At the edge of the forest, a poor woodcutter lived in a small cottage with his wife and five children. In order to feed his large family, he cut down dead trees and sold them in the nearest village. The villagers usually gave him an egg or a loaf of bread in return for the wood, sometimes some chicken and a few coins. Although the woodcutter and his wife were very poor, they lived happily.
Then, one day, one of their children fell ill. They didn’t have enough money to call a doctor, so the woodcutter set off to gather more wood. But there were fewer and fewer dead trees left, so he had to go and walk further, a little deeper into the forest. As he was walking along the forest path and thinking about life’s difficulties, he heard the rush of water somewhere nearby. Ah, a little fresh water will refresh me and maybe it will cheer me up, thought the woodcutter, so he followed the sound. Soon enough, he found a small spring. However, the source of the water was completely covered over with leaves and dirt.
“I’ll tidy you up a bit,” said the woodcutter, and he set to work at once. When he had cleared the spring, he continued working tirelessly. Soon he had built a little canopy of branches over the top to keep the leaves out, and a fence to keep the dirt from washing into it.
“Oops, I almost forgot to have a drink,” laughed the woodcutter, dipping his hands into the bubbling spring.
“Thank you, good man,” said a quiet voice. The woodcutter looked around but he couldn’t see anyone.
“Thank you for cleaning me up. And also for the canopy. I feel much better already,” the voice …
