THE SEVEN RAVENS||BEDTIME STORIES

Once upon a time, there was a man who had seven sons, and he longed for a daughter. When his wife became pregnant, he hoped that this time his wish would come true. Indeed, the newborn child was a daughter. The couple was very happy, but the child was so skinny and weak that he had to be baptized.

The father sent one of his sons to rush to the stream to fetch water to baptize his sister, but then all six of his sons ran away with him. The seven fought over the jug to scoop up the water, and the jug fell into the stream. All seven stood watching, not knowing how to retrieve the jug, and it floated away, and none of them dared to return home. After waiting for a long time without seeing his son return, the father became impatient and said:

- Those damned children must be playing around again!

The father was afraid that his daughter might die without being baptized, so he became angry and cursed his son:

- I wish all seven of you could become crows.

The father had just finished speaking when he heard the sound of a bird flapping its wings and flying over his head into the air. He looked up and saw seven coal-black crows flying away. There was no way to take back the curse, the couple was sad about losing their seven sons, but they consoled themselves somewhat because they saw their beloved daughter growing up and becoming more beautiful every day. The little girl grew up without knowing that she had more brothers. Her parents avoided ever mentioning the matter to her. One day she heard people whispering about her: "She is beautiful, but she is the cause of the misfortune of her seven brothers." When she found out, she was very sad, and she asked her parents about her brothers. Unable to hide it from her, her parents told her everything and said that it was just the will of heaven, and that her birth had nothing to do with it. But the girl was still tormented by her conscience about it and always thought of ways to solve the curse for her brothers. She was so restless that she ran away from home, hoping to find out where her brothers were and free them, even though she knew it would be difficult.
The only things she brought with her were a small ring, a keepsake from her parents, a loaf of bread to eat when hungry, a small bottle of water to drink when thirsty, and a small chair to sit on to ease her fatigue.
The little girl kept walking, walking, until she reached the end of the world. She went to the sun, but the sun was so hot and scary, it seemed to catch children. She quickly left that place and went towards the moon, but it was cold and deserted. The little girl had a feeling that there were people on the other side, so she quickly turned and walked towards the stars. The stars welcomed her warmly and kindly, and each sat on a chair reserved for him. The morning star stood up and gave her a small chicken leg and said:
- If you don't have this small chicken leg, you can't open the glass mountain. And your brothers are in that glass mountain.
The little girl took the tiny chicken leg, wrapped it carefully in a cloth, and continued on her way. She walked and walked, and finally reached the glass mountain. The big gate was closed, she took out the cloth, but when she opened it, there was nothing inside, she had lost the precious gift of the kind stars. What should she do now? She wanted to save her brothers but did not have the key to open the gate to the glass mountain. The little girl took out a knife, cut off a tiny finger of hers, put it in the lock and luckily opened the gate.
When the little girl went inside, a small old man came out, he asked:
- What are you looking for here?
The little girl answered:
- I am looking for my brothers, the seven crows.
The old man said:
- The crows are not home, but if you want to wait for them to come back, come in here.
Then the old man prepared dinner for the seven crows, he put food on seven small plates and poured water into seven small cups. The little girl tasted a piece from each plate and drank a sip from each cup. She dropped the ring she was carrying into the last cup of water.

Suddenly she heard the sound of wings flapping and birds chirping in the sky. Then the old man said:

- Now the crows have come home.

The crows really came back, each one looking for his own cup and plate to eat and drink. Then one asked the other:

- Who ate from my plate? Who drank from my cup? Someone must have touched the cup and plate.

And when the seventh crow looked down at the bottom of the cup, it saw the ring rolling back and forth in the cup. It looked at the ring and realized that it was the ring of its parents and said:

- Oh my! It seems that our youngest sister is here and that means we are free.

At that time the little girl was standing behind the door and listening. As soon as the crow finished speaking, the little girl stepped out, and immediately the crows turned back into human beings. Overjoyed, the eight brothers hugged and kissed each other warmly, then ha