The ring that said "Over here"

Here is the story of the ring that said around here. Once upon a time, there was a very pretty and very poor young girl who often went to the mountains to collect firewood. It happened that one day, very absorbed in her work, she did not see night fall. So she got scared and got lost.

The ring that said here

• My God, she said to herself, what will become of me ...

The night, humid and dark, the endless and difficult path, the little one, tiny and terrified… She rushed forward, walked and discovered a light. She walked over to her and came to a house. At the door of the house stood a giant.

She couldn't escape anymore, so she said to him shyly:

• I got lost, I'm tired and I don't know where to spend the night. Would you do me the favor of welcoming me?

And the giant replied:

• Ah! but yes, little girl, of course yes!

The rascal! ... The giant was a rascal.

He walked to the door and said:

• Open yourself.

They entered and the giant again ordered at the door:

• Shut up.

The door closed. They found themselves in the kitchen. A very large fire was burning in the fireplace and an enormous pot rested on an equally gigantic tripod. The giant took a seat near the hearth and the light of the fire lit it.

Then the little girl saw him clearly: he was dark skinned, fierce in appearance, had large teeth and one eye: on his forehead, he had only one eye! ...

The little girl's fear was growing, but she tried to hide it. After looking at her with obvious pleasure, the giant ordered her:

• Prepare the meal for me in this pot. You will find a sheep there ...

From now on, you will live with me, and if one day you tried to escape, instead of eating mutton, I would eat you, because you are much more tender.

The girl obeyed him and immediately got busy in the kitchen. The giant smiled, and when he saw that she was resigned to his fate he went to her room.

• When you are done, he said, you will bring me the meal in bed.

He lay down, fell asleep and began to snore loudly.

The meal being ready, the little one ate her share. She set a sharp iron she had found on the fire, then searched the whole house. She saw many sheepskins hanging against the walls. A door in the kitchen opened onto an enclosure. The enclosure was immense and the multitude of sheep raised by the giant grazed there.

The girl returned to the fire, took the glowing iron from it, and tiptoed into the giant's room. He slept like a marmot and his snoring made the whole room shake. The girl held up the iron and stuck it in his eye.

The cry of the giant must have been heard a thousand leagues around. He hammered his forehead, mouth and nose with his fists; he stomped from one end of the room to the other. He was pounding and yelping, trying to get revenge on the kid. It seemed to him that the best way to stop him from leaving was to stand in front of the door.

Seeing this, the girl grabbed a sheepskin with which she covered herself and walked towards the enclosure. She reached the outer door and opened it as the giant stepped into it, one leg on either side. The sheep began to run between the legs of their stammering master:

• I will find you ... I will find you ...

He touched them all and said:

• A white… a black… a white… a black…

The little girl, hidden under her skin, slipped between the sheep, and the poor blind man confused her with the other animals. He felt it but let it escape, the skin remaining between his hands:

• A white… a black… and I'm outside!

The giant got into a terrible anger. He was choking with rage, then suddenly he smiled at the girl. He took a ring off his finger and threw it at his feet, saying gently:

• Since you are so smart, I forgive you. As proof of my forgiveness, I offer you my favorite ring.

The ring shone in the grass like a glowworm. The girl, fearing a trap, looked at him without daring to pick it up. But the giant seemed so calm and the ring shone so much that finally the little one bent down, took it in her hand and slipped it on her finger. Immediately the ring began to sing:

• Over here! ... I'm over here! ...

The giant rose up in fury and rushed towards the girl, uttering terrible curses.

The ring guided him:

• Over here! ... I'm over here! ...

And the girl tried in vain to pull it out as she fled.

As the giant was about to join her, she came to a river swollen by the rains. She grabbed the knife she used to prune the branches in the mountain, and with a sharp blow cut off the finger adorned with the ring. She picked it up and threw it into the river. Immersed in the water, the ring continued its song:

• Over here! ... I'm over here! ...

The giant, letting himself be guided by the voice, entered the river. The boiling water whirled him around and he was gone in an instant.

The little one returned to the giant's house, gathered the whole herd and led him to his own cottage.