Cow Head

Oksana lived in a small house on the periphery of town with her father, her stepmother and her stepsister. Oksana's stepmother disliked Oksana, favoring her true daughter, Olena. 

 Soon after her father's remarriage, Oksana found that all the housework fell to her while Olena idled her days away. Oksana's father was a timid man, and could not transport himself to defy his wife.

 So Oksana wore Olena's cast off clothes, and her hands grew red and chapped from scrub in the cold, while Olena attended parties, growing lazy and spoiled.

 One year, when the winter snows were particularly fierce, Oksana's family ran out of money. Oksana's stepmother began nagging her father to send Oksana away,

 since they could not afford to keep two girls. Reluctantly, Oksana's father agreed. He took Oksana to a cottage deep in the woods and left her there.