The Tale of Liril Read online

eaten many apples, she was still hungry. Liril wondered if there was something wrong with her that no matter how much she ate, she could never fill her stomach. But it seemed strange to her that no birds or animals in the orchard ate fruit from the trees as birds and animals were wont to do. Realizing how queer it was that such a thing should be, Liril bethought that there was some hex on the orchard that kept any creature, human or no, from eating the apples in the orchard.

  Liril looked about the orchard wondering if there was anything she could eat that would satisfy her. But everywhere she looked, she saw only the delicious looking apples that grew on the trees, none of which appealed to her anymore. Then in the middle of the orchard, she saw an old apple tree that was stubby with wilted, malformed branches and a porous trunk. The bark of the tree was spotted with disease while the apples on the branches themselves were spoiled and infested with worms. She didn’t know what made her go over to the rotten apple tree. But there was something in her heart that beckoned her there. She was growing hungrier by the moment and desired anything to quell her grumbling stomach.

  ‘Such a poor tree this is,’ she thought. ‘And yet, my heart yearns for but a taste of its fruit, pitiful as they may appear.’

  And so out of desperation, Liril took one of the rotten apples from the tree and ate it. Surprisingly, not only did the rotten apple taste better than all the other apples she had eaten before, she had only to take a single bite from the fruit than she was made full and could not eat any more.

  Liril sat on the grass, as she was weary from all the eating and walking she had done. She wondered if her Papa and Mama were worried sick about her. She had lost count of the days she had been in the woods, but knew her father’s birthday had already passed. But this only made her more determined to find the locket the old woman at market had told her about, knowing that if she did, she could help her father in ways no one could imagine. For once she got the magic seed from the old woman in exchange for the locket she would have her father plant it to gain whatever treasure would come of it.

  It was then that Liril noticed a shiny object not very far from her. She got up from the grass and went to see what it was that was glistening in her eyes. Just across from her, in the middle of the orchard, was a small but beautiful hand mirror lying in the grass. Liril picked the mirror up and sat back down on the grass, thinking that the hand mirror was the finest in all the world, as it was made of silver and trimmed with gold and beset with rich gems such as were worth more than even the magic seed she wanted from the old woman. Surely it would have been better to give up the search for the old woman’s locket and sell the mirror at market for a good sum of money, for the mirror was not a trifle item to bargain, and she could get a handsome reward for it. Liril watched herself yawn in the mirror and lay back on the grass. She was so tired and yet she was mesmerized by her reflection in the mirror and could not stop looking. It was not long before she closed her eyes and let her hand fall to the grass beside her head, still clutching the mirror tightly as she fell asleep.

  Liril opened her eyes from her brief slumber only to realize that she was not in the woods anymore, but lying in a bed with white silken sheets. She sat up and observed the white room she was in. It was adorned with drapes the color of mother-of-pearl and dressers equally bright in hue. She got up from the bed and walked over to a tall looking glass that shone with her reflection: she was arrayed in a long dress that was opulent and glistened with diamonds and rich sapphires. Her hair was groomed with scented oil and set with curls after the fashion of the highest ladies. She looked like a princess! Now there on the dresser beside the mirror was a shiny object that drew her attention. It was a locket made of silver fashioned with stars and a moon. She took up the locket from the dresser, put it around her neck and smiled.

  ‘How beautiful I am now. If only this were not a dream and I could remain this way forever!’ said Liril. But no sooner had she spoken than she fell into a swoon before the dresser, only to awake once more in the darkling woods where she had slept only a few nights ago before she had met the great wolf. Liril stood up from the ground. But now there was around her neck the shiny locket that she had dreamed of. She reached up to touch it.

  ‘Could it be that this is the locket the old woman seeks?’

  Liril didn’t know how it had come to pass that this strange locket should be around her neck, but she had grown weary of being away from home and desperately wanted to go to the old woman to see if it could be the one she sought. And so, she followed the moon in the sky hoping that it would lead her from the Black Forest and back to her village.

