there was once a wizard who used to take the form of a poor man, and went to houses and begged, and caught pretty girls. no one knew whither he carried them, for they were n*r seen *.
one day he appeared before the door of a man who had three pretty daughters; he looked like a poor weak beggar, and carried a basket on his back, as if he meant to collect charitable gifts in it. he begged for a little food, and when the eldest1 daughter came out and was just reaching him a piece of bread, he did but touch her, and she was forced to jump into his basket.
thereupon he hurried away with long strides, and carried her away into a dark forest to his house, which stood in the midst of it. *rything in the house was magnificent; he gave her whatso*r2 she could possibly desire, and said, "my darling, thou wilt3 certainly be happy with me, for thou hast *rything thy heart can wish for." this lasted a few days, and then he said, "i must journey forth4, and leave thee alone for a short time; there are the keys of the house; thou mayst go *rywhere and look at *rything except into one room, which this little key here opens, and there i for*d thee to go on pain of death." he likewise gave her an egg and said, "preserve the egg carefully for me, and carry it continually about with thee, for a great mi*ortune would arise from the loss of it."
she took the keys and the egg, and promised to obey him in *rything. when he was gone, she went all round the house from the bottom to the top, and examined *rything. the rooms shone with silver and gold, and she thought she had n*r seen such great splendour. at length she came to the for*dden door; she wished to pass it by, but curiosity let her have no rest. she examined the key, it looked just like any other; she put it in the keyhole and turned it a little, and the door sprang open. but what did she see when she went in?
a great bloody5 basin stood in the middle of the room, and therein lay human beings, dead and hewn to pieces, and hard by was a block of wood, and a gleaming axe6 lay upon it. she was so terribly alarmed that the egg which she held in her hand fell into the basin. she got it out and washed the blood off, but in vain, it appeared again in a moment. she washed and scrubbed, but she could not get it out.
it was not long before the man came back from his journey, and the first things which he asked for were the key and the egg. she gave them to him, but she trembled as she did so, and he saw at once by the red spots that she had been in the bloody chamber7. "since thou hast gone into the room against my will," said he, "thou shalt go back into it against thine own. thy life is ended." he threw her down, dragged her thither8 by her hair, cut her head off on the block, and hewed9 her in pieces so that her blood ran on the ground. then he threw her into the basin with the rest.
"now i will fetch myself the second," said the wizard, and again he went to the house in the shape of a poor man, and begged. then the second daughter brought him a piece of bread; he caught her like the first, by simply touching10 her, and carried her away. she did not fare better than her sister. she allowed herself to be led away by her curiosity, opened the door of the bloody chamber, looked in, and had to atone11 for it with her life on the wizard's return.
then he went and brought the third sister, but she was cl*r and crafty12. when he had given her the keys and the egg, and had left her, she first put the egg away with great care, and then she examined the house, and at last went into the for*dden room. alas13, what did she behold14! both her sisters lay there in the basin, cruelly murdered, and cut in pieces. but she began to gather their li* together and put them in order, head, body, arms and legs. and when nothing further was wanting the li* began to move and unite themselves together, and both the maidens15 opened their eyes and were once * alive. then they rejoiced and kissed and caressed16 each other.
on his arrival, the man at once demanded the keys and the egg, and as he could perceive no trace of any blood on it, he said, "thou hast stood the test, thou shalt be my bride." he now had no longer any power over her, and was forced to do whatso*r she desired. "oh, very well," said she, "thou shalt first take a basketful of gold to my father and mother, and carry it thyself on thy back; in the meantime i will prepare for the wedding." then she ran to her sisters, whom she had hidden in a little chamber, and said, "the moment has come when i can save you. the wretch17 shall himself carry you home again, but as soon as you are at home send * to me." she put both of them in a basket and covered them quite over with gold, so that nothing of them was to be seen, then she called in the wizard and said to him, "now carry the basket away, but i shall look through my little window and watch to see if thou stoppest on the way to stand or to rest."