The Twelve Dancing Princesses

Once upon a time there was a king who had twelve daughters, each more beautiful than the last. They all slept together in one great hall, with their beds side by side. In the evening, when they had gone to bed, the king shut the door and bolted it. But in the morning, when he unlocked the door, he saw that their shoes were worn through with dancing. Nobody could find out how this happened.

The king proclaimed that whoever could discover where the princesses danced at night could choose one of them for his wife and would be king after his death. But anyone who came forward and failed to find out within three days and three nights would be banished from the kingdom.

Before long a king's son came and offered to try. He was well received, and in the evening he was taken to a room next to the princesses' bedroom. His bed was made up there, and he was to watch where they went to dance. So that they could not slip away, the door of the hall was left open. But the prince's eyelids grew heavy as lead, and he fell asleep. When he woke in the morning, all twelve princesses had been dancing, for their shoes had holes in them. The same thing happened on the second and third nights. The prince was sent out of the kingdom. After him came many other princes, but none of them succeeded.

One day a poor soldier, who had been wounded and could no longer fight, was walking towards the king's city. On the way he met an old woman, who asked him where he was going. "I don't know myself," said the soldier, and added jokingly, "I wouldn't mind finding out where the princesses dance and becoming king." "That's not so hard," said the old woman. "Don't drink the wine they bring you in the evening. Pretend to be asleep." Then she gave him a little cloak: "If you put this on, you'll be invisible. Then you can follow the twelve princesses."

When the soldier had received this good advice, he began to take the matter seriously, plucked up his courage, went before the king and offered himself as a suitor. He was welcomed like the others and given royal clothes. In the evening, at bedtime, he was taken to the room next to the bedroom. Just as he was about to go to bed, the eldest princess brought him a cup of wine. But the soldier had tied a sponge under his chin; he let the wine run into the sponge and did not drink a drop. Then he lay down, and after a little while he began to snore as if he were fast asleep.

When the twelve princesses heard this, they laughed. "He too might have saved his life," said the eldest. Then they got up, opened their wardrobes and chests and took out beautiful dresses. They dressed themselves in front of the mirrors and got ready to dance with delight. Only the youngest said, "I don't know. You're all so happy, but I have a strange feeling. Something bad is going to happen to us." "You're always afraid," said the eldest. "How many princes have come here for nothing? I didn't even need to give the soldier a sleeping draught; he'd never have woken anyway."

When they were all ready, they looked at the soldier. But he had closed his eyes and was lying there without moving. They felt safe. The eldest princess went to her bed and knocked on it; the bed sank down into the floor, and an opening appeared. The soldier watched them go down through the opening one after another, the eldest leading the way. Without wasting a moment, he got up, put on the cloak and followed the youngest down. Halfway down the stairs he stepped on the youngest princess's dress. She was frightened: "What's that? Someone is holding my dress!" "Don't be silly," said the eldest. "You've caught it on a nail."

When they reached the bottom, they came to a beautiful avenue of trees. All the leaves were made of silver, shining and glittering. "I must take something back as proof," thought the soldier, and he broke off a twig. There was a loud crack from the tree. Again the youngest cried: "Something's happening! Did you hear that?" "Those are cannons firing for joy because we'll soon have freed our princes," said the eldest. Then they came to an avenue where all the leaves were made of gold, and then to one where the leaves were made of sparkling diamonds. The soldier broke off a twig from each, and each time there was such a crack that the youngest princess shook with fear.

At last they came to a great lake. On the shore were twelve little boats, and in each boat sat a handsome prince. Each of them took a princess into his boat. The soldier got in with the youngest princess. "I don't know," said the prince, "the boat is very heavy today. I have to row with all my strength." "It must be because the weather is so warm," said the princess.

On the other side of the lake stood a beautiful palace, brightly lit, from which came the sound of drums and trumpets. They rowed across, went inside, and each prince danced with his princess. And the soldier, invisible, danced with them too. When a princess raised a cup of wine, the soldier drank it up, so that when she lifted it to her lips, the cup was empty. Again the youngest was frightened, but the eldest hushed her.

They danced until three o'clock in the morning. When all their shoes were worn through, they had to stop. The princes rowed them back across the lake, and this time the soldier sat beside the eldest princess. On the shore they said goodbye to the princes and promised to come back the next night. When they reached the stairs, the soldier ran ahead and lay down in his bed. When the twelve princesses came slowly and wearily up the stairs, the soldier was snoring again. "We have nothing to fear from him," they said. They took off their beautiful dresses and put them away, put their worn-out shoes under the bed and lay down.

The next morning the soldier said nothing, because he wanted to see these wonderful things again. On the second and third nights he went with them too. Everything happened just as on the first night, and each time they danced until their shoes were worn through. On the third night the soldier took a cup as proof.

When the time came to give the king his answer, the soldier took the three twigs and the cup and went before the king. The twelve princesses stood behind the door to listen to what he would say. The king asked: "Where do my daughters dance their shoes to pieces at night?" The soldier answered: "They dance with twelve princes in an underground palace." He told the king what had happened and showed him the proof. The king called his daughters and asked them whether the soldier was telling the truth. When the princesses saw that denying it would do no good, they confessed everything.

The king asked the soldier which daughter he wanted for his wife. "I'm no longer young," said the soldier, "so give me the eldest." The wedding was held that very day, and the king promised him the kingdom after his death. As for the princes under the ground, their enchantment lasted for as many more nights as they had danced with the princesses. Then the spell was broken, and they too went home to their own lands. They say the youngest princess kept those silver, gold and diamond twigs, because, despite her fears, those nights had been the most beautiful of her life.