The Lithuanian folk tale about the origin of hag children, classified as a sakmė, explains the mystical exchange of children between hags and humans. In the story, a woman has her child taken by a hag, who leaves her own child in return. The exchange goes unnoticed, as the hag’s child, though human in appearance, cannot speak and grows into adulthood in silence.

One day, the mother, frustrated by her child’s muteness, confides in a beggar. The beggar suggests a ritual: if the child is indeed a hag’s child, he will speak when exposed to a specific ritual involving oak logs, a bonfire, and eggs. The mother performs the ritual, and the child finally speaks, revealing that he is much older than his apparent age, referencing the oak as a century-old entity. After speaking, the hag’s child vanishes, returning to the supernatural realm.

This sakmė reflects common themes in Lithuanian mythology, where the line between the natural and supernatural is fluid, and the unknown aspects of life, like children’s origins or identity, are explained through magical and ritualistic means. The tale draws on concepts of age, transformation, and the mysterious forces that control life’s cycles, common elements in myths and legends across cultures.

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