Grimm's Household Tales

Once upon a time there was a king who had twelve daughters, each more beautiful than the others. They all slept together in one chamber, where their beds stood side by side, and every night when they were in bed, the King locked the door and bolted it. But in the morning when he unlocked the door, he saw that their shoes were worn out from dancing, and no one could find out how that had come about. Then the King had it proclaimed that whoever could discover where they danced at night would be allowed to choose one of them for his wife and become king after the King’s death, but that whoever came forward and had not discovered it within three days and nights would forfeit his life. It was not long before a king’s son presented himself and offered to undertake the enterprise. He was well received, and in the evening he was led into a room adjoining the princesses’ sleeping chamber. His bed was placed there, and he was to observe where they went and danced. The door of their room was left open so that they could do nothing secretly or go away to some other place.

But the prince’s eyelids grew as heavy as lead, and he fell asleep, and when he awoke in the morning, all twelve had been to the dance, for their shoes were standing there with holes in the soles. On the second and third nights it happened just the same, and then his head was cut off without mercy. Many others came after this and undertook the enterprise, but all forfeited their lives. Now it happened that a poor soldier, who had been wounded and could no longer serve, found himself on the road to the town where the King lived. There he met an old woman who asked him where he was going. “I hardly know myself,” he answered, and added in jest, “I have half a mind to discover where the princesses dance their shoes into holes, and thus become king.” “That is not so difficult,” said the old woman. “You must not drink the wine that will be brought to you at night, and you must pretend to be sound asleep.” With that she gave him a little cloak and said, “If you put this on, you will be invisible, and then you can sneak after the twelve.” When the soldier had received this good advice, he set about the matter in earnest, took heart, went to the King, and announced himself as a suitor. He was received as well as the others had been, and royal garments were put on him. That evening at bedtime he was led into the antechamber, and as he was about to go to bed, the eldest came and brought him a cup of wine. But he had tied a sponge under his chin and let the wine run down into it without drinking a drop. Then he lay down, and when he had lain there a while, he began to snore as if in the deepest sleep. The twelve princesses heard that and laughed, and the eldest said, “He, too, might as well have saved his life.” With that they got up, opened wardrobes, closets, and cupboards, and brought out pretty dresses. They dressed themselves before the mirrors, sprang about, and rejoiced at the prospect of the dance. Only the youngest said, “I do not know why, but you are very happy, while I feel very strange. Some misfortune is certainly about to befall us.” “You are a goose who is always frightened,” said the eldest. “Have you forgotten how many kings’ sons have already come here in vain? I hardly needed to give the soldier a sleeping potion; in any case, the oaf would not have awakened.” When they were all ready, they looked carefully at the soldier, but he had closed his eyes and did not move or stir, so they felt quite secure. The eldest then went to her bed and tapped it. It immediately sank into the earth, and one after the other they descended through the opening, the eldest going first. The soldier, who had watched everything, did not wait any longer, put on his little cloak, and went down last with the youngest. Halfway down the steps, he stepped lightly on her dress; she was terrified by that and cried out, “What is that? Who is pulling my dress?” “Don’t be so silly!” said the eldest. “You have caught it on a nail.” Then they went all the way down, and when they were at the bottom, they were standing in a wonderfully pretty avenue of trees whose leaves were all of silver and shone and glistened. The soldier thought, “I must carry a token away with me,” and broke off a twig from one of the trees, at which the tree cracked with a loud bang. The youngest cried out again. “Something is wrong. Did you hear the crack?” But the eldest said, “It is a gun fired for joy, because we have gotten rid of our prince so quickly.” After that they came into an avenue where all the leaves were of gold, and lastly into a third where they were of bright diamonds. The soldier broke off a twig from each, and each time there was such a crack that the youngest shrank back in terror, but the eldest still maintained that they were gun salutes. They went on and came to a great lake on which twelve little boats were floating, and in every boat sat a handsome prince. All of them were waiting for the twelve princesses, and each prince took one of them into his boat, but the soldier seated himself beside the youngest. Then her prince said, “I can’t tell why the boat is so much heavier today. I will have to row with all my strength if I am to get it across.” “What could cause that,” said the youngest, “except the warm weather? I feel very warm too.” On the opposite side of the lake stood a splendid, brightly lit castle, from which came the joyous music of trumpets and kettledrums. They rowed over there and entered, and each prince danced with the girl he loved, but the soldier danced with them unseen, and when one of them had a cup of wine in her hand, he drank it up, so that the cup was empty when she raised it to her mouth. The youngest was alarmed at this, but the eldest always made her be silent. They danced there until three o’clock in the morning, when all the shoes were danced into holes and they were forced to stop. The princes rowed them back across the lake, and this time the soldier seated himself beside the eldest. On the shore they took leave of their princes and promised to return the following night. When they reached the stairs, the soldier ran on ahead and lay down in his bed, and when the twelve had come up slowly and wearily, he was already snoring so loudly that they could all hear him, and they said, “So far as he is concerned, we are safe.” They took off their beautiful dresses, laid them away, put the worn-out shoes under the bed, and lay down. The next morning the soldier was resolved not to speak but to watch the wonderful goings-on, and he went with them again. Then everything went just as it had the first time, and each time they danced until their shoes were worn to pieces. But the third time he took a cup away with him as a token. When the hour had arrived for him to give his answer, he took the three twigs and the cup and went to the King, but the twelve stood behind the door and listened for what he was going to say. When the King put the question, “Where have my twelve daughters danced their shoes to pieces in the night?” the soldier answered, “In an underground castle with twelve princes,” and related how it had happened and brought out the tokens. The King then summoned his daughters and asked them whether the soldier had told the truth, and when they saw that they were betrayed and that falsehood would be of no avail, they were obliged to confess everything. Thereupon the King asked the soldier which of them he would take for his wife. The soldier answered, “I am no longer young, so give me the eldest.” Then the wedding was celebrated on the very same day, and the kingdom was promised to him after the King’s death. But the princes were bewitched for as many days as they had danced nights with the twelve.