Imagine a little cottage, snuggled right at the edge of a huge, whispering forest. In this cottage lived a woodcutter, his wife, and their three daughters. Times were a bit tough, so one day, the mother said to her eldest daughter, "Dear, take this lovely piece of cake and this bottle of sweet juice. Go into the forest and see if you can find some berries for us."

The eldest daughter, whose name was Elara, took the treats and skipped into the forest. But the forest was big, and soon, Elara was quite lost. As evening began to paint the sky purple, she saw a tiny light twinkling through the trees. "Aha!" she thought, and hurried towards it.

She found a small, rather creaky old house. She knocked on the door.
"Come in, come in!" croaked a voice.
Inside, an old man with a long white beard sat by the fire. With him were a little hen, a proud rooster, and a pretty, speckled cow.
"Good evening," said Elara. "I'm lost. May I stay the night?"
"Perhaps," said the old man. "But first, you must make us some supper. There's food in the kitchen."
Elara was hungry. She went to the kitchen, cooked a meal for herself, ate it all up, and didn't even think about the old man or his animals.
"Now," said the old man, "I'm tired. Make my bed, and then you can find a place to sleep."
Elara grumbled but made his bed. Then she found a comfy spot and fell fast asleep.
In the middle of the night, THUMP! The floor beneath her opened up, and Elara tumbled down into a dark, dusty cellar.

The next day, when Elara didn't return, the mother sent her second daughter, Clara, into the forest with a cake and some juice. The same thing happened. Clara got lost, found the old house, and met the old man and his animals.
"Make us some supper," said the old man.
Clara, just like her sister, cooked only for herself and ate it all. She didn't offer a crumb to the old man, the hen, the rooster, or the speckled cow.
"Make my bed," said the old man.
Clara did, then found her own spot and slept.
And THUMP! Down she went into the cellar with her sister.

On the third day, the woodcutter and his wife were very worried. Their youngest daughter, Lily, said, "Don't worry, Mother, Father. I'll go. Please give me just a plain piece of bread and some water."
Lily went into the forest. She, too, got lost and found the little old house.
"Come in, come in!" croaked the old man.
Lily saw the old man, the hen, the rooster, and the speckled cow.
"Good evening," she said politely. "I'm lost. May I please stay the night?"
"If you make us some supper," said the old man.
Lily went to the kitchen. First, she found some grain for the hen and the rooster. "Here you go, little ones," she chirped. Then she found some fresh hay for the speckled cow. "You must be hungry too," she said, patting its nose.
Only then did she cook a simple meal, making sure there was enough for the old man and herself. They ate together by the fire.
"Now, I'm tired," said the old man. "Make my bed, and then you can sleep."
Lily fluffed his pillows and smoothed his blankets until his bed looked very cozy.
"Where shall I sleep?" she asked.
"You can sleep in my bed," said the old man. "It's comfortable."
Lily thought that was a bit strange, but she was a kind girl, so she thanked him and lay down. She was so tired, she fell asleep right away.

When Lily woke up, she blinked. She wasn't in a creaky old house anymore! She was in a magnificent room, in a soft, grand bed. Sunlight streamed through huge windows.
She got up and looked around. The house had turned into a splendid palace!
Suddenly, a handsome young prince walked in, smiling.
"Good morning!" he said. "You have broken the spell!"
Lily was very surprised. "A spell?"
"Yes," said the prince. "A wicked witch turned me into an old man and my servants into a hen, a rooster, and a cow. The spell could only be broken by someone kind enough to care for us, even when we seemed like just an old man and his animals. Your sisters only thought of themselves. But you, Lily, you were kind to everyone."
The hen, the rooster, and the cow were now cheerful servants in fine clothes, bustling about the palace.
The prince asked Lily to marry him, and she, seeing how good and noble he was, happily said yes. They had a wonderful wedding, and Lily’s parents came to live in the palace too.
And what about Elara and Clara? Well, they were let out of the cellar, feeling very sheepish. They had learned a big lesson about being kind and thinking of others, and from that day on, they tried much harder to be good. And everyone, mostly, lived happily ever after.

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