Once there were a king and queen who had no children. After having tried many remedies for barrenness, all of which had failed, they made an announcement that anyone who could assist them in having a child would be greatly rewarded.
Now many were those who offered an amulet or potion to the king and queen, but none of these remedies had any effect. At last, when the king and queen had begun to despair of ever having a child of their own, a merchant arrived from a faraway kingdom bringing with him three things which gave them hope again. The first of these was a round mirror, small enough to fit into the palm of a hand, which was enclosed within a golden frame. The second was a ball of yarn. The third was a golden box. And when the queen took that mirror from the merchant and looked into it, she saw herself holding in her arms a beautiful child, who was surely a lovely girl. Then the amazed queen handed the mirror to the king, who saw himself in that mirror looking considerably older, and standing beside him was a beautiful young lady, whose features left no doubt that he was her father and the queen, his wife, her mother.
Now the king and queen gasped when they saw this bright vision of the future, which revealed that they would receive that which they wanted most in the world—a child of their own. The king then said to the merchant: This mirror you have shown us has given us hope that the future holds the happiness of the child we both long for. Tell me, how can we go about making our dream come true? Then the merchant said: Here, O king and queen, is a ball of yarn that you must follow as it unravels. For if you cast it into the road it will begin to roll, and it will continue to unravel until you have reached the place it is destined to lead you to. Simply keep the ball in your sight, and let it lead you wherever it might. Then the merchant handed the ball of yarn to the king, who held it tightly in his hand, for it was precious in his sight.
Finally, the merchant continued, I am entrusting to you, my queen, this golden box. It is required that you deliver it to whomever the ball leads you to. But take heed of what I am telling you now—do not open the box, for if you do your quest for a child may be harmed. And the merchant handed the small box to the queen. And when she examined it, she saw that all kinds of signs and symbols had been engraved on it, whose meaning she did not comprehend.
Then the king said: We will certainly do as you have directed.
We will cast the ball and set out to follow wherever it leads us, and my wife will guard the golden box and see to it that it remains closed. For we would do nothing to jeopardize having a child of our own. But tell me, merchant, what is it that you wish as a reward for having revealed this remedy to us? Then the merchant said, Until the remedy takes effect, and you have the child you long for, there is nothing that I expect.
And when this blessed event has taken place, you will repay me by permitting me to serve as godfather to your child, for that would reward me more than all the gold in your treasury. The king and queen were amazed that the merchant did not ask to be paid in gold or silver or precious gems. And it was then that they recognized they were in the presence of a holy man.
Then the king asked the merchant to tell him who he was, and the merchant replied: My name is not important. All that matters is that you follow carefully the directions I have given you, so that the future shown in the mirror of destiny may come true.
For even though we each have a fate, it is for us to seek it out, and to let it lead us, like the ball of yam that you are soon to follow. If we let it out of our sight, it is lost to us—who knows for how long? Then the holy man who had disguised himself as a merchant took the mirror of destiny and put it away in his pocket, and took his leave of the king and queen. And no sooner was he gone from their sight than the king ordered that their bags be packed and a carriage be made ready for their departure the next morning.
So it was that at dawn the king took his place beside the driver of the coach, while the queen sat inside. The king cast the ball of yarn before him, so that it started to roll, and while the king kept his gaze firmly fixed on the ball of yarn, the driver followed his every direction, sometimes slowing down when the ball rolled uphill, and speeding up when it rolled downhill.
Now it happened that all the time the king and driver followed the ball of yam with that coach, the queen sat alone inside, the golden box held in her hands. She became caught up in its beauty, and in the mystery of the signs and symbols that adorned it. And she turned it over and over and shook it next to her ear, and wondered what it could possibly contain. At last she could not bear the mystery any longer, and forgot the warning of the holy man, and opened the lid of the box only a little, and peeked inside. For she said to herself: What harm could there be if I open the box for a moment and look inside? Who will ever know that this has happened? And there she saw that the box was filled with a fine powder, which seemed to glow as if it were illumined from within. But in that instant a small breeze passed through the carriage, and plucked twelve grains of that precious powder, and carried them out of the window. Now the queen did notice this small loss, but she thought it was of no consequence, for the box was still filled with the powder, and the little that had been lost seemed unimportant.
Meanwhile the coach arrived at a forest, where the path ended, yet the ball of yarn continued to roll, although it seemed to slow down, as if to wait for them. Then the king did not hesitate, but leaped from the coach, opened the door and helped the queen down, and after ordering the coachman to wait for them until they returned, they followed the ball on foot.
So it was that the ball of yarn unraveled before them, although it never seemed to grow any smaller. And they followed it through the dense forest, managing to keep it in their sight. At last it approached a cave and rolled inside, and the king and queen followed after it. Inside the cave they saw a large bonfire burning, and beside it, facing the fire, sat an old woman, with long, white hair. She had picked up the ball of yarn that had rolled to her feet, and she began at once to knit with it.
