his daughter and bade her come with him into
the forest to cut wood. They worked hard all day, but in spite of the
chopping they were very cold, for it rained heavily, and when they
returned home, they were wet through. Then, to his vexation, the man
found that he had left his axe behind him, and he knew that if it lay
all night in the mud it would become rusty and useless. So he said to
his wife:

'I have dropped my axe in the forest, bid your daughter go and fetch it,
for mine has worked hard all day and is both wet and weary.'

But the wife answered:

'If your daughter is wet already, it is all the more reason that she
should go and get the axe. Besides, she is a great strong girl, and a
little rain will not hurt her, while my daughter would be sure to catch
a bad cold.'

By long experience the man knew there was no good saying any more, and
with a sigh he told the poor girl she must return to the forest for the
axe.

The walk took some time, for it was very dark, and her shoes often stuck
in the mud, but she was brave as well as beautiful and never thought of
turning back merely because the path was both difficult and unpleasant.
At last, with her dress torn by brambles that she could not see, and her
fact scratched by the twigs on the trees, she reached the spot where she
and her father had been cutting in the morning, and found the axe in the
place he had left it. To her surprise, three little doves were sitting
on the handle, all of them looking very sad.

'You poor little things,' said the girl, stroking them. 'Why do you sit
there and get wet? Go and fly home to your nest, it will be much warmer
than this; but first eat this bread, which I saved from my dinner, and
perhaps you will feel happier. It is my father's axe you are sitting
on, and I must take it back as fast as I can, or I shall get a terrible
scolding from my stepmother.' She then crumbled the bread on the ground,
and was pleased to see the doves flutter quite cheerfully towards it.

'Good-bye,' she said, picking up the axe, and went her way homewards.

By the time they had finished all the crumbs the doves felt must better,
and were able to fly back to their nest in the top of a tree.

'That is a good girl,' said one; 'I really was too weak to stretch out a
wing before she came. I should like to do something to show how grateful
I am.'

'Well, let us give her a wreath of flowers that will never fade as long
as she wears it,' cried anoth