Little Ella

It happened once that a queen was bathing, and there came a frog out of the water, and he squatted, and said to her: “What dost thou wish for?” The queen looked at the frog, and said, “A king’s son!” And he said to her: “Thy wish shall be fulfilled; before a year has gone by, thou shalt bring a king’s son into the world.”

And as the frog foretold, so it happened. The queen bore a son so handsome that the queen could not contain herself for joy, and the King ordained a great feast for his son’s thirteenth birthday. Not only did he bid his relations, friends, and acquaintances, but also the wise old women, so that they would favor his young son. He also provided for his son twelve beautiful princesses, and told him one was to be his wife.

The birthday feast was celebrated with all splendor; and as it drew to an end, the twelve princesses stood forward to present the young prince his wonderful gifts: one bestowed virtue, one beauty, a third riches, and so on, whatever there was in the world to wish for. And when the tenth of them had said their say, in came the last princess, burning to wed herself, and without greeting or respect, she cried with a loud voice: “In the fifteenth year of my age I shall prick myself with a spindle and fall down dead for you.” And without speaking one more word she turned away and left the king’s son.

All the princesses were terrified at her speech, but the eleventh princess came forth, for she had not yet given the king’s son his wish, and thought that she could do away with the evil prophecy, so she said: “Your wife shall not die, for you shall find her adorned with your crown in your hidden kingdom before it is too late.”

Now the King, knowing the power of the young girl’s wish, wed his son to the last princess and gave the commandment that all the spindles in his kingdom be burnt up, but the princess could not be found. The young princess was adorned with all the gifts of the young women; and she became so lovely, modest, kind and clever, that anyone who saw her could not help loving her, and she lived in quiet, waiting for her husband to find her alone in an old castle.

The King’s son wandered abroad into all the nooks of the kingdom, into all the chambers and parlors, all the fancy roads, until at last he came to an old tower. There in a little room sat the young princess with a spindle diligently spinning her flax.

The young beautiful Ella took the spindle into her hand and began to spin; thinking that the evil prophecy was to be fulfilled, nodding her head. But no sooner than she could be pricked by the spindle did the young king take her hand; and when he saw her looking so lovely and adorned, he could not turn away his eyes; and presently he stooped and kissed her.

And she rose, and looked very kindly on him, and they went forth together, and the King and the queen and the whole court gazed at the two together with great eyes of wonderment. And the wedding of the prince and the young princess was held with all splendor and they lived very happily together.