  Many hours passed, but Liril could not find her way out of the forest. She searched and searched and searched for the way home, but did not find it. Thus, for fear of being eaten by the monsters in the woods that were nearby, she touched the locket around her neck and said: ‘Oh, how I do wish I could find the way home!’

  No sooner had she spoken than a light shone forth from the locket, cutting through the darkness to show her the way home. And so she followed the light through the woods and came to her village just as the sun began to rise.

  Now Liril thought of all her adventures in the Black Forest and how she had escaped one danger after the next. She had risked much to find the locket. But she also remembered her promise to the old woman to return the locket to her in exchange for the magic seed. But the more Liril thought of the locket, the more she wondered why the old woman wanted the locket. Could it be that the locket was a magic locket that could do whatever the wearer wanted it to? She had already seen the locket perform one magical feat. What other amazing things could it do? And so, she touched the locket with her fingers and decided that she would keep the locket for at least a little while longer so she could learn its power.

  It was a fine morning, finer than any Liril could remember, when she returned to her cottage. She was so eager to tell her Papa and Mama about all her adventures that she ran all the way home. But when Liril got home and went inside to look for her parents, she found that no one was there except for Lorlo, her pussycat, and Rappan, the old family hound.

  ‘Oh, where is my dear Papa and Mama? I should think them home this fine morning. Perhaps they went to market to buy something to eat.’

  And so, Liril decided to wait in the house until her parents returned. But when the day was ended and evening was come there was no sign of Liril’s parents. After eating a brisk supper of boiled leeks and turnips, Liril went to sleep, thinking her parents would return home the next day. But the next day came and still Liril’s parents had not returned.

  ‘Oh, where is my dear Papa and Mama? I should think them home this fine morning. Perhaps they went to see my old Aunt in the next village and will return tonight.’

  Now Liril was getting antsy with all the waiting she was doing and decided that she should try and clean the cottage up a little to pass the time away. But after some time had passed, Liril grew weary of cleaning and realized that this was as good a time as any to see what the magic locket could do. And so she said these words:

  How I wish this house were clean

  Void of grime and would now gleam

  Liril stood with her mouth agape as she watched a wind fly through the house. And where the wind passed, all was made spotless: the dishes were washed, the furniture polished, the windows cleaned, and the floors waxed. Never had the cottage appeared so splendid to her as it did now. But as it was lunchtime and Liril had not touched a bit for breakfast, she had a mind to see if the locket could prepare her the best meal ever.

  Since I’m famished and haven’t eaten

  Make me a feast worthy of legions

  There before Liril appeared on the supper table such dainty dishes as she had desired, but never known. There were all manner of roasted meats and poultry, sandwiches, soups and broths, vegetables and fruits, cakes and pies. There was enough food to feed her entire village. Liril sat down to eat her lunch and ate and ate and ate until her stomach hurt. She had eaten so
much that she could hardly get up from the table to walk over to the parlor to sit down on a chair by the hearth. Liril was sick from all the food she had eaten and thought her belly might explode. She was miserable and moaned long into the afternoon until she fell asleep.

  It was night when Liril woke up. She discovered that she was feeling much better than she had been after lunch. And so she promised never to eat so much food ever again. Then she got up to see if her parents had come back but found no one else in the cottage. Thus, she wondered if her parents hadn’t gone to visit her grandmother who lived in a village far away.

  Now even though the cottage was clean, Liril grew weary of the poor furniture and drapes that adorned the cottage. She thought about the beautiful room of white that she had dreamed of in the Black Woods. And so she said:

  I know this wish is very bold

  But I wish everything in this house were made of gold

  And so it came to pass that everything in the house was turned into gold. The tables, chairs, ceiling, floor, drapes, rugs, pots, dishes, broom, dustpan, even the plants in their pots and her pets Rappan and Lorlo were turned into gold. At first, Liril could not contain her joy of