Page:Researches respecting the Book of Sindibad and Portuguese Folk-Tales.djvu/82

 60 stole another of her cakes. The old woman, again thinking that it was her cat, said, "Be off! shoo you old pussy; these cakes are not meant for you!" The little girl now burst out into a fit of laughter, and the old hag turning round then, noticed the two children, and addressed them thus: "Ah! is it you, my dear grandchildren? Eat, eat away, and get fat!" She then took hold of them and thrust them into a large box full of chestnuts, and shut them up. Next day she came close to the box and spoke to them thus: "Show me your little fingers, my pets, that I may be able to judge whether you have grown fat and sleek." The children put out their little fingers as desired. But next day the old hag again asked them: "Show your little fingers, my little dears, that I may see if you have grown fat and plump!" The children, instead of their little fingers, showed her the tail of a cat they had found inside the box. The old hag then said: "My pets, you can come out now, for you have grown nice and plump." She took them out of the box, and told them they must go with her and gather sticks. The children went into the wood searching one way while the old hag took another direction. When they had arrived at a certain spot they met a fay. This fay said to them: "You are gathering sticks, my children, to heat the oven, but you do not know that the old hag wants to bake you in it." She further told them that the old witch meant to order them to stand on the baker's peel, saying: "Stand on this peel, my little pets, that I may see you dance in the oven; but that they were to ask her to sit upon it herself first, that so they might learn the way to do it. The fay then went away. Shortly after they had met this good lady they found the old witch in the wood. They gathered together in bundles all the fire-sticks they had collected, and carried them home to heat the oven. When they had finished heating the oven, the old hag swept it carefully out, and then said to the little ones, "Sit here, my little darlings, on this peel, that