Page:Legends of Rubezahl, and Other Tales (1845).djvu/249

 direct to the village. Curiosity induced her to enter the baker’s shop, and make some inquiries about the old lady who sometimes came there to purchase bread; but not a soul in the house knew anything about her, nor had ever seen such a person. She repeated her inquiries to a number of the peasants, who had collected around her, who were all quite astonished, for not one of them had ever seen or heard of the solitary cottage in the wood. At last an ancient crone said she remembered to have heard from her grandmother of a “Woman of the Woods,” who once in a century made her appearance for the purpose of performing some good action, and then disappeared. This explained the whole affair; our widow at once saw that it had been her good fortune to come to that part of the Fichtelberg just at the time when the periodical advent of the unknown enabled her to receive from her beneficent hand the aid she so much needed. The hen became now doubly dear to her; for while she fully appreciated the gold egg which she found every morning in the coop, the bird became also extremely valuable as a memorial of the benefactress who had rendered such timely aid, and given her such a priceless treasure. As her heart expanded under this feeling, she experienced no small regret that she had not, while it was in her power, made any advance towards a