Two thousands years ago, there lived a rich couple that the wife is eager to having her own baby. In a snowy day, the wife stands in front of a large juniper tree. She is enchanted by the great juniper and started praying "How I wish I could bear a baby whose lips are as red as blood (or rose?! Oh, I can't remember clear, sorry) and skins as white as snow. " After saying her prayer, the wife suddenly feels that she is in peace and her wish is granted.

A month passed and the snowing stopped. The wife is in joy. The second month comes and the pine-needle grow and grow. The third month comes and the pine tree rejuvenates, the bird sings sweetly. The wife is delighted The forth month comes and the juniper tree becomes bold and great. The fifth month comes and the wife eats the pine-cone, she is then in blue. The sixth month comes and the wife is depressed. And then comes the seventh month, the wife is too weak to adore anything. She says to her husband, "I'm too weak to live any longer. After my death, please bury me under this pine tree." Finally, the ninth month comes and the wife deliveries handsome baby boy. She died gracefully. The rich man buried his wife under the juniper tree and it grows stronger and stronger.

Time flies and the rich man married another woman who gave birth a baby girl Merlinechen to him. The boy and little Merlinchen play together happily. One day, little Merlinchen got a box of apples and she shows an apple to her father and says ,"Let's give the apple to elder brother!". Seeing this, the stepmother thinks :" All the properties of this family must be and should be owned by my daughter, not the son!". She then tells her daughter, " You keep this apple and let your elder brother has another when he is back to home from school."

When the boy is back, the stepmother told him to get an apple from the wooden box. The boy is too small so he lowered his head and peeked inside the box. In a flash, the wicked stepmother snapped the lid and the boy's head is cut. The stepmother is in fear. She bandaged the boy's head to his body and asked her daughter to find her elder brother. Little Merlinchen tries to wake her elder brother but his head rolling down. Little Merlinchen is so frightened. The stepmother told Little Merlinchen to keep that as a secret.

The stepmother chopped the boy's body into pieces and poured them into the pot of boiling soup. When the rich man is back, he asks about his boy. The stepmother answers, "He went to his uncle and said he wanted to live with his uncle for good!" . The man believed that and the family starts having the dinner and drinking the soup. Little Merlinhen picked up the boy's bones and wrapped them with a piece of cloth.

She rests under the juniper and placed the wrapped bones next to her. Suddenly, the bones plunged into the pine tree. A kind of peaceful and joyful feeling rushed into Little Merlinechen's mind. A merry bird standing on the juniper bark saw that. It then flew away.

The bird starts singing:
my mother she killed me, my father he ate me,
my sister, little Marlinchen, gathered together all my bones,
tied them in a silken handkerchief,
laid them beneath the juniper tree,
kywitt, kywitt, what a beautiful bird am I. "

A key maker heard the song-brid and asked the bird to sing one more to him. The bird asked him to give his golden key as a trade. The key maker gave his golden key to the bird. The bird holds the golden key and its feather is then coated into shimmering gold. It farewell to the key maker with is sweetly song-bird ""Stepmother killed me; Papa ate me; Little sister picked up my bones , buried me under the pine . . . " On its way of the journey, the bird saw a framer and it starts singing is luring song:

"my mother she killed me, my father he ate me,
my sister, little Marlinchen, gathered together all my bones,
tied them in a silken handkerchief,
laid them beneath the juniper tree,
kywitt, kywitt, what a beautiful bird am I. ""

The farmer feels so touching and implores the bird to sing once more for him. The bird told the farmer it could only sing again if it is granted for an apple. The farmer gave a delicious, big apple to the bird for its second singing. The bird carries the golden key and big apple to continue its journey. Finally, the bird rests on a mill house and amuses itself with its songbird ""my mother she killed me, my father he ate me, my sister, little Marlinchen, gathered together all my bones, tied them in a silken handkerchief, laid them beneath the juniper tree, kywitt, kywitt, what a beautiful bird am I." The millers are spellbound by the song and beg the bird to do one more. The bird told them it couldn't fulfill their dreams unless their mill is given to it as a trade. The millers think it's worth giving their mill for the touching song. So, the bird sings again. Now, it has a golden key, a big apple and a heavy mill. It flew back home . . .

At last, the bird rests on the rich man's house and sings again : "Stepmother killed me; Papa ate me; Little sister picked up my bones , buried me under the pine . . . ". The luring song arose the rich man's family. The bird drops the golden key to the rich man; the big, delicious apple to Little Merlinchen. The stepmother hears the song and comes out to see what's going on. The bird drops the heavy mill towards the woman and she is killed.

A while later, the rich man and Little Merlinchen saw a handsome boy standing near the juniper tree. The boy runs towards them. The three live together happily ever after.

~ The End ~

How far is this story applied in "The Twisted Fairy Tale" ?
I think it's 15 per cent?! Only the songbird is mentioned by Cain. The legend of the Juniper bringing the dead to live is applied in the story, however. After reading this story, are you ready to read "The Twisted Fairy Tale" from Earl Cain vol. 2 ?!