_Injustice and neglect frequently react upon those guilty of it,
and the things we despise at first often prove most valuable._
When Two-Eyes saw her mother kill the goat, she went out into the
meadow crying. The old woman stood before her again. She told
Two-Eyes to go home, take the goat’s head, bury it before the door,
and she would have good luck.
Two-Eyes went home, and that night after the others were asleep
she took the goat’s head and buried it as she was told. The next
morning there stood before the door a wonderful tree with leaves
of silver and fruit of gold. Everybody was very much amazed to see
such a tree grow up in one night.
One-Eye tried to gather some of the fruit, but she could not break
off a single branch. Then Three-Eyes tried, but she was not any
more successful. The mother herself climbed the tree, but could do
no better. Then, Two-Eyes climbed the tree and gathered a whole
apronful of the fruit. The others were astonished that so ordinary
a creature as Two-Eyes could gather the fruit when they could not
even break a branch from the tree.
While they were all standing under the tree a prince rode by.
The sisters were ashamed of Two-Eyes and quickly hid her under a
basket. When the prince came by he admired this beautiful tree. He
promised to grant any wish to the one who would give him a branch
of this wonderful tree.
One-Eye and Three-Eyes each tried to get a branch of the tree,
but in vain. Just then Two-Eyes rolled some apples from under the
basket. The prince was astonished, and asked who was under the
basket. Two-Eyes crept from under the basket. The prince asked her
to break off a branch for him. Two-Eyes reached up and with little
trouble broke off a branch and gave it to him. Then Two-Eyes told
the prince how she had been treated by her mother and her sisters,
and said she wished to be taken away, so that she might be happy.
The prince lifted her upon his horse and rode home with her to
his father’s castle. The two sisters could hardly conceal their
anger and mortification. They thought, however, that they would
still have the wonderful tree, but the next morning the tree had
disappeared.
As Two-Eyes looked out of her window in the castle, she saw that
the tree had followed her to her new home. Every day she gathered
silver leaves and golden fruit. Nobody could gather them but
herself, but she gave them all to the prince.
By and by, the prince fell in love with Two-Eyes and married her.
They lived long and were very happy. One day there came to her
castle two women begging. She knew at once by their eyes that they
were her sisters. As soon as she saw them and noticed how poor they
were, she made them come in and fed them and sent them back after
her mother. After that they all lived together very happily, for
Two-Eyes forgave them their unkind treatment.