Little Mattie was a shepherdess. Every morning she took the sheep out to pasture. Sometimes she wandered with them through the fields and hills, but most of all she liked to graze them near the road.
In those days, a beautiful young king ruled in this country, and this king decided one day to go on a journey in search of a bride; she must be beautiful, of noble birth, and above all, a royal bride must be modest, hard-working and sincere. The king would not have agreed to anything less. So he decided, got on his horse one morning and set off.
He rode and rode, and the road led him to the place where Little Matty was grazing his sheep. Seeing the little shepherdess, the king politely greeted her and said:
“God bless you, Little Matty, how are you?”
“Okay, thank you,” answered Little Matty, “even though I’m dressed in rags.” But when I marry the king, I will dress only in pure gold!
“This will never happen,” said the king.
“Oh, no, that’s exactly what will happen,” said Little Matty.
And the king moved on. He rode and rode until he reached a foreign kingdom, and there he fell in love with a foreign princess. She was very pretty, and everyone around only talked about her modesty. The king asked for her hand and, having received consent, invited his bride to visit his kingdom before the wedding. Then he went home happy. A little time passed, and the princess from a foreign kingdom left with a magnificent retinue for the kingdom of her fiancé. She rode and rode until the road led her straight to the place where Little Mattie was tending the sheep. Seeing the little shepherdess, the princess greeted her arrogantly and said:
- Good afternoon. Little Matty, how is the king?
“Okay,” answered Little Mattie, “but there is a stone at the threshold of his palace, and this stone determines the character of any person who steps on it.”
The princess drove on and soon reached the royal palace. As soon as she stepped on the stone at the threshold, a voice was heard:
“Sir, do not be deceived by your face and clothes!
Beware, her modesty is feigned!
Take a closer look at her, my lord,
Believe modesty, not words!”
Having heard what the stone said, the king did not want to see the princess. His betrothed should actually be modest! And the princess left, just as she had arrived, without a slurp.
After some time, the king decided to go again in search of the bride. Early in the morning he mounted his horse and rode out of the palace gates.
And again he rode, and rode, until the road led him to the place where Little Mattie was tending the sheep. Seeing the little shepherdess, he politely greeted her and said:
“God bless you, Little Matty, how are you?”
“Okay, thank you,” answered Little Matty, “even though I’m dressed in rags.” But when I marry the king, I will dress only in pure gold!
“This will never happen,” said the king.
“Oh, no, that’s exactly how it will be,” said Little Mattie.
And the king moved on. He drove and drove until he finally arrived in yet another foreign kingdom, where he fell in love with Another foreign princess. She was even more beautiful than the first, and rumors of her hard work spread far and wide. The king asked for her hand and, having received her father's consent, invited his bride to pay a visit to his kingdom before the wedding. Then he went home happy.
Soon the princess from a foreign country went with her arrogant companions to visit the king. She drove and drove until the road led her to the place where little Mattie was herding sheep. Seeing the little shepherdess, the princess proudly greeted her and said:
- Good afternoon. Little Matty, how is the king?
“Okay,” answered Little Mattie, “but there is a stone at the threshold of his palace, and this stone determines the character of any person who steps on it.”
The princess drove on and soon reached the royal palace. As soon as she stepped on the stone at the threshold, a voice was heard: “Sir, do not be deceived by your face and clothes! Beware, her hard work is feigned! Take a closer look at her, my lord, Believe in hard work, not in words!” Having heard what the stone said, the king did not want to listen to his bride. After all, his wife must really be a hard worker! And the princess, burning with shame, had to return home. This wedding was so upset.
After some time, the king set off for the third time to travel around the world in search of a bride. One early morning he mounted his horse and set off on the road.
And again he rode and rode until he met Mattie, who was tending sheep. Seeing the little shepherdess, he politely greeted her and said:
“God bless you, Little Matty, how are you?”
“Okay, thank you,” answered Little Matty, “even though I’m dressed in rags.” But when I marry the king, I will dress only in pure gold!
“This will never happen,” said the king.
