Once upon a time, a miller had a beautiful daughter. When she came of age, he wished for her to be well married. A suitor who appeared rich and respectable soon came asking for her hand. The miller, finding no fault with him, promised his daughter to him.
However, the girl felt a deep sense of horror whenever she saw or thought of her bridegroom. One day, he asked why she had never visited his house, which he said was in the dark woods. She made excuses, but he insisted she come the following Sunday, promising to mark a trail of ashes through the forest.
Frightened yet determined, the girl set out on Sunday. She filled her pockets with peas and lentils. Following the ash trail into the woods, she dropped peas and lentils along the way. After walking all day, she reached a solitary, sinister house in the darkest part of the forest.
Inside, a voice cried out from a caged bird on the wall: "Turn back, turn back, you young bride. You are in a murderer's house." Ignoring the warning, she explored the empty house until she found an old woman in the cellar.
"Oh, poor child," the old woman said. "You are in a murderer's den. They intend to chop you to pieces, cook you, and eat you. If I don't save you, you are doomed." She hid the girl behind a large barrel.
Soon, the robbers returned, dragging another maiden. They paid no heed to her screams, forced her to drink three glasses of wine (white, red, and yellow), and then killed her. The hidden bride trembled with fear.
One robber noticed a gold ring on the dead girl's finger. He chopped off the finger to get it, and the finger flew through the air, landing in the hidden bride's lap. The robbers searched but could not find it, and the old woman persuaded them to eat their supper instead, secretly drugging their wine.
When the robbers fell into a deep sleep, the girl and the old woman crept out, stepping over the sleepers. The ash trail was gone, but the peas and lentils had sprouted, guiding them by moonlight back to the mill by morning. The girl told her father everything.
On the wedding day, as guests were asked to tell stories, the bridegroom prompted the silent bride. She replied, "I will tell you a dream." She then recounted her entire harrowing experience in the woods as if it were a dream, concluding by producing the severed finger with the ring.
The robber bridegroom, pale as chalk, tried to flee but was seized by the guests. He and his band were turned over to the courts and executed for their shameful deeds.