Cirdtan

— Grandma, I want to go with them to gather firewood.

The old woman gave each child a piece of buttered bread and entrusted Cirdtan to them.

On the road

On the way, Cirdtan fell to the ground and refused to walk. The children asked:

— Cirdtan, why aren’t you coming?

He replied:

— Grandma asked you to take care of me. Carry me on your backs.

They took turns carrying him into the forest.

Gathering firewood

The children started gathering firewood, but Cirdtan did not. They asked:

— Cirdtan, why aren’t you collecting firewood?

He answered:

— Grandma told you to take care of me. Collect mine too.

So they gathered his firewood as well. When it was time to tie the bundles, everyone carried their load. But Cirdtan just sat and watched. They asked:

— Cirdtan, why don’t you take your firewood?

He said:

— Grandma told you to take care of me. Carry mine as well.

They reluctantly carried his firewood too.

Lost in the forest

A little later, Cirdtan lagged behind and cried. When asked why, he said:

— I’m tired. Grandma gave you buttered bread…

One boy became angry and said:

— You will learn badly! We won’t carry you anymore!

Cirdtan had no choice but to walk by himself. By nightfall they were lost in the forest. They saw light from one side and heard a dog barking from the other.

They asked Cirdtan where to go. He said:

— If we go to the barking, the dog may bite us. Let’s follow the light, maybe we’ll find the way.

The giant’s house

They followed the light and came to a giant’s house. The giant, seeing them, rejoiced and thought, “Good! Tonight I will eat them one by one.” He gave them bread and put them to bed.

At night, the giant wanted to eat one child. To check if they were asleep, he asked:

— Who is asleep, who is awake?

Cirdtan quickly replied:

— Everyone is asleep, Cirdtan is awake.

The giant asked:

— Why aren’t you sleeping, Cirdtan?

He answered:

— My grandma always made me scrambled eggs before bed.

The giant cooked scrambled eggs and gave them to him. But he still didn’t sleep. Later the giant again asked:

— Who is asleep, who is awake?

— Everyone is asleep, Cirdtan is awake.

— Why aren’t you sleeping? — the giant asked.
— Every night my grandma brought me water from the river in a sieve, — Cirdtan replied.

The giant took a sieve and went to fetch water. Meanwhile, Cirdtan woke the children and said:

— The giant wants to eat us! Get up, let’s run!

Escape

The children quickly ran across the river. The giant tried to fill the sieve with water, but it leaked every time. When he finally returned, the children were already on the other side. He shouted:

— Children, how did you cross the river?

Cirdtan replied:

— Find a millstone, put it around your neck, jump into the river, then you’ll cross!

The giant believed him. He found a millstone, tied it around his neck, jumped into the river, and drowned.