Prevod

Little Brother took Little Sister by the hand and said, "Since Mother died, we have not had a single happy hour. Our stepmother beats us every day, and when we come near her, she kicks us away. The hard crusts of bread left over are all we have to eat, and the little dog under the table fares better than we do, for she sometimes throws him a tasty morsel. God have mercy on us! If only our mother knew! Come, let us go out into the wide world together!" All day they walked over meadows, fields, and stony ground, and whenever it rained, Little Sister said, "God and our hearts are weeping together!" In the evening they came to a great forest, and they were so weary from sorrow, hunger, and the long journey that they settled down inside a hollow tree and fell asleep.

The next morning, when they awoke, the sun was already high in the sky and shining hotly into the tree. Then Little Brother said, "Little Sister, I am thirsty. If I knew where to find a spring, I would go and have a drink. I think I hear one bubbling." Little Brother got up, took Little Sister by the hand, and they set off to look for the spring. But their wicked stepmother was a witch. She had seen the two children leave and had crept after them, secretly, as witches do, and bewitched every spring in the forest. When they found a little spring sparkling as it leaped over the stones, Little Brother wanted to drink from it. But Little Sister heard a voice in its murmuring: "Whoever drinks from me will become a tiger; whoever drinks from me will become a tiger." Then Little Sister cried, "Please, Little Brother, do not drink, or you will turn into a wild beast and tear me to pieces!" Little Brother did not drink, though he was very thirsty, and said, "I will wait until the next spring." When they came to the second spring, Little Sister heard this one say too, "Whoever drinks from me will become a wolf; whoever drinks from me will become a wolf." Then Little Sister cried, "Little Brother, please do not drink, or you will turn into a wolf and eat me!" Little Brother did not drink, and said, "I will wait until we reach the next spring, but then I must drink, whatever you may say. My thirst is far too great." And when they came to the third spring, Little Sister heard a voice in its murmuring: "Whoever drinks from me will become a deer; whoever drinks from me will become a deer." Little Sister said, "Oh, Little Brother, please do not drink, or you will turn into a deer and run away from me." But Little Brother had already knelt beside the spring, bent down, and drunk the water, and as soon as the first drops touched his lips, there he lay, a little fawn.

Now Little Sister wept over her poor bewitched brother, and the little deer wept too, sitting sadly beside her. At last the girl said, "Hush, dear little deer. I will never, ever leave you." Then she took off her golden garter and fastened it around the little deer's neck, pulled up some rushes, and plaited them into a soft cord. She tied this to the little creature and led him on, going deeper and deeper into the forest. And after they had walked for a long, long time, they came at last to a little house. The girl looked inside, and because it was empty, she thought, "We can stay here and make our home." So she gathered leaves and moss to make the little deer a soft bed. Every morning she went out and collected roots, berries, and nuts for herself, and brought back tender grass for the little deer, which he ate out of her hand, happy and frisking about before her. In the evening, when Little Sister was tired and had said her prayers, she laid her head on the fawn's back for a pillow and fell gently asleep. If only Little Brother had kept his human form, it would have been a wonderful life.

They lived alone in the wilderness like this for some time. Then it happened that the king of the country held a great hunt in the forest. The sound of horns, the barking of hounds, and the merry cries of the huntsmen rang through the trees, and when the little deer heard them, he longed to join in. "Oh," he said to Little Sister, "let me out to the hunt! I cannot bear it any longer!" And he begged until she agreed. "But," she told him, "be sure to come back to me in the evening. I shall shut my little door against the wild huntsmen, so that I may know it is you, knock and say, 'Little Sister, let me in!' If you do not say that, I shall not open my little door." Then the little deer bounded out, feeling so happy and lighthearted in the open air. The king and his huntsmen saw the beautiful creature and gave chase, but they could not catch him. Just when they thought they surely had him, he leaped over the bushes and vanished. When darkness fell, he ran back to the little house, knocked, and said, "Little Sister, let me in!" The little door was opened for him, he sprang inside, and rested all night on his soft bed. The next morning the hunt began again, and when the little deer heard the hunting horn and the huntsmen's cries of "Ho! Ho!" he could not keep still and said, "Little Sister, open the door. I must go out." Little Sister opened the door for him and said, "But you must be back by evening and say your little verse." When the king and his huntsmen saw the little deer with the golden collar again, they all chased after him, but he was too swift and nimble for them. This went on all day, but at last, towards evening, the huntsmen surrounded him, and one wounded him slightly in the foot, so that he had to limp and could run only slowly. A huntsman crept after him as far as the little house and heard him call, "Little Sister, let me in!" He saw the door opened for him and shut again at once. The huntsman kept all this well in mind, went to the king, and told him what he had seen and heard. Then the king said, "Tomorrow we shall hunt once more!"

