When the old witch got up next morning, she called her daughter,
and wanted to give her the apron, but she did not come.Then the witch cried, "Where are you?"
"Here, on the stairs, I am sweeping," answered the first drop of blood.
The old woman went out, but saw no one on the stairs, and cried again, "Where are you?"
"Here in the kitchen, I am warming myself," cried the second drop of blood.
She went into the kitchen, but found no one. Then she cried again, "Where are you?"
"Ah, here in the bed, I am sleeping." cried the third drop of blood.
She went into the room to the bed.What did she see there?
Her own child, whose head she had cut off, bathed in her blood.
The witch fell into a passion, sprang to the window,
and as she could look forth quite far into the world,
she perceived her step-daughter hurrying away with her sweetheart Roland."That shall not serve you," cried she,
"even if you have got a long way off, you shall still not escape me."She put on her many league boots,
in which went an hour's walk at every step,
and it was not long before she overtook them.
The girl, however, when she saw the old woman striding towards her,
changed, with her magic wand, her sweetheart Roland into a lake,
and herself into a duck swimming in the middle of it.The witch placed herself on the shore, threw bread-crumbs in,
and gave herself every possible trouble to entice the duck;
but the duck did not let herself be enticed,
and the old woman had to go home at night as she had come.
On this the girl and her sweetheart Roland resumed their natural shapes again,
and they walked on the whole night till daybreak.Then the maiden changed herself into a beautiful flower,
which stood in the middle of a briar hedge,
and her sweetheart Roland into a fiddler.It was not long before the witch came striding up towards them,
and said to the musician, "Dear musician, may I pluck that beautiful flower for myself?""Oh, yes," he answered, "I will play to you while you do it."
As she was hastily creeping into the hedge and was just going to pluck the flower,
for she well knew who the flower was, he began to play,
and whether she would or not, she was forced to dance, for it was a magical dance.
The quicker he played, the more violent springs was she forced to make,
and the thorns tore her clothes from her body,
and pricked her and wounded her till she bled,
and as he did not stop, she had to dance,
till she lay dead on the ground.When they were delivered, Roland said,
"Now I will go to my father and arrange for the wedding.""Then in the meantime I will stay here and wait for you," said the girl,
"and that no one may recognize me, I will change myself into a red stone land-mark."Then Roland went away,
and the girl stood like a red land-mark in the field and waited for her beloved.