In ancient times, in a distant country between countries, one of the princesses lived with her mother the queen in a high castle. The princess was still a small child when her father the king died, so she grew up in the care of her mother the queen. The princess grew up and became a charming girl. Once, the queen said to her daughter, “You are now a girl, my daughter, and it is time for you to marry. A young prince from a neighboring kingdom has asked for your hand.”
The princess was sad because she loved her mother very much and loved to stay by her side, but she saw that her mother was right. So the princess gathered her beautiful clothes and jewelry and began preparing for travel. Her mother gave her many gifts, and the most beloved gift to her was a talking horse named Folida. When the time for travel came, the queen brought a lock of her hair and gave it to her daughter, saying, “Take this magical lock; it keeps evil and harm away from you.”
The princess took the lock of hair and hid it in her dress. Then the mother gave her daughter a final gift, “Take this golden cup too, and when you reach here, drink from it with river water.” The princess began her long journey accompanied by one of the maids. The princess was not accustomed to crossing hills and forests, so she felt tired and thirsty. Then she said to her maid, “Take this cup and fill it with water from the river.” The maid was jealous of the beautiful princess, so she said to her, “Fill it yourself; I will not receive orders from you after today.”
The princess was annoyed by her maid’s words but said nothing. Then she approached the river and bent down to fill the cup with water. The lock of hair fell from her dress and went away with the flowing river water. The princess said, “What a loss! I have lost the magical lock of hair my mother gave me.” The evil maid rejoiced, grabbed the princess, and shook her by the shoulder. “I will wear your clothes and you will wear my simple clothes. You have lost your magical lock that keeps evil away from you, and you will not be able to overcome me after today.”
The poor princess had never been treated harshly before, so she was afraid and did what the maid asked of her. The maid wore the princess’s clothes and rode her talking horse. As for the princess, she wore the maid’s clothes and rode her horse. Then the evil maid said, “If you tell anyone that you are the princess, I will kill you. Swear that you will not tell anyone.”
The princess was very afraid, so she did what she ordered. The old king and the young princess came out to welcome the princess and her maid. Both continued to think that the maid wearing the luxurious clothes was the princess, so they welcomed her and entered her into the palace. As for the real princess, she was left in the palace square, and no one paid attention to her.
The king looked from the window and then said, “Who is this beautiful girl who came with you?” The maid answered, “She is a beggar I met on the road, so I pitied her and promised her to find her a job here.” The king said, “She will work with the goose herder.” The evil maid was afraid that the talking horse would speak and expose her, so the maid said, “I have a request from you. I want you to kill my horse because he is very fierce and has thrown me off his back many times.”
The king was sad about this request, but he sent one of his men to kill the horse. The princess kept running behind the man, crying and pleading, but she could not save the talking horse. So she gave the man a gold coin and begged him to hang the horse’s head above the city gate so she could see it whenever she went out to herd the geese in the fields.
On the morning of the next day, the princess went out from the city gate to herd the geese. She raised her eyes to the horse’s head and said sadly, “Your death makes me cry today and rejoice later.” The horse answered her, “O Princess, why are you so sad today and will rejoice later?” The goose herder was a mischievous boy who loved to annoy girls and pull their hair. The princess had long, magical golden hair that she used to wrap in a handkerchief. When she saw herself in the fields that day, she removed the handkerchief and let her golden hair down to arrange it.
The hair shone in the sunlight, and the boy crept from behind her to pull a lock of her long golden hair. Soon, a strong wind arose, carried the boy’s hat with it, and the boy ran after his fleeing hat. He was not able to catch it until the end of the day. On the next day, the same thing happened. The boy became very angry this time and went to the king to tell him what he had seen and heard. He said, “The goose herder talks to a horse’s head, and the horse’s head answers her. She also talks to the wind. She is a witch.”
On the third day, the king decided to follow the boy and the goose herder to see what was happening. He heard the princess speaking to the horse’s head and heard the magical horse answering her. The king hid and watched the princess. He saw her letting her long golden hair down and heard her singing. The boy ran after his hat. The king came out and said to the princess, “Tell me, who are you?” She said to him, “I am afraid to tell you, for I have sworn not to tell anyone, and if I tell anyone, she will kill me.” He followed the princess to the simple cottage she lived in, which had an iron stove. He said, “If you cannot tell me, tell the secret to this old stove, for it is not anyone; it is a thing.”
The princess wept, approached the stove, and opened its door. “I am alone here and have no friends. I am the princess who came to get married, but my maid took my place. If my mother the queen knew what happened to me, she would be very sad.” At that time, the king was placing his son on the external tube of the stove, so he heard everything the princess said.
That evening, the king held a great banquet. The princess sat in one of the corners of the large table, and next to her was the false princess. The king sat at the end of the table, and next to him was the real princess. She wore a magnificent robe embroidered with gold and silver threads and enchanted everyone with her beauty. No one knew that this girl was the same as the goose herder, not even the maid herself.
After the meal, the king told the story of a servant who took his master’s place, then asked the false princess, “What do you think should be the punishment for that servant?” The maid laughed an evil laugh and said, “I see that he should take from him his luxurious clothes and jewelry, that he should be put in a barrel and dragged through the streets, then expelled outside the city.” The king said, “A just punishment, and you will receive this punishment.” Thus, the false princess was expelled from the city…