Grandaunt Tigress II

The sisters were not sure their mother would be able to come back so early. She told them she was going to visit their grandaunt who lived in a neighboring village. She couldn't be back until the following day. Besides, the one who knocked at the door didn't sound like their mother.

“You are not our mother,” the elder girl said. “You have a difference voice,” she went on. “Mother couldn't come back so early,” she added. “We can't open the door!”

The children remembered what their mother told them before she had left home. She warned them of Grandaunt Tigress, who might come to eat them.

“You stupid girls,” the door-knocker said. “I am your mother,” she repeated. “Open the door this minute!” she ordered, keeping on banging at the door. The two sisters thought they might be wrong. Probably, she was their mother, after all. If they didn't open the doors, she might continue knocking at the door and they couldn't go back to sleep. So they opened the door.

She came in. To their shocked surprise, the sisters were face to face with an old hag, her face all wrinkled and her eyes shining like lightning. She wasn't their mother. “Who are you?” the girls shouted in desperation.

“You stupid girls,” the old witch-like crone with shining eyes shouted back. “I'm your grandaunt,” she said. “Don't be afraid,” she went on, adding: “It's your mother who asked me to come to your home to stay with you overnight. She was concerned you both couldn't sleep well. So I'm here to keep you company.”

Of course, the two little girls had heard they had a grandaunt. But they had never met her before. So they believed she was their grandaunt. Their grandaunt took very good care of the girls. She then put both of them to bed.

Before they bedded down, the grandaunt showed the children a small quilt. “One of you who can raise this quilt higher than the other,” she told them, “will sleep by my side.” The younger sister was a very clever girl. She doubted the old woman was truly their grandaunt. She might be Grandaunt Tigress, the little girl suspected. “I should pretend I can't lift up the quilt,” she said to herself, “and find out what she might do to me.” She then told the grandaunt she was too small and weak to lift up the quilt. As she refused to lift it up, she was left to sleep alone on her cot. Her elder sister and their grandaunt went to another room to bed down together.

Subscribe to The China Post and save 25%. Click here

SharePrintEmail

Write a Comment

Terms

Enter your comments - 3000 characters max

Type in image code

Submit

 Receive China Post promos
 Respond to this email