The Most Beautiful Girl in the World
A stepmother jealous of her beauty sends the girl into the forest, where she finds forty rooms and forty bandits.
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Once upon a time a sultan had a daughter who was the most beautiful girl in the world. Her mother had died, and the sultan married again. The new wife asked her mirror morning and night: "Is there anyone more beautiful than I?" And every time the mirror said, "The sultan's daughter is more beautiful than you." The woman went mad with jealousy. She ordered an executioner: "Take the girl into the forest, get rid of her, and bring me her shirt stained with blood."
The executioner could not bring himself to harm the girl. He shot a bird, smeared its blood on the shirt and told the girl, "Run, and never come back." The girl walked through the forest for days. At last she found a mansion. Its door was open; inside were forty rooms, and forty plates on the table. The girl took one bite from every plate, cleaned the house and hid in a corner.
In the evening forty bandits came home. They were astonished to find the house spotless. "Who did this? If you mean well, come out and be our sister." The girl came out. The bandits were hard men, but when they saw the girl they softened; they called her "sister." She kept their house in order, and they protected her.
But the mirror did not stay silent. "More beautiful than you, in the mansion in the forest," it said. The stepmother disguised herself as a witch and came to the mansion. She gave the girl a poisoned ring; the moment she put it on, the girl fell to the floor. When the bandits came back they found her and wept; they laid her in a golden chest and left it on the top of a mountain.
One day a prince out hunting saw the chest. He opened it; the girl inside seemed to be asleep. He took her to his palace. While the servants were washing the girl they took the ring off her finger, and she opened her eyes. The prince was so happy that he held festivities over mountain and hill, and he married the girl.
The sultan was invited to the wedding too; when he saw his daughter he wept. He learned everything. He drove the stepmother from his palace, and the mirror never said anything to her again. As for the forty bandits: the girl invited them to the wedding, and all forty sat at the table as forty brothers.
They reached their heart's desire. Three pomegranates fell from the sky: one for the teller, one for the listener, and one for whoever is getting sleepy.
The tale ends here. Sleep well.
The Most Beautiful Girl in the World is a children's tale from Anatolian folk tale, suitable for ages 5-10 and about 2 minutes long. Read it free on Masal Merkezi, play a lullaby or nature sound in the background, tap any word to see its Turkish meaning and save it to your favorites. For similar tales browse the Turkish Folk Tales category.
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