Page:Tales and Legends from the Land of the Tzar.djvu/19

Rh still more disgusted when she saw that she had turned them off altogether, and began to vent her rage on Vaselesa, calling her a flirt, telling her that she kept all the young men away from her sisters; however, Vaselesa did not mind.

It so happened that the nobleman had to go to a very distant kingdom for some months, on very important business, while his wife moved to another house not quite so large as the first one, near a dark and dreary forest, in the middle of which stood a little hut, and in it lived an old witch, who was said to eat up everybody who came in her way, just as though they were so many chickens! The step-mother had heard of this dreadful old witch, and thought if she kept on sending Vaselesa into the forest every day for something or other, she would soon be got rid of; however, Vaselesa always came home safely, thanks to her friend the doll. But one evening the step-mother gave each of the girls some work to do, telling them to have a certain amount of it finished by the following morning. One had to begin making lace, the other to go on with her knitting, while Vaselesa had to spin. The step-mother, after giving them a small piece of candle to work by, left them, and went to spend the evening with some friends, not forgetting, however, to tell them that if the candle should go out, one of them would have to go to the witch for light, and she looked meaningly at Vaselesa. The girls worked a long time, and then the candle went out, leaving them in darkness.

"What shall we do?" cried one of the step-sisters;