THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, July 18, 1995 TAG: 9507180044
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E4 EDITION: FINAL
SERIES: Tell me a story
LENGTH: Long : 122 lines
Tell Me a Story is a series of tales adapted by Amy Friedman that are suitable for children to read with their parents, friends or alone.
ONCE UPON A time, there lived a woman who wished for many things. She sang her wishes to the trees and to the lily ponds. And one day, to her great joy, two of her wishes came to be. She gave birth to a girl and a boy. The boy was as strong and healthy as the trees, the girl as lovely as the lilies. But the boy was blind because his mother had wished only for strength for her son. The girl's sight was sharp, but her limbs were weak, for her mother had forgotten to wish for strength for her daughter.
The mother's dream became her sadness. She grieved to the trees and to the lily ponds. She grew pale and weak and at last faded away altogether.
Some years later, as the children sat in their cottage, a man came to the door. He wore a tattered poncho and his feet were bare. ``Children,'' he said, ``would you give a tired man shelter?''
The children welcomed the man, for they were kind and generous. In return, he told them of a magical old witch who lived in a faraway land. ``She can make your sister strong,'' he told the boy. ``And she can give your brother sight,'' he told the girl. He talked late into the night of all the witches he had known. ``Some are good and some are not, just like people.''
In the morning, he was gone, but the sister and brother decided they must set off to find the witch. The boy carried his sister as she guided him through forests, across rushing streams, up steep cliffs. At last they reached the land the old man had described, and they came to the witch's house.
When the witch saw the children, her eyes lighted up. ``Have you come to visit me?'' she asked.
The children nodded and told her all they had learned from the man. The witch welcomed them into her home. She began to talk. She talked of birds and bees, or rivers and trees. ``Stay with me,'' she said, ``and I will tell you such stories that you will have not need to see, no need to wander. There is no need for you to be cured. Here all your dreams will be fulfilled.''
For some time the children were happy in the witch's home, but her stories filled them with longing to see the worlds she described. And so they told the witch of their wish to travel.
``Oh no,'' she cried. ``I cannot lose you!'' Her tales then changed. She began to talk of empty lands and gray skies, of dark forests filled with tangled vines and dangerous creatures.
``It is best you not see these things,'' for it would break your heart,'' she told the boy. ``And you, child,'' she said to the girl, ``might be harmed by beasts.''
``Oh no,'' said the boy. ``If I could see the tangled vines, I could clear them and fill the land with fruits and flowers.''
``And if I were strong,'' said the girl, ``I could run from danger.''
At last, filled with sadness, the witch said, ``I must grant your wishes, for you are what you are only because of a wish that went wrong. Now tell me,'' she said to the girl, ``if this place were yours, what would you change? How would you make it better?''
The girl smiled. ``I would take away the forest thorn bushes so that my brother could walk without being scratched.''
``And you, child?'' she asked the boy.
``I would take all the stones from the valley so my sister could play on the grass and never feel pain.''
The witch stood. ``In magic, children, you set your own tasks. So while I am off gathering my magic leaves to make you whole, you must perform your wishes.''
To the boy she explained that he must, in one day, remove every single stone from the valley. And she told the girl she would have to remove every thorn bush in the forest. ``If you do not complete these tasks,'' she said, ``your wishes will not come true and you will not be cured.''
She departed to search for her leaves.
The boy and girl looked at each other. ``These tasks are impossi-ble,'' the boy said sadly. ``We might as well give up,'' agreed the girl. ``We shall simply head home.''
Just then the old man in the tattered poncho came over the hill. The children ran and greeted him, but the man saw their sadness. ``What troubles you?'' he asked.
``I wish . . . '' the boy began.
The old man put a finger to the boy's lips. ``Wishing won't do,'' he said, ``but helping does a great deal.''
``But how am I to clear the whole valley of stones?'' the boy cried. ``And how can my sister clear the forest of thorn bushes?''
``Remember,'' said the old man. ``Helping.'' With that he whistled loudly. Thousands of birds swooped down from the sky. Each one took a stone in its beak and swept back into the sky. Then the old man whistled once more, and from everywhere came thousands of rabbits. They began to gnaw at the thorn bushes until each one fell. The man whistled once more, and thousands of foxes came and dragged away the thorn bushes. The forest and the valley were clear.
When the boy and girl turned to thank the old man, he was gone.
When the witch returned, she gasped. The children had complet-ed their tasks. Filled with grief, she fixed her brew of magic leaves and gave each child a glass to drink. ``One more warning,'' she said. ``Once you have swallowed your potion, you must remain silent until sunset or you will lose your cure.''
With glee the children drank the potion. The girl grew strong and firm. She jumped into the air and twirled with joy. And at the same moment the boy saw the vivid blue sky and the dazzling trees silhouetted against it. He cried out with delight, ``Sister! The world is beautiful.''
But then the girl heard her brother cry out in pain. ``I am blind again!'' She turned and saw this was true. For a moment she wished she could lose all she had gained so she could share her brother's grief. But then she remembered the old man's worlds.
``I am strong now, brother,'' she thought. ``I will help you.'' She leaned forward and took his hands in hers and squeezed them.
At sunset the boy and girl went to the witch. ``You tried to help us,'' said the boy. ``You have been as kind as it is in your power to be. I thank you, for you have made my sister strong. And I have seen the beauty of the world, if only for a moment.''
``Yes,'' said the girl. ``You have been good to us and we wish to give you something in return.'' The two children embraced the witch and whispered, ``Come home with us and we will love and laugh and sing together.''
The witch blinked back her tears and spoke joyfully: ``Dear children! Now you know the truth. I am no witch at all. I am your mother. I did not die. I was turned into this form because I wished vain wishes. Your love and kindness have broken the spell.''
And now all the spells were broken. The boy regained his sight. The mother became as she once had been. And all three returned home together and lived for many years after in a home filled with love. by CNB