But Dschemila only replied , ` You had better go back without me , for I am not going to leave my mortar behind , if I stay here till midnight . ' ` Do as you like , ' said the girls , and started on their walk home . The night soon fell , and at the last ray of light the mortar suddenly became an ogre , who threw Dschemila on his back , and carried her off into a desert place , distant a whole month 's journey from her native town . Here he shut her into a castle , and told her not to fear , as her life was safe . Then he went back to his wife , leaving Dschemila weeping over the fate that she had brought upon herself . Meanwhile the other girls had reached home , and Dschemila 's mother came out to look for her daughter . ` What have you done with her ? ' she asked anxiously . ` We had to leave her in the wood , ' they replied , ` for she had picked up an iron mortar , and could not manage to carry it . ' So the old woman set off at once for the forest , calling to her daughter as she hurried along . ` Do go home , ' cried the townspeople , as they heard her ; ` we will go and look for your daughter ; you are only a woman , and it is a task that needs strong men . ' But she answered , ` Yes , go ; but I will go with you ! Perhaps it will be only her corpse that we shall find after all . She has most likely been stung by asps , or eaten by wild beasts . ' The men , seeing her heart was bent on it , said no more , but told one of the girls she must come with them , and show them the place where they had left Dschemila . They found the bundle of wood lying where she had dropped it , but the maiden was nowhere to be seen . ` Dschemila ! Dschemila ! ' cried they ; but nobody answered . ` If we make a fire , perhaps she will see it , ' said one of the men .
And they lit a fire , and then went , one this way , and one that , through the forest , to look for her , whispering to each other that if she had been killed by a lion they would be sure to find some trace of it ; or if she had fallen asleep , the sound of their voices would wake her ; or if a snake had bitten her , they would at least come on her XXXXX .
beasts corpse fate life men mortar mother place woman wood