Page:The disobedient kids and other Czecho-Slovak fairy tales.pdf/28

 For a long time no one came to the door and the boy was beginning to forget that there might be danger, but one day he thought he heard some one at the door. He called out in a deep voice,

The answer came in tones so sweet and soft, "Oh, Smolineck, dear little Smolineck, open the door for us, just a tiny little bit. We will only put in our two little fingers and, as soon as we have warmed ourselves, we will at once go away".

The boy remembered what Golden Antlers had said and did not open the door. The sweet voices begged so hard, but it was no use. The door remained fast shut. It is true that Smolineck would like to have opened it, but he was atrald of what the stag would say.

That night when Golden Antlers came home, Smolineck told him that sweet and gentle voices had begged so hard, oh so hard for him to let them in, but he would not.

"You did just right in obeying me and in not opening the door", said the stag. "They were bad, wicked fairies and no friends of yours. If you had opened to them, they would have entered and carried you off with them."

The next morning the stag, as usual, went to his pasture and Smolineck locked the door tight. After awhile, he heard the same voices outside, sweeter than before, singing the same song, in which they only wanted to put in two of their little fingers and warm themselves, when they would go away.

"No", replied the boy, I can't open the door. You must go away". But none the less, he did wish that he could open the door just a crack, so that he could have a look at the fairies. Then they began to shiver with the cold