Nov 6

There was once a mighty ruler of the lands that stretched between the two sister mountains and the North speaking forests. He had twelve daughters; they were beautiful and charming but they shared a secret, one the king would give anything to know. When the daughters were looked in their bedchambers, they would disappear into the night returning in the early hours of the morning completely exhausted and their shoes worn through. The king sent out an edict throughout the land proclaiming that any man who could discover what caused his daughters to be so fatigue and their shoes to be so tattered would be given half of the kingdom. The king announced that the man should inherit his kingdom and take the hand of any of his daughters.
The arrival of the first suitor did not take long, it was a prince who bravely appeared before the king and announced that he would find the answer to the king’s daughter’s whereabouts. But after three unsuccessful nights the prince had learned nothing, which enraged the king who believed he to be taken advantage of and the prince, was sentenced to death. This pattern was continued with the same result much to the chagrin of the king whose resources were being dwindled by the constant outwearing of the shoes. When all seemed hopeless to the king as though the puzzle could never be solved an old soldier returned from years abroad.
He met along his path home an old woman and they discussed the trouble in the kingdom. The soldier took to the idea of solving the mystery saying that he had just as much of a chance in figuring it out as everyone else but with his sharpened skills from the war he believed his chances to be high. The woman gave him a cloak, which would make him invisible and advised him not to drink anything that the daughters offered him. With those words he parted with the old woman and set off for the kingdom. He was well received by the king and the first night a banquet was thrown in the soldiers honor.
The princesses remarked that it was a shame he was willing to throw his life away for an unsolvable quest but continued on with their business. Near the end of the celebration the eldest daughter approached the old soldier with a glass of wine. He thanked her and pretended to take a large gulp but really the contents of the cup was drained into a sponge he had hidden on himself. The eldest daughter smiled and returned to her sisters exclaiming that it was time for bed and the daughters all left the banquet to retire to their bedchambers. The soldier followed their example pretending that the sleeping mixture was affecting him he believed the princesses had placed in his cup and quickly set to snoring in his bedchambers that were adjacent to the daughters. One of the sisters went in to check on him once again before they were to depart and she was reassured that he was asleep despite a contrary vote from the youngest.
Without another word the eldest sister removed a small opening from the ground of their bedchambers and the sisters, one by one, began making their descent down a small rickety staircase. The soldier heard their movements and quickly put on his cloak to follow. His excitement appeared to have gotten the better of him because he stepped to quickly down each step and tripped over the gown of the youngest sister. She called them all to a halt and begged that they check on the man again feeling that something was amiss and that they would be caught this time. The eldest yelled back at her to not be a fool and to continue quickly saying that there was absolutely nothing to worry about.
At the bottom of the staircase was a shoreline, which met a large lake where twelve boats lay waiting with princes’. The soldier remained calm taking in the scenery and stepped into the boat at the same moment that the youngest princess did. He sat quietly as the men rowed each of their ladies across the lake laughing to himself when the prince remarked that the boat felt much heavier this evening than in the past. Each prince and princess excited the boat on the other side of the lake where they were greeted but bright lights and vibrant music. The trees surrounding them appeared to be made out of gold and so the soldier moved closer to them exclaiming that he should have something to show the king and prove he had indeed been with the princesses. But when he broke the branch off the tree it let out a great cry, which could not be ignored, even by the eldest daughter. Despite the outcry there appeared to be nothing out of place and quickly each prince was able to soothe his lady and bring them back to their sense.
The soldier watched from a distance as each daughter took the hands of a prince and began to dance, each turn was flawless and happened so very quickly he tried not to blink so he would not miss a moment of it. At end of the night the princes’ were the only ones who looked as awake and vibrant as at the beginning; they helped their sleeping dance partners back into the boats and rowed them to the other shore where the ladies dreamily slumped back up the staircase. The soldier took advantage of their sleepy state and ran quickly by them and back into his bed before they came into check on him before they too fell into their beds.
Just a couple minutes after the soldier and the princesses had fallen asleep the king came to their chambers and unlocked the doors. He was curious if the soldier had managed to find anything out but instead found that he too had fallen asleep. This angered the king who was anxious and expecting news, his advisers reminded him that the soldier still had two more days and so the king let him sleep loosing hope that this man would bring him any closer to the truth.
The next night went much the same way, the princesses flirted with the soldier and offered him more wine and he pretended to fall into a deep sleep at the table. The ladies laughed to themselves taking enjoyment from his stupidity and again dressed up, put on a new pair of shoes and went underground with the soldier following close behind. This time the soldier went with the eldest sister across the lake, but the prince make not outcry of the weight difference. The soldier moved closer to where the princes danced observing in detail their grace and their smiles. Before leaving in the early morning the soldier reached toward the trees again but was rebuffed by it and so went to a bush of silver instead to pull off a branch. A sharp cry was let out by the branch which made the sisters more alert and woke them from the foggy haze but the princes hummed a soft lullaby as the rowed them to the shore and this reassured the princesses.
It was the same on the third night but the soldier had learned that the plant life would give him away and so he took a gold goblet instead from the banquet table that stood just outside the dance floor. It was odd that such an elaborate table was set up, no one ever stopped to rest for a moment and no one looked to refreshments and so the soldier did not see how it could possibly be missed. The soldier had learned all that he needed to know about the underground palace and what the king’s daughters had been up to and so he went with confidence up the staircase at the end of the third night and passed his bedchambers. In his arms were the small tokens he had collected that would prove he had been somewhere separate from the kingdom despite being locked in his chambers every evening as the princesses had been.
“My Lord,” the soldier began, “I have discovered the whereabouts of your daughters”. He had burst into the king’s personal chambers with such enthusiasm; the king hardly had time to be angry. The soldier’s words echoed through the halls and the princesses awoke with a fright. No other suitor had dared to find the king with his discovery, and none had approached the king with such confidence. They went dashing from their beds despite the exhaustion, which told them to stay in bed, and ran straight to the outer chambers listening quietly to the soldier.
“They have been dancing my king”. The soldier said. He lay the golden leaf, the silver branch and the golden goblet in front of the king, “underground it would seem. They are met by twelve princes and escorted to another kingdom.” The princesses’ let out a unified gasp; they had indeed been discovered and now would be called in. They did not deny the soldiers statement; it had been true after all.
The king thanked the soldier for his discovery and reassured him that he would be the next heir to the kingdom. Pointing towards his daughters the king told the soldier to pick his bride from among them. The soldier noted, “I am not a young man” and then took three strides towards the eldest daughter and held out his hand. They were joined in marriage shortly after and the king gave a toast to the couple in the same goblet that the soldier had used as evidence. The other sisters were banished to the underground after their sisters marriage having lost favor with their father, where they were said to have danced away the rest of their lives. After the kings death the soldier took his place as the new king with the eldest daughter by his side and together they ruled.