But the children saw them a long way off, and Lina said to Fundevogel, ‘Do not forsake me, and I will never forsake thee.’
Fundevogel said: ‘I will never forsake thee as long as I live.’
Then said Lina: ‘Thou must become a church, and I will be the chandelier in it.’
Now when the three men came up they found nothing but a church with a chandelier in it; and they said to each other: ‘What are we to do here? We had better go home again.’
When they reached the house, the Cook asked if they had not found anything. They said: ‘Nothing but a church with a chandelier in it.’
‘You fools,’ screamed the Cook, ‘why did you not destroy the church and bring me the chandelier?’ Then the old Cook put her best foot foremost, and started herself with the three men in pursuit of the children.
But the children saw the three men in the distance, and the old Cook waddling behind them. Then said Lina: ‘Fundevogel, do not forsake me, and I will never forsake thee.’
And he said: ‘I will never forsake thee as long as I live.’
Lina said: ‘Thou must become a pond, and I will be the duck swimming upon it.’
When the Cook reached the pond, she lay down beside it to drink it up, but the duck swam quickly forward, seized her head with his bill and dragged her under water; so the old witch was drowned.
Then the children went home together as happy as possible, and if they are not dead yet, then they are still alive.
