The Old Woman in the Wood facts for kids
"The Old Woman in the Wood" (German: Die Alte im Wald) is a German fairy tale collected by the famous Brothers Grimm. It is tale number 123 in their collection. This story is a classic example of a "magic helper" tale, where a special animal helps the main character.
Contents
Story Summary
This fairy tale begins with a beautiful but poor servant girl. She was traveling with the family she worked for when something terrible happened. Robbers attacked them! The girl quickly hid behind a tree. Sadly, the rest of the family was lost in the attack.
A Magical Helper Appears
Feeling very sad and alone, the girl wondered what she would do. Suddenly, a white dove flew down to her. It held a shiny golden key in its beak. The dove told her to use the key to unlock a nearby tree. When she did, she found delicious food inside!
Each evening, the dove would lead her to another tree. This tree would open up to reveal a cozy bed where she could sleep safely. The girl lived like this for many days, always helped by the kind dove.
The Dove's Request
One day, the dove asked the girl for a special favor. She agreed to help. The dove told her to go to a certain house and enter it. An old woman would be inside, but the girl must not speak to her.
Inside the house, the girl needed to find an inner door. Behind this door was a room filled with many beautiful, sparkling rings. The dove warned her to take only a plain, simple ring.
Facing the Witch
The girl followed the dove's instructions. When she entered the house, the old woman was very angry that the girl did not answer her. The girl ignored the old woman and went to the room full of rings.
She searched for the plain ring, but couldn't find it. Then, she saw the old woman trying to sneak away with a bird cage. The girl quickly took the cage from her. Inside the cage was a bird, and in its beak, it held the plain ring!
The Prince's Transformation
The girl took the bird and the ring outside. She waited against a tree, just as the dove had told her. Suddenly, two branches of the tree wrapped around her like arms. The tree began to change! It transformed into a handsome young man.
He explained that the old woman was a powerful witch. She had turned him into a tree. For two hours each day, he could become a dove. The girl, by following the dove's instructions, had finally freed him from the witch's spell!
All of his servants, who had also been turned into trees by the witch, changed back into humans. The young man was actually a prince, the son of a king! They traveled to his father's kingdom and were happily married.
