Chapter 123 122. The Chicken Girl Who Does the Laundry

Once upon a time there was a washerwoman who had no children.One day, when she was drying the clothes, she saw a mother hen followed by seven chicks. "Holy Virgin Mary," she said, "I'd be happy if you gave me a chicken daughter!" As a result, she actually gave birth to a chick.The washerwoman was very happy and loved it very much.Soon, her chicken daughter grew into a big hen; she had never seen such a big hen. One day the hen was walking up and down the yard, crying, "Gee, ck, ck, give me the clothes, I'm going to do the laundry!" And it kept on doing that all day long.

At first, the washerwoman let it call whatever it wanted, and just ignored it; later, when she got impatient, she threw it an old clothes.The hen picked up the clothes in its beak, flapped its wings and ran.It ran, ran, and ran until it reached a desolate place.It put the clothes on the ground, and in a blink of an eye, a palace stood here.The hen went up the steps of the palace and entered the gate, and at once she became a beautiful maiden. At this time, many fairies came out of the palace. They dressed the girl up like a queen, and prepared a rich banquet for her.After dinner, she went out on the balcony for a while.At this time, the king's son was hunting nearby, saw her, and fell in love with her at first sight.He hides nearby, waiting for her to emerge from the palace.Finally, she came out and turned into a hen.

The hen pecked at the palace, and the palace became an old garment again.hen picks up Clothes, flapped its wings and flew away.The king's son followed closely behind. "How much will you sell this hen?" he asked the washerwoman. "Give me all the gold in the world, and I won't sell it!" said the poor washerwoman. However, the king's son was indifferent, and the washerwoman had no choice, so she had to give him the chicken daughter. The King's son took it back to the palace, and hung a basket by his bed, and made a nest for it in the basket.In the evening, the king's son was going out to a ball.After he left, the hen shook her feathers, turned into a young girl, and went to the ballroom to dance by herself.

When she entered the ballroom, the king's son recognized her.He left the ballroom hastily, ran back to the palace, looked into the basket, and found the chicken's feathers.He picked up the feather and threw it into the fire.Then he hurried back to the ballroom and danced with the girl, pretending not to recognize her. It was late at night when he returned to his bedroom, but the hen was not there.The king's son got into bed and pretended to be asleep.At this moment the maiden crept in, thinking that no one would see her, and put on her feathered dress.She went to the basket and found that the feather dress was gone.She looked at herself, terrified.Just then, the king's son jumped up, put his arms around her, and said, "You are my bride!"

(Irpino area)