In a little cottage, nestled beside a shimmering pond, lived a brother and sister named Ben and Lily. They loved to play together all day long. But their stepmother, who had a heart as cold as a winter morning, did not like them one bit.

One day, with a wicked glint in her eye and a secret, nasty spell, she changed them! Poof! Ben turned into a fluffy white lamb. Splash! Lily became a little silver fish, swimming in the pond.

The little lamb, who everyone now called Lambkin, would nibble grass by the water. The little fish, now known as Little Fish, would swim close to the edge. That way, they could still whisper to each other.

One afternoon, the stepmother decided she wanted lamb for her dinner. "Cook!" she called out in her sharp voice. "Prepare that lamb for my meal!"

Lambkin heard her and his woolly coat trembled. He trotted sadly to the pond. "Oh, Little Fish," he bleated softly, "the stepmother wants to eat me!"

Little Fish’s tiny heart felt heavy. Luckily, the kind cook in the kitchen overheard. She couldn't bear to harm Lambkin. So, she quietly bought another lamb from the market for the stepmother’s dinner. Lambkin was safe!

But the stepmother was still not satisfied. A few days later, she announced, "Today, I want to eat fish! Cook, go and catch that shiny little one from the pond!"

Little Fish heard this from the water and blew a stream of worried bubbles. "Oh, Lambkin," she gurgled, her silver scales trembling, "now she wants to eat me!"

The cook, who had a very warm heart, heard this too. Once again, she secretly bought a different fish from the market, and Little Fish was safe.

The good cook knew this couldn't go on. She went to visit a kind old woman who lived in a cozy hut deep in the woods. This woman knew about gentle, helpful magic.

The wise woman listened carefully and then smiled. "Bring the lamb and the fish to the edge of the pond just as the sun rises," she said. "Sprinkle them with three drops of morning dew from a leaf, and say these words: ‘Little lamb, little fish, your true forms are our wish. By morning dew and sun's first light, be yourselves, with all your might!’"

The very next morning, the cook led Lambkin to the pond’s edge, and Little Fish swam close. As the first rays of sun touched the water, the cook carefully sprinkled them with dew and spoke the magic words.

Instantly, Lambkin shimmered and grew, and there stood Ben, smiling! Little Fish leaped from the water, and in a flash of silver light, she was Lily, laughing beside him!

When the stepmother saw Ben and Lily, human and happy again, her wicked magic fizzled out with a sad little pop. And she? She shrunk down into a tiny, grumpy toad and hopped away into the reeds, never to be mean to anyone again.

Ben and Lily hugged the kind cook tightly. They lived happily in their cottage by the pond, always remembering their amazing adventure and the kindness that saved them.

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