Then the king spoke and said: Greetings, old woman. We have followed that ball of yarn with which you are knitting, and it has led us to this cave. We bring with us a golden box which we were instructed to deliver to you. Please tell us who you are, and what is expected of us so that we may be blessed with a child. Then the old woman said: I am an old woman who has made my home in this cave for many years. Some call me a witch, while others know that is not the case, for it is my duty to knit with the yarn of fate. Now, give me the golden box. Then the queen gave the golden box to the old woman, who examined it closely. She was silent for a long time, and at last she said:
The seal of this box has been broken. The king was stunned to hear this, and turned to the queen, who confessed, with tears flowing, that she had opened the box for an instant. Then tell me, said the old woman, were any grains of this magical powder lost? I will not lie to you, said the remorseful queen. A few grains were carried away by a small breeze, but I did not think it mattered. Then the old woman took down an old scale she kept in that cave, and carefully poured out the powder and weighed it. At last she said: Twelve grains are missing. That will mean that the princess, your daughter, will have to remain within a cave for twelve years. And if she sees the light of day before that time, she will be lost to you—who knows for how long? Then from the ages twelve to fifteen you may take her outside every day, but she must be escorted, and never left there alone. Now on the one hand the king and queen were greatly relieved to learn that they would still have a child of their own, but on the other they were grieved to know that such a danger would hang over their child's head, for they knew they could never bear to lose her. And they knew as well that they could not argue with the one who knitted with the yarn of fate. Therefore they bowed their heads and swore that they would keep their daughter from the daylight for a full twelve years, and escort her whenever she walked outside for three years after that, and they asked to know what else was required of them.
Then the old woman took down an old bottle of wine and broke the seal and poured it into two golden goblets. After this she divided the powder into two parts, and poured half into one goblet and half into the other. Then she handed one goblet to the king and the other to the queen, and told them to drink it to the last drop. This they did, until not a single drop remained.
And when they had done this the old woman said: Now you can go back to your palace, and in nine months you will be blessed with a child of your own. Take with you the shawl I have knitted from the ball of yarn that led you here, and wrap your infant in it when she is born, for as long as this shawl is wrapped around her shoulders, she will be safe. But do not fail to heed my warning and keep her concealed from the daylight for the first twelve years, and watch her closely for three years after that, or else you will live to regret the day that your child was lost. Then the old woman gave them the shawl, and the king and queen took their leave. Nor did they lose their way in that forest, for when they departed the moon had risen, and illumined the way. So it was that in a short time they reached the coachman who still waited at the edge of the forest, and they returned to their palace. And in nine months' time the queen gave birth, and they were blessed with a beautiful daughter, who was their joy and delight.
And from the first they wrapped her in the shawl knitted by the old woman, and had living quarters built for her in a cave, which did not admit the light of day, but was lighted instead by the fireplace within. They took great care that the princess remained there, for they did not doubt the consequences if they disobeyed the warning of the old woman. So too did they name the holy man her godfather, as he had requested.
When the princess was somewhat older, the king and queen hired a tutor for her and saw to it that she was well educated, learning many languages and being instructed in many musical instruments. But whenever she read of the sky, or of trees or water, she wondered what these were. Everything was a wonder to her, and all her tutor could tell her was When you are older you will know everything. Twelve years passed, and at last the king and queen were able to hold a great ball for the princess, and afterward the king took her out walking for the first time. She marveled the most when they arrived at the shore of the sea, and she saw the waves rising and falling, and smelled the salt in the air. After that the princess begged her father to take her to the seashore every day.
But one day he was unable to do so, and the princess, who had a great longing for the sea, slipped away by herself and went there alone. And when it was discovered that she was missing, there was a great fear, for her shawl had been found on the shore. A search began, dispatches were sent everywhere, but the princess was not to be found. The despair of the king and queen was terrible to behold, for she was the light of their lives, and they blamed themselves for not having watched her more closely.
Eventually, when no more was heard of the princess, and it was greatly feared that she had drowned, the king announced that he would reward whoever found his daughter with half his kingdom, and the princess would become his wife. Among those who undertook this quest there was one prince who had become enchanted with the portrait of the princess, and searched for her not for the reward, but in the hope of winning her love. This prince presented himself to the king, who was so taken with the youth's sincerity and determination that he bestowed on him his own signet ring, as a sign to his daughter that he had been sent by her father, for she would recognize the ring at once.
