So the Knight lifted Little Two Eyes onto his horse and took her to live at his father's castle. There he treated her to beautiful clothes and food and drink. They fell in love and he married her. The two sisters believed that they were lucky to have kept the beautiful tree as Little Two Eyes and the Knight first set off for the castle but, to their dismay, the very next morning they awoke to find that the tree had vanished. When Little Two Eyes woke and looked out her window she saw, with delight, that the tree had grown outside the castle. When two poor women came to the castle to beg one day, Little Two Eyes looked at them and realised that they were her sisters. Little Two Eyes took them in and made them welcome. The sisters then repented of ever having been so mean to their sister. Analysis Tale type In the international Aarne-Thompson-Uther Index, the tale is classified - and gives its name - to tale type ATU 511, "One-Eye, Two-Eyes, Three-Eyes". Folklorist Stith Thompson noted the proximity of the tale type with ATU 510A, "Cinderella", and ATU 510B, "Cap O' Rushes" - also stories of heroines persecuted by their families. Predecessors According to Thompson, literary treatments of the tale type existed in Sweden and Germany in the 16th century. German folkorist Hans-Jörg Uther indicated that the type appeared in print as part of author 's 1560 work Gartengesellschaft. Swiss literary theorist Max Lüthi provided a translation of Montanus's tale, which he sourced from Alsace. In this tale, titled The Little Earth Cow (German: Erdkühlein), a girl named Gretel lives with her stepmother and a sister named Anny. One day, she overhears her family talking about abandoning her in the forest. The first time, she casts bread crumbs to make a trail for her to follow, but the birds eat them and she loses her way in the woods. She eventually finds a hut where the titular little earth cow lives. The animal agrees to take Gretel in, but the girl must milk her and never reveal her existence. Some time later, Gretel's sister, Anny, finds the little cow's hut, and tries to convince her to confess about the little cow. Gretel ends up betraying the cow's trust and her stepmother orders the animal to be butchered. Gretel begs the little cow for forgiveness,