The Baker’s Daughter

A very long time ago, I cannot tell you when, it is so long since,
there lived in a town in Herefordshire a baker who used to sell bread
to all the folk around. He was a mean, greedy man, who sought in every
way to put money by, and who did not scruple to cheat such people as he
was able when they came to his shop.

He had a daughter who helped him in his business, being unmarried and
living with him, and seeing how her father treated the people, and how
he succeeded in getting money by his bad practices, she, too, in time
came to do the like.

One day when her father was away, and the girl remained alone in the
shop, an old woman came in—

“My pretty girl,” said she, “give me a bit of dough I beg of you, for I
am old and hungry.”

The girl at first told her to be off, but as the old woman would not
go, and begged harder than before for a piece of bread, at last the
baker’s daughter took up a piece of dough, and giving it to her, says—

“There now, be off, and do not trouble me any more.”

“My dear,” says the woman, “you have given me a piece of dough, let me
bake it in your oven, for I have no place of my own to bake it in.”

“Very well,” replied the girl, and, taking the dough, she placed it in
the oven, while the old woman sat down to wait till it was baked.

When the girl thought the bread should be ready she looked in the oven
expecting to find there a small cake, and was very much amazed to find
instead a very large loaf of bread. She pretended to look about the
oven as if in search of something.

“I cannot find the cake,” said she. “It must have tumbled into the fire
and got burnt.”

“Very well,” said the old woman, “give me another piece of dough
instead and I will wait while it bakes.”

So the girl took another piece of dough, smaller than the first piece,
and having put it in the oven, shut to the door. At the end of a few
minutes or so she looked in again, and found there another loaf, larger
than the last.

“Dear me,” said she, pretending to look about her, “I have surely lost
the dough again. There’s no cake here.”

“‘Tis a pity,” said the old woman, “but never mind. I will wait while
you bake me another piece.”

So the baker’s daughter took a piece of dough as small as one of her
fingers and put it in the oven, while the old woman sat near. When she
thought it ought to be baked, she looked into the oven and there saw a
loaf, larger than either of the others.

“That is mine,” said the old woman.

“No,” replied the girl. “How could such a large loaf have grown out of
a little piece of dough?”

“It is mine, it is sure,” said the woman.

“It is not,” said the girl, “and you shall not have it.”

Well, when the old woman saw that the girl would not give her the loaf,
and saw how she had tried to cheat her, for she was a fairy, and knew
all the tricks that the baker’s daughter had put upon her, she draws
out from under her cloak a stick, and just touches the girl with it.
Then a wonderful thing occurred, for the girl became all of a sudden
changed into an owl, and flying about the room, at last, made for the
door, and, finding it open, she flew out and was never seen again.