The changeling child

retold and drawn by Eugen Gliege

A changeling child is believed to be an ugly dwarf child with skinny arms and legs that was foisted to a woman in childbed. The dwarf child is swaped o the real child without any notice of themother. So it happened to a woman in Havelland. She only noticed it when she cooked the meal und took it into the room. Hardly she had droped the bowl and went away to bring a second one the first bowl had already been empty. Then she thought: "That you will get for sure" and did some old sole into the mash instead of the bacon. As she served it she hide behind the door. And right, thechild came. When he found the soles instead of bacon he was wondering and shouted: "Ik bin so old as Bˆhma gold un hew doch noch keen schosolen ‰ten!" (I am as old as Bˆhmian gold and have not eaten soles yet). When the woman heared that she jumped out and screamed: "You cursed undergrouned rascal! I have thought I have my child in the cradle and now I have got such a changeling child who guzzle up my food.I will beat you to death!" Suddenly the undergroundish got legs and walked as he could. When the woman entered the room her real child was screaming in the cradle. The people from underground brought it back and have not been seen again.