Once upon a time there lived a king, a queen and royal children. The king's daughter was named Anne, and the queen's daughter was Kate. And although Anne was much more beautiful than the queen’s daughter, the girls loved each other like sisters. But the queen could not calm down that the king’s daughter was more beautiful than her own daughter, and she decided to turn Anne into an ugly girl. And for advice she went to a poultry woman who lived in a valley not far from the royal castle: they said that she knew evil spirits.
“Reverend,” said the queen when she entered her hut, “I heard that you can cast magic.” But of course I don't believe it. And yet, if you help me in one matter, I will give you a gold coin for every egg that you bring to the royal kitchen!
The old woman did not say a word in response, she only bowed low to the queen and grinned.
“My stepdaughter,” the queen continued, “is getting too prettier day by day.” And I got really proud! So, is it possible to make her look worse, not completely, but a little bit? This will be a good lesson for her!
“Nothing could be simpler,” answered the birdwoman. - Send her to me tomorrow morning. Just remember: before leaving, she must neither eat a bite nor drink a sip!
And then the next morning, very early, the queen says to Princess Anne:
- How pale you are today! Shouldn't you take a walk in the fresh air before breakfast? Go, my dear, to the henkeeper who lives in the valley, ask her for eggs!
Ann went to the poultry house, and when she ran past the kitchen, she saw a handful of bread on the table, took it and ate it on the way. After all, she left home before breakfast, and she, of course, was very hungry.
She came to the poultry woman and asked her for eggs, as she was told. The bird-keeper says to her:
- Lift the lid off that pot over there and look into it!
The girl did so, but nothing happened to her.
“Well, go home to your stepmother,” said the birdwoman, “and tell her to lock the pantry tighter!”
Anne was surprised by the birdwoman’s words, but when she returned home, she conveyed everything exactly to the queen, and she realized that the girl had eaten something before leaving.
The next morning the queen decided to try her luck again.
- How skinny you are! - she said to Princess Anne. - Shouldn't you go for a walk in the fresh air before breakfast? Then you will have a good appetite.
And again she sent Anne to the henkeeper, and before leaving she did not let her eat a single morsel or drink a sip. But the princess met peasants picking peas along the way and spoke kindly to them. The peasants gave her a handful of peas, and she ate them.
When she came to the bird-keeper, she said to her:
- Lift the lid off that pot over there and look into it!
Ann lifted the lid, but again nothing happened to it. Then the birdwoman became very angry and said:
“Tell your stepmother that a pot won’t boil without fire!”
Well, Anne returned home and conveyed these words to the queen.
And on the third day the queen herself went with the girl to the henkeeper. This time, as soon as Anne lifted the lid from the pot, her pretty head turned into a sheep's - with protruding ears, coarse wool and everything else: the bird lady had a very evil heart, and she changed her spell. Even the queen stepmother did not want things to turn out this way. She was dissatisfied with the henkeeper and, when she brought fresh eggs into the royal kitchen the next morning, she ordered her to be driven away. And of course, I didn’t give her a single gold coin!
Everyone was very sad that such a misfortune happened to Princess Anne, and especially her sister Kate.
And then one morning, when everyone was sleeping, she woke up Anne, wrapped a white shawl around her head and took her out of the castle.
So two sisters, Kat and Anne, set out to search the world for a doctor who would restore Anne to her beauty. They wandered for a long time until they came to some castle. Kat knocked on the door and said to the maid of honor who answered:
“My sister is very sick, and it’s night outside, and we have nowhere to spend the night.” Let us in!
The maid of honor went to ask permission from the king - after all, it turned out to be a royal castle - and when she returned, she said to Kat:
“The king and queen allow you to enter, but only on one condition.”
- I agree to any conditions! - said Kat: she was a brave girl.
“You must sit all night at the bedside of the sick prince, the eldest son of our king. Nobody knows what he is sick with. He doesn't eat or drink and is wasting away day by day. If you spend the night with him, the king will give you a whole purse of silver! But just know: everyone who came before you to sit with him disappeared forever that same night.
But Kat was not afraid and agreed to sit at the bedside of the sick prince.
Everything went well until midnight. But as soon as twelve struck, the sick prince got up, got dressed and went down the stairs. Kat followed him, but the prince did not seem to notice her. He walked into the stable, saddled his horse, quietly called his dog and jumped into the saddle, and Kat quietly sat behind him.
