before. This time, the king's son breaks the witch's daughter's leg, and has the doorpost smeared with tar, so that her silver circlet is caught. The king holds a third festival. The witch tries to keep her stepdaughter busy by throwing milk on the hearth, but the stepdaughter, with the birch's aid, goes to the festival as before. This time, the king's son kicks out the witch's daughter's eye, and has the threshold smeared with tar, so that one of her golden slippers is caught. The king's son then sets out to discover who the maiden was, with the circlet, ring, and the slipper. When he is about to try them on the stepdaughter, the witch intervenes and gets them on her daughter. He takes both the daughter and the stepdaughter, and when they came to a river, the stepdaughter whispers to the prince not to rob her of her silver and gold. He throws the witch's daughter over the river to serve as a bridge and he and the stepdaughter cross, and takes her for his bride. Then they visit the magical birch tree and get treasures and gifts. The tree vanishes soon after. While stretching as a bridge in her grief, the younger sister wishes that a hollow golden stalk grow out of her navel so that her mother would recognize her. Immediately a hollow golden stalk grows out of her on the bridge. In time, the older stepsister delivers a son. The witch, hearing of this, and believing she is her daughter, goes to the castle, and on her way, seeing the golden stalk, is about to cut it. Her daughter cries out not to cut her navel, and that she is the bridge. The witch hurries to the castle and turns the older stepdaughter into a reindeer while the witch's daughter replaces her. The king is told by an old widow that his wife is in the forest in the shape of a reindeer, and his present wife is the witch's daughter. When he asks how he can get her back, the widow tells him to let her take the child into the forest. When she goes for it, the witch objects, but the king's son insists on her taking it. In the forest, the widow sings to the reindeer, which then comes and suckles her child, and tells the woman to bring it again next