" When her
brothers had said this, the quarter of an hour was over, and they
turned into swans again, and flew out of the window.
But the little girl made a firm resolution to release her brothers,
even if it cost her her life. She left the house, and went into the
middle of the wood, and climbed up in a tree and spent the night
there. Next morning she got down, collected a quantity of stitchweed,
and began to sew. She could not speak to any one, and she did not want
to laugh; so she sat, and only looked at her work.
When she had been there a long time, it happened that the king of the
country was hunting in the wood, and his hunters came to the tree on
which the little girl sat. They called to her, and said, "Who are
you?"
But she gave them no answer.
"Come down to us," said they, "we will not do you any harm."
But she only shook her head. As they kept teasing her with their
questions, she threw them down her gold necklace, and thought they
would be satisfied with that. But they did not leave off, so she threw
her sash down to them, and as that was no good, she threw down her
garters, and at last everything that she had on, and could spare; so
that she had nothing left but her shift. But the hunters would not be
sent away, and climbed up the tree and brought down the little girl
and took her to the king.
The king asked, "Who are you? what were you doing up in the tree?"
But she did not answer.
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