Once there lived an old man
and woman, who had a daughter named Onytė. When the old pair died and
Onytė was left an orphan, she took employment with a wealthy neighbor. The
stern mistress ordered her to herd the cow to pasture, while she spoiled and
indulged her two daughters in every way possible.
One day the mistress told
Onytė that she must spin and weave ten lengths of linen, all in one day.
Leading the cow to pasture, Onytė embraced the little cow’s neck and
wept.
The cow said:
-- Why are you crying?
Onytė replied:
-- How can I not sigh and cry? I have been ordered to spin and weave ten
lengths of linen, all in one day.
-- Blow into one of my ears,
and the thread will be spun, then blow into the other, and the fabric will be
woven – said the little cow.
Onytė did as she was
told; the thread was spun, and the fabric was woven. And that evening,
Onytė brought the finished cloth to the mistress.
The next day, the mistress
told Onytė:
-- Here is a bolt of cloth. Before this day is over, I want you to cut out and
sew ten pair of shirts.
When Onytė had brought
the cow to the meadow, she embraced its neck and began to cry.
The cow said:
-- Why do you cry, and sigh so sadly?
-- Oh, how can I not, when I have been ordered to sew ten pair of shirts within
one day’s time -- cried Onytė.
-- Blow into one of my ears, and the shirts will be cut out; blow into the
other, and they will be sewn.
Onytė did as she was
told, only this time, the mistress’s two daughters had hidden nearby and
heard and observed everything. They lost no time in telling their mother.
The mistress angrily said to
Onytė:
-- Aha, so this is how you cut and sew? I will have that cow slaughtered, and
then you will have to do your work by yourself.
Onytė ran to the little
cow, and embracing her neck, cried grievously.
-- Oh dear little cow, they are going to slaughter you. What shall I do, tell
me how I may help you?
-- Let them do it -- said the
cow. -- But within my intestines, you will find two golden grains. Plant them,
one on one side of the gate, and the second on the other side.
Onytė obeyed, and a
golden apple tree grew at one side of the gate, while a well of finest wine
appeared at the other. No one was able to pick the apples, nor could anyone
draw wine from the well. People heard about it,
and began to come from far and wide to see the golden apples and the well of
wine. A fine young man, tall and handsome as an oak, arrived from a far-away
country and said:
-- I will wed the lady who
can pick a golden apple and draw wine from this well for me.
The mistress immediately sent
out her elder daughter. As soon as she stretched out her hand to pick an apple,
the limbs of the tree rose upward toward the heavens. As soon as she dipped her
jug into the well, the wine disappeared.The mistress then sent out her younger
daughter, but she was also unsuccessful.
Unwillingly, then, the
mistress allowed Onytė to try. As Onytė approached, the branches of
the apple tree bent towards the very ground, and as she neared the well, the
wine rose up to the top. Drawing a pitcher of wine, and picking several apples,
she offered them to the young man. Before he departed, he offered Onytė
the gift of a pair of amber slippers.
When he rode off with his
matchmakers, the mistress grabbed Onyte, dragged her into the bathhouse and
shoved her under a heavy vat. Then she squeezed her elder
daughter‘s feet into Onyte‘s amber slippers.
The net day, the young man
returned, and, seating the mistress‘s daughter in his elegant carriage,
drove towards his manor. As they rode, a large hare ran following them,
singing:
Onyte‘s feet are small,
The amber slippers fit her...
The daughter‘s big feet don‘t fit,
Bloody slippers! Bloody slippers!
The young man drove further,
entering a forest, and there, a cuckoo sang the same song. Stopping the
carriage, he looked at the bride’s feet, and saw - slippers full of
blood. Throwing the mistress’s daughter out of his carriage, he sped back
to search for Onyte. Finding her imprisoned beneath the heavy vat, he released
her and carried her away. Looking back as he drove, he saw the tree and the
well following them. He brought his young bride home,
where the golden apple tree stood at one side of the gate, and the
well on the opposite side.
They lived a long and happy
life, picking the apples and drinking the wine whenever they pleased.
Source:
From “Nemuno Šalies Pasakos”
“Tales From the Land of the Nemunas”
Compiled by Petras Cvirka
Published in 1999 by “Aušra” -
© English
Translation - Gloria O’Brien 2007
This article was printed in Bridges May
2007