Today, I’d like to tell you a classic fairy tale called ‘The Twelve Dancing Princesses’. It’s a story from the Grimm’s Fairy Tales about a clever and brave soldier who, through his wisdom and careful observation, uncovered the secret of a king’s family and eventually married the beautiful princess and became the future king.
The King’s Troubles: The Secret of the Twelve Daughters
Once upon a time, there was a king who had twelve daughters, each of whom was very beautiful. They slept in a hall every night, and the king always locked the door to keep them safe. But strange things happened – every morning, when the king opened the door, he found that all the shoes the princesses had worn while dancing were broken!
The king was very confused, so he decided to issue a challenge to the whole country: “Whoever can figure out where my twelve daughters go dancing every night can marry one of them and inherit the throne after I die. But if they can’t find out within three days, they will be executed.”
The news spread throughout the country, and many people who heard it wanted to try their luck, but none succeeded. Until one day, an ordinary soldier passed by here and met a mysterious old woman…
The old woman’s secret weapon: the invisibility cloak
The soldier said to the old woman, “I don’t know where I’m going either, but if I can solve the princesses’ mystery, that would be great!”
The old woman smiled and told him, “It’s actually very simple. Tonight, the princesses will give you a drink, but you mustn’t drink it. Just pour it out. Then pretend to fall asleep, and when they think you’re asleep, you can sneak up on them and see what they’re up to.”
Afterwards, the old woman took a magical cloak out of her bosom and handed it to the soldier. “This is an invisibility cloak. Wear it and no one will be able to see you. That way, you can follow the princesses without being noticed.”
The soldier thanked the old woman and took the cloak to the king to sign up for the challenge. That night, the eldest princess brought him a cup of wine. The soldier pretended to drink it, but secretly poured it into a sponge and hid it. Then, he pretended to be fast asleep and snored loudly.
Revealing the secret: a fantastic journey to the ball
Soon afterwards, the twelve princesses began to change into their magnificent dresses and get ready to go out. After making sure that the soldier was “asleep”, the eldest princess went over to the bed and knocked a few times on the wall. A mysterious entrance suddenly appeared. The princesses formed a line and walked down the steps. The soldier quickly put on his invisibility cloak and followed the youngest princess carefully.
At the end of the steps was a glittering path lined with small trees with silver leaves that looked like stars. The soldier broke off a branch as proof and continued to follow the princesses. Later, they passed through two different woods, one with golden leaves and the other with leaves made of diamonds! The soldier also broke off some leaves as souvenirs.
Finally, they came to a wide river with twelve beautiful boats moored there. Each boat had a handsome prince waiting for them. It turned out that the princesses had to come here every night and row with these princes to the palace on the other side to dance.
The soldier quickly jumped onto the boat where the little princess was sitting at the stern. The prince rowing the boat felt that the boat was much heavier than usual, but he never imagined that there was a third person hiding on board – the soldier in the invisibility cloak!
The ball at the palace: the soldier’s testimony
The river flowed slowly, and in no time at all they reached a beautiful palace on the other side. The palace was lit up, the music was melodious, and the atmosphere was very romantic. The twelve princes each invited their favorite princess to dance, while the soldier mingled with the crowd and silently observed the whole thing. He saw that the princesses were having so much fun dancing that they didn’t stop until the soles of their shoes were worn through in the early morning of the next day.
When everyone was ready to go back, the soldier raced ahead of everyone else to the castle, took off his invisibility cloak, lay back on the bed, and deliberately let out a loud snore. When the princesses returned to their rooms, they changed back into their ordinary clothes, threw their worn-out dancing shoes under the bed, and went to sleep.
This happened three nights in a row, and each time the soldier followed the princesses in the same way and gathered more evidence.
The truth comes out: the soldier’s road to success
On the appointed day, the soldier stood before the king and told him everything. He also produced the proof in the form of the broken branches: the silver, gold and diamond leaves confirmed what he had seen.
The king immediately summoned the twelve princesses and asked them if it was true. Faced with the conclusive evidence, the princesses had to admit their secret. They had indeed sneaked out every night and danced with the princes until their soles were worn through.
The king kept his promise and told the soldiers to choose one princess as their wife. The soldier chose the eldest princess, and they had a grand wedding that very day. A few years later, when the old king died, the soldier inherited the throne and became a respected new king.
A lesson for children: use your head to solve problems
Dear children, this story teaches us that when we encounter difficulties, we should not panic, but calmly think about a solution. Just like the soldier in the story, he did not act blindly, but carefully observed and cautiously verified before finally successfully uncovering the secret of the princesses.
I hope that you, like the soldier, will also use your brain and patiently search for answers when you encounter problems in life. Only when you have sufficient evidence and information can you make the right judgment and succeed!
