There was once a wizard who disguised himself as a poor beggar to capture pretty girls. No one knew where he took them, for they were never seen again.
One day, he came to a house with three beautiful daughters. Appearing as a frail beggar with a basket, he asked for food. When the eldest daughter brought him bread, he merely touched her, and she was compelled to jump into his basket. He swiftly carried her into a dark forest to his magnificent house.
He gave her everything she desired and said, "You will be happy here." After a few days, he announced a journey. He gave her the keys to the house and an egg, warning, "You may go anywhere except the room opened by this small key. Guard this egg carefully, for its loss would bring great misfortune."
After he left, she explored the splendid house. Overcome by curiosity, she opened the forbidden door. Inside, she found a bloody basin filled with dismembered bodies and a block with an axe. Startled, she dropped the egg into the basin. She retrieved and washed it, but a bloodstain remained.
Upon his return, the wizard demanded the key and egg. Seeing the stain, he knew she had entered the forbidden room. "Since you entered against my will, you shall return against your own," he declared. He dragged her in, beheaded her, dismembered her, and threw her into the basin.
"Now I will fetch the second," said the wizard. He returned as a beggar and captured the second daughter. She, too, succumbed to curiosity, looked into the bloody chamber, and was killed upon his return.
He then brought the third sister, who was clever and cunning. After receiving the keys and egg, she carefully set the egg aside before exploring. In the forbidden room, she discovered her murdered sisters. She gathered and reassembled their limbs, miraculously restoring them to life.
When the wizard returned, he found no blood on the egg. "You have passed the test. You shall be my bride," he said, losing his power over her. "First," she said, "you must carry a basket of gold to my parents yourself." She hid her sisters in the basket, covered them with gold, and instructed the wizard to carry it without stopping.
As he struggled under the heavy load, the sisters called out whenever he tried to rest, pretending to be the bride watching from a window. Groaning and breathless, he delivered the basket to her parents' house.
Meanwhile, the bride prepared a wedding feast and invited the wizard's friends. She adorned a skull with ornaments and flowers, placing it in the attic window. Then, she covered herself in honey and feathers to resemble a strange bird.
In this disguise, she met guests on the road. They asked:
"O, Fitcher's bird, how com'st thou here?"
"I come from Fitcher's house quite near."
"And what may the young bride be doing?"
"From cellar to garret she's swept all clean,
And now from the window she's peeping, I ween."
She gave the same answer to the returning bridegroom. He looked up, saw the decorated skull, mistook it for his bride, and nodded kindly.
Once he and his guests were inside, the bride's rescuers arrived. They locked the doors, set the house on fire, and the wizard and all his companions perished in the flames.