When the girl had finished she went back to find the cows , but they had gone , and though she hunted everywhere she never found them ; and she had to return home and confess to her master , who scolded her bitterly , and afterwards beat her . Then he said , ` Now you will have to look after the asses . ' So every day she had to take the asses to the woods to feed , until one morning , exactly a year after she had found the lion , she heard a groan which sounded quite human . She went straight to the place from which the noise came , and , to her great surprise , beheld the same lion stretched on the ground with a deep wound across his face . This time she was not afraid at all , and ran towards him , washing the wound and laying soothing herbs upon it ; and when she had bound it up the lion thanked her in the same manner as before . After that she returned to her flock , but they were nowhere to be seen . She searched here and she searched there , but they had vanished completely ! Then she had to go home and confess to her master , who first scolded her and afterwards beat her . ` Now go , ' he ended , ` and look after the pigs ! ' So the next day she took out the pigs , and found them such good feeding grounds that they grew fatter every day . Another year passed by , and one morning when the maiden was out with her pigs she heard a groan which sounded quite human . She ran to see what it was , and found her old friend the lion , wounded through and through , fast dying under a tree . She fell on her knees before him and washed his wounds one by one , and laid healing herbs upon them . And the lion licked her hands and thanked her , and asked if she would not stay and sit by him . But the girl said she had her pigs to watch , and she must go and see after them . So she ran to the place where she had left them , but they had vanished as if the earth had swallowed them up . She whistled and called , but only the birds answered her . Then she sank down on the ground and wept bitterly , not daring to return home until some hours had passed away . And when she had had her cry out she got up and searched all up and down the wood . But it was no use ; there was not a sign of the pigs .
At last she thought that perhaps if she climbed a XXXXX she might see further .
flock ground hands manner master noise sign time tree wound