“Oh, no, that’s exactly how it will be,” said Little Mattie.
And the king moved on. He drove and drove until he arrived in a third foreign country, where he fell in love with another foreign princess. She was even more beautiful than the rest, and people all over the country spoke of her sincerity. The king asked for her hand and, having received her consent, invited the bride to pay a visit to his kingdom before the wedding. After that, he went home happy.
Soon after this, a foreign princess with a magnificent retinue left for a visit to his kingdom. She rode and rode until the road led her straight to the place where Little Mattie was tending the sheep. Seeing the little shepherdess, the princess greeted her arrogantly and said:
- Good afternoon, Little Matty, how is the king?
“Okay,” answered Little Mattie, “but there is a stone at the threshold of his palace, and this stone determines the character of any person who steps on it.”
The foreign princess did not believe it and moved on. But as soon as she reached the royal palace and stepped on the stone at the threshold, a voice was heard:
“Sir, do not be deceived by your face and clothes!
Beware, her sincerity is feigned!
Take a closer look at her, my lord,
Believe sincerity, not words!”
And again the wedding was upset. After all, the king's bride must be sincere! And the foreign princess, burning with shame, having never gotten married, had to return home. And the king went in search of the bride for the last time. Early in the morning he jumped into the saddle and rode off. And again he rode and rode until he met Little Mattie, who was tending sheep. Seeing the little shepherdess, he politely greeted her and said:
“God bless you, Little Matty, how are you?”
“Okay, thank you,” answered Little Matty, “even though I’m dressed in rags.” But when I marry the king, I will dress only in pure gold!
“This will never happen,” said the king.
And the king went further until he reached a very distant kingdom, where he fell in love with another foreign princess. That princess was the most beautiful of all, and rumors spread everywhere about her modesty, hard work and sincerity. The king asked for her hand in marriage, received consent, and after that invited his bride to do him the honor and visit his kingdom before the wedding. After that, he went home happy and contented. After some time, the foreign princess went with a magnificent retinue to visit her fiancé. The road led her to the pasture where Little Mattie was grazing her sheep. Seeing the little shepherdess, the princess greeted her arrogantly and said:
- Good afternoon, Little Matty, how is the king?
“Okay,” answered Little Mattie, “but there is a stone at the threshold of his palace, and this stone determines the character of any person who steps on it.”
Hearing this, the foreign princess became thoughtful, and then asked Little Matty if she could go to the royal palace instead of the princess. Little Mattie happily agreed. She quickly took off her rags and, dressed in the silks and velvets of the princess, went to the royal palace. When she stepped on a stone at the threshold, a voice was heard:
“Be careful, my lord, she is different!
She is sincere, modest, hardworking!
She is the embodiment of your ideal,
And you will never find a better one!”
“Then I will marry only her and no one else,” said the king, hearing these words. And in order not to make a mistake and not confuse his bride with anyone, he put a gold hoop on her head. Then he sent the bride home and promised that he would come for her very soon. When Little Mattie returned to the meadow where her sheep grazed, she returned her beautiful clothes to the foreign princess and changed into her old rags again. And the happy princess went home to wait for her betrothed.
And the groom didn’t have to wait long. One fine morning he jumped into the saddle and rode off to pick up his bride. As before, the road led him to the lawn where Little Mattie was tending the sheep. Seeing the beautiful little shepherdess, the king politely greeted her and said:
“God bless you, Little Matty, how are you?”
“Okay, thank you,” answered Little Matty, “even though I’m dressed in rags.” But when I marry the king, I will dress only in pure gold!
“This will never happen,” said the king.
“Oh, no, that’s exactly how it will be,” said Little Mattie.
And having said this, she bowed her head, and something flashed in her hair.
The king came closer and what did he see? On Little Matty's head is the same circlet that he placed on his bride's head. The king immediately understood everything. And, seeing that he would never find a more beautiful girl, he put Little Mattie in his saddle and took him to his royal palace. It so happened that Little Mattie became queen and from then on she dressed only in pure gold.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru