The House in the Forest (3)
The following day over breakfast you would think the wood cutter would have shown some concern for the disappearance of his two daughters. Instead he ordered Sally to bring him his lunch. So later that day Sally headed into the forest to track him down with his lunch under her armpit.
Of course she wasn´t going to leave a trail of seeds or breadcrumbs. She painted all the trees she passed with a white arrow. However she didn´t have much luck finding the whereabouts of her father either. It started to rain. She went into a dark cave to escape the down pour.
When she came out she realised that the paint she had used was completely inferiour to the real stuff and the rain had washed away her only means of getting home. She wandered around for a bit trying to look for landmarks but without success.
After some time, she came across the same little cottage with the smoke curling out of the chimney.
“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 Sally to go into the kitchen and make herself something to eat. She did just that and she also made something for the old man and the animals.
The old man told her to go into the spare bedroom and make the bed for herself. She did just that and she also made up the beds for the old man and the animals.
Finally, after doing the wash up for them she went to bed.
The following morning she awoke to a great surprise. She sat up in a bed that was plushy and comfy. Three foot men knocked and entered the room bringing her breakfast and glamorous gowns to wear. Finally a handsome prince came into the room and asked her two questions.