The Man with the Evil Eye
Part Three
The big girl didn't want to speak, but her little friend said, again and again, "Tell me, why you are sad? Perhaps I can help you. Tell me!"
At last, the big girl said, "I don't want to tell you, because you will be very angry with me, but I must. Last night I saw someone."
"You saw someone? Who?" said the little girl.
"I saw your mother," the big girl said.
The little girl shook her head.
"No! It's impossible. You know that my mother is dead."
"Yes, she is dead, but I saw her, in our house."
The little girl's heart filled with happiness. She jumped up.
"Is she there now?" she cried. "Can I see her? Oh Mother, Mother, where are you?"
And she began to run towards the house.
The big girl ran after her.
"Wait," she said. "Stop!"
The little girl pushed past her angrily.
"I don't want to wait!" she said. "I want to see my mother!"
She opened the door and ran inside. But the house was empty. No one was there.
The little girl ran outside.
"My mother isn't there!" she said. "You were tricking me. You’re cruel. You want me to be unhappy!"
"No! I want to make you happy! " the big girl said. "I'll show you your mother. Wait."
She put up her hand and pulled a stick down from the roof, then she went into the second room of the house. The little girl followed her.
There were many pots in the second room. Some were big. Some were small. In the corner, one pot stood alone. It was a beautiful pot, but a little chip was broken from the top.
The big girl picked up the pot and carried it into the other room. Then she touched it with her stick.
At once, the pot changed into a human body. It was the body of the little girl's mother.
"Mother! Oh, Mother!" cried the little girl.
She kissed her mother's body again and again.
"Wake up, Mother! Look at me! Say something to me! Oh Mother, are you alive, or are you dead? Come back to me! Please!"
But her mother did not speak. She did not move.
Suddenly, the big girl heard a noise outside the house.
"Quick!" she said. "My father is coming! You must go."
"Go? What do you mean?" the little girl said. "I can't leave my mother now."
But the big girl picked up the stick. She touched the woman's body again. At once the body changed into the pot. The big girl picked up the pot and carried it back into the second room. Then she put the stick back into the roof.
"Go home now," she said to the little girl. "Remember, this is our secret. Don't tell anyone. If my father knows, he will be very, very angry."