Then the king sent for his butcher,
and had the little red calf killed. And when Rushen Coatie heard of it,
she sate down and wept by its side, but the dead calf said:
"Take me up, bone by bone,
And put me beneath yon grey stone;
When there is aught you want
Tell it me, and that I'll grant."
So she did so, but could not find the shank-bone of the calf.
Now the very next Sunday was Yuletide, and all the folk were going to
church in their best clothes, so Rushen Coatie said: "Oh! I should like
to go to church, too," but the three ugly sisters said: "What would you
do at the church, you nasty thing? You must bide at home and make the
dinner." And the king's wife said: "And this is what you must make the
soup of, a thimbleful of water, a grain of barley, and a crumb of
bread."
When they all went to church, Rushen Coatie sat down and wept, but
looking up, who should she see coming in limping, lamping, with a shank
wanting, but the dear red calf? And the red calf said to her: "Do not
sit there weeping, but go, put on these clothes, and above all, put on
this pair of glass slippers, and go your way to church.
Pages:
166
167
168
169
170
171
172
173
174
175
176
177
178
179
180
181
182
183
184
185
186
187
188
189
190