It is told that in ancient times there was a king and queen living in harmony. They had twelve children from their offspring. One day, the king said to the queen while sad: Soon you will give birth, and if the thirteenth child who comes to the world is a girl, she will cause the death of her twelve brothers, and the kingdom will become hers alone.
The king prepared twelve wooden coffins, placed sawdust in them, left them in a locked room of the palace rooms, and ordered his wife the queen not to tell anyone that secret. But the sad queen couldn’t keep the secret before her little child Benjamin, who was constantly affectionate with her.
When she asked about the secret of her constant silence and sadness, she told him of that prophecy the king had informed her of, and showed him the twelve coffins. Benjamin was sad about that and said to her: Don’t worry mother, we will take precautions for that and escape far away.
The queen said to him: Go to the forest with your eleven brothers. After a few days, one of you must climb the highest tree and look at the castle tower. If the newborn is male, you’ll find a white flag fluttering above it, and then you can return.
But if the newborn is female, you’ll find the flag in red color, and then you must escape to the farthest place. I will wake up every night for your sake and pray to God that you won’t suffer in winter from cold or in summer from heat.
After the mother blessed her children, they went to the forest and settled in a place from which they could monitor the castle. They kept taking turns every day until Benjamin’s turn came on the twelfth day. He saw a flag fluttering in the sky above the castle tower, but it was the red flag marked with blood color.
When the remaining brothers learned of the birth of the girl, they became extremely angry and decided to take revenge on any girl they saw. They then went deeper into the forest, kept walking until they found an abandoned house, decided to live in it, and agreed that little Benjamin would stay in the house while they went hunting and bringing food.
Thus, the eleven brothers went out every day to hunt wild rabbits, deer, and birds. In the evening, they returned to the house, and Benjamin would cook them for him. They remained in this state for ten years, living together in peace and harmony.
The little daughter born to the queen grew up and became a beautiful young woman with a good heart, beautiful face, and a golden star adorning her forehead. One day, the little princess saw twelve small shirts that she knew didn’t belong to the king. She asked her mother the queen about them, and the queen said to her with a sad heart: They are your twelve brothers.
The girl was amazed and said to her: And where are my siblings? Why haven’t I heard about them before? The mother said: Only God knows where they are. They left years ago, and they must be wandering the world now. After that, the girl took her and opened the locked room for her, showed her the twelve coffins, then told her the prophecy that caused her separation from her children. She began crying for them bitterly and painfully.
The girl said to her mother: Don’t be sad mother. I will go and search for my brothers, and no harm will befall them. Immediately, the princess took the twelve shirts and went to the big forest. The princess kept walking all day until evening fell, and she found a beautiful house with a wonderful garden in the heart of the forest. She went to it, and inside found a small boy.
He asked her: Who are you and where are you going? She said to him: I am the little princess, and I’m searching for my twelve siblings. I will keep searching for them all my life even if I ascend to the sky. She showed him the twelve shirts. Love moved in Benjamin’s heart, and he said to her: I am your youngest brother Benjamin. The princess began crying from joy. The two embraced each other with great love.
Suddenly, Benjamin said to her: You must hide. I and my brothers agreed to take revenge on any girl we meet. The beautiful princess said: I am ready to die with all joy if the price is to retrieve my brothers. Benjamin said to her: Hide here under that basin until I speak with my brothers, and no harm will befall you.
When night came and the twelve brothers arrived, Benjamin said to them: I will tell you something, but promise me not to kill the girl you will meet. When they promised him that, he told them of their sister the princess who came searching for them. He lifted the basin, and the princess appeared in her beautiful royal clothes. They rejoiced at seeing her, embraced her, and she continued living with them in the forest house.
Everyone rejoiced at the princess’s arrival. They went out for hunting as usual and left her in the house to help Benjamin. When they returned, they found the house extremely beautiful and organized. She and Benjamin prepared the most delicious food. The next day, the princess woke up in the morning and wanted to surprise her brothers. She went out to the garden and found twelve beautiful flowers. She picked them to present to her brothers.
But as soon as she did that, the twelve brothers turned into beautiful birds fluttering in the sky, and the house and garden around her disappeared. The princess was extremely sad and began crying. While she was like that, she found an old woman approaching her and saying to her: Why did you do that little one? Why did you pick the twelve flowers and enchant your brothers?
The princess said while crying: I didn’t know, but please tell me, is there no solution to retrieve my brothers? The old woman said: There is only one solution, but it’s difficult for you. The princess said: Any difficulty is easy for the sake of my brothers. Please tell me the solution. The old woman said: That you don’t speak to anyone and don’t laugh for seven years, and if an event occurs and you do, one word from you will kill them.
She said in her heart: I will remain silent for seven years, and I am certain I will retrieve my brothers. Immediately, the girl headed to a tree full of fruits and chose to live above it away from people, eating from its fruits and sleeping among its branches.
Years passed while she was in that state. One day, a young king went out for hunting and reached the distant forest. There, the king saw the young princess with the golden star lying on the tree. He was enchanted by her beauty and asked her to descend and marry him. But she didn’t answer him.
He climbed the tree, brought her down, and repeated the marriage request to her. She didn’t answer but nodded with her head. The king married the princess in a great wedding and lived with her in happiness and love until the seven years approached passing. But the young king had an evil stepmother wife. She was angered by the happiness and love the king lived with his silent wife.
She began pouring poison into his ear, saying to him: You brought a beggar woman we know nothing about. She doesn’t speak or laugh. Only people with bad hearts don’t laugh. She must be a witch. At first, the king didn’t believe her, but after a period he was convinced by her talk and sentenced his wife to death.
The soldiers lit a big fire in the palace courtyard, and the princess was sentenced to be burned to death. When executing the judgment, only a few minutes remained for the seven years to pass. But the princess didn’t speak. The fire began consuming her beautiful dress, and the king looked at her from his balcony crying, as he loved her.
Suddenly, twelve birds descended from the sky and turned into men who began extinguishing the fire. They saved their sister the princess, began kissing and embracing her. The princess rejoiced at her brothers’ return, and finally spoke. The prince was amazed and said to her: If you can speak, why did you remain silent during those years without speaking or laughing?
The princess told him her story and that of her brothers. The prince rejoiced at the princess’s innocence and sentenced his father’s wife to death. They placed her in a barrel filled with boiling oil and poisonous snakes that spew poison just as she used to do. The stepmother wife received her punishment and died immediately.