The Twelve Dancing Princesses

Every morning, the king counted them himself. One, two, three, on and on until there were twelve pairs of shoes, set neatly beneath twelve beds. Every pair was worn through at the sole, frayed and torn, as if someone had danced all night without a rest. Every night he locked the door himself and slid the bolt firmly home before he went back to his own room. And every morning he found the same twelve pairs, not one missing, each ruined in exactly the same way.

The people of old Germany told this story to one another for generations. Much later, two scholars, the Brothers Grimm, came looking for it. They wrote it down with care and printed it in a collection of old tales, and that is how it still reaches us today.

The story goes that long ago there was a king who had twelve daughters, each as lovely as the next. The twelve princesses slept together in one large room, their twelve beds placed side by side. Yet every morning the king found the twelve pairs of shoes at the foot of the beds worn through at the sole, as if his daughters had danced the whole night long. No one at court could explain it.

So the king sent a proclamation across the land. Whoever could discover where the princesses danced each night could choose one of them for a wife, and would one day inherit the throne as well. But anyone who failed to find out within three days and three nights would have to leave the palace that very night, and could never come back to try again.

A prince was the first to try. He was given a room right next to the princesses' bedroom, with the door left open so he could keep watch. But for three nights running his eyelids grew heavy, and he drifted off to sleep before he knew it. In the morning the twelve pairs of shoes were as worn as ever. When his three days and three nights were up, he quietly left the palace, never to try again. After him came many others to try their luck. Every one of them fell into the same heavy sleep, and every one went home empty-handed.

Around that time, an old soldier was trudging along the road toward the king's city. He had been wounded and was no longer fit to serve in the army. On the way, he met a strange old woman, who asked where he was going. The soldier answered honestly that he was not quite sure himself. Then he added, as a joke, that he would like to find out where the princesses danced their shoes to pieces, and so become king.

The old woman told him it was not as hard as he thought. In the evening, he must not drink a drop of the wine they brought him. Then she handed him a cloak. Whenever he put it on, she said, he would become invisible, and he could follow the twelve princesses without a sound.

When the soldier heard this, he knew it was no longer a joke. He straightened himself up and went to the palace to ask for his turn. Like those before him, he was received with honor and dressed in fine clothes. Then he was shown to the small room beside the princesses' bedroom. That evening, before he lay down, the eldest princess brought him a cup of wine. But the soldier had cleverly hidden a sponge under his chin. All the wine poured into it, and not a single drop went down his throat. He lay down, and before long he was snoring loudly, pretending to be fast asleep.

The twelve princesses heard the snoring and giggled among themselves. The eldest said they need not have wasted the wine on this one either. They got up at once, took their finest dresses from the wardrobes, and stood before the mirrors making themselves ready. All the while they chattered eagerly about the dance to come. Only the youngest seemed uneasy. She said softly that everyone else was happy, yet she felt restless, as if something bad were about to happen. The eldest laughed and called her a timid snow goose. Had she forgotten how many men had come here for nothing, the eldest asked. Just listen to the way he snored. He would surely sleep straight through until morning without noticing a thing.

When they were all ready, the twelve princesses tiptoed over to the soldier's bed. Only when they saw him lying perfectly still did they feel safe. The eldest went to her own bed and tapped lightly on its frame. At once the bed sank slowly into the floor, and an opening appeared beneath it. One by one, with the eldest in the lead, they stepped down through the opening and vanished from the room.

The soldier had seen it all. He quietly put on the cloak of invisibility and followed close behind the youngest, who went last of all. Halfway down the stairs, he accidentally stepped on the hem of her dress. The youngest gave a start and turned around in alarm, asking who was holding her dress. The eldest called back from the front, telling her not to be silly. She had most likely caught it on a hook.

They walked on and came to an avenue shaded by trees, and every leaf on every tree was made of shining silver. The soldier thought to himself that he ought to take a branch as proof. He reached up and broke off a small twig. A loud crack rang out along the quiet avenue. The youngest jumped again and asked whether anyone else had heard that strange noise. The eldest calmed her down. It was only a salute fired for joy, she said, because very soon their princes would be freed from their curse.

A little farther on, the avenue changed to trees whose leaves were all of gleaming gold. The soldier broke off another twig, another crack rang out, and the youngest jumped once more. The eldest said exactly what she had said the first time, that it was only a salute fired for joy. At last the group reached an avenue sparkling with diamonds, bright as a thousand fallen stars. The soldier broke off a third twig. The crack sounded again and the youngest was frightened again, but the eldest calmed her just as she had twice before.

Beyond those three strange avenues, they came to the shore of a wide lake. Twelve boats lay waiting on the water, and in each sat a handsome prince. Each prince helped one princess into his boat. The soldier quietly stepped into the boat of the youngest. Her prince had rowed only a little way when he began to complain. He could not understand why the boat was so unusually heavy today, and he had to row with all his strength. The youngest answered softly that it must be the heat. She felt strangely warm herself.

On the far side of the lake stood a castle blazing with light. The sound of music, drums and trumpets carried all the way across the water. The boats came to shore, and everyone went inside. Each prince led his princess into the dance. The invisible soldier danced along with them. Whenever a princess raised a cup of wine to her lips, he quietly drained it before it could touch her mouth. Every time, the youngest was frightened, and every time, the eldest hushed her. They danced on and on until three o'clock in the morning, when every pair of shoes was worn through at the sole. Only then did they stop. The princes rowed each princess back across the lake, and they all promised to meet again the next night.

The soldier hurried ahead and got back to his bed in time. He lay still, snoring loudly, before the twelve princesses came trailing in. Hearing that familiar snore, they breathed a sigh of relief. They took off their dresses, put their ruined shoes away under the beds, and went to sleep with easy hearts.

The next night, everything happened almost exactly as on the first. There were the same three avenues of silver, gold and diamond trees, the same cracks that made the youngest jump, and the same dancing until three o'clock in the morning. Again the soldier quietly emptied each cup of wine before it reached a princess's lips. Again the youngest looked around in confusion, wondering why the cups kept emptying when no one had touched them. On the third night, before they left the castle, while everyone was busy saying goodbye, the soldier quietly took a cup with him as one more piece of proof.

When the time came to give his answer before the king, the soldier brought the three twigs, one of silver, one of gold and one of diamonds, along with the cup from the third night. The twelve princesses stood hidden behind the door, listening anxiously to every word. The king asked where his daughters had been dancing all those nights. The soldier answered that they danced in an underground castle with twelve princes. Then he told the whole story from beginning to end and laid out each piece of proof. The king sent for his daughters and asked them if it was true. The twelve stood before their father and glanced at one another for a moment. They knew they could hide it no longer, and that denying it would do no good. So they told their father the whole truth.

The king asked the soldier which daughter he wished to marry. The soldier replied that he was no longer young himself, so he asked for the eldest. The wedding was held that very same day, and the soldier was promised that he would one day succeed the king.

And down in the glittering castle across the lake, the twelve princes were still waiting, still under the old curse that had not yet been broken. For every night they had danced with the twelve princesses, they now had to stay under the curse one more day, before they were truly free.