Once upon a time, a forester went into the woods to hunt. He heard a sound like a child crying and followed it to a tall tree. At the top sat a little child. The child's mother had fallen asleep under the tree, and a bird of prey had taken the child from her arms and placed him high in the branches.
The forester climbed the tree, brought the child down, and decided to take him home to raise with his own daughter, Lenchen. The foundling was named Foundling-Bird because a bird had carried him away. The two children grew up together and loved each other dearly; they were sad whenever apart.
The forester had an old cook. One evening, Lenchen saw the cook fetching many buckets of water. When asked why, the cook made Lenchen promise secrecy, then revealed her plan: the next morning, while the forester was hunting, she would boil water and throw Foundling-Bird into the kettle to cook him.
Lenchen warned Foundling-Bird, and they vowed never to leave each other. They quickly dressed and ran away together.
When the cook went to get Foundling-Bird, she found the children gone. Frightened, she sent three servants after them. Seeing the servants approach, Lenchen told Foundling-Bird, "Never leave me, and I will never leave you." He agreed, "Never, ever." Lenchen then said, "You, turn into a rosebush, and I to a rose on it." When the servants arrived, they saw only a rosebush with a single rose and returned empty-handed.
The cook scolded them, saying they should have cut the bush and taken the rose. They went out again. The children saw them coming and repeated their vow. This time, Lenchen said, "You, turn into a church, and I to the chandelier in it." The servants found only a church with a chandelier and went back.
The cook, furious, asked why they didn't destroy the church and bring the chandelier. She then went after the children herself, with the three servants.
Seeing them approach, the children vowed once more. Lenchen said, "Turn into a pond, and I to a duck upon it." When the cook reached the pond, she leaned over to drink it up. The duck swam quickly, grabbed her head with its beak, and pulled her into the water, where the old witch drowned.
The children returned home together, very happy, and if they have not died, they are still alive.