Long ago, a rich man and his beautiful, pious wife lived happily, yet they had no children. One winter day, while standing beneath an almond tree, the wife pared an apple and cut her finger. As her red blood fell upon the white snow, she sighed and wished for a child as red as blood and as white as snow.
The months passed, and the seasons changed. When the ninth month arrived, she bore a child as white as snow and as red as blood. Her joy was so great that she died, and her husband buried her under the almond tree, just as she had asked. In time, the man married again, and his second wife bore him a daughter named Marjory.
The second wife loved her daughter Marjory, but she hated the little boy. She wished for her daughter to inherit everything and saw the boy as an obstacle. One day, she offered the boy an apple from a great heavy chest, but as he reached in to take it, she slammed the lid down with a terrible crash.
In her terror and guilt, the woman devised a plan to hide her deed. She tied a white handkerchief around the boy's neck to hold his head in place and set him on a chair by the door with an apple in his hand. When little Marjory came into the kitchen, she thought her brother was simply pale and wouldn't answer her.
Believing she had caused a tragic accident, Marjory wept bitterly. Her mother made a dark broth to hide the truth from the father. But Marjory gathered her brother's bones in her best silk handkerchief and laid them in the green grass beneath the almond tree. Suddenly, her heart felt light, and she wept no more.
The almond tree began to wave, and a mist rose from its branches. From the center of a burning fire, a beautiful bird emerged and soared into the air, singing a sweet and haunting song. The bird flew to the roof of a goldsmith's shop and sang of the mother who murdered him and the sister who cared for his bones.
The goldsmith was so enchanted by the song that he gave the bird a heavy gold chain. The bird subsequently flew to a shoemaker's roof. After hearing the song, the shoemaker's wife brought out a pair of beautiful red shoes as a gift. The bird took the chain in one claw and the shoes in the other, and flew away.
Finally, the bird arrived at a mill where twenty men were hewing a millstone. He sang his song once more, and the millers were so moved that they heaved up the great stone. The bird stuck his head through the hole in the middle, wearing the millstone like a giant collar, and flew back toward his father's house.
Back at home, the father felt strangely joyful, while the stepmother trembled with a growing fear she could not explain. Marjory sat in the corner, still weeping for her brother. Suddenly, the bird perched on the roof and began to sing its haunting melody, making the father go out to see what was happening.
As the father stood outside, the bird dropped the golden chain around his neck. The father was amazed and ran back inside to show the beautiful gift. Marjory then went out, hoping to see the bird too, and the magical creature dropped the pair of red shoes into her hands, making her jump for joy.
The stepmother, driven by an irresistible desperation, rushed outside as well. But just as she stepped through the door, the bird dropped the heavy millstone, and it crushed her instantly. A cloud of smoke and flames rose up from the spot, and then, as if by magic, the little brother appeared standing there alive.
The little brother took his father and Marjory by their hands, and they all felt a deep and lasting peace. They went back into their home together, sat down at the table, and shared a meal in true happiness, protected by the memory of the almond tree that had brought them back together.
