The Two Children and the Bird of Truth - Part Three

The two children were overjoyed on hearing the words of the swallow.

Then they kept walking from the hut in the forest, and they arrived at a large city. They were sure that this was the capital of their father's Kingdom 

There was a good looking woman outside the door of a house. 

The children decided that she would definitely be helpful to them, and they requested her to give them lodging for the night. 

The woman was so pleased with their manners and their pretty faces that she welcomed them into her house. 

The next morning, the girl was up very early, and she swept the rooms, and the boy watered the gardens of the home. 

When the woman came downstairs, there was no work left for her to do. 

She was so happy with the two children that she requested them to stay for some more time. 

The boy, however, wanted to leave only his sister behind, and he set out on his adventure.

 

For three days the boy traveled, but he could not see any tower anywhere. 

At that time he saw a turtle dove looking down at him from a tree. The boy nodded at the bird eagerly. “Do you know where the Castle-of-come-and-never-go?” 

The dove was surprised. “Who has sent you on such a useless task?” 

“I do not have a choice,” the boy replied.  

The dove looked kindly at the boy, “To get to the castle, you must follow the wind. Today the wind is blowing towards the castle.” 

The boy tanked the dove and followed the wind.

With each step, the surroundings became more and more dull.

However, the boy refused to give up. Finally, he reached the tower. 

He knocked three times loudly at the door of the castle and the knock echoed around the rocks. 

Then suddenly the door flung open. 

An old woman came there with a candle to her face. 

She looked so hideous that the boy involuntarily fell backwards. He was even more terrified by the lizards and beetles that surrounded the woman.

“Why did you wake me up?” The woman asked the boy. 

The boy swallowed his fear and nodded at the woman. “I came to the Castle-of-come-and-never-go. Can you please tell me how to go there?” 

The witch looked at the little boy slyly. “I will tell you but today it is too late. You can come into my castle and sleep with my lizards for the night.” 

The boy shook his head. “I cannot stay.  I must go back so that I reach the road before the night comes.” 

The witch looked even more surprised at his answer. “Then I shall tell you the path. But will you promise me that you will bring a jar full of the multi-coloured water, from the spring of the Courtyard of the castle.” The witch suddenly gave him an evil smile. “If you fail to keep your word. I will turn you into a lizard.”

Adapted from Spanish Folk Tales