Once upon a time, there was a King who had twelve beautiful daughters. All of them slept together in one room in twelve beds. When they went to bed, the doors were shut and locked up. Nevertheless, every morning their shoes looked quite worn as if the princesses had danced all night. But nobody knew where the princesses went every night. So, the King announced in the entire kingdom, “If any person could discover the secret and find out where the princesses danced in the night, I will get him married to the princess of his own choice. Also, he would be the King after my death.” No one was able to find out the secret. Whoever tried and did not succeed was put to death after three days and nights. After several princes had failed in their attempts, the King called upon an old soldier who had returned from a war. While travelling through woods, he came upon an old woman.
The Escape
The soldier told the old woman about the secret he was going to discover. She gave him a cloak, and said, “As soon as you wear it, you will become invisible, and you will easily be able to follow the princesses wherever they go.” “Also, be careful not to drink any of the wine which one of the princesses will bring to you in the evening, and pretend to be fast asleep,” the old woman added. The soldier thanked the old woman and went to the palace. The soldier was well received at the palace. In the evening, the eldest princess came to the soldier’s chamber and offered him a goblet of wine. Recalling the old woman’s words, the soldier threw it away and later pretended to sleep. When the twelve princesses were certain that the soldier had slept, they dressed themselves in fine dancing gowns. They escaped through a trap door in the floor.
The Soldier Saw the Princesses
The soldier saw the princesses escaping and donned his magic cloak. He followed them. Accidentally, he stepped on the gown of the youngest princess. She said, “Someone took hold of my gown.” The eldest sister replied, “It is nothing but a nail in the wall.” The stairs led them to three groves of trees: the first having leaves of silver, the second of gold, and the third of glittering diamonds. The soldier wished to take away token of the place. So, he broke off a little branch each of gold, silver and diamond. They kept walking till they came to a great lake. There were twelve little boats with twelve princes in them, waiting for the princesses. Each princess got into one boat, and the soldier stepped into the same boat with the youngest princess. The prince felt that the boat was heavy and was not rowing fast. He did not know that the soldier was also sitting in the boat.
The Secret Revealed
On the other side of the lake stood a castle, into which all the princesses went with their princes and danced. The twelve princesses danced till morning till their shoes were worn out. Then, they left and the princes rowed them back over the lake. On the second and third nights also, this strange adventure happened as before. On the third night, the soldier took away a golden cup as a token of that place. Soon, it was time to declare the secret of the princesses. The soldier was brought before the King with the three branches and the golden cup. He told the King what he saw. The King called the twelve princesses and asked them if what the soldier said was true. They confessed it all. The soldier chose the eldest princess as his wife, for he was not a very young man. He was also made the King’s heir.
