Chapter 2 Little Brother and Little Sister.
One morning Little Brother took Little Sister's hand and said 'Our lives have been so hard ever since our mean stepmother and her ugly one-eyed daughter came to live with us.
She makes us eat stale bread.
She forces us to do all the chores.
Our stepsister sits around doing nothing.
We need to leave home and find our own way in the world.'
You're right.
What else can we do, Little Sister said.
But if she ever catches us, it will be the end of us both.
It's a chance we have to take, Little Brother said.
The pair left home that day.
They had only the clothes on their backs.
By nightfall, they reached the edge of a great forest.
Little Brother looked up at the tall trees and said, We can hide safely in here for the night.
He crawled into the bottom of a hollow old tree.
Little sister followed him inside the tree.
Soon the pair were asleep.
The bright sun woke them up the next morning.
As they stepped outside, little brother said, I'm so thirsty.
If only I could find a stream so I could have a drink.
The children's stepmother was actually a witch.
She had followed the children from the moment they left home.
She was so angry that the children had escaped.
The evil woman was hiding behind a tree when she overheard little brother speak.
She vowed to teach them a lesson, so she cast a spell on all the streams in the forest.
When little brother found the first stream, he bent down to take a drink.
Wait, Little Sister cried.
The stream is saying something to me.
It says anyone who drinks from me will turn into a tiger.
Little Brother, she continued, please do not drink from here.
If you do, you'll turn into a ferocious tiger and tear me to pieces.
All right, Little Brother said.
I'll wait until we find the next stream.
When they came upon the next stream, Little Sister heard it say Anyone who drinks from me will turn into a wolf.
Little brother, she cried, do not drink.
If you do, you will turn into a wolf and then you will eat me up.
Fine, he said.
I will not drink this water either, but I don't care what the stream says next time.
I'm going to take a nice long drink.
The next stream they found said to little sister, anyone who drinks from me or young deer.
Wait, Little Sister shouted, but it was too late.
Her brother had already bent over the water.
He was taking a nice, long drink.
Oh no, said Little Sister, as she watched Little Brother change into a fawn.
They both started to cry.
Little Sister said, Don't worry, Little Brother, I'll take care of you.
She took off her golden necklace and placed it around his neck.
Then she braided some long grass to make a leash.
She led the fawn deeper into the forest.
They came to an empty cabin in the woods.
This looks like a good place to stay, Little Sister said.
You wait inside.
I'll look around for anything to make this place more comfortable.
Little Sister gathered up some leaves and moss to make a soft bed for the fawn.
The next morning and every morning after that, she gathered food for the two of them.
During the day, Little Sister and the fawn played together.
The fawn would run and run, and Little Sister would chase him.
At night, she rested her head on his soft back and fell asleep.
Little Sister spent many years in the forest taking care of her brother, the fawn.
She grew into a kind, gentle young woman.
One day, the king of the land decided to hold a great hunt.
The forest came alive with the sounds of horns, dogs, and the cries of hunters.
The faun longed to be a part of the action.
He wanted excitement.
He asked his little sister to let him go.
Little sister said, no, I cannot let you go.
What would I do if anything happened to you?
The faun promised his sister nothing bad would happen.
He knew he was quick enough to outrun the hunters.
The faun begged and begged.
Finally, Little Sister opened the door to let him outside.
You must come home before nightfall.
When you are at the door, say to me, Little Sister, please let me in.
That's how I'll know it's you.
The fawn ran off as fast as he could.
The king and his hunters caught sight of him.
They chased the fawn, but he was too quick.
When it started to get dark, he pranced home.
At the front door, he said, Little sister, please let me in.
She opened the door and he leaped inside.
Little sister was so happy to see the fawn return.
Soon the pair were sleeping soundly.
The hunt started all over again the next morning.
Again, the fawn begged his sister to let him go.
Again, she didn't want him to leave.
She told him to be home before dark.
Make sure you say exactly what I told you to say or else I will not let you in.
The king and his hunters searched for the fawn again.
They chased him through the dense woods and even managed to hurt his foot, but the fawn was too fast to be caught.
The king ordered one of his hunters to quietly follow the fawn.
Find out how he keeps hiding from us, he said.
The hunter crept silently behind the fawn and watched as he limped home.
He finally came upon the cabin where Little Sister lived with the fawn.
The hunter overheard the fawn say, Little Sister, please let me in.
The sister opened the door and gasped when she saw that the fawn was hurt.
She washed his cut and soothed it with herbs.
By morning, it was all better.
Meanwhile, the hunter went back to find the king's group.
He told the king all about the strange fawn and what he had said and where to find the cabin.
The king thought, tomorrow during the hunt, I'll trick the girl into letting me in.
Then I'll surprise the fawn when he comes home.
That's how I'll catch him.
The next day the hunt began again.
If I don't go, the fawn said, I'll die of sadness.
The sound of the hordes makes me want to move.
I need to run.
I just have to be myself.
Little Sister sadly opened the door, and the fawn dashed out to meet the hunt.
When she closed the door behind him, a tear slid down her cheek.
The king saw the faun running through the forest.
He said to his men, Hunt him all day and into the night, but don't hurt him.
I have a very good plan to catch him.
He left his men and went to the faun's cabin.
The king knocked on the cabin door.
He said, Little sister, please let me in.
When little sister opened the door, she was shocked.
You're not the faun, she cried.
The king was surprised to see such a beautiful young lady.
He fell in love with her on the spot.
The king bent his head and asked, May I come in, beautiful lady?
Little sister was also shocked to see a handsome man with a gold crown on his head.
She said, Of course.
Please come in.
As the king stepped inside he was overcome with love for the kind, gentle and beautiful little sister.
