Lashenka and Other Stories (eBook)

V Hodder (Autor)

eBook Download: EPUB

2025 | 1. Auflage
168 Seiten
Books on Demand (Verlag)
978-3-6951-4607-9 (ISBN)

Infos

Join three sisters on a treasure quest, and a nameless woman in the desert as she runs along the train tracks. Help a squirrel solve a mystery, and an old man on a path to the stars. Accompany two women on their journey through the four directions, and then within themselves. Meet a frog woman living under a tree in a bog, as she strives to free herself from the bounds placed upon her and her friends. These six fairy tales explore gratitude and uncertainty, expansion and humility, mountains and sand, water and stars. And the power behind even the most ordinary of wishes.

V is a Berlin based poet and storyteller originally from the UK. Both her fairy tales and her poems focus on the internal landscape and sensory experience as a way to navigate the tangible world. Further works can be found on Instagram and Substack under the handle Seitenfluegel0.

Textauszug

A TALE OF THREE SISTERS

Once upon a time there were three sisters.

Eltera was the eldest. She was tall, curved and glossy skinned with hair aglow with summer. She dressed herself with autumn leaves and magic, woven by the light of the moon. Meetel, the middle sister, was the plainest of them all with all her features blending into one indescribable arrangement. She was also the most resourceful and loved to measure the distance between the stars whenever she had a moment to spare. The youngest was called Yunga. She was dark, rosy eyed, mischievous and very very short. Her beard was always pleasantly clipped and was never seen without her red cap even while sleeping.

The sisters’ parents had died when they were very young so they grew up in an orphanage in the middle of a forest. They were all old enough to leave now but they still lived and worked there. Simply because they had no need to be anywhere else.

The eldest enjoyed entertaining others and dreamed great dreams of being a successful leader. The middle sister liked to help unnoticed in the background and encourage the quieter children to put up their hands in class. The youngest loved to play and you never knew when she would jump out at you from an empty cupboard.

One day The Oracle was passing through the forest where the sisters lived. Everyone was very excited and ran to her for advice. The Oracle accepted their demands and sat in the middle of the crowd. For a while she was very still and very quiet. Suddenly her eyes clouded over and she began to speak in a very loud and crystallised voice:

“There are three sisters here” She said “May they step forward!”

Everyone looked to the three sisters and pushed them into the middle.

“You three sisters. You have a great treasure waiting for you. Now is the time you take it for your own!”

“What treasure?” The sisters shouted “Where can we find it?”

But The Oracle had fallen into a deep sleep and when she was awoken she could not explain her message.

“The message does not come from me” she explained “it comes through me. It is your task to find what it means for you”

Late that night when everyone was in bed, the sisters met and they decided that it was now time to leave the orphanage and go into the world.

So the next morning they packed all that they had. The carers of the orphanage gave them a little money and as much food as they could carry. With heavy bags on their back and hope in their eyes, they set off on their adventure.

They travelled for three days and three nights through dark and dreary branches. Yunga often cried and said she did not want to leave after all. Eltera told her to not give up so easily and Meetel offered to carry the younger sister on her back. On the fourth day, it began to rain heavily so they decided to find rest in the village they could see on the horizon.

It was quiet in the village because all of the people who lived there were hiding from the rain. They followed a muddy track through simple houses until they found a cottage with an open door with a bright lamp in the garden. The sisters looked at each other, then nodded and walked through the narrow door.

“Welcome to the Shop of All-Sorts!” called a singing voice as they entered. They looked where the voice could have come from. It was difficult to see because there were so many things thrown about the shop. There were books on the floor, clothes draped across the shelves and piles of sweet wrappers on the shop counter.

“A Shop of All-Sorts?!” asked the youngest excitedly “What’s that?”

“Why, it’s a shop where you can buy all sorts of things, of course” said the voice.

“Who are you? Where are you?” said all three sisters.

“One moment, I’m just in the basement, I’ll come up”

The sisters heard a deep rumbling below their feet and a small clatter of trotters. Then suddenly a small round pig wearing a maroon velvet waistcoat appeared out from a hole in the floor.

“Hello, here I am!” he said.

“Hello!” said Yunga and leapt forward to shake his trotter. He took their hands in turn, looking at them closely.

