Atondido Stories
So Smolicheck was very happy to think he had obeyed Gold-
en Antlers and he said he would never open the door to
strangers, no, never!
The next day after Golden Antlers had gone out and Smoli-
check was left alone, again there came a knocking on the door,
and when Smolicheck called out: "Who's there?" voices sweeter
than before answered:
"Smolicheck, Smolicheck, please open the door Just a wee little
crack of two fingers—no more! We'll reach in our cold little hands to
get warm, Then leave without doing you the least bit of harm! So open,
Smolicheck, please open the door!"
Smolicheck said, no, he couldn't open the door. He thought
to himself that he would like to have one peep at the wood
maidens just to see what they looked like. But he mustn't open
the door even a crack, no, he mustn't!
The little wood maidens kept on begging him and shivering
and shaking and telling him how cold they were, until Smoli-
check felt very sorry for them.
"I don't think it would matter," he said to himself, "if I
opened the door just a weeny teeny bit."
So he opened the door just a tiny crack. Instantly two little
white fingers popped in, and then two more and two more and
two more, and then little white hands, and then little white arms,
and then, before Smolicheck knew what was happening, a whole
bevy of little wood maidens were in the room! They danced
around Smolicheck and they howled and they yelled and they
took hold of him and dragged him out of the house and away to-
wards the woods!
Smolicheck was dreadfully frightened and he screamed out
with all his might:
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