In the doorway, the king bent down on one knee and asked her Would you come to the palace and be my wife?
Little sister replied, Only if my fawn can come too.
The king smiled kindly.
Of course he may come.
He will have anything he needs.
Little Sister could not contain her joy.
She and the king spent the day talking and laughing.
Little Sister told the king about their awful stepmother.
She explained why they had left home and how her little brother had turned into a fawn.
As night fell, the fawn leaped into the house.
Little Sister found her old grass leash and tied it to the golden necklace.
The fawn still wore around his neck.
She told him that the king wanted to marry her and take care of both of them forever.
The three of them arrived back at the king's castle.
A great wedding feast was waiting for them.
The royal couple were married that night.
They were very happy, and so was the faun.
He had a whole garden and castle grounds to play in.
The news of the king's happy marriage spread across the land.
Soon the queen gave birth to a little boy.
Everyone in the kingdom celebrated the new prince.
Word of the marriage and baby traveled to the evil stepmother.
She was furious that little sister and the faun were happy and well.
She was also jealous that little sister was now a queen.
How did they escape my spell?
How dare she end up so happy?
I must get my revenge.
The stepmother turned to her ugly one-eyed daughter and said 'You and I will go to the king's castle.
I will cast a spell on the queen to put her in a deep trance.
Then we will lock her away.
You will take her place as queen and mother.
I will charm the king so he doesn't notice the change.
The king will no longer have her for a wife, and I will have my revenge.
Their happy lives will be ruined forever, and you will become queen.'
The next afternoon, while the king was out, the witch crept into the castle disguised as a maid.
The faun who usually grazed on the castle's grounds had gone off with the king.
If he had seen his awful stepmother, he would have been able to warn his sister.
The queen was asleep in her room when her wicked stepmother arrived disguised as a maid.
The witch cackled as she picked up the queen and carried her away.
Tired and groggy from giving birth, the queen could not fight back.
Her stepmother took her to a room in the castle that no one even knew about.
Then the evil witch put her into a trance.
You will sleep here until the end of your days.
You will never see your son grow up, and you'll never see your husband again.
The witch cackled.
She crept silently out of the room, forgetting to lock the door.
She raced back down the castle hallway.
Then she snuck her daughter into the queen's bedroom.
She hid the ugly girl's bad eye from view and waited for the king to return.
The great king arrived in his wife's bedroom, eager to see his queen.
He was surprised to see a maid he didn't know.
The disguised witch said sweetly, Sire, your wife needs her rest.
It's best not to disturb her.
All she needs is some fresh air and sunshine, the king said, and he got up to open the window.
The witch quickly spoke the charm and put him under the spell.
It worked.
The king didn't notice it was the ugly girl lying in his queen's bed.
Later, the witch said, when she's woken from her nap.
The king sighed, but he did just what she wanted.
He left the bedroom.
Late that night, at midnight, the real queen crept down to the nursery.
She was still in her trance.
She opened the nursery door quietly and walked over to the baby's bassinet.
The baby's nurse was there.
Then she looked out the window at her fawn.
"'Your Majesty?' the nurse said.
"'Is everything all right?' but the nurse noticed that something was not right with the queen.
She walked strangely.
There was an empty look in her eyes.
The nurse saw all of this, but she was too afraid to tell the king.
Over the next few nights, the queen came to the nursery at midnight.
She walked toward her baby, then looked out the window at the fawn.
The nurse had gotten used to the queen's strange walk and odd look, but then the queen spoke.
Where's my child?
Where's my fawn?
Two more times, and then I'm gone.
The nurse was frightened.
What did these words mean?
The nurse tried to speak to the queen, but she didn't get an answer.
The next night, the queen came into the nursery again.
This time she said, Where's my child?
Where's my fawn?
One more time, and I'm gone.
This time, the nurse knew she had to alert the king.
In the morning, the nurse told the king what had been going on in the nursery.
I believe something is very wrong with the queen, she said to him.
Oh my, the king said, this is strange indeed.
What could be happening with my dear wife?
I will spend the night in the nursery and see if I can figure out the problem.
That night the king watched as the queen did exactly as the nurse had said.
Only this time the queen said, where's my child?
Where's my fawn?
After this I'm really gone.
No, shouted the king.
You are my queen.
You must not leave.
He gently touched her cheek.
That broke the witch's spell.
The queen opened her clear blue eyes.
She felt as if she'd been sleeping for a long time.
Oh, my dear husband, you have broken my stepmother's awful curse.
She put me into a trance.
I was awake on the inside but asleep on the outside.
I knew what she was doing, but I couldn't stop her.
She's pretending to be a maid.
Why, I saw that maid in our bedroom.
There must also be someone pretending to be you, sleeping in our bed.
The queen said, It must be my awful stepsister.
Quick, we must catch them before they realize you have broken the spell.
The king sent his soldiers to the bedroom.
They burst through the door and saw the evil stepmother and her ugly daughter.
The soldiers caught the women.
They brought the evil pair to the king and queen.
You are never to set foot in this kingdom again, the king announced.
If you ever show your faces here again, you will be thrown in jail forever, the king continued.
But first, you will turn little brother back into a human.
With one wave of her hand, the witch changed little brother back into a human.
Then the king's soldiers marched the evil pair to the edge of the kingdom.
They left them to wander in the great, vast forest.
Nobody ever heard from them again.
Little brother was so happy he was back to his normal human form.
He hugged little sister, who had tears of happiness in her eyes.
Little brother had grown into a handsome, strong young man.
The king placed him in charge of his large army.
Even though he wasn't a fawn any longer, he still loved to run.
Little sister, queen again, lived a long and happy life with her king and their son.
