When he came home from school, he
could not find a quiet place to creep into.
Once, when the woman went up to her room, her little daughter came up
too, and said "Mother, give me an apple."
"Yes, my child," said the woman, and gave her a beautiful apple out of
the chest; and the chest had a great heavy lid, with a great sharp
iron lock.
"Mother," said the little daughter, "shall not brother have one too?"
That vexed the woman, but she said, "Yes, when he comes from school."
And when she saw from the window that he was coming, it was just as if
the Evil One came into her, and she snatched away the apple from her
daughter, and said, "You shall not have one before your brother."
Then she threw the apple into the chest, and shut the lid close down.
When the little boy came in at the door, the Evil One made her say
kindly, "My son, will you have an apple?"
Yet she looked so angry all the time, that the little boy said,
"Mother, how dreadful you look! Yes, give me an apple."
Then she felt that she must speak to him. "Come with me," said she,
and opened the lid; "pick out an apple for yourself."
And as the little boy stooped over, the Evil One prompted her, and
smash! she banged the lid down, so that his head flew off and fell
among the red apples. Then she was seized with terror, and thought,
"Can I get rid of the blame of this?" So she went up to her room to
her chest of drawers, and took out of the top drawer a white cloth,
and placed the head on the neck again, and tied the handkerchief
round it, so that one could see nothing, and set him before the door
on a chair, and gave him the apple in his hand.
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