The 4 Sides Of The Earth

Once there was a poor young man who lived in a little cottage in the woods and, one day, when he opened his cottage door he saw a little baby lying upon his doorstep.

“Why whose little baby are you?”, he asked, picking the child up and holding it in his arms.

The baby only smiled at him and chuckled joyfully.

But, because the man had a kind soul, he thought he must get the baby something to eat and so he went out to milk his cow.

When he returned, however, carrying a pail full of milk; to his amazement he saw a young and beautiful woman sitting in his house dressed in a long flowing gown of blue and gold.

“Who are you?”, he asked, “And what happened to the baby that was here?”.

“Oh”, she replied, smiling “Why, I am she”.

The poor man was even more surprised by this but, entranced by the woman’s rare beauty and thinking her perhaps a goddess or a queen of fairies, he only asked her if she would like some milk since he had brought it for her.

“No thank you”, she replied, “I would rather have fruit”.

Now the poor man did not have any fruit but he knew of a tree that stood nearby upon which the most luscious golden fruit did grow and so, taking a basket, he went out to climb that tree and pick the young woman some fruit.

And, not long after,the man returned carrying a basket on his arm filled up with the largest, juiciest and most ripest fruit.

But then, however, to his astonishment, the man saw not a young woman sitting in his house but a woman in the middle years of her life with grey in her hair and wearing a dress of bronze and gold.

“Who are you?”, he asked, “And what happened to the young woman that was here?”.

“Oh”, she replied, smiling, “Why, I am she”.

Now the poor man was doubly astonished but, fearing that the old woman was some sort of enchantress, he thought it best to be polite to her and asked her if she would like some fruit since he had picked it for her.

“No thank you”, she replied, “I would rather have wine”.

The Poor man did not have any wine in the house but he knew where he might buy some and so, scraping together what coins he had, he went out to buy the woman a bottle of wine.

And, not long after, the man returned carrying a bottle full of wine and expecting to pour it out for a middle-aged woman.

When he entered his house again however, he saw, startled, that it was not a middle-aged woman sitting in his house but an old woman dressed all in white.

However, as he had been before, the man was very polite and asked the old woman whether she would like some wine since he had bought it for her.

“No thank you”, she said, “I do not want anything but I will give you something”.

And, saying this, the old woman gave the man a handful of seeds.

“When you are next in need, make a circle upon the ground, throw these seeds into it and you shall have my help”, she said.

Then, smiling, the old woman became the wind and blew out of the man’s door and far away.

Now, it happened that, after a month had passed, the young man was walking by a cave when he heard the beautiful song of a bird coming from inside and, entering the cave, he saw that inside was a bird with golden feathers locked in an iron cage.

“Let me out”, said the bird, pleading with him, “And you shall have a beautiful wife and sit upon the throne of a kingdom”.

And so the man, looking round about the cave, found a key to the cage and opening it he let the bird out and, immediately, the bird turned into a beautiful princess however, as soon as this happened, the opened cage cried out, “Some rascal has entered your cave, he has opened my mouth and taken away what is rightfully yours”.

And then, suddenly, stomping through the forest came a giant with an enormous axe; the earth shaking as he walked  and, in a voice like a thunderstorm, he bellowed, “What’s that you say? Why I will cut him up and boil a stew out of him!”.

Now the young man, hearing this was terrified, but then he remembered the seeds that the old woman had given him and, making a circle in the earth, he placed the seeds at the centre of it
and, immediately an infant appeared within the circle; the one who the man had fetched milk for.

“Don’t worry”, said the infant, “That giant shall not harm you”.

And, saying this, the strange child made creepers grow up all over the giant, binding him.

Unfortunately, the giant was so strong that he tore away his bonds.

“It takes more than creepers to bind me”, said the giant, laughing and then the young man heard its footsteps rumbling nearer.

But then the little infant became the young, beautiful woman and, raising up her hands, she made a  forest of fruit trees grow in front of the giant, blocking its path.

“Don’t worry” , she said, “That giant shall not harm you”.

Unfortunately, the giant had a large axe and, swinging it, he cut his way through the forest of fruit trees and then the young man heard the sound of the giant’s footsteps rumbling nearer.
But then the young woman became the middle-aged woman in the dress of bronze and gold and, breathing in, she blew out a mighty wind that picked up and hurled branches and stones at the giant, piling them up like a wall in front of him.

“Don’t worry”, said the woman, “This time, for sure, we’ll stop that giant”.

Unfortunately, the giant had strong breath too and, breathing in, he blew out a fierce wind that knocked the wall down and then, yet again, the young man heard the sound of the giant’s footsteps rumbling nearer but, not only that, he saw the giant coming towards them and the sight of the enormous monster made him shake with terror.

But then the middle aged woman turned into the old woman, dressed all in white and, throwing a handful of white snowflakes at the giant, she turned him completely into a pillar of ice.

“Aha!”, she said, with a twinkle in her old eyes, “I knew I’d get that giant in the end”.

Now the young man, amazed by the woman’s powers, wanted to know who she was.

“Why, I am the Earth”, she replied, “The infant of Spring; the young maiden of Summer;  the mother of Autumn and Old Grandmother Winter. You were kind to me and, whoever is kind to me, I repay their kindness”.

Then, saying this, the old woman became the winter wind and blew away into the forest.

Now the young man married the Princess that had been turned into a golden bird and locked up in a cage by the giant and together they lived happily ever after.