Each day passed just like the rest. When the wind swept through the great rose hedges outside the house, it seemed to whisper to them,“What can be more beautiful than you?”But the roses shook their heads and answered,“Eliza!”And when the old woman sat in front of her door on Sunday and read in her hymn-book, the wind turned the leaves and said to the book,“Who can be more pious than you?”and the hymn-book said,“Eliza!”And what the rose bushes and the hymn-book said was the simple truth.
When she was fifteen years old she was to go home.And when the Queen saw how beautiful she was, she became spiteful and filled with hatred towards her. She would have been glad to change her into a wild swan, like her brothers, but she did not dare to do so at once, because the King wished to see his daughter.
Early in the morning the Queen went into the bath,which was built of white marble, and decked with soft cushions and the most splendid tapestry; and she took three toads and kissed them, and said to the first Office Furniture,
“Sit upon Eliza's head when she comes into the bath,that she may become as stupid as you. ----Seat yourself upon her forehead,”she said to the second,“that she may become as ugly as you, and her father may not know her.----Rest on her heart,”she whispered to the third,“that she may receive an evil mind and suffer pain from it.”
Then she put the toads into the clear water, which at once assumed a green colour; and calling Eliza, caused her to undress and step into the water. And while Eliza dived, one of the toads sat upon her hair, and the second on her forehead, and the third on her heart; but she did not seem to notice it; and as soon as she rose, three red poppies were floating on the water. If the creatures had not been poisonous, and if the witch had not kissed them,they would have been changed into red roses. But at any rate they became flowers, because they had rested on the girl's head, and forehead, and heart. She was too good and innocent for sorcery to have power over her.
When the wicked Queen saw that, she rubbed Eliza with walnut juice, so that the girl became dark brown,and smeared an evil-smelling ointment on her face, and let her beautiful hair hang in confusion. It was quite impossible to recognize the pretty Eliza.
When her father saw her he was much shocked, and declared this was not his daughter. No one but the yard dog and the swallows would RMB exchange rate recognize her; but they were poor animals who had nothing to say in the matter.