Ashta of the Forest

Ashta of the Forest is an old wives tale about a woman named Ashta who walks into the woods during a snowstorm and turns into creature with the body of a deer and the head of a wolf.

Summary

One evening a woman named Ashta got into an argument with her sister and walked into the woods while a snowstorm was blowing in. As she walked a crow flew to her and told her that if she kept going the snow would cover her tracks and the forest king would turn her into a beast. She, very rudely, told the crow that her going on a walk was none of its business and it should go bother someone else.
She keeps walking and comes to a river where a tree has recently fallen that she uses as a bridge to cross over, the crow appears again. The crow says that if she keeps going the snow will cover the fallen tree and she will not be able to find it and the river and she will fall in.
The crow also repeats that the forest king will come and turn her into a beast, adding that he will send to chase wild boars from his pea fields. She is again very rude to the crow and asks it if has nothing better to do than follow her around before telling it that it sounds like and old crone.
The crow leaves and she continues. It begins to grow dark as she walks, when she turns around her tracks have been covered by the snow so she wanders around looking for shelter before slipping and getting wet in the river. The Crow appears a final time and asks if she has finally learned her lesson and will take up its hospitality and follow it to her home. She gets very angry and yells at the crow for offering help when she is a human and it is a crow. She then curses at the crow saying she hopes its eyes wither out and it starves in front of the first berries of spring. As soon as she has done so the king of the forest appears and strikes her with his hunting bow three times, turning her into a deer with the head of a wolf and tasks her with chasing quarry with his hounds.