In a country, far across the sea, there once
dwelt a great and mighty Prince. He lived in a grand Castle, which was
full of beautiful furniture, and curious and rare ornaments. And among
them was a lovely little glass shoe, which would only fit the tiniest
foot imaginable.
And as the Prince was looking at it one
day, it struck him what a dainty little lady she would need to be who
wore such a very small shoe. And, as he liked dainty people, he made up
his mind that he would never marry until he found a maiden who could
wear the shoe, and that, when he found her, he would ask her to be his
wife.
And he called all his Lords and Courtiers
to him, and told them of the determination that he had come to, and
asked them to help him in his quest.
And after they had taken counsel together they summoned a trusty Knight,
and appointed him the Prince's Ambassador; and told him to take the
slipper, and mount a fleet-footed horse, and ride up and down the whole
of the Kingdom until he found a lady whom it would fit.
So the Ambassador put the little shoe
carefully in his pocket and set out on his errand.
He rode, and he rode, and he rode, going to every town and castle that
came in his way, and summoning all the ladies to appear before him to
try on the shoe. And, as he caused a Proclamation to be made that
whoever could wear it should be the Prince's Bride, I need not tell you
that all the ladies in the country-side flocked to wherever the
Ambassador chanced to be staying, and begged leave to try on the
slipper.
But they were all disappointed, for not one them, try as she would,
could make her foot small enough to go into the Fairy Shoe; and there
were many bitter tears shed in secret, when they returned home, by
countless fair ladies who prided themselves on the smallness of their
feet, and who had set out full of lively expectation that they would be
the successful competitors.
At last the Ambassador arrived at a house
where a well-to-do Laird had lived. But the Laird was dead now, and
there was nobody left but his wife and two daughters, who had grown poor
of late, and who had to work hard for their living.
One of the daughters was haughty and insolent; the other was little, and
young, and modest, and sweet.
When the Ambassador rode into the courtyard of this house, and, holding
out the shoe, asked if there were any fair ladies there who would like
to try it on, the elder sister, who always thought a great deal of
herself, ran forward, and said that she would so, while the younger girl
just shook her head a went on with her work. "For," said she
to herself, "though my feet are so little that they might go into
the slipper, what would I do as the wife of a great Prince? Folk would
just laugh at me, and say that I was not fit for the position. No, no, I
am far better to bide as I am."
So the Ambassador gave the glass shoe to
the elder sister, who carried it away to her own room; and presently, to
every one's astonishment, came back wearing it on her foot.
It is true that her face was very white, and that she walked with a
little limp; but no one noticed these things except her younger sister,
and she only shook her wise little head, and said nothing.
The Prince's Ambassador was delighted that he had at last found a wife
for his master, and he mounted his horse and rode off at full speed to
tell him the good news.
When the Prince heard of the success of his errand, he ordered all his
Courtiers to be ready to accompany him next day when he went to bring
home his Bride.
You can fancy what excitement there was at the Laird's house when the
gallant company arrived, with their Prince at their head, to greet the
lady who was to be their Princess.
The old mother and the plain-looking
maid-of-all-work ran hither and thither, fetching such meat and drink as
the house could boast to set before their high-born visitors, while the
bonnie little sister went and hid herself behind a great pot which stood
in corner of the courtyard, and which was used boiling hen's meat.
She knew that her foot was the smallest
in house; and something told her that if the Prince once got a glimpse
of her he would not be content till she had tried on the slipper.
Meanwhile, the selfish elder sister did not help at all, but ran up to
her chamber, and decked herself out in all the fine clothes that she
possessed before she came downstairs to meet the Prince.
And when all the Knights and Courtiers had drunk a stirrup-cup, and
wished Good Luck to their Lord and his Bride, she was lifted up behind
the Prince on his horse, and rode off so full of her own importance that
she even forgot to say good-bye to her mother and sister.
Alas! alas! pride must have a fall. For the cavalcade had not proceeded
very far when a little bird which was perched on a branch of a bush by
the roadside sang out:
"Nippit fit, and
clippit fit, behind the King rides,
But pretty fit, and little fit, ahint the caldron hides."
"What is this that the birdie
says?" cried the Prince, who, if the truth be told, did not feel
altogether satisfied with the Bride whom fortune had bestowed upon him.
"Hast thou another sister, Madam?"
"Only a little one," murmured the lady, who liked ill the way
in which things seemed to be falling out.
"We will go back and find her," said the Prince firmly,
"for when I sent out the slipper I had no mind that its wearer
should nip her foot, and clip her foot, in order to get it on."
So the whole party turned back; and when they reached the Laird's house
the Prince ordered a search to be made in the courtyard. And the bonnie
little sister was soon discovered and brought out, all blushes and
confusion, from her hiding-place behind the caldron.
"Give her the slipper, and let her
try it on," said the Prince, and the eldest sister was forced to
obey. And what was the horror of the bystanders, as she drew it off, to
see that she had cut off the tops of her toes in order to get it on.
But it fitted her little sister's foot exactly, without either paring or
clipping; and when the Prince saw that it was so, he lifted the elder
sister down from his horse and lifted the little one up in her place,
and carried her home to his Palace, where the wedding was celebrated
with great rejoicing; and for the rest of their lives they were the
happiest couple in the whole kingdom.
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