the middle of a briar hedge, and Roland into a Fiddler. Before long the Witch came striding along, and said to the Fiddler, ‘Good Fiddler, may I pick this beautiful Rose?’
‘By all means,’ he said, ‘and I will play to you.’
As she crept into the hedge, in great haste to pick the flower (for she knew well who the flower was), Roland began to play, and she had to dance, whether she liked or not, for it was a magic dance. The quicker he played, the higher she had to jump, and the thorns tore her clothes to ribbons, and scratched her till she bled. He would not stop a moment, so she had to dance till she fell down dead.
When the Maiden was freed from the spell, Roland said, ‘Now I will go to my father and order the wedding.’
‘Then I will stay here in the meantime,’ said the Maiden. ‘And so that no one shall recognise me while I am waiting, I will change myself into a common red stone.’
So Roland went away, and the Maiden stayed in the field, as a stone, waiting his return.
But when Roland got home, he fell into the snares of another woman, who made him forget all about his love. The poor Maiden waited a long, long time, but when he did not come back, she became very sad, and changed herself into a flower, and thought, ‘Somebody at least will tread upon me.’
Now it so happened that a Shepherd was watching his sheep in the field, and saw the flower, and he picked it because he thought it was so pretty. He took it home and put it care-fully away in a chest. From that time forward a wonderful change took place in the Shepherd’s hut. When he got up in the morning, all the work was done; the tables and benches were dusted, the fire was lighted, and the water was carried in. At dinner-time, when he came home, the table was laid, and a well-cooked meal stood ready. He could not imagine how it all came about, for he never saw a creature in his house, and nobody could be hidden in the tiny hut. He was much pleased at being so well served, but at last he got rather frightened, and went to a Wise Woman to ask her advice.