Three Wishes

Once upon a time there was a lumberjack who lived very happily with his wife in a log-cabin
in the center of the forest. Every morning he went to his work, singing, and in the evening, when he
came home, a hot bowl of soup awaited him.

One day he saw a tree with strange holes in the trunk. This one looked quite different from
the others and just as he was about to fell the tree, a fairy’s head appeared through one of the
holes.

“What is all this noise?” the fairy asked, “I hope you are not going to cut down this tree, are
you? This is my home!”

The lumberjack was astonished and he dropped his axe. “Well, almighty,” he stammered.

“There are so many tress in the forest, why do you have to cut down this one,” the fairy said
with a stern voice.

Even though he was surprised and also a little afraid, the lumberjack said bravely, “I will fell
any tree I want to ....”

“Right,” the fairy interrupted him. “Let me put it this way; if you do not cut down this tree, you
are allowed three wishes. Deal?”

The lumberjack’s wife was busy cleaning a pot outside when her husband came home. He
took her by the waist and turned her around merrily.

“Hurray, hurray! We are so lucky!”

The wife just could not understand why her husband was so excited and she shook herself
loose. Later when he sat with a jug of wine at the simple table, the lumberjack told his wife about
the fairy. She immediately began to think of all wonderful things the three wishes could bring them.

The woman took a sip from her husband’s jug. She smacked and remarked “I wish also had
a string of sausages ....”

She immediately bit on her tongue, but it was too late. Suddenly a string of sausages
appeared.

“Sausages,” the lumberjack shouted. “What a waste. I wish those sausages were stuck to
your nose.”

He had hardly said this when the sausages jumped up and were stuck to the woman’s nose.

“You idiot. Look what you’ve done.” The woman cried. “Think off all the things we could have
asked!” The lumberjack felt insulted and called out : “For two cents ....”

Startled he halted, for he had nearly said :”For two cents you can cut off my tongue.” But when he
saw how his wife was complaining bitterly, he burst out laughing. “If only you knew how funny you
look with those sausages dangling on your nose!”

The woman pulled the sausages, but they stayed in their place. She pulled and pulled it
again, but in vain. The sausages were solidly attached to her nose. “They will there for the rest of
my life,” she cried.

“Let me try,” said the lumberjack who began to feel sorry for his wife and wondered how he
could endure living with a woman with such a strange nose. He held the sausages tight and pulled
with all his might. But he only managed to pull his wife on top of him. The couple sat on the floor
and looked with sadness at each other.

“What can we do now?” They said, but both thought the same thing. “There is only one
solution” the lumberjack’s wife said timidly.
 “Yes, I agree,” her husband sighed, thinking of their dreams and very bravely he declared “I
wish the sausages fell off the nose of my wife.”

And so it was done. The man and the woman immediately hugged each other and cried. “If
only we had known how to guard our words,” they said.

The fairies had expected that something strange would happen and had secretly watched
everything that happened to the lumberjack and his wife.

They thought it was very funny. For they knew something humans apparently don’t. They
could not fulfill any wish at all.

All the time humans fulfill their wishes by themselves. Everything they believe always
manifests. All their thoughts and words have power, because they express what they believe. And
if they don’t believe in something, that will not manifest.

The lumberjack and his wife believed that fairies have power to do magic and their faith
made their words very powerful. They were just another example of all those people who wish for
the strangest things all the time and don’t even know they do it themselves.

Even though the fairies don’t understand humans and their funny wishes, they have great
fun with them! After all, isn’t it very odd that people just don’t see that everything they believe
always happens!
 Little Red Riding Hood

Once upon a time, there was a little girl who lived in a village near the forest.  Whenever she went
out, the little girl wore a red riding cloak, so everyone in the village called her Little Red Riding
Hood.

One morning, Little Red Riding Hood asked her mother if she could go to visit her grandmother as
it had been awhile since they'd seen each other.

"That's a good idea," her mother said.  So they packed a nice basket for Little Red Riding Hood to
take to her grandmother.

When the basket was ready, the little girl put on her red cloak and kissed her mother goodbye.

"Remember, go straight to Grandma's house," her mother cautioned.  "Don't dawdle along the way
and please don't talk to strangers!  The woods are dangerous."

"Don't worry, mommy," said Little Red Riding Hood, "I'll be careful."

But when Little Red Riding Hood noticed some lovely flowers in the woods, she forgot her promise
to her mother.  She picked a few, watched the butterflies flit about for awhile, listened to the frogs
croaking and then picked a few more. 

Little Red Riding Hood was enjoying the warm summer day so much, that she didn't notice a dark
shadow approaching out of the forest behind her...

Suddenly, the wolf appeared beside her.

"What are you doing out here, little girl?" the wolf asked in a voice as friendly as he could muster.

"I'm on my way to see my Grandma who lives through the forest, near the brook,"  Little Red Riding
Hood replied.

Then she realized how late she was and quickly excused herself, rushing down the path to her
Grandma's house. 

The wolf, in the meantime, took a shortcut...

The wolf, a little out of breath from running, arrived at Grandma's and knocked lightly at the door.

"Oh thank goodness dear!  Come in, come in!  I was worried sick that something had happened to
you in the forest," said Grandma thinking that the knock was her granddaughter.

The wolf let himself in.  Poor Granny did not have time to say another word, before the wolf
gobbled her up!

The wolf let out a satisfied burp, and then poked through Granny's wardrobe to find a nightgown
that he liked.  He added a frilly sleeping cap, and for good measure, dabbed some of Granny's
perfume behind his pointy ears.

A few minutes later, Red Riding Hood knocked on the door.  The wolf jumped into bed and pulled
the covers over his nose.  "Who is it?" he called in a cackly voice.

"It's me, Little Red Riding Hood."

"Oh how lovely!  Do come in, my dear," croaked the wolf.

When Little Red Riding Hood entered the little cottage, she could scarcely recognize her
Grandmother.
"Grandmother!  Your voice sounds so odd.  Is something the matter?" she asked.

"Oh, I just have touch of a cold," squeaked the wolf adding a cough at the end to prove the point.

"But Grandmother!  What big ears you have," said Little Red Riding Hood as she edged closer to
the bed.

"The better to hear you with, my dear," replied the wolf.

"But Grandmother!  What big eyes you have," said Little Red Riding Hood.

"The better to see you with, my dear," replied the wolf.

"But Grandmother!  What big teeth you have," said Little Red Riding Hood her voice quivering
slightly.

"The better to eat you with, my dear," roared the wolf and he leapt out of the bed and began to
chase the little girl.

Almost too late, Little Red Riding Hood realized that the person in the bed was not her
Grandmother, but a hungry wolf.

She ran across the room and through the door, shouting, "Help!  Wolf!" as loudly as she could.

A woodsman who was chopping logs nearby heard her cry and ran towards the cottage as fast as
he could.

He grabbed the wolf and made him spit out the poor Grandmother who was a bit frazzled by the
whole experience, but still in one piece."Oh Grandma, I was so scared!"  sobbed Little Red Riding
Hood, "I'll never speak to strangers or dawdle in the forest again."

"There, there, child.  You've learned an important lesson.  Thank goodness you shouted loud
enough for this kind woodsman to hear you!"

The woodsman knocked out the wolf and carried him deep into the forest where he wouldn't bother
people any longer.

Little Red Riding Hood and her Grandmother had a nice lunch and a long chat.