟s daughter spun

a full basket of wool, while the bad daughter hardly spun one. Later in the night

when they came home, the old lady‟s daughter used to trick the old man by

telling him she had done all the work. It was useless for the good girl to try to

convince the parents that her half-sister was lying.

On Sundays and other celebrations, the woman‟s daughter was always

dressed up and had her hair done. There was no party or dance in the village that

the old woman‟s daughter didn‟t go to, while the man‟s daughter was never

allowed to do any of these.

What is more, when her father came back home, the woman would tell him his

daughter did not listen to her and that she was lazy and of a bad seed. She used

to ask him to chase her away from home.

With a heavy heart the old man used to listen to these things and was

forced to do as she asked as the old lady was clearly the boss in the house.

One day, feeling sad and helpless, the old man because of all the things

the old lady had told him, called his daughter and told her :

“My dear daughter, your mother keeps telling me things about you- that

you don‟t listen to her, that you talk badly to her and so you can no longer live

in my house from now on. You must leave now and go wherever your feet carry

you in order to keep the peace in this house. But, I advise you as your father,

that wherever you go, you should try to be kind, obedient and hard-working. In

this house you have had good parental care but when you meet strangers they

will not put up with things the way we have tolerated things here.”

O

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Then, the poor girl, seeing that the old woman and her daughter wanted to

chase her away by all means, kissed her father‟s hand and, with tears in her eyes

headed towards the unknown without any hope of returning.

The miserable child left his home. She was very sad. She didn‟t know

where to go. Her heart was broken. She was walking and walking without any

direction.

Suddenly, the girl saw a small bird lying on the road. The bird‟s wing was

broken. The girl was kind- hearted so she hugged the bird and bound up the

bird‟s broken wing with her hair ribbon. She continued walking, carrying the

bird in her hands.

After walking for a long time, the girl stopped to have a rest. But she was

very tired and fell asleep.

She woke up hearing a strange noise. The bird was flapping its wings and

urged the girl to stand up. The girl continued walking till she made her way into

a forest and there she heard a cry. When she approached the sound, she saw a

pit. In the pit there was a cub. The cub was trying to climb out but was

unsuccessful. The girl looked around and saw a tree branch. She threw it into the

pit. The cub climbed up and emerged from the pit. The cub licked her hands to

express its gratitude to her. The cub joined up with the girl and the bird. They

continued walking together. They went deeper into the forest. In a glade, the girl

noticed a deer. The deer‟s antlers were entangled in some under growth and it

couldn‟t move. The girl helped the deer to disentangle. The deer joined the

group.

The four companions went on walking together. They reached a small,

desolate house situated in a sunny glade. There were many beautiful flowers

there. They settled in the house and lived together. Gradually, all the animals

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living in the forest, began to come to the girl when they were ill or wounded and

she took care of them.

In the dark forest, thousands of colourful flowers, strawberries,

blueberries, raspberries and herbs grew in the clearing.

In a short time, aided by her animal friends, the girl managed to give the

small house a cosy and cheerful appearance. A small room had even been

reserved for the animals in need of care. One day she helped a bunny with a

broken paw. The day after, she helped a deer with a bleeding ear. Another day

she helped a hawk with an arrow stuck in its wing. She also helped a raccoon

with a bad stomach ache.

The girl and her friends took care of all the animals with love and

dedication.

Once healed, all the animals wanted to make themselves available to the

girl and her friends to help in their charitable work.

However, it needs to be said that a wicked witch wielded her magic power

over this forest. This witch began to become jealous of the beautiful, good girl.

One day the son of the king of the region entered the forest on his white

horse. The witch saw him through her magic crystal ball and fell head over heels

for him. At that very instant, the prince‟s horse put his hoof in a trap set by

hunters and dropped the prince down. The prince began to scream in pain.

The girl, who was nearby, rushed immediately to his aid when the girl

arrived, she leaned over the prince and was mesmerised by his emerald eyes.

The prince looked at her in amazement. The girl helped him up then went to free

the horse from the trap. The frightened horse ran quickly into the thick, dark

forest.

Meanwhile, the witch was watching the whole scene from her magic

crystal ball and became full of rage and jealousy, she decided to put a terrible

spell on the poor prince and girl.

The witch turned the girl into a fox and the prince into a hawk. The hawk

and the fox looked at each other. A thousand thoughts crossed their minds.

Looking into the eyes of the little fox, the hawk realised the fox was frightened.

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The hawk wanted to comfort her but then his human feelings started to

disappear and a wild animal instinct took control of his mind. Now he only

wanted to kill the fox so he attacked but at the last second he saw her human

eyes. He recognised her and stopped himself. He knew that the best thing he

could do would be to fly away.

She didn‟t understand his behaviour. She was so lost in her new form.

