Our Lady's Child

Near a big forest lived a woodcutter with his wife. They had only one child, a little girl three years old. They were so poor that they no longer had enough bread to eat each day, and they didn't know how to find food for her.

One morning the woodcutter went sadly into the forest to work. While he was cutting wood, suddenly a tall, beautiful woman stood before him. She wore a crown of shining stars on her head. She said, "I am the Virgin Mary, mother of the child Jesus. You are poor and needy.

Bring your child to me. I will take her with me and be her mother and care for her." The woodcutter obeyed, brought the child, and gave her to the Virgin Mary, who took her up to heaven with her. There the child did well. She ate sugar-cakes and drank sweet milk.

Her clothes were made of gold, and the little angels played with her. When she was fourteen years old, the Virgin Mary called her one day and said, "Dear child, I am going on a long journey. Take care of the keys to the thirteen doors of heaven.

You may open twelve of them and see the glory inside, but the thirteenth door, which this little key belongs to, is forbidden. Be careful not to open it, or you will bring misery upon yourself." The girl promised to obey.

When the Virgin Mary left, she began to look at the rooms of the kingdom of heaven. Each day she opened one of them until she had seen all twelve. In each room sat one of the apostles in the middle of a great light.

She rejoiced in all the magnificence and splendor, and the little angels who always went with her rejoiced too. Only the forbidden door remained. She felt a strong desire to know what could be hidden behind it.

She said to the angels, "I won't open it all the way, and I won't go inside, but I will unlock it so we can see a little through the crack." "Oh no," said the little angels, "that would be a sin.

The Virgin Mary has forbidden it, and it might bring you unhappiness." Then she was quiet, but the desire in her heart did not go away. It gnawed and tormented her and gave her no peace. Once when the angels had all gone out, she thought, "Now I am alone.

I could peek in. If I do, no one will ever know." She got the key, put it in the lock, and turned it. The door sprang open. There she saw the Trinity sitting in fire and splendor. She stayed there a while, looking at everything in amazement.

Then she touched the light a little with her finger, and her finger turned completely golden. Immediately a great fear came over her. She shut the door hard and ran away. Her terror would not leave her, no matter what she did. Her heart beat constantly and would not be still.

The gold also stayed on her finger and would not go away, no matter how much she rubbed and washed it.

It was not long before the Virgin Mary came back from her journey. She called the girl to her and asked for the keys of heaven. When the girl gave her the bunch, the Virgin Mary looked into her eyes and said, "Did you not open the thirteenth door as well?" "No," she replied.

Then the Virgin Mary laid her hand on the girl's heart and felt how it beat and beat, and she knew that the girl had disobeyed and opened the door. She said again, "Are you sure you did not do it?" "Yes," said the girl a second time.

Then the Virgin Mary noticed the finger that had turned golden from touching the fire of heaven. She knew the child had sinned, and said for the third time, "Did you not do it?" "No," said the girl a third time.

Then the Virgin Mary said, "You did not obey me, and on top of that you lied. You are no longer worthy to be in heaven."

Then the girl fell into a deep sleep. When she woke up, she was lying on the earth below, in the middle of a wilderness. She tried to cry out, but no sound came. She jumped up and tried to run away, but wherever she turned, thick thorny hedges held her back.

She could not get through. In the desert where she was trapped stood an old hollow tree, and that had to be her home. At night she crept inside and slept there. There she found shelter from storms and rain, but it was a miserable life.

She wept bitterly when she remembered how happy she had been in heaven and how the angels had played with her. Roots and wild berries were her only food, and she looked for them as far as she could go.

In autumn she picked up fallen nuts and leaves and carried them into the hole. The nuts were her food in winter. When snow and ice came, she crept among the leaves like a poor little animal so she wouldn't freeze.

Before long her clothes were all torn, and one piece after another fell off. But as soon as the sun shone warm again, she would go out and sit in front of the tree, and her long golden hair covered her like a cloak.

So she sat year after year, feeling the pain and misery of the world. One day, when the trees were again covered with fresh green, the king of the country was hunting in the forest. He chased a deer, and it fled into the thicket that surrounded this part of the forest.

The king got off his horse, pushed the bushes aside, and cut a path with his sword. When he finally forced his way through, he saw a wonderfully beautiful maiden sitting under the tree. She sat there, completely covered by her golden hair down to her feet.

He stopped and looked at her in surprise. Then he spoke to her and said, "Who are you? Why are you sitting here in the wilderness?" But she did not answer, for she could not open her mouth.

The king continued, "Will you come with me to my castle?" She nodded a little. The king took her in his arms, carried her to his horse, and rode home with her. When they reached the royal castle, he had her dressed in beautiful clothes and gave her everything in plenty.

Although she could not speak, she was so beautiful and charming that he fell in love with her with all his heart. Before long, he married her.

About a year later, the queen gave birth to a son. That night, as she lay in bed alone, the Virgin Mary appeared to her and said, "If you will tell the truth and confess that you unlocked the forbidden door, I will open your mouth and give you back your speech.

But if you persist in your sin and stubbornly deny it, I will take your newborn child away." The queen was allowed to answer, but she remained stubborn and said, "No, I did not open the forbidden door." Then the Virgin Mary took the newborn child from her arms and vanished with it.

The next morning, when the child was not found, people whispered that the queen was a cannibal and had killed her own child. The queen heard all this but could say nothing. The king did not believe it, however, because he loved her so much.

When another year had passed, the queen gave birth to another son. Again the Virgin Mary came to her in the night and said, "If you confess that you opened the forbidden door, I will give you back your child and untie your tongue.

But if you continue in sin and deny it, I will take this new child away too." Again the queen said, "No, I did not open the forbidden door." The Virgin took the child from her arms and carried it to heaven.

The next morning, when this child also had disappeared, the people declared loudly that the queen had devoured it. The king's counselors demanded that she be put on trial. But the king loved her so much that he would not believe it, and he commanded the counselors not to speak of it anymore, under penalty of death.

The following year, the queen gave birth to a beautiful little daughter. For the third time, the Virgin Mary appeared to her in the night and said, "Follow me." She took the queen by the hand and led her to heaven.

There she showed her her two eldest children, who smiled at her and were playing with the ball of the world. The queen was happy to see them. Then the Virgin Mary said, "Has your heart not softened yet?

If you will admit that you opened the forbidden door, I will give you back your two little sons." But for the third time the queen answered, "No, I did not open the forbidden door." Then the Virgin Mary let her sink back down to earth and also took her third child away.

The next morning, when the loss was reported, all the people cried out, "The queen is a cannibal! She must be judged!" This time the king could no longer restrain his counselors. A trial was held. Since the queen could not answer or defend herself, she was condemned to be burned alive.

Firewood was gathered, and she was tied to the stake. As the fire began to burn around her, the hard ice of pride melted. Her heart was moved by repentance. She thought, "If only I could confess before I die that I opened the door." Then her voice came back to her, and she cried out loudly, "Yes, Mary, I did it!" Immediately rain fell from the sky and put out the flames of fire.

A light shone above her, and the Virgin Mary descended with the two little sons by her side and the newborn daughter in her arms. She spoke kindly to her and said, "Whoever repents of their sin and acknowledges it is forgiven." Then she gave her the three children, freed her tongue, and granted her happiness for the rest of her life.