The House in the Forest (2)
Meanwhile back at the house on the edge of the forest the wood cutter came up with the ingenious idea of sending his second daughter – Stella, into the forest with his lunch. The family protested of course, especially as Sue hadn´t returned yet. However, there was no arguing with him and the very next day Stella headed into the forest with his lunch.
She left a trail of breadcrumbs in order to find her way back. She got lost and when she tried to find her way back to the house the birds had eaten up all the breadcrumbs. So what did she do only sit on a log and eat the woodcutter´s lunch.
Night fell. She wandered around until she saw a cottage. She knocked on the door.
“Come in,” croaked an old voice. She did. An old man sat at a wooden table. Behind the table were a horse, a donkey and a fox.
“Can I stay?” she asked.
The old man looked at the animals, they replied, “yes, no, maybe so.”
This was interpreted as yes. The old man told Stella to go into the kitchen and make herself something to eat. She did.
The old man told her to go into the spare bedroom and make the bed for herself. She did.
Finally, when she dropped off the old man came into the room and pulled a lever on the wall. Down she went into the cellar. The animals clapped.