Little Sister was terribly frightened when she saw that her little fawn was wounded. She washed away the blood, laid herbs on the wound, and said, "Lie down on your bed, dear little deer, so that you may get well again." But the wound was so slight that by morning the little deer no longer felt it. And when he heard the merry sounds of the hunt outside again, he said, "I cannot bear it. I must be there! They will not catch me so easily!" Little Sister wept and said, "Now they will kill you, and I shall be here alone in the forest, forsaken by all the world. I will not let you out." "Then I shall die here of misery," answered the little deer. "When I hear the hunting horn, I feel as though I could leap out of my skin!" Little Sister could do nothing but open the door for him with a heavy heart, and the little deer bounded into the forest, sound and happy. When the king caught sight of him, he said to his huntsmen, "Now chase him all day and into the night, but let no one harm him!" As soon as the sun had set, the king said to the huntsman, "Now come and show me the little house in the forest." And when he stood before the little door, he knocked and called, "Dear Little Sister, let me in!" The door opened, and the king stepped inside. There stood a girl more beautiful than any he had ever seen. The girl was frightened when she saw that it was not her little deer who had come in, but a man wearing a golden crown upon his head. But the king looked at her kindly, held out his hand, and said, "Will you come with me to my castle and be my dear wife?" "Oh yes," answered the girl, "but the little deer must come too. I will not leave him." The king said, "He shall stay with you as long as you live, and he shall want for nothing." Just then the little deer came bounding in, and Little Sister fastened the cord of rushes to him again, took it in her own hand, and left the little forest house with him.

The king lifted the beautiful girl onto his horse and took her to his castle, where the wedding was celebrated with great splendour. Now she was queen, and they lived happily together for a long time. The little deer was cherished and cared for, and bounded about the castle garden. But the wicked stepmother, whose cruelty had driven the children out into the world, had been certain that Little Sister had been torn to pieces by wild beasts in the forest, and that Little Brother had been shot by the huntsmen as a fawn. When she heard how happy they were and how well they were faring, envy and spite stirred in her heart and gave her no peace. She could think of nothing but how she might yet bring misfortune upon them both. Her own daughter, who was as ugly as night and had only one eye, reproached her, saying, "It was I who deserved the good fortune of becoming queen." "Hush now," said the old woman, soothing her. "When the time comes, I shall be ready." When that time drew near, and the queen had given birth to a beautiful baby boy while the king was away hunting, the old witch took on the appearance of the queen's chambermaid, entered the room where the queen lay, and said to her as she rested, "Come, your bath is ready. It will do you good and restore your strength. Quickly, before it grows cold!" Her daughter was there too, and they carried the weak queen into the bathing room and laid her in the tub, then locked the door and ran away. But they had kindled a hellish fire in the bathing room, so that the beautiful young queen soon suffocated.

When this was done, the old woman took her daughter, put a cap on her head, and laid her in the queen's bed. She also gave her the queen's shape and appearance; only the missing eye could she not restore. To keep the king from noticing, the daughter had to lie on the side where she had no eye. In the evening, when he came home and heard that a little son had been born to him, he was overjoyed and wanted to go to his dear wife's bedside to see how she was. The old woman quickly cried, "For pity's sake, leave the curtains closed! The queen must not look at the light yet, and she needs her rest!" The king withdrew, never knowing that a false queen lay in the bed.

But at midnight, when everyone was asleep, the nurse, who sat beside the cradle in the nursery and was the only one still awake, saw the door open and the true queen come in. She lifted the child from the cradle, cradled him in her arm, and nursed him. Then she shook out his little pillow, laid him down again, and tucked him beneath his little coverlet. Nor did she forget the little deer: she went to the corner where he lay and stroked his back. Then she went out through the door again without a word. The next morning the nurse asked the guards whether anyone had entered the castle during the night. But they answered, "No, we saw no one."

She came like this for many nights and never spoke a single word. The nurse always saw her, but dared not tell anyone about it.

After some time had passed in this way, the queen began to speak one night, saying, "How fares my child? How fares my deer? Twice more I shall come, then nevermore."

The nurse did not answer her, but when she had vanished again, she went to the king and told him everything. The king said, "Dear God! What can this mean? Tomorrow night I will keep watch beside the child." In the evening he went into the nursery, and at midnight the queen appeared again and said:

"How fares my child? How fares my deer? Once more I shall come, then nevermore." Then she tended the child as she always did before vanishing. The king did not dare speak to her, but he kept watch the following night as well. Once again she said:

"How fares my child? How fares my deer? This last time I come, then nevermore." Then the king could restrain himself no longer. He sprang towards her and said, "You can be none other than my dear wife!" She answered, "Yes, I am your wife," and in that moment, by God's grace, she was restored to life, fresh, rosy, and well. Then she told the king of the wicked deed the witch and her daughter had done to her. The king had them both brought to trial, and sentence was passed upon them. The daughter was taken into the forest, where wild beasts tore her to pieces, while the witch was put into the fire and burned to death in agony. And when she had burned to ashes, the little fawn was transformed and regained his human form. Little Sister and Little Brother lived happily together to the end of their days.