Everything was so big and terrifying. She heard some strange noise, got scared

and rushed through the dark forest. Suddenly she saw a hawk and thinking it

was the prince, she started to chase after him. But then she ran into a very

strange man. They started talking and because he was a forest shaman he knew

the animals‟ language. His name was Darius. She told him everything so he

took her to his wooden house and there he said he could help her by making

special elixir.

While he was working, she was staring at him. He was bald, short and fat

but he was so kind that she liked him. She looked at the wall, which was full of

hunting trophies of hawks and other birds of prey. She asked him about it and he

said that was his hobby. She was so frightened to think that one of these

exhibits could be her prince.

He gave her the elixir which she drank. It was disgusting but she believed

that it could help her. And it did. She turned back into her real form. The girl

thanked him for everything he had done and wanted to leave. Unfortunately,

when he realised how beautiful she was, he said that she had to marry him as a

payment for what he had done for her. She tried to escape but he caught her and

enclosed her in a small room. While she was crying, a small bird flew to her.

When she told it what happened, it immediately flew away.

The little bird wanted to help the girl but she couldn‟t do it on her own.

She could ask the other animals for help but all of them were afraid of the old

hunter. Suddenly, something came into her mind. There was one man who could

help her. Soaring above the forest she heard something. She went towards the

trees and saw a hawk who was flying low chasing small animals. She flew right

next to the hawk.

“Stop doing that! It‟s not good! This isn‟t you! Listen to me!” said the

bird but the hawk totally ignored her.

“Listen to me! The one you love is in danger! You are the only one who

can save her! I know someone who can break the spell! Please, follow me!”

insisted the bird.

Suddenly the hawk became interested. He started to follow the little bird.

She was leading him to a mountain that was not far from the forest.

Approaching the mountain, the little bird entered a dark cave. In the middle of

the cave there was a huge, shining, green crystal. It was extraordinary. The bird

landed in front of the crystal and so did the hawk.

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“This is it. I don‟t know if someone told you this before but this land is

magic. We call this place The Heart of the Forest. This crystal has magical

powers. I don‟t know how to use it but I know someone who does”, said the

bird. Suddenly something started to glow between them and the crystal. An old

man with a long beard appeared in front of them.

“Greetings, young ones. I am Berum Selur, the keeper of the Heart. I

heard your request and I will try to help you as much as I can. But, I would like

you to do something in return. I will morph you back and I will tell you how to

defeat the hunter, but you must help me defeat that evil witch that is trying to

take control of the forest. Deal? “asked Selur. The hawk agreed. Selur began

muttering a chant and the hawk started to shine. It turned back into the charming

prince that it was before.

“Thank you very much for this. I will help you but

I don‟t have any of your special abilities.” Uttered the

prince.

“That‟s not a problem, replied Selur and

he approached the huge crystal.

He touched it against the chest of the

prince. The prince had a strange sensation. It was

as if a source of unlimited energy was flowing

through him. Selur cut a piece of the crystal and

inlaid it into the prince‟s sword.

“Go, save the one you love! After

that return here with her. I will tell you what

to do next. Good luck, young one.”

The prince found himself in front of

an old, wooden hut. His destiny was

waiting.

The handsome prince was ready to

save the girl who was in the old, wooden

hut. She had spent the last month without light and had only bread and water.

She continued rejecting the fat old shaman who was becoming angrier and

angrier. At the back of the hut, there was a small window. Through it, the prince

entered so as not to be discovered by the hunter but he was seen. The hunter

tried to turn him into a hawk again to exhibit as a prized trophy. Fortunately, the

prince was so powerful that he defeated Darius with his magic sword turning

him into a jet black stone.

When the prince and the girl saw each other again their feelings grew and

they felt happy. The prince wanted to go back to his kingdom and take the girl,

whose name was Emerald, to live as a real princess. However she decided that

her life was in the forest with her animals, so the enamoured prince gave up

going back home and decided to build a mansion where they could live forever.

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As for the wicked witch she was furious that Berum Selur, the keeper of

the Heart, had broken her spell on the young couple.

Emerald felt very happy but still missed her father who was really

miserable since she had left the house. He found out what his wife and her

daughter were really like, and missed his daughter all the more.

All the animals in the forest thought they could help Emerald and the

prince to find her father. As there was a river running outside of the forest, the

animals made a boat so Emerald and the prince could sail quickly to her father‟s

house.

Meanwhile, the witch was doing some spells to prevent Emerald and her

prince getting to the father‟s house.

As the prince and Emerald sailed up the river on the boat the animals had

made, Emerald talked excitedly about seeing her father again. The little bird

flew ahead of them, guiding them up the river. They had sailed half way up the

river when suddenly there was a tremendous noise from the water and a giant

piranha fish leaped at them with its jaws wide open. Quick as a flash, the prince

grabbed his sword. It was glowing. He touched the creature and it changed into a

small frog that landed with a plop in the river.

Emerald was stunned as she knew there were no piranha fish in the river. She

and the prince realised it must have been the witch casting a spell to kill them.

For the rest of the journey, they held each other tight and the prince kept hold of

his sword.

