Envious because their youngest sister marries a prize husband, a king, two sisters plot to kill her children and poison her husband's mind against her. Their attempts are foiled when a poor and loving couple rescue the children and nuture them to adulthood. The search for their legitimate parents is successful only when magical powers intervene. Domestic tranquility resumed and the guilty punished.
One afternoon three sisters, having nothing better to do, entertained
themselves in their garden with dreams of the future. "If I
had my way," said the eldest, "I'd marry the king's baker. "Well
if I had my way," said the second sister, and I'd do better
than that. I'd marry the king's cook." Then the youngest spoke
up, "If it was up to me, I'd marry the king himself."
At that very moment, the king was taking his usual stroll and heard the conversation as he passed their house. The next day he sent a message ordering the sisters to appear at court. Trembling with fear, they stood before the king. "Do not be afraid," he said with a smile, "just repeat what you said yesterday in your own garden." "Your majesty," said the eldest, "we were bored, we had nothing to do. I said I'd like to marry the king's baker." Then up spoke the second sister, curtsying before the king, "And I said I'd like to marry the king's cook." Then the eldest pointed her finger at the youngest, and said, "Sire, don't pay any attention to her. She's young and foolish, and said she'd like to marry the king himself."
The king laughed and laughed. Finally, he said, "You will all get your wishes." The oldest married the baker, the middle sister married the cook, and the youngest, the king himself. But all did not go well. Although they put on a good face, the two elder sister were envious of their sister,. and plotted against her.
When her first child was born they stole him away, threw him into the garden, and told the king she had given birth to a freak. How sad," said the king who had fervently hoped for an heir, "if the first was a freak, surely the second will be a child." The next year, the queen had another boy, and the following year a girl, but each time the sisters threw the baby into the garden, and left them there for dead.
Finally, the king lost his patience, and accused the queen of being in league with the devil. To punish her, he locked her up in a cage in front of the palace gates. Every day, people came to see the poor woman, but only to insult and spit on her.
Unknown to the sisters, the children were not dead, but had been found alive by the gardener and brought home to his wife. Although desperately poor, the couple, who had no children of their own, cared for them as best they could until they grew up. The years went by one by one until the gardener and his wife became old and died.
Penniless and left to fend for themselves, the girl kept house
for her brothers while they hunted in the forest. One day, an
old woman came to the door. "Young girl," she said, "I've
come to help you. Do as I tell you, and your life will change
for the better. First, you must find three objects: a talking
bird, a singing tree, and water like silver. An old man will
help you in your search, but, remember, if you disobey him,
you won't find anything." And then she disappeared.
That evening, on the brothers' return from the hunt, their sister told them about the old woman's visit. The oldest volunteered immediately to search for the three objects. At dawn, he bid his brother and sister farewell, and started out along the road. All day long, he explored forests and mountains, rivers and lakes, but found nothing. Exhausted and discouraged, he sat down to rest under a tree. At that very moment, an old man appeared at his side. "My son," he said, "I know what you are looking for, follow this road you see in front of you -- but let me warn you. If you hear voices, don't look behind you, or you will be turned to stone." In a twinkling, the old man disappeared. The brother continued on his journey, but soon heard voices that said "I'll catch you, I'll grab you, and now I've got you in my clutches." Without thinking, he looked behind him, and was instantly turned to stone.
Meanwhile, the girl waited impatiently for her brother's return. As the days passed, and he did not come, she concluded he had met with some terrible misfortune, and was dead. Now the second brother volunteered to search for the three objects. 'I know I am risking my life. If one day you see my bloodied sword, you will know that I, too, have met my end." With these sad words, he kissed his sister a tearful goodbye, and walked out of the house.
Time passed and time passed, but still he did not come back. But one day she found his bloodied sword. "Ah," she said, the tears rolling down her face, "I am the only one left; both my brothers are dead. Now I, myself, must search for the three objects." Like her brothers, she searched far and wide, through forest and mountains, along rivers and lakes, but found nothing. Suddenly, she saw the old man coming down the road towards her. When he came near, he exclaimed, "What's this, a woman searching for the three objects? This is a man's job!" "Sir," she said, "my brothers failed, and I am the only one left. Let me try."
As she walked down the road, she heard voices that said, "I'll catch you, I'll grab you, I've got you in my clutches now." Unlike her brothers, she paid no attention to the voices, and continued on her way. Soon she found the bird, the singing tree, and the water like silver.
The bird, no ordinary bird, was endowed with magic powers. "Do exactly as I tell you," he said. "Put one drop of water on each of these two stones." As soon as she did so, both brothers sprang to life. Happy to see each other, they embraced many times, and went back to their own home. Next the bird said, "Invite the king to dine here with you -- and put this pearl inside a cucumber.
The king accepted the invitation even though he didn't know his hosts, perhaps out of curiosity. When they served the salad, he open the cucumber, and found the pearl. "How can a cucumber create a pearl?" he asked astounded at finding a jewel on his plate. The bird, who had been fluttering around the dining room, spoke up. "Majesty," he said, "no, it can't, neither can a woman give birth to a freak unless someone is lying." Then the bird told him the whole story, how the sisters had thrown his children into the garden, the foster parents who brought them up, and the search for the three objects. The king fondly embraced his children, freed his wife from the cage, and had the two sisters killed -- and they lived happily ever after.
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