Today, we’re sharing a classic story from Grimm’s Fairy Tales – The Twelve Dancing Princesses. It’s a tale of wisdom, courage and patience. It tells the story of how a clever soldier solves the puzzles set by the king and eventually marries the princess. Through this story, we can learn many important qualities when facing difficulties.
1. The King’s Puzzle and the Soldier’s Determination
Once upon a time, there was a king who had twelve beautiful daughters. These princesses slept in the same hall every night, and to ensure their safety, the king always locked the door. However, every morning when he opened the door, the king found that the dancing shoes they wore were broken, but no one knew exactly where they had gone to dance.
In order to solve this mystery, the king announced: “Whoever can find out where my daughters go to dance every night can marry one of the princesses and inherit the throne after my death. But if he can’t find out in three days, he will be put to death.” This sounded like both an opportunity and a great challenge.
One day a soldier was passing by. He met an old woman who asked him where he was going. The soldier replied, “I don’t know. If only I could unlock the secrets of the princesses and become king.”
The old woman smiled and said, “That’s not really hard! Just don’t drink the glass of wine they give you at night and pretend to be asleep.” Then she took out a magical cloak of invisibility and gave it to the soldier. When you wear this cloak, no one else can see you. This way, the soldier could quietly follow the princesses to see what they had done.
2. The Soldier’s Covert Action
The soldier decided to accept the king’s mission. At night, the Grand Princess brought a glass of wine and handed it to the soldier. The soldier pretended to drink it, but actually poured the wine into a sponge that he had hidden beforehand. He then pretended to fall asleep.
Soon after, the princesses excitedly changed into beautiful dresses and delicate jewelry, ready to go out to the ball. Thinking that the soldier was already asleep, they acted with confidence and boldness. The Grand Princess gently knocked on the wall beside her bed, and suddenly a mysterious entrance appeared.
The twelve princesses walked down the steps in turn, and the soldier quickly donned his cloak of invisibility and followed the youngest princess. They proceeded along a path that shone with silver light. The leaves of the grove beside the path were all silver, emitting a dazzling light. The soldier broke off a branch as evidence.
Then they passed two different groves of trees, one with golden leaves and the other with diamond-like leaves. The soldier likewise broke off both kinds of branches for future proof of his experience.
Finally, they came to a large, wide river where twelve boats were docked, each with a handsome prince waiting for the princesses. It turns out that the princesses sneak out every night to dance with the princes!
The soldiers quietly got into the boat where the little princesses were, and the prince who was rowing felt that the boat was much heavier than usual, but he didn’t notice the soldiers’ presence. When they reached the other side of the river, there was a glorious palace in front of them, and the sound of beautiful music came from inside.
The princes invited the princesses to dance, and the soldier mingled with them, enjoying happy hour with everyone. It was not until the early hours of the next morning that the princesses’ shoes wore out and they had to end the dance and return to their rooms.
3. Riddles Revealed and Happy Endings
In this way, for three consecutive nights, the soldier followed the princesses in the same way and collected enough evidence. By the third day, the soldier reported everything to the king and also produced those branches with silver, gold and diamond leaves as proof.
The king was so shocked that he summoned the twelve princesses and questioned them if they were really what the soldiers said. Seeing the branches, the princesses could no longer hide their secret and admitted it.
The soldier succeeded in his mission, and as promised, he took the eldest princess as his wife and held a grand wedding. Later, when the king died, the soldier inherited the throne and lived happily ever after.
Words you want to tell your children
1. Think calmly about problems.
The soldier was able to accomplish his task because he didn’t rush into things, but instead calmly analyzed the situation and listened to advice. For example, he kept in mind the old woman’s warning not to drink the glass of wine, thus avoiding falling into a coma.
2. Carefulness Leads to Success
The soldier remained vigilant throughout the whole process. From following the princess to collecting evidence, he conducted his investigation step by step with care and caution, and did not disclose the truth until he had solid information. This attitude is worth learning from.
3. Courage and wisdom are indispensable.
Although the soldier was in danger, he overcame all the difficulties with his wisdom and courage and finally won the victory. This tells us that no matter how big the challenges are in life, as long as we have the courage to face them and use our brains to solve the problems, we will surely find a way out.
Through the story “The Twelve Dancing Princesses”, we not only feel the fun of fantasy adventure, but also learn many valuable life principles. I hope every child can be a brave, smart and careful person like this soldier!
