The ring that said “This way”

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 wood. It happened that one day, very absorbed in her work, she did not see night fall. So she took fright and got lost.

The ring that said this way

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

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

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

• 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 a huge pot rested on an equally gigantic tripod. The giant took his place near the hearth and the light of the fire illuminated him.

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

The child's fear was growing, but she did her best to conceal 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 little girl obeyed him and immediately got busy in the kitchen. The giant smiled, and when he saw that she was resigning herself to her fate he went to his room.

• When you're done, he told her, you'll bring me dinner in bed.

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

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

The kid went back to the fire, took the glowing iron from it, and went to the giant's room on tiptoe. He slept like a marmot and his snoring shook the whole room. The girl brandished the iron and stuck it in his eye.

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

Seeing this, the little girl grabbed a sheepskin which she covered herself with and headed for the enclosure. She reached the outer door and opened it as the giant stood there, one leg on each side. The sheep began to rush between the legs of their master who sputtered:

• 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 fingered it but let it escape, the skin remaining in his hands:

• A white… a black… and I'm outside!

The giant flew into a terrible rage. He was choking with rage, then suddenly he smiled at the little girl. He removed a ring from her finger and threw it at her feet, saying gently:

• Since you are so clever, 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 it 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 put it on her finger. Immediately, the ring began to sing:

• Over here! ... I'm over here! ...

The giant stood up like a fury and rushed towards the little girl, uttering terrible curses.

The ring guided him:

• Over here! ... I'm over here! ...

And the little girl tried in vain to pull it out as she ran away.

Just as the giant was about to join her, she came to a river whose course was swollen by the rains. She grabbed the knife she used to cut 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. Plunged into 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 swept him away and he was gone in an instant.

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