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There was once upon a time a woman who was a real witch and had

two daughters, one ugly and wicked, and this one she loved

because she was her own daughter, and one beautiful and good, and

this one she hated, because she was her stepdaughter. The

stepdaughter once had a pretty apron, which the other fancied so

much that she became envious, and told her mother that she must

and would have that apron. 'Be quiet, my child,' said the old

woman, 'and you shall have it. Your stepsister has long deserved

death; tonight when she is asleep I will come and cut her head

off. Only be careful that you are at the far side of the bed, and

push her well to the front.' It would have been all over with the

poor girl if she had not just then been standing in a corner, and

heard everything.