THE FORBIDDEN ROOM

There was an evil wizard who dressed up himself as a beggar. He would go to all
the houses and ask for money pretending to be poor. But the truth is, he would steal all
the prettiest girls he could find in each house.
One day, the evil wizard knocked on the house of a man with three beautiful
daughters. The eldest daughter opened the door. She gave the evil wizard a piece of
bread. The evil wizard touched her arm and hypnotized her. He made her enter the
basket on his back. He brought her to his house in the middle of the forest. Everything
in the wizard’s house was magnificent. He gave everything that the eldest daughter
wanted. She became happy and contented with the evil wizard.
After a few days, the wizard said to the eldest daughter, “I am going to a long
journey. I shall leave these bunch of keys to you. You can enter any room of this house
except for one. If you enter that forbidden room, you will surely die. Another thing,
here is an egg. Please take care of it until I return.”
When the wizard left, the eldest daughter began to enter every room. She found
beautiful things in each room that delighted her. Then, she reached the forbidden
room. She stopped and decided whether she will enter the forbidden room or not. She
decided to enter.
The eldest daughter trembled at what she saw. There were hundreds of girls
that had been kidnapped and all looked as if they had fallen asleep. She went running
out of the room as fast as she could. In her haste, she dropped the egg that she was
carrying in her hand! But it did not break! The egg turned red!
When the wizard came back, he noticed that the egg is red. He said to himself,
“Oh well, the egg is red. It means that this eldest daughter entered the forbidden room.
She is just like the others before her.” The wizard beat the eldest daughter and dragged
her to the forbidden room. He left her there with the other girls who seemed to be
sleeping.
The evil wizard went back to the house of the man with three beautiful
daughters. He hypnotized the second daughter and brought her to his house. The same
thing happened to the second daughter. In the end, she was left with her sister in the
forbidden room.
The evil wizard went back (for the third time) to the house of the man with three
beautiful daughters. He hypnotized the third daughter and brought her to his house.
But this third daughter is wiser than her two sisters. When the evil wizard gave the
bunch of keys and egg to her, she kept the egg in the food cabinet. Then, she went to
the forbidden room to look for her sisters.
 As the third daughter entered the forbidden room, she saw the sleeping girls.
She recognized her two sisters who were also sleeping. Then, she heard the voice of
the evil wizard who just arrived from a long journey. He was calling her name.
The third daughter hurriedly closed the door of the forbidden room. She went to
the food cabinet and got the egg then she went to meet the evil wizard in the hall. The
evil wizard asked, “Where is the egg and the bunch of keys? Give them to me.” The
third daughter obediently gave them to him. He said, “Oh, this is great! The egg did not
turn red. It means that you did not enter the forbidden room. You are obedient to me
unlike your two sisters. You shall be my wife because you have resisted curiosity.”
The third daughter said, “Before I marry you, first you must go and bring two
baskets to my parents. I will put something inside these baskets but you must never
look inside it. Do it tomorrow.” The evil wizard said yes.
That night, the third daughter opened the forbidden room and woke up her two
sisters. She hid them in the two baskets and covered them with cloths. The next day,
the evil wizard carried the two baskets and brought them to their parent’s house. He
never looked inside the basket.
While the evil wizard was away, the third daughter opened the forbidden room
again and woke up all the girls. She set them free. When the evil wizard arrived, all the
girls captured him and dragged him into the forbidden room and locked him in there.
Then, they set the house on fire.

THE END

Questions:
1) Why did the evil wizard dress up as a beggar?
Answer: He would go to all the houses and ask for money pretending to be poor. But the truth
is, he would steal all the prettiest girls he could find in each house.
2) Why did the evil wizard always leave the egg and keys to the daughters?
Answer: When the wizard came back, he noticed that the egg is red. He said to himself, “Oh
well, the egg is red. It means that this eldest daughter entered the forbidden room. She is just
like the others before her.” The wizard beat the eldest daughter and dragged her to the
forbidden room. He left her there with the other girls who seemed to be sleeping.
3) What is inside the forbidden room?
The eldest daughter trembled at what she saw. There were hundreds of girls that had been
kidnapped and all looked as if they had fallen asleep.
4) How did the third daughter save her sisters?
Answer: That night, the third daughter opened the forbidden room and woke up her two
sisters. She hid them in the two baskets and covered them with cloths. The next day, the evil
wizard carried the two baskets and brought them to their parent’s house.
5) In your own opinion, why are the girls sleeping?
Answer: The evil wizard has hypnotized the girls, causing them to fall asleep. He was able to
cast a spell on each of them that sent them into a deep sleep only by touching their arms.
6) Did the evil wizard die when the girls locked him in the forbidden room and set the
house on fire? Why do you think so? What is your opinion about the evil wizard’s death?
Answer: When the girls locked in the evil wizard in the forbidden room and set the home on
fire, he most likely died. The magician would have been trapped within the burning house,
unable to escape, if the fire had swallowed everything completely. The wicked wizard's death,
in my opinion, was a deserved a punishment for what he had done. He caused terrible pain and
suffering to innocent girls and their families by kidnapping and hypnotizing them. One could
argue that the girls set him on fire as a form of self-defense and as a means of getting revenge
for all that damage he created.