1 A brother and sister were traveling and found a pond. "Sister," he said, "I must have a drink."
2 She answered, "We don’t know if this water is safe? We can go a little longer."
3 "No,” he replied, “I cannot." As soon as he drank, he turned into a stag.
4 They came to a tall tree near the pond and decided to rest. "Sister," said the stag, "climb the tree and I will find food." She did, and he went hunting nearby.
5 The Padishah's horses were watered from this spring. When the animals saw the reflection of the girl, they would not drink. The slaves told the Padishah what had happened.
6 "Go back," he said, "look around." So they went. They saw the girl in the tree. They went back to tell their master who hurried to the spot. He looked up and saw the girl.
7 When she would not come down, the Padishah became angry and said to cut down the tree. It was almost ready to fall when night came. They decided to finish in the morning. As soon as they left, the stag came out of the forest, and she told him what happened.
8 "You did well," he said. He licked the tree, and the trunk became thicker than before.
The next morning the slaves were surprised. They worked again until night. Again, the stag licked the tree, and the trunk was whole. The Padishah decided to go to a witch for help.
9 She carried a kettle, placed it on the ground upside down, and drew water from the spring. Pretending to be blind, she poured the water on the kettle. The girl said, "Your kettle is upside down." The woman said, "Come help me." But the girl did not.
10 The witch came again. She lit a fire and got out her flour. Instead of the flour, she began to place ashes in the sieve. The girl said, "You are putting ashes into your sieve." "Come help me," said the witch. But the girl stayed.
11 On the third day, the witch came, bringing a lamb to the slaughter. The maiden came down to help the poor lamb. The Padishah grabbed her and took her to his palace.
12 The Padishah wanted to marry her, but she would not until her brother was brought to her. Once he was at the palace, the two stayed together.
