Little Two Eyes

Once there were three little sisters.

The first sister had but one eye.

It was in the middle of her forehead.

She was called Little One Eye.

The second sister had two eyes.

She was called Little Two Eyes.

The third sister had three eyes.

One eye was in the middle of her forehead.

She was called Little Three Eyes.

Little Two Eyes was not happy.

One Eye and Three Eyes made fun of her.

They made her wear old clothes.

They gave her only crumbs to eat,

and she was always hungry.

They said, "You are not our sister.

You have two eyes.

You have no eye in the middle

of your forehead."

Little Two Eyes took care of the goat.

Every morning she drove it to the field.

She took crumbs with her to eat.

One morning she was very hungry,

and she began to cry.

She cried for a long time.

Then she heard a sweet voice,

and she looked up.

There stood a little old woman.

"Why are you crying, Little Two Eyes?"

she said.

"My sisters do not like me

because I have two eyes.

They make me wear old clothes,

and they give me only crumbs to eat.

I am hungry," said Little Two Eyes.

"Do not cry," said the old woman,

"you shall never be hungry again.

Say to your goat,

'Little goat, if you are able,

Pray deck out my little table.'

And a little table will stand before you

with good food on it.

You may eat all you want.

Then you must say,

'Little goat, when you are able,

Take away my little table.'

And the table will go away."

Then the old woman went away.

Little Two Eyes was very hungry.

So she said,

"Little goat, if you are able,

Pray deck out my little table."

Soon a little table stood before her

with a good dinner on it.

Little Two Eyes sat down

and ate all she wanted.

Then she said,

"Little goat, when you are able,

Take away my little table."

And the little table went away.

Little Two Eyes was very happy.

"That is a fine way to keep house,"

she said.

She did not eat the crumbs that night.

One day Three Eyes said,

"What does Little Two Eyes eat?

She does not eat our food."

"I will go to the field and see,"

said One Eye.

The next morning One Eye said,

"I will go to the field with you,

Little Two Eyes."

They drove the goat into the long grass.

Then Little Two Eyes said,

"Let us sit here, Little One Eye,

and I will sing to you."

So they sat down in the long grass.

And Little Two Eyes sang,

"Are you awake, Little One Eye?

Are you asleep, Little One Eye?

Are you awake?

Are you asleep?

Awake?

Asleep?"

Soon One Eye fell asleep.

Then Little Two Eyes said,

"Little goat, if you are able,

Pray deck out my little table."

And there stood the little table.

She ate a good dinner and said,

"Little goat, when you are able,

Take away my little table."

And the little table went away.

Then One Eye awoke.

"The sun has set," said Little Two Eyes.

"Come, let us go home."

The next morning, Three Eyes said,

"I will go to the field with you."

They drove the goat into the long grass.

"Let us sit down and I will sing to you,"

said Little Two Eyes, and she sang,

"Are you awake, Little Three Eyes?

Are you asleep, Little Two Eyes?

Awake, Little Three Eyes?

Asleep, Little Two Eyes?

Awake?

Asleep?"

Soon her two eyes went to sleep.

But the eye in the middle

of her forehead did not go to sleep.

Little Two Eyes did not know this.

So she called for her table.

She ate her dinner,

and the table went away.

Three Eyes looked out of her open eye,

and she saw all that Little Two Eyes did.

"Come, Little Three Eyes, the sun has set,

let us go home," said Little Two Eyes.

So they went home.

Three Eyes said to Little One Eye,

"I know why she does not eat."

And she told her sister all about the goat

and the table.

So they went to the field

and killed the goat.

Then Little Two Eyes sat down and cried.

Soon the little old woman stood by her.

"Little Two Eyes, why do you cry?"

she said.

"I cry because my goat is killed,"

said Little Two Eyes.

The old woman said,

"Go home and get the heart of the goat.

Then plant it by the house."

Little Two Eyes ran to her sisters and said,

"Please give me the heart of the goat."

Her sisters laughed and said,

"You may have it.

We do not want it."

Little Two Eyes took the heart of the goat,

and she planted it in the ground.

That night a tree grew up from the heart,

and it was full of golden apples.

"How did the tree get there?" said One Eye.

"How could a tree grow up in one night?"

said Three Eyes.

But Little Two Eyes knew all about it.

When One Eye climbed the tree,

the apples sprang away from her.

"I can see better than you,

let me try," said Three Eyes.

So she climbed the tree,

but the apples sprang from her, too.

"Let me try," said Little Two Eyes.

"What can you do with two eyes?

This tree is not for you," said her sisters.

But Little Two Eyes climbed the tree,

and the apples fell into her hands.

"I can get them now," said Three Eyes.

"So can I," said One Eye.

Just then a prince rode up.

The sisters said to Little Two Eyes,

"Run away and hide.

The prince must not see you;

you have two eyes."

And they hid her under a keg.

The prince saw the sisters and the tree

with the golden apples.

"Please give me a golden apple," said he.

"We will get some for you,"

said the sisters.

So they climbed the tree, but the

branches sprang away from them.

"This tree is not yours," said the prince,

"you cannot get an apple."

"The tree is ours, it is ours,"

they said again and again.

Then Little Two Eyes rolled a golden

apple to the prince.

"Where did this come from?" said he.

Then she rolled another apple to him.

"I must see where they come from,"

said the prince.

He looked under the keg,

and there sat Little Two Eyes.

"Can you pick some apples for me?"

said the prince.

"Yes, I can," she said.

Then Little Two Eyes climbed the tree.

She got the golden apples

and gave them to the prince.

He looked at her and said,

"What can I do for you?"

"Take me away with you," she said,

"I am not happy here."

So the prince took her on his horse,

and they rode away.

He took her to his father's castle.

The next morning Little Two Eyes

looked out of the window.

There stood the tree

with the golden apples.

Little Two Eyes was very happy.

— Grimm's Fairy Tales.