The Old Woman Who Wanted All The Cakes |
| Written by fairystory.org | |||
One day she said to herself, "I will bake some sweet cakes for my dinner." She put on a fresh white apron to keep her nice black dress clean. Over her head she pulled a little red cap to keep her hair tidy. It was chilly in the kitchen so she threw a little white cape around her shoulders. Then the little old woman was all ready to make her cakes. She took a blue bowl down from the shelf. Into it she put eggs from the cupboard, sugar from the bucket, milk from the pan, flour from the barrel, and raisins from the jar. She mixed up all these good things. Then she rolled out the dough and popped a panful of cakes into the oven. They came out nice and brown and sweet smelling. A poor old man was passing by. The cakes smelled good to him, for he was very hungry. He looked in at the door of the cottage and said to the old woman: "Won't you please give me one of your good cakes? I am very hungry." The old woman said, "I will bake one cake for you. I cannot give you one of these." She cut off a tiny piece of dough. She rolled it and rolled it with her rolling-pin. Then she patted and patted it with her hands and shaped it into a tiny cake. Then something very strange happened. The tiny cake began to grow bigger and bigger. "I cannot give you this cake," said the little old woman to the poor old man. "It is much too big. I will make you a smaller one." Then she put the cake into the oven and baked it for herself. She took another piece of dough, smaller than the first piece. She rolled it and rolled it with her rolling-pin. She patted and patted it with her hands and shaped it into a very tiny cake. Again something strange happened. The tiny cake began to grow bigger and bigger. "I cannot give you this cake," said the little old woman to the old man. "It is much too big. I will make you a smaller one." So she put the cake into the oven and baked it for herself. Then she took a tiny scrap of dough no bigger than a grain of wheat. She rolled it and rolled it with her rolling-pin. Then she patted and patted it with her hands and shaped it into the tiniest of cakes. She still wore her little red cap on her head. She still wore her black dress and her little white cape and her white apron. But they had all changed into feathers. She wasn't a little old woman at all. She had changed into a bird! Some day, if you go into the woods, you will see her hopping up and down the trunk of trees. She is always hungry and is looking for something to eat. She has to work hard for her food. She sticks her long, sharp beak into the bark of the tree. Tap, tap, tap, you can hear her pecking a long way off. She hopes she may find a fat beetle for her supper. She still wears her black dress, her white apron, her little white cape and her little red cap, but they are all made of feathers.  You must have guessed who she is by this time. The selfish old woman was changed into a wood-pecker.
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