And they galloped - the prince and Kate - through the green forest. The dog ran ahead and showed the way. And Kat tore ripe nuts as she galloped and hid them in her pockets.
But they finally galloped to a green hill. Then the prince stopped his horse and said:
- Dissolve, green hill, dissolve, open! Let the young prince in, and the dog, and the horse.
“...And me,” Kat added quietly.
And immediately invisible doors opened in the green hill, and they drove inside. The prince entered the luxurious and bright hall; a crowd of beautiful fairies surrounded him and took him away to dance. But no one noticed Kat: she hid behind the door and looked at the prince from there. He danced, danced, danced until he fell exhausted onto a soft bed of flowers. The fairies began to fan him with their fans, and he rose again and began to dance.
But then suddenly a rooster crowed, and the prince rushed to his horse. Kat jumped into the saddle behind him and they rode home.
The next morning, when the sun rose, the king and queen and the courtiers entered the prince’s room. And what do they see: Kat sits by the fire and cracks nuts, and the prince sleeps peacefully in his bed.
— Did you have a good night? - asked Their Majesties.
“Oh, of course,” Kat replied. “I agree to sit at the bedside of the sick prince for the second night.” If you want...
The king and queen were very happy and this time promised Kat a whole purse of gold.
The second night passed just like the first. At midnight the prince got up and galloped to the green hill to the fairies' ball, and Kat was with him, again tearing nuts along the way.
This time Kat did not look at the prince - she already knew that he would dance, dance and dance. But she saw a little elf with a silver wand in her hands and suddenly heard one fairy say to the other:
- If you touch ugly sister Kat three times with this wand, she will again become as beautiful as she was.
Then Kat threw one nut across the floor, and it rolled straight towards the little elf. So she dropped nut after nut. The little elf threw down the silver stick and began collecting nuts. And there is nothing surprising in this: after all, it’s not every day that little elves get to gnaw nuts, and they have as many silver sticks as they want! Kat picked up her wand and hid it under her cloak.
But just like last time, the rooster crowed, and they went home.
Before Kate had time to return, she immediately ran to Anne and touched her three times with a silver wand. And - oh, miracle! - the sheep's head with protruding ears, coarse wool and everything else turned into a pretty girl's head again. Anne became even more beautiful than she was.
On the third night, Kat agreed to guard the sick prince only on the condition that if the prince recovered, she would marry him. She already fell in love with the prince and did not want to part with him.
Everything went as it had the previous two nights. This time the little elf played with a bird, and Kat heard one fairy say to the other:
“If the sick prince eats three pieces of this bird, he will again become as healthy as he was.”
Kat, without thinking twice, let go of all her nuts one after another; they rolled towards the little elf, and he threw the bird. And Kat took it and hid it under her cloak. Then the rooster crowed, and he and the prince went home.
This time, when they returned, Kat did not crack the nuts - after all, she had given them all to the little elf, and besides, she had more important things to do. She immediately lit a fire, plucked the bird and began to fry it. And soon the room smelled so deliciously of fried food that the sick prince woke up and said:
- Oh, how I would like to taste a piece of this bird!
Kat gave him a piece, he ate it and immediately raised himself on his elbow and said:
- Oh, how I wish I could eat another piece! Kat gave him the second piece. Then the prince sat up on the bed and asked again:
- Oh, I wish I had a third piece!
And Kat gave him the third piece, and he stood up, healthy and strong, dressed himself and sat down near the fire. And when the next morning, as usual, the king and queen came to the prince, they saw: the prince and Kat were sitting next to each other and chatting merrily. The king and queen were so happy that they immediately asked Kat to marry the prince.
Meanwhile, the younger prince met Anne in the garden and fell in love with her, however, this happened to everyone who saw her sweet, pretty face.
And so the sick prince married a healthy princess, and the healthy prince married a sick princess.
True, the eldest prince and Princess Anne were no longer sick, and therefore Kat and the prince no longer needed to travel to the green land of the elves. But don’t think that fairies have stopped dancing since then! No, they dance every night. But with whom? And what color are their dresses? And does their music sound as sweet? I can't tell you that.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru