Chapter 1

A long time ago, a man lived in the middle of the forest with his wife. They built a large fence around their home so as to keep wild animals from entering their compound. This man was a blacksmith, and he’d go to the smithy to join the other smiths in ironwork. This time, when he went, he left his wife heavy with child.

Now in this same forest, there lived a very big Ogre. And as soon as the man went away, the Ogre came into the compound with a heavy load of firewood. “Woman with child,” he announced, “Drop with the thud of firewood!”

He then dropped the firewood on the ground, and with it the woman dropped too. The Ogre then went inside the hut and made some porridge. He ate. To the expectant mother he said:

“Woman with child, take this. You do not want, I shall eat it for you,” and he ate all the porridge.

Now this happened every day for many days, and the expectant mother became as weak as the reeds by the river. When the time came for her delivery, the Ogre crudely helped her but he did not give her any food.

Chapter 2

Now the woman and her child continued to starve. The woman did not know what to do. But she did not lose heart. Every day she would spread her castor oil seeds in the sun, for she hoped to make oil for the baby’s skin.

One day, as she spread her castor oil seeds in the sun, a dove came and ate some of her seeds. The woman said to the dove: “You always come here and help yourself to my seeds. Will you go if I send you?”

To this the dove replied: “Let me eat to my fill and then you can send me wherever you want”. So the dove ate until she had had enough, and then said: “Where do you want to send me?”

“Go to the smithy”, said the woman, “And when you see the smiths, sing these words:

‘Blacksmith smithing away on your iron. Smith, smith away quickly. Your wife has delivered. Assisted my an Ogre'”

And so the dove went to the smiths, and she sang this song.

At first the dove was ignored, and then chased away. But the dove persisted. Eventually the woman’s husband heard, and listened.

At home, the Ogre was still tormenting the woman. He cooked food and offered it to her when it was already in his mouth:

“Woman with child take this. You do not want. I’ll eat it for you.”

Chapter 3

Now one day, as the sun stood in the middle of the compound, the woman’s husband arrived from the smithy. When he saw how weak and weary his wife had become, he became as angry as a roaring lion. He said to his wife:

“This Ogre will know I am the son of my father today! I shall hide on top where you keep your firewood and when he comes, he shall know who I am.”

So that evening, the Ogre came with his load of firewood as usual. “Hu, hu!” He said, “Woman in this house drop with the thud of firewood.”

This time the woman replied: “May you drop with the same.”

“Woman,” said the Ogre, “You speak as if those who had gone to the smithy have come back.” He then ate and slept naked on the floor. From his mouth came green, yellow and red foam- a sign that he was fast asleep. It was then that the blacksmith came down and speared him through and through until he was dead.

The man and his wife then moved and built a new home in another place.

The end.