There was a hunter who had a magic cloak. This cloak could take its wearer any where he wished to go. The hunter used the cloak and went with a girl to a wonderful mountain, where there were many rich jewels. He did not know that that the girl with the help of her mistress made a witch to deceive him. The girl and a hunter gathered up the best jewels on the mountain. But the magic of the witch began to make the hunter very tired, and so he sat down immediately and fell asleep. As soon as he was fast asleep, the girl unfastened the wishing cloak from his shoulders, and put it over her own shoulders. She picked up all the diamonds and other jewels. Then wishing to go home, and disappeared immediately. When the hunter awoke, he saw the trick the girl had played him. He was alone on a strange mountain, and he did not know how to find his way down. Then he saw three wicked giants coming towards him, having no way of escaping, he lay down again, and pretended to be asleep. The first two giants wanted to kill him, but the third stopped them. “It is not worth the trouble. Leave him alone,” he said. After a short while, a cloud floated near by. The hunter caught hold of it. He was carried away in the sky for some time, and then he was dropped in a garden of vegetables and herbs. The hunter felt very hungry, but although he looked around the garden, he could not find any fruit to eat. There was nothing in the garden except vegetables. At last, he was so hungry that he decided to eat some vegetables. He chose a fine lettuce and took a big bite. He immediately felt very strange indeed. He felt himself changing completely. He developed four legs, a big head and two long ears. To his horror, he had turned into a donkey. Still hungry however, he ate another vegetable, and discovered that he was changing back to his human shape. Before he left the garden, he took a bit of both vegetables he had eaten, and said “these will help me to get back my property, and to punish those that had deceived me”. So he went to search for the castle in which the girl and her mistress lived. He painted himself brown so that not even his own mother would have recognized him. He knocked on the castle door and asked if he could stay for a night. To be continued…
