There once lived a man who was very poor, and who had many children; so
many that he was unable to support them. As he could not endure the
idea of their perishing of hunger, he was often tempted to destroy
them; his wife alone prevented him. One night, as he lay asleep, there
appeared to him a lovely child in a vision. The child said—
“Oh, man! I see your soul is in danger, in the thought of killing your
helpless children. But I know you are poor, and am come here to help
you. You will find under your pillow in the morning a looking-glass, a
red handkerchief, and an embroidered scarf. Take these three things,
but show them to no one, and go to the forest. In that forest you will
find a rivulet. Walk by the side of this rivulet until you come to its
source; there you will see a girl, as bright as the sun, with long hair
streaming down her shoulders. Take care that she does you no harm. Say
not a word to her; for if you utter a single syllable, she will change
you into a fish or some other creature, and eat you. Should she ask you
to comb her hair, obey her. As you comb it, you will find one hair as
red as blood; pull it out, and run away with it. Be swift, for she will
follow you. Then throw on the ground, first the embroidered scarf, then
the red handkerchief, and last of all the looking-glass; they will
delay her pursuit of you. Sell the hair to some rich man; but see that
you do not allow yourself to be cheated, for it is of boundless worth.
Its produce will make you rich and thus you will be able to feed your
children.”
Next morning, when the poor man awoke, he found under his pillow
exactly the things the child mad told him of in his dream. He went
immediately into the forest, and when he had discovered the rivulet he
walked by the side of it, on and on, until he reached its source. There
he saw a girl sitting on the bank, threading a needle with the rays of
the sun. She was embroidering a net made of the hair of heroes, spread
on a frame before her. He approached and bowed to her. The girl got up
and demanded—
“Where did you come from, strange knight?”