Raggedy

Once upon a time, though perhaps it never was, there lived a poor peasant. The peasant had a wife and a little daughter. They were so poor, and the daughter’s dress was so tattered, that everyone called her "Raggedy."

The peasant’s wife died, and life became unbearable for him. He thought and thought and finally decided:
"I’ll remarry, bring a woman into the house. At least she’ll take care of the home and look after my orphaned daughter."

So he went and married again, and his new wife had a daughter of her own. The stepmother arrived, bringing her daughter with her. But she took an instant dislike to her stepdaughter and only thought of how to torment her, while spoiling her own daughter.

The stepmother would send Raggedy out to tend the cow, toss her a crust of bread, and say, "Feed everyone you meet along the way, feed everyone who crosses your path, eat some yourself, and bring the crust back whole."

One day, the poor girl sat in the field, weeping bitterly. The cow listened to her cries and finally spoke:
"Why are you crying? What troubles you?"
The girl told her everything. The cow said:
"Is that all that troubles you? Don’t be sad. Look at my horns: one holds butter, and the other holds honey. Eat as much as you like."

The girl ate the honey and butter. She grew plumper and more beautiful. The stepmother noticed this and didn’t know what to do out of spite. She began giving Raggedy a whole basket of wool:
"Spin all this wool in a day and bring it back on the spindle by evening." She thought to herself, "She’ll tire herself out and stop growing plump and beautiful."

One day, Raggedy was herding the cow, and it ran across the roof of a house. Raggedy ran after it to guide it back to the road but dropped her spindle into a crack. She looked down and saw an old woman sitting there. Raggedy called out:
"Grandmother, grandmother, for the sake of all children and mothers, please hand me my spindle."
But the old woman said:
"I’m not feeling well, my dear. Come down and get it yourself."
This old woman was the mother of the *deva* (a supernatural being).

Raggedy went down to retrieve her spindle, but the old woman said:
"Come closer, dear, for a moment. See if there’s anything in my head—it feels like something’s biting me."
The girl approached, and it was as if she’d been struck by lightning: every kind of worm and vermin imaginable was writhing and crawling there. Raggedy scratched and cleaned, then said to the old woman:
"What’s there to find or clean, grandmother? Your head is very clean."
The old woman liked this and said:
"When you leave here, take such-and-such a road. You’ll see three springs: a white one, a black one, and a yellow one. Pass by the white and black ones, but approach the yellow one, dip your head in it, and wash your hands."

Raggedy did as she was told: she took that road, found the three springs, passed by the white and black ones, and dipped her head and hands in the yellow one.
When she looked at herself afterward, golden curls adorned her head, and her hands gleamed like gold.

Raggedy returned home, and when the stepmother saw her, she nearly went mad with envy.
The stepmother decided to send her own daughter to herd the cow, thinking she might have the same fortune.
Her daughter went to herd the cow while Raggedy stayed home. The cow ran across the roof again, and the stepmother’s daughter chased after it, dropping her spindle into the crack. She looked down, saw the old woman, and shouted:
"Hey, you witch, get up quickly and hand me my spindle!"
The mother of the *deva* said:
"I’m not feeling well, my dear. Come down and get it yourself."
The stepmother’s daughter went inside, and the old woman said:
"Come closer, dear, for a moment. See if there’s anything in my head."
As soon as the girl got closer, she screamed:
"Ugh, how disgusting! You’re rotting alive, you old hag!"
The old woman said:
"Thank you, my dear. When you leave, take such-and-such a road. You’ll see three springs: a yellow one, a white one, and a black one. Pass by the yellow one, but dip your head in the white and black ones."

The stepmother’s daughter did as she was told: she passed by the yellow spring and dipped her head in the white and black ones. When she looked at herself afterward, she had turned as black as coal, and a huge white horn had grown on her head. She tried to cut it off, but it kept growing and growing.

She returned home and complained to her mother. The stepmother was furious but didn’t know what to do. She decided the cow was to blame and ordered it to be slaughtered.

The cow, however, was a wise creature. She knew they would kill her and came to Raggedy, saying:
"When they kill me, gather my bones and bury them together in the ground. When you’re in need, come and call out: ‘Come forth, my horse and my royal attire.’"

Raggedy did as she was told: she gathered the cow’s bones and buried them together. Time passed.
One day, during a festival, the stepmother scattered a whole bushel of grain across the yard, handed Raggedy a trough, and said:
"Gather every single grain so that not one is left, and fill this trough with your tears."

Meanwhile, the stepmother dressed herself and her daughter in their finest clothes and took them to church. Everyone went to church, leaving Raggedy behind to cry. An old woman heard her weeping and asked:
"Why are you crying? What sorrow has befallen you?"

Raggedy told her everything. The old woman released all the chickens and chicks from the house and made them gather the grain. Then she threw a pinch of salt into the trough, filled it with water, and said:
"Here are your tears. Now go and enjoy yourself."
Raggedy then remembered her cow. She ran to its grave and called out:
"Come forth, my horse and my royal attire!"
As soon as she spoke, a magnificent horse and a splendid outfit appeared.

Raggedy dressed in her new clothes, mounted the horse, and rode to church.
Everyone marveled at her beauty and her attire.
The stepmother’s daughter saw her and whispered to her mother:
"Look, mother, she looks just like our Raggedy."
The stepmother laughed:
"Who would give such fine clothes to our Raggedy?"
Raggedy returned home before anyone else and changed back into her rags.

She was in such a hurry to get home that when her horse jumped across a river, she dropped a golden slipper and didn’t retrieve it.

One day, the king’s horses were being watered at that river. They noticed the shining slipper in the water and refused to drink.
The king was told:
"Something is shining in the water, and the horses are afraid to drink."
The king sent divers to investigate. They retrieved the golden slipper and brought it to the king. When the king saw it, he summoned all his servants and said:
"Go and find the woman whose foot fits this slipper. She shall be my wife."
The servants searched and searched, but the slipper fit no one.

The stepmother heard of this, dressed her daughter, seated her on a divan, and sent word to the king:
"I have a daughter whose foot will fit this slipper."
Meanwhile, she grabbed Raggedy, threw her into a corner, and covered her with a basket. The king arrived. They tried the slipper on the stepmother’s daughter, while the king sat on the basket and watched. Raggedy took a needle and pricked the king. He jumped up and shouted:
"What’s in this basket?"
The stepmother said:
"Nothing, just a turkey."
Raggedy pricked the king again, harder this time.

The king jumped up and shouted:
"Remove the basket! Let’s see what kind of turkey this is!"
The stepmother pleaded:
"Don’t ruin me, don’t open it, my turkey will run away!"
But the king wouldn’t listen. They opened the basket, and Raggedy stepped out, saying:
"This is my slipper, and it will fit only me."
They tried the slipper on Raggedy, and indeed, it fit perfectly. The king took Raggedy as his wife, and the stepmother was left with nothing.

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Raggedy

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