yellow fairy tale book

Chapter 15 Crow
Once upon a time there were three princesses—three sisters, both young and beautiful.The youngest, though not more beautiful than the two older sisters, was the loveliest of the three.

About a mile or so from the palace where they lived, there was an old uninhabited castle, which was almost in ruins.But it is surrounded by a beautiful garden full of flowers.The little princess often goes there to play.

One day, as the little princess was walking up and down under the lemon tree, a crow jumped out of the rose bush and faced her.The poor little animal was battered and bleeding.The kind little princess couldn't bear to see it.The crow said to the little princess:

"I am not a real crow, but a prince enchanted, doomed to suffer a lot in his youth. Princess, you can save me if you want. But you must bid farewell to your relatives and friends forever, and come to this barren land The old castle with me. There is only one room for people in the old castle, and there is a bed made of gold. You can only live alone. Always remember that no matter what you see or hear at night, you You can’t even cry out, because if you shout out, my suffering will be doubled.”

Without further ado, the kind princess bid farewell to her relatives, left the palace, came to the ruins of the old castle, and lived in a room with a golden bed.

When night came, she lay down, unable to sleep, though her eyes were closed.At midnight, she heard someone coming down the passage, which frightened her greatly.After a while, the door opened loudly, and a group of strange-looking creatures walked in.Immediately they lit a fire in the stove, and set on the fire a cauldron full of boiling water.When these things were done, the monsters approached the little princess' bedside, shouting and screaming incessantly.The little princess trembled with fright.The little monster was going to drag her over to the cauldron, and she almost died of fright, but she didn't make a sound.In an instant, all the monsters disappeared.

At the same time, a crow appeared in the room, jumping around with joy.It sincerely thanked the princess for her kindness, and said that its suffering had been greatly alleviated.

One of the sisters of the little princess is very curious and always wants to find out everything.She came to the ruins of the old castle to visit her little sister.She repeatedly begged her sister to allow her to stay overnight, and her sister finally agreed.At midnight, the monster reappeared, and the sister screamed in fright.From then on, the little princess always insisted on living alone and never let anyone accompany her.

In this way, she lived a lonely life during the day;The crow came every day to thank her for her patience and to assure her that his suffering had been greatly eased.

Two years have passed.One day the crow came to the princess and said, "In one more year the spell will be lifted from me, for then it will be seven years. But, until I restore myself and my fortune, you You have to go to someone’s home to work as a helper.”

The little princess agreed immediately, and worked as a servant for a whole year.Her youthful beauty didn't help, she was still treated badly and suffered a lot.One evening she was spinning flax, and her little white hands had become rough.She heard rustling behind her, and a cry of cheers.Immediately, she saw a handsome man standing beside her.The young man knelt at her feet and kissed her rough little hands.

"I am the Prince," said he, "and thanks to your kindness I have been freed from the most dreadful spell. Now, go back to the castle with me, and let us live happily together."

In this way, they returned to the old castle where they had endured for a long time in the past.But when they arrived, what they saw was a rebuilt gorgeous palace, which was unbelievably the old castle that had collapsed before.They lived there for 100 years, happy 100 years.

(End of this chapter)