Szép Cerceruska

Hungarian Folktale

Once upon a time, there was a widower who lived with his two beautiful daughters. His neighbor was also a widow, and she watched the widower and his girls very closely. She wanted so badly to marry the widower, so she would devise ways to convince him. One day, when she saw Cerceruska, the oldest girl, playing in the yard, she decided to tell the girl a secret.

“You girl, tell your father to marry me, and I’ll soak you in milk and butter.”

Cerceruska giggled and decided to tell her father what the widow had told her.

“That would be wonderful!” he said. So, he decided to marry the widow after the many years of constant cajoling she had done to him. They were wed with haste.

The girls were happily doing their chores at the request of their stepmother, but no matter what they did, she scolded them. Her temper was no longer friendly and she beat them more than s…