The Twelve Dancing Princesses

A king had twelve daughters who slept together in one locked room every night.Yet every morning their dancing shoes were found worn full of holes, as if they had danced all night.The king promised that whoever could discover their secret might marry one of them.

Many princes tried, but each drank the wine the princesses gave him at bedtime, fell fast asleep, and learned nothing.Then an old soldier came along, and on the road an old woman gave him two pieces of advice.“Do not drink the wine they give you,” she said, “and only pretend to sleep.” She also gave him a cloak that made him invisible.

That night the soldier poured the wine away without drinking, then lay still and snored loudly.The princesses laughed, put on beautiful gowns, and the eldest tapped on her bed, which sank down to show a hidden stair.One by one they went down, and the soldier threw on his cloak and crept after them.

They passed through woods where the leaves were made of silver, then of gold, then of shining diamonds.The soldier quietly broke off one twig from each to keep as proof.At a dark lake, twelve boats were waiting, and the princesses were rowed across to a bright castle full of music.

There the princesses danced until three in the morning, when their shoes were worn through and they had to stop.Three nights the soldier followed them in secret, and on the last night he also carried off a golden cup.Each morning he lay snoring in his bed before they returned, so they believed their secret was safe.

When his three nights were up, the soldier showed the king the silver, gold, and diamond twigs and the golden cup, and told him everything.The princesses had to admit the truth, and the king let the soldier choose a bride — and, being old himself, he chose the eldest.