The Strange Tale of the Snake Ring Read Online Free Page A

to swim and dare not trust herself to the swirling water. So she sought out Wilhelm, who was working on another part of the farm. With tears still streaming down her cheeks, she told him what had happened. He quickly called Robert, and the three of them returned, with nets on long poles, to where the ring had disappeared. They spent a long time dredging the bottom of the river with the nets, but without success. In the end Robert stripped and dived repeatedly into the water, but found nothing.
    â€œEither the current has carried it away,” he said, “or it has sunk too deeply into the mud to be found.” What none of them realised was that the brightness of the ring as it entered the water had attracted a fish, which had immediately swallowed it.
    This was the selfsame fish that Gerda had seen swimming away when she first looked into the water.
    When Robert had returned to the farm to dry himself, Gerda turned to Wilhelm, and said sadly, “This is the worst day of my life. What shall I do? How am I to tell Thomas when he returns that I have lost the ring? It was the only valuable thing he possessed, and he gave it to me to keep forever!”
    â€œYou must be in despair,” answered Wilhelm, “but you must remember that you are much more precious than any ring, no matter how valuable. I am sure that Thomas will think so too.”
    Gerda knew that Wilhelm was right, and that Thomas would value her more highly than any possession; but from now on she was torn between a longing for his return, and fear of his discovery that the ring was lost.
    Many times she stood in the place where the ring had disappeared, hoping that one day the water would be clear enough for the ring to be seen at the bottom of the river. But of course, it was nowhere to be found.
    Then, three months later, a letter from Thomas arrived. Now in those days, it was both difficult and expensive to send letters. They could take weeks or even months to be delivered, and sometimes they never arrived at all. Also, not many people could read and write, and it was fortunate that both Gerda and Thomas had been taught to do so when they were children, by the nuns at a nearby convent. The letter consisted of a piece of parchment rolled up, and sealed with a piece of red sealing wax. The letter read as follows:
    Written from the king’s palace.
    My dearest Gerda,
    I miss you very much and I long to be home with you.
    I have good news. After a long and weary journey I arrived at the king’s palace, where I was given work in the kitchen. I have already been promoted from washing dishes to waiting on the king’s table. I have a smart new uniform and get good food from the kitchen. I have already started saving my wages. There is a very important man in the palace called the Lord Chancellor who has been very kind to me. I do not know why, because he has a much higher position than I have, only a little below the king and the queen. One day I told him about you, and he gave me this piece of parchment to write on, and showed me how to send a letter. I’ve nearly filled it now, so keep on watching and waiting for me, and think of me every day when you look at your ring. As soon as I have saved enough I shall be on my way home. Give my love to everyone at the farm. And very much love to you, especially to you,
    from your Thomas.
    A tear trickled down Gerda’s cheek as she read the words about the ring. She was still very depressed by the loss of it, but after reading the letter several times, she felt a little better. “I must not mope about, as I have been doing,” she said to herself. “Thomas is working so hard for me, and saving his wages. Some young men, if they were far away, would spend all their money on themselves. So I must be brave, and as soon as he comes home I must own up about the ring and hope that he will forgive me.”

Chapter 6
    The King’s Feast

    The weeks rolled by at the king’s palace,