Now when the prince was leaving the palace he was met by the same holy man who had once disguised himself as a merchant for the king and queen, and this time he had disguised himself as a beggar. He approached the prince and said: Perhaps you would like to see a mirror that reveals the future? Now the prince was a patient man, so he did not ignore the beggar, but stopped and spoke with him, and asked to see the enchanted mirror. The beggar held out the mirror of destiny, into which the king and queen had once peered. And when the prince looked into it he saw himself standing beside a beautiful bride, and that bride was the lost princess, who was even more beautiful in that mirror than she was in the splendid portrait that had fascinated him in the first place.
Then the prince grew solemn and said to the beggar: At first, I must confess, I spoke to you in jest, for who could imagine that such a marvelous mirror truly exists? Now tell me, I beg you, how I might find the princess, so that this prophecy can be fulfilled. Then the beggar gave the prince a ball of yam, and told him that when he set out on his voyage he should tie one end of the yarn to the mast of the ship, and then throw the ball of yarn into the sea. And he should follow the ball wherever it floated, and never let it out of his sight. Then the beggar took off the hat he was wearing, which had been knitted by the same woman who knitted with the yarn of fate, and offered it to the prince, and said:When the right time comes, put on this hat, and you will become invisible. The prince took the hat, and thanked the beggar, saying to him: Tell me, how can I reward you for your assistance? And the beggar said: Just invite me to your wedding, for I would like to dance with the bride. The prince assured him that he dearly longed for that day, and he and the beggar took their leave. Then the prince took the hat and the ball of yarn with him and went to the ship, which was being made ready for the voyage.
At dawn the next day the ship cast off, and the prince did as the beggar had said, tying one end of the ball of yarn to the mast, and casting the ball itself into the sea. And he followed the ball wherever it floated in the currents, and let it lead him. In this way the ship sailed for many months until it came into view of an island, on which there had been built a great palace. There the prince brought the ship to anchor, for the ball of yarn had rolled up to the shore, and rolled down the path leading to the gates of that palace, and the prince followed after it.
Standing at those gates were many guards, with spears in their hands. Then the prince put on the hat the beggar had given him, and at once became invisible. In this way it was easy for him to slip inside during a changing of the guard. He passed through the rooms of the immense palace, every one of which was built of gold and silver. He searched for the princess everywhere, but he did not find her in any of the rooms. Finally he came to the last room at the far end of the palace, which was locked. He knocked on the door and from the other side a voice called out: Who is there? A man, the prince replied.
If you are a man, said the princess—for that is who it was—then flee for your life. There is no hope for me, but you can still escape. This is the palace of a terrible giant, Niemar, who will not hesitate to kill you if he finds you here. Who are you? asked the prince.
I am a king's daughter, the voice replied. One day I was walking at the shore of the sea when a ship appeared, and Niemar came out of the ship and captured me and took me with him as his prisoner. And here he has kept me imprisoned ever since, so that I never see the light of day. Do not fear, the prince said. I will help you escape from here. Suddenly the prince heard footsteps, and Niemar himself approached.
As soon as the prince saw him, his heart failed, for the giant was so large the prince could not even see his face. But then the prince remembered he was still wearing the hat of the beggar, which made him invisible, and his confidence was restored.
Who is it that you are talking to? bellowed Niemar through the door. And when he said this, the princess realized that the giant had not yet seen the prince. Then she said: Alas, it was only me, talking to myself, so lonely have I become. And that is how you will remain for the rest of your life! said the giant. For you are my prisoner, and I will never let you go. Then Niemar took out his key and opened the door of the princess's room, and went inside. And once inside, he locked the door again. After that he took a handkerchief from his pocket, waved it over the table, and instantly it was set with all the finest food and drink one could wish for. Then Niemar said: Today it is one year since I captured you. Let us celebrate! And he poured himself a giant glass of wine, and drank it down in a single gulp. And while he was drinking the invisible prince came up to the princess—for he had slipped into the room when Niemar had opened the door—and he whispered in her ear that he was there, and that she should not be afraid. Meanwhile Niemar kept drinking more and more wine. And when at last the giant was dead drunk and had fallen asleep, the prince took off his hat, and revealed himself to the princess. Then he unsheathed his sword and cut off Niemar's head, and took the keys from the giant's pocket. After that he unlocked the door and let the princess out of the room, saying to her: You see, I have killed him, and now we need fear no one. And the prince was right, for when the guards and servants of Niemar discovered that he was dead, they all threw up their arms in celebration, for he had been a terrible tyrant, and they, too, had been his prisoners.
Then the prince and princess packed all the treasures of the palace, and loaded several ships full of gold and silver, and set out for home. When they returned, there was great rejoicing, and the king held a magnificent wedding for the prince and princess, during which the holy man danced with the bride. And the prince and princess lived together in love for the rest of their lives, and became the parents of three beautiful children, who loved to play outside every day, and were the source of great joy and satisfaction to their grandparents, the king and queen.