TheLittleGirlSoldwiththePears和梨子一起卖掉的小女孩The Little Girl Sold with the PearsOnce a man had a pear tree that used to bear four baskets of pears a year One year, though, it only bore three baskets and a half, while he was supposed to carry four to the king Seeing no other way out, he put his youngest daughter into the fourth basket and covered her up with pears and leavesThe baskets were carried into the kings pantry, where the child stayed in hiding underneath the pears But having nothing to eat, she began nibbling on the pears After a while the servants noticed the supply of pears dwindling and also saw the cores There must be a rat or a mole gnawing on the pears, they said We shall look inside the baskets They removed the top and found the little girlWhat are you doing here? they asked Come with us and work in the kings kitchenThey called her Perina, and she was such a clever little girl that in no time she was doing the housework better than the kings own maidservants She was so pretty no one could help loving her The kings son, who was her age exactly, was always with Perina, and they became very fond of each otherAs the maiden grew up, the maidservants began to envy her They held their tongues for a while, then accused Perina of boasting she would go and steal the witches treasure The king got wind of it and send for the girl Is it true you boasted you would go and steal the witches treasure?No, Sacred Crown, I made no such boastYou did so, insisted the king, and now you have to keep your word At that, he banished her from the palace until she should return with the treasureOn and on she walked until nightfall Perina came to an apple tree, but kept on going She next came to a peach tree, but still didnt stop Then she came to a pear tree, climbed it, and fell asleepIn the morning there stood a little old woman under the tree What are you doing up there, my daughter? asked the old womanPerina told her about the difficulty she was in The old woman said, Take these three pounds of grease, three pounds of bread, and three pounds of millet and be on your way Perina thanked her very much and moved onShe came to a bakery where three women were pulling out their hair to sweep out the oven with Perina gave them the three pounds of millet, which they then used to sweep out the oven and allowed the little girl to continue on her wayOn and on she walked and met three mastiffs that barked and rushed at anyone coming their way Perina threw them the three pounds of bread, and they let her passAfter walking for miles and miles she came to a blood-red river, which she had no idea how to cross But the old woman had told her to say:Fine water so red, I must make haste; Else, of you would I tasteAt those words, the waters parted and let her throughOn the other side of the river, Perina beheld one of the finest and largest palaces in the world But the door was opening and slamming so rapidly that no one could possibly go in Perina therefore applied the three pounds of grease to its hinges, and from then on it opened and closed quite gentlyInside, Perina spied the treasure chest sitting on a small table She picked it up and was about to go off with it, when the chest spoke: Door, kill her, kill her!I wont, either, since she greased my hinges that hadnt been looked after since goodness knows whenPerina reached the river, and the chest said, River, drown her, drown her!I wont, either, replied the river, since she called me Fine water so redShe came to the dogs, and the chest said, Dogs, devour her, devour her!We wont, either, replied the dogs, since she gave us three pounds of breadShe came to the bakery oven Oven, burn her, burn her!But the three women replied, We wont, either, since she gave us three pounds of millet, so that now we can spare our hairWhen she was almost home, Perina, who had as much curiosity as the next little girl, decided to peep into the treasure chest She opened it, and out came a hen and her brood of gold chicks They scuttled away too fast for a soul to catch them Perina struck out after them She passed the apple tree, but they were nowhere in sight She passed the peach tree, where there was still no sign of them She came to the pear tree, and there stood the little old woman with a wand in her hand and hen and chicks feeding around her Shoo, shoo! went the old woman, and the hen and chicks reentered the treasure chestUpon her arrival, the kings son came out to meet her When my father asked what you want as a reward, tell him that box filled with coal in the cellarOn the doorstep of the royal palace stood the maidservants, the king, and the entire court Perina handed the king the hen with the brood of gold chicks Ask for whatever you want, said the king, and I will give it to youI would like the box of coal in the cellar, replied PerinaThey brought her the box of coal, whi