In a village where the river sang and the mill wheel turned, lived a miller. He had a lovely daughter with eyes like the summer sky and a smile as warm as sunshine. One day, a very rich and handsome man came to the village. He asked the miller for his daughter's hand in marriage. The miller was overjoyed! "What a fine match!" he thought.

But the daughter, whenever she looked at this handsome man, felt a little shiver run down her spine. Something just didn't feel right, even though he was always polite and brought her pretty gifts. He told her he lived in a grand house deep in the dark woods.

One day, the man said, "My dear, you must come and visit my house. I have prepared everything for you."
The miller's daughter didn't want to go, but her father insisted. "Don't be silly," he said. "He's a wonderful man!"
So, she agreed. But she was clever. "I'll take a pocketful of peas," she thought. "I'll drop them one by one as I walk, so I can find my way back if I get lost."

The next Sunday, when it was time to go, the path to his house went deeper and deeper into the woods. The trees grew so close together that the sunlight could barely peek through. The path grew darker and twistier. She carefully dropped her peas, one by one.

Finally, she reached a house. It looked gloomy and silent. No smoke came from the chimney, and no friendly lights shone in the windows. As she stepped inside, a little bird in a cage hanging in the hall chirped loudly, "Turn back, turn back, young bride, you're in a murderer's den!"

The miller's daughter shivered. She walked through the empty rooms. They were filled with fine furniture, but everything was covered in dust. In the kitchen, she found a very, very old woman, stirring a pot over a tiny fire.
"Hello?" said the miller's daughter.
The old woman looked up. "Oh, you poor child," she whispered. "You've come to the wrong place. This is a house of robbers! They will come back soon, and if they find you, it will be terrible!"
"What should I do?" cried the girl.
"Hide!" said the old woman. "Quick, behind that big barrel in the cellar. Don't make a sound."

The miller's daughter scrambled into the cellar and hid behind a huge wooden barrel, just as she heard loud, rough voices. The robbers were home! They were laughing and shouting, and they dragged a poor, crying girl with them.
The miller's daughter peeked through a crack in the barrel. The robbers were cruel. They wanted a shiny gold ring from the poor girl's finger. When she couldn't get it off fast enough, one of the robbers took a big knife... and, oh dear, he wasn't gentle, and the finger, with the ring still on it, flew through the air!
And where did it land? Right in our brave girl's lap, behind the barrel!

The robbers then ate and drank. The kind old woman had put a special sleepy powder in their wine. Soon, they were all snoring loudly.
"Now!" whispered the old woman. "Run! Run for your life!"
The miller's daughter, clutching the finger and the ring, tiptoed past the sleeping robbers and out of the dreadful house. The moon was shining, and guess what? The peas she had dropped had sprouted into tiny green plants, showing her the way home!

She ran and ran until she reached her father's mill, safe and sound.

A few weeks later, it was the day of the wedding feast. The handsome bridegroom was there, smiling. All the guests were gathered. It was a custom for everyone at the table to tell a story.
When it was the bride's turn, the bridegroom smiled and said, "Now, my dear, tell us a story. Don't you have a good one for us?"
"Yes," she said, her voice clear and steady. "I will tell you a dream I had."

She began, "I dreamed I was walking alone in a dark wood, and I came to a lonely, silent house. There was no one there but a little bird in a cage, and it cried out:
'Turn back, turn back, young bride,
You're in a murderer's den!'"
The bridegroom shifted in his seat, his smile fading a little.

She continued, "Then, my dear bridegroom, I dreamed I went into the house and found an old woman. She told me to hide. So I hid behind a big barrel."
The bridegroom started to look pale.

"And then, my dear bridegroom," she went on, "I dreamed that robbers came home. They dragged a poor girl with them. And they wanted her gold ring. And then... a finger with the ring still on it flew through the air and landed right in my lap!"
As she said this, she held up the little finger with the shiny gold ring. "And this, my dear bridegroom," she said, looking straight at him, "is the finger from my dream!"

The bridegroom turned as white as a sheet. He tried to run, but the guests, who now understood her "dream" was true, grabbed him. The wicked robber bridegroom and his gang were taken away by the king's soldiers, and they never bothered anyone again.
And the miller's brave and clever daughter? She soon found a truly kind and good young man to marry, and they lived happily, always remembering to trust their feelings, especially when something just doesn't feel right.

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