“What are you three doing out on a day like this?” The Pig asked “It’s raining you know! Rain is no good for the skin. It turns you grey.”

“We’re on an adventure” said the eldest and explained their story.

“Interesting, interesting” said The Pig and stroked his small chin “I also had a visit from The Oracle once and she told me that I would one day receive three powerful visitors. Maybe that’s you! I don’t know how I can help you, but I can give you shelter until you know what you want to do next.”

And so the three sisters stayed with The Pig for a while.

Eltera took a broom and swept through the entire shop. She made The Pig get rid of the things he didn’t really need and set up a bookkeeping service so he could make more money from the things he sold. Meetel found a little room at the back of the shop and laid out their belongings on three beds she had made. She dusted the little ornaments and gave tea to customers and weary travellers. Yunga became the perfect little apprentice for the pig, for she was greedy in her curiosity and he loved to hear himself speak. She soon learned to pass on the stories of each of the objects with such enthusiasm that customers quickly fell in love with each purchase.

The sisters stayed with the pig for a year and a day. They forgot about The Oracle’s message and settled into the excitement of living somewhere outside of the orphanage. They got to know the people of the village and soon visitors were coming from far and wide to visit the Shop of All-Sorts. The Pig was so happy and grateful that his business was successful after many years of struggle.

“And it’s all thanks to you!” he said with a sparkle on his snout.

Then one day a letter came.

The letter was small and golden and plopped onto the door mat with a little sigh. The pig was mesmerised when he went to collect the morning post. Imagine his surprise when all he was expecting was this month’s bills! He went to pick it up and saw that it was addressed to his three friends.

“Good morning!” said the eldest sister. She yawned and wrapped her dressing gown around her tightly. “What do you have there?”

“It’s a letter” he replied “it’s for you and your sisters. Isn’t it beautiful?”

“It is” she said and she took it from The Pig’s trotters. As soon as she held it, the paper began to breathe and the envelope sprang open.

“Hadn’t you better wait for your sisters?” The Pig said “They’ve gone to the well to get the day’s water. They’ll be back in an hour or so.”

“Oh I’m sure they won’t mind if I take a peek. Then when they come back I can share the news,” the eldest sister answered, her curiosity ablaze. “Could you leave me by myself? I’d like to read it alone.”

The Pig nodded and scuffled down to the basement to seek out a new treasure to tempt the day’s customers.

The eldest sister sat down and took the letter from its pocket. The paper was as fine as a feather and the writing as elegant as gold. She began to read:

“Dear my dearest sisters,

The time has come for you to find your treasure. You have forgotten it but it has not forgotten you. Come find me at the edge of the stone ring and I will give it to you.

Best regards,

Your truest friend.”

Eltera started shaking. This was it! This was the moment they were waiting for! She was so excited, she decided she couldn’t wait for her sisters to come back and ran straight out into the fields. She stopped only to grab her bag, in case she needed to carry the treasure back later.

She ran and ran, glad that she was alone because, of all three, she was the fastest and could run without anyone telling her to slow down. Soon she reached the stone ring. The stone ring was a magical place for the village. This is where they came to celebrate the passing of seasons or to hear the fairy’s sweet summer song. But today there was no one to be seen. The eldest sister stopped and looked around. She frowned and began to feel doubt. Had it been a trick?

All of a sudden, the letter started to struggle and burst out of her bag. It darted through the air, drawing the shape of a person. The eldest sister watched on in wonder. Then she recognized the shape that was being drawn. It was The Oracle!

“You!” she exclaimed “You are the one who has the treasure! Why didn’t you give it to us before?!”

“And leave you there in that orphanage? How would you have known what to do with a treasure if you all stayed in the same place the rest of your life?” The Oracle asked curiously.

The eldest sister nodded. She understood the logic even though she was still a little angry.

“First you had to go into the world and learn a little more about who you are and what you can do… But I see now that there is only one of you here. Where are your sisters?”

The eldest sister went a little pink.

“I was so excited that...

Produkt-Details

• Erscheint lt. Verlag: 1.9.2025
• Sprache: englisch
• Themenwelt: Literatur ► Romane / Erzählungen
• ISBN-10: 3-6951-4607-9 / 3695146079
• ISBN-13: 978-3-6951-4607-9 / 9783695146079