with her, she will poison you, and turn you into a fish or something else, and will then devour you but if she bids you examine her head, examine it, and as you turn over her hair, look, and you will find one hair as red as blood; pull it out and run back again; then, if she suspects and begins to run after you, throw her first the embroidered pocket-handkerchief, then the kerchief, and, lastly, the mirror; then she will find occupation for herself.  And sell that hair to some rich man; but don’t let them cheat you, for that hair is worth countless wealth; and you will thus enrich yourself and maintain your children.”

When the poor man awoke, he found everything under his pillow, just as the child had told him in his sleep; and then he went to the hill.  When there, he found the stream, went on and on alongside of it, till he came to the fountain-head.  Having looked about him to see where the damsel was, he espied her above a piece of water, like sunbeams threaded on a needle, and she was embroidering at a frame on stuff, the threads of which were young men’s hair.  As soon as he saw her, he made a reverence to her, and she stood on her feet and questioned him:  “Whence are you, unknown young man?” But he held his tongue.  She questioned him again:  “Who are you?  Why have you come?” and much else of all sorts; but he was as mute as a stone, making signs with his hands, as if he were deaf and wanted help.  Then she told him to sit down on her skirt.  He did not wait for any more orders, but sat down, and she bent down her head to him, that he might examine it.  Turning over the hair of her head, as if to examine it, he was not long in finding that red hair, and separated it from the other hair, pulled it out, jumped off her skirt and ran away back as he best could.  She noticed it, and ran at his heels full speed after him.  He looked round, and seeing that she was about to overtake him, threw, as he was told, the embroidered pocket-handkerchief on the way, and when she saw the pocket-handkerchief she stooped and began to overhaul it in every direction, admiring the embroidery, till he had got a good way off.  Then the damsel placed the pocket-handkerchief in her bosom, and ran after him again.  When he saw that she was about to overtake him, he threw the red kerchief, and she again occupied herself, admiring and gazing, till the poor man had again got a good way off.  Then the damsel became exasperated, and threw both the pocket-handkerchief and the kerchief on the way, and ran after him in pursuit.  Again, when he saw that she was about to overtake him, he threw the mirror.  When the damsel came to the mirror, the like of which she had never seen before, she lifted it up, and when she saw herself in it, not knowing that it was herself, but thinking that it was somebody else, she, as it were, fell in love with herself in the mirror, and the man got so far off that she was no longer able to overtake him.  When she saw that she could not catch him, she turned