The Twelve Dancing Princesses

By Itellyouastory

There was a king who had twelve beautiful daughters. They slept intwelve beds all in one room; and when they  went to bed, the doors wereshut  and locked up;  but every  morning their  shoes were  found to  bequite  worn through as if they had been danced in all night; and yetnobody could find out how it happened, or where they had been.

Then the king  made it known  to all the  land, that if  any personcould discover the secret, and find out where it was that the princessesdanced in the night,  he should  have the  one he liked  best for  hiswife,  and should be king  after his death;  but whoever tried  and didnot  succeed, after three days and nights, should be put to death.

A king’s son soon came.  He was well entertained,  and in the eveningwas taken to the chamber  next to the  one where the  princesses lay intheir twelve beds. There he was to sit and watch where they went todance;  and, in order that nothing might pass without  his hearing it,the door of  his chamber was left open. But  the king’s son soon  fellasleep; and when  he awoke in the morning  he found that the  princesseshad all been  dancing, for the soles of their shoes were  full of holes.The same thing  happened the second and third night:  so the kingordered his  head to be cut  off. After him came several  others; butthey  had all the  same luck, and  all lost their lives in the samemanner.

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