The Twelve Dancing Princesses
Twelve princesses, worn-out dancing shoes, and a soldier who uncovered their secret
Page 1
There was once a king who had twelve beautiful daughters, each lovelier than the last. They all slept together in one long room, in twelve beds side by side, and every night the king locked and bolted their door himself. Yet every single morning, the princesses' dancing shoes were found worn quite through, as full of holes as if they had been danced in all night long — though the door had never been opened. The king was utterly baffled, and more than a little worried, for his daughters would never tell him where they went or what they did. Night after night the same thing happened, and no watchman, no lock and no bolt could solve it.
Page 2
At last the king made a proclamation across the whole kingdom: whoever could discover where his daughters went dancing each night should choose one of them for his wife and inherit the kingdom besides — but whoever tried and failed after three nights would be sent away for good. Many a bold young prince came to try his luck. Each was given a fine room beside the princesses' chamber, with the door left open, and each was certain he would solve it. But every one of them was offered a cup of wine by the princesses at bedtime, and every one drank it and fell at once into a deep sleep, and woke in the morning knowing nothing at all. One after another the hopeful suitors failed, and one after another they were sent away.
Page 3
Now it happened that an old soldier, worn out and poor after long years of war, was making his way along the road toward the city when he met a kindly old woman. When he told her where he was going and why, she gave him two pieces of wise advice: he must not drink the wine the princesses would surely offer him at bedtime — for it was drugged to make him sleep — and he must only pretend to be fast asleep. Then she gave him a wonderful little cloak that would make him completely invisible whenever he wrapped it about his shoulders, so that he might follow the princesses wherever they went. The grateful soldier thanked her with all his heart and walked on to the castle to try where so many had failed.
Page 4
The old soldier presented himself at the castle and was given, as the others had been, a small chamber just beside the princesses' long bedroom, with the door left open between. That night the eldest princess came to him and brought him a cup of wine, all smiles and courtesy. But the clever soldier only pretended to drink it, letting it run secretly into a sponge he had hidden under his chin, and soon after lay down and began to snore as if fast asleep. The princesses, hearing him snore so convincingly, laughed softly among themselves, certain he was as useless as all the rest — and began to dress in their finest ball gowns for yet another secret night of dancing.
Page 5
When the princesses were all dressed and sure the soldier slept, the eldest clapped her hands, and her own bed sank down into the floor, revealing a secret trapdoor and a staircase winding down into the earth. One by one the twelve sisters slipped down the glittering stair. The soldier threw his magic cloak about his shoulders, vanished from sight, and hurried down after them. He was in such haste that he accidentally trod on the hem of the youngest princess's gown; she cried out that something had caught her dress, but the eldest only laughed and told her she had snagged it on a nail — and down they all went, deeper and deeper into the earth, with the invisible old soldier following close behind.
Page 6
At the foot of the long stair, a marvel opened out before them. The princesses walked into a vast enchanted avenue where every single tree — every trunk, every branch, every leaf — was made of pure, gleaming silver, so that the whole wood shimmered like frost under a hidden light. The invisible soldier followed close behind, hardly able to believe his eyes. Thinking to himself that he had better carry back some proof of all these wonders, he quietly reached up and broke off a small silver twig to keep. But the branch gave a sharp little crack as it snapped, and the youngest princess started and looked fearfully back over her shoulder — though the eldest only told her it was nothing but the echo of their own footsteps, and led them on.
Page 7
On they went, through a second forest where every tree glittered with gold, and then a third that blazed with trees of sparkling diamond, scattering rainbow light in every direction; and in each the soldier quietly broke off a twig for proof. At last the diamond wood opened onto the shore of a great dark underground lake, smooth as glass, where twelve little boats lay waiting. In each boat sat a handsome young prince, ready to row one of the sisters across to the far shore. The invisible soldier stepped quietly into the eldest princess's boat; it rode a little low in the water with his hidden weight, and the prince wondered aloud why it was so heavy that night — but the princess only laughed, and across the dark water they all went together.
Page 8
On the far shore stood a brilliantly lit castle, and inside it a magnificent ball was in full swing. There the twelve princesses danced with their twelve princes the whole night through, round and round beneath blazing chandeliers, laughing and twirling until the very soles of their dancing shoes were worn quite to pieces. And all the while, from a quiet corner of the great hall, the invisible old soldier watched everything — the music, the dancing, the shining princes, and the secret the princesses had kept so long. He even grew bold enough to drink from one of the golden cups when a princess set it down, and slipped the empty cup into his pocket as one more piece of proof, for now he understood the whole mystery at last.
Page 9
For three nights running the old soldier followed the princesses in secret, and each night he carried back another glittering proof — a silver twig, a golden twig, a sparkling diamond twig, and one of the little golden cups from the ball. On the third morning, when the king asked him as he had asked all the others whether he had discovered where his daughters danced, the soldier bowed and said that indeed he had. He laid out his wonderful proofs upon the table before the whole astonished court, and told the king the entire tale: the sinking bed, the secret stair, the three enchanted forests, the dark lake, and the castle where the princesses danced their shoes to pieces every single night.
Page 10
The twelve princesses, seeing the silver, gold and diamond branches and the golden cup, knew the game was up at last, and admitted everything to their father. The delighted king kept his royal word: the clever old soldier who had solved what no prince could might choose a bride from among the twelve. And because he was no longer young, he chose the eldest and wisest of the sisters, and the two were married in the grandest and most joyful celebration the kingdom had ever seen. The whole city came out to cheer, the enchanted branches were set out for everyone to marvel at, and the secret midnight dancing — its long mystery finally solved — came to a merry and happy end.
About this story
- Audience: kids (ages 6–12)
Read Wonder Tales on your phone
Wonder Tales is available on Android. Get Wonder Tales on Google Play.