They got out of the boat and started to walk on the path that would lead to

her father‟s house. As they walked, the sword began to glow again. Just then, an

enormous crocodile stood up on its back legs in front of them. Its front leg

knocked the sword from the prince‟s hand and it snapped its teeth at Emerald.

From above, the bird dived at the crocodile and pecked out an eye.

The crocodile turned to the bird but

before it could do any damage, the

bird swooped low again and took

the other eye. The prince grabbed

the fallen sword and Emerald and

raced off up the path.

When they reached the

safety of the house, Emerald‟s

father was pleased to see her

but Emerald was shocked to

see he looked very old and

sick. Only Emerald went

into the house. When the old

woman and her daughter saw her

they were surprised and angry

but they tried to hide this by

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offering her a poisoned drink.

Meanwhile the old man showed the prince an open window at the back of

the cottage and the prince climbed in through it. He saw a book of spells.

When he read the page it was opened at, he realised that a spell had been

put on Emerald‟s father to slowly kill him.

The stone in the prince‟s sword glowed. The prince now understood that

the sword was warning him of danger again. He looked once more at the Book

of Spells and read the spell to himself:

“The man of the house will fall down dead,

Poisoned with enchanted bread

Now the house will belong to me

With my sister and daughter we’ll make three

We’ll rule the land and the forest too

Happily making witches’ brew”.

The prince was shocked. He worked out that the witch in the forest must

be the sister of the old woman in the house. He needed Belum Selur‟s help.

Going to the window , he told the bird what he had discovered and sent the bird

back to the forest to tell Belum Selur.

Just then there was a scream from another room. Grabbing his sword, the

prince raced in to see Emerald collapsed on the floor and the old woman and her

daughter standing laughing.

The influence of this magic was increasing gradually. Moreover, this

poisonous magic started to spread by touching. Emerald was still lying on the

ground without moving. Even though the poisonous magic was running to her

cells, her unique smile was still seen in her face. Death was coming closer for

her and something had to be done.

Stone-hearted mother and her daughter were looking to Emerald as if they

were the victorious commanders of a battle. They didn‟t feel pity for Emerald.

Just a few minutes later, mother and her daughter were sure that Emerald and

her father were dead so they decided to inform the witch and went out.

Prince charming had been watching them secretly. As soon as the mother

and her daughter left, prince charming appeared. He knew that, if he had

touched his beloved, the poison could have run his cells too. He called out his

beloved but she didn‟t even move. He found a broken piece of mirror on the

ground and took it. He held this mirror closer to Emerald‟s mouth in order to

understand if she was still breathing or not. The breath of the Emerald misted

over the mirror. So prince charming was sure that his beloved was still alive. He

started to think how he could overcome to this situation. Suddenly he

remembered the word of Belum Selur: „The sword is magical but its scabbard

was magical too‟. He quickly took his sword out of the scabbard. He realized

that there was a cell in the scabbard. He opened the cell and found bright dust in

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there. This dust was magical. While he was putting dust in his hand, some

particles of dust fell down on a broken branch and suddenly, the branch became

green. Prince charming understood that dust gives a magical revival.

Seeing this, our prince charming quickly spread some dust over Emerald.

In a split of a second, the girl regained consciousness and the two lovers

embraced each other, promising that they will never be taken apart.

But they had one more problem they had to solve before they could enjoy

their “happily ever after”- it was in the shape of an evil witch with great powers.

Emerald and the prince realized they couldn‟t defeat their enemy by themselves.

The prince remembered about his promise made to Belum Selur that he would

return to find out how to get rid of the witch. Said and done.

Half an hour later, the two arrived at Belum Selur‟s cave. As they

approached the crystal in the middle of the cave, they could both feel energy and

magic pumping through their bodies.

“I see your love has also got a part of the crystal‟s magic!” Belum said

with a smile on his face. “I was counting on that!” he continued.

“What do you mean?” the prince asked.

“This is the only way you could defeat that creepy witch” Belum

responded. “And now, the final pieces of the puzzle”

The two lovers listened attentively to the wizard‟s words and found out

that their enemy was sensitive to the magical dust the prince carried in his

scabbard. But this was a minor advantage, as the witch‟s sisters were not.

However, they would lose their powers once the witch is killed, or weakened.

They built up a plan and set on to fulfil it.

Therefore they went in the forest and called all the animals so that they

gather for the final fight. Hundreds of animals had appeared in order to help

them defeat the witch. Whispering a magical chant by all the living creatures in

the forest, they eventually succeeded to make the evil witch make its entrance in

front of them. The Prince had quickly taken out his magic dust and threw it in

her face. In no more than a glimpse, the witch was turned into a bunch of ashes.

Once the witch was defeated, both the crystal and the Prince‟s power were gone.

It was time for them to finally lead their peaceful and happy human lives

but also take care of the wild animals. They built a house in the woods and the

two lovers lived happily ever after!!!

The end