There was a king who had twelve beautiful daughters. They slept in twelve beds all in one room and when they went to bed, the doors were shut and locked up. However, every morning their shoes were found to be quite worn through as if they had been danced in all night. Nobody could find out how it happened, or where the princesses had been.
So the king made it known to all the land that if any person could discover the secret and find out where it was that the princesses danced in the night, he would have the one he liked best to take as his wife, and would be king after his death. But whoever tried and did not succeed, after three days and nights, they would be put to death.
A king's son soon came. He was well entertained, and in the evening was taken to the chamber next to the one where the princesses lay in their twelve beds. There he was to sit and watch where they went to dance; and, in order that nothing could happen without him hearing it, the door of his chamber was left open. But the king’s son soon fell asleep; and when he awoke in the morning he found that the princesses had all been dancing, for the soles of their shoes were full of holes.
The same thing happened the second and third night and so the king ordered his head to be cut off.
After him came several others; but they all had the same luck, and all lost their lives in the same way.
Now it happened that an old soldier, who had been wounded in battle and could fight no longer, passed through the country where this king reigned, and as he was travelling through a wood, he met an old woman, who asked him where he was going.
"I hardly know where I am going, or what I had better do," said the soldier; "but I think I would like to find out where it is that the princesses dance, and then in time I might be a king."
"Well," said the old woman, "that is not a very hard task: only take care not to drink any of the wine which one of the princesses will bring to you in the evening; and as soon as she leaves you pretend to be fast asleep."
Then she gave him a cloak, and said, "As soon as you put that on you will become invisible, and you will then be able to follow the princesses wherever they go." When the soldier heard all this good advice, he was determined to try his luck, so he went to the king, and said he was willing to undertake the task.
He was as well received as the others had been, and the king ordered fine royal robes to be given him; and when the evening came he was led to the outer chamber.
Just as he was going to lie down, the eldest of the princesses brought him a cup of wine; but the soldier threw it all away secretly, taking care not to drink a drop. Then he laid himself down on his bed, and in a little while began to snore very loudly as if he was fast asleep.
When the twelve princesses heard this they laughed heartily; and the eldest said, "This fellow too might have done a wiser thing than lose his life in this way!" Then they rose and opened their drawers and boxes, and took out all their fine clothes, and dressed themselves at the mirror, and skipped
But the youngest said, "I don't know why it is, but while you are so happy I feel very uneasy; I am sure some mischance will befall us."
"You simpleton," said the eldest, "you are always afraid; have you forgotten how many kings' sons have already watched in vain? And as for this soldier, even if I had not given him his sleeping draught, he would have slept soundly enough."
When they were all ready, they went and looked at the soldier; but he snored on, and did not stir hand or foot: so they thought they were quite safe.
Then the eldest went up to her own bed and clapped her hands, and the bed sank into the floor and a trap-door flew open. The soldier saw them going down through the trap-door one after another, the eldest leading the way; and thinking he had no time to lose, he jumped up, put on the cloak which the old woman had given him, and followed them.
However, in the middle of the stairs he trod on the gown of the youngest princess, and she cried out to her sisters, "All is not right; someone took hold of my gown."
"You silly creature!" said the eldest, "it is nothing but a nail in the wall."
Down they all went, and at the bottom they found themselves in a most delightful grove of trees; and the leaves were all of silver, and glittered and sparkled beautifully. The soldier wished to take away some token of the place; so he broke off a little branch, and there came a loud noise from the tree. Then the youngest daughter said again, "I am sure all is not right -- did not you hear that noise? That never happened before."#p#分页标题#e#
But the eldest said, "It is only our princes, who are shouting for joy at our approach."
They came to another grove of trees, where all the leaves were of gold; and afterwards to a third, where the leaves were all glittering diamonds. And the soldier broke a branch from each; and every time there was a loud noise, which made the youngest sister tremble with fear. But the eldest still said it was only the princes, who were crying for joy.
They went on till they came to a great lake; and at the side of the lake there lay twelve little boats with twelve handsome princes in them, who seemed to be waiting there for the princesses.
One of the princesses went into each boat, and the soldier stepped into the same boat as the youngest. As they were rowing over the lake, the prince who was in the boat with the youngest princess and the soldier said, "I do not know why it is, but though I am rowing with all my might we do not get on so fast as usual, and I am quite tired: the boat seems very heavy today."
"It is only the heat of the weather," said the princess, "I am very warm, too."
On the other side of the lake stood a fine, illuminated castle from which came the merry music of horns and trumpets. There they all landed, and went into the castle, and each prince danced with his princess; and the soldier, who was still invisible, danced with them too. When any of the princesses had a cup of wine set by her, he drank it all up, so that when she put the cup to her mouth it was empty. At this, too, the youngest sister was terribly frightened, but the eldest always silenced her.
They danced on till three o'clock in the morning, and then all their shoes were worn out, so that they were obliged to leave. The princes rowed them back again over the lake (but this time the soldier placed himself in the boat with the eldest princess); and on the opposite shore they took leave of each other, the princesses promising to come again the next night.
When they came to the stairs, the soldier ran on before the princesses, and laid himself down. And as the twelve, tired sisters slowly came up, they heard him snoring in his bed and they said, "Now all is quite safe". Then they undressed themselves, put away their fine clothes, pulled off their shoes, and went to bed.
In the morning the soldier said nothing
As soon as the time came when he was to declare the secret, he was taken before the king with the three branches and the golden cup; and the twelve princesses stood listening behind the door to hear what he would say.
The king asked him. "Where do my twelve daughters dance at night?"
The soldier answered, "With twelve princes in a castle underground." And then he told the king all that had happened, and showed him the three branches and the golden cup which he had brought with him.
The king called for the princesses, and asked them whether what the soldier said was true and when they saw that they were discovered, and that it was of no use to deny what had happened, they confessed it all.
So the king asked the soldier which of the princesses he would choose for his wife; and he answered, "I am not very young, so I will have the eldest." -- and they were married that very day, and the soldier was chosen to be the king's heir.
相关单词：heir
heir解释：n.继承人，接班人
heir例句：
The King's eldest son is the heir to the throne.国王的长子是王位的继承人。
We don't recognised him to be the lawful heir.我们不承认他为合法继承人。
相关单词：chamber
chamber解释：n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所
chamber例句：
For many,the dentist's surgery remains a torture chamber.对许多人来说，牙医的治疗室一直是间受刑室。
The chamber was ablaze with light.会议厅里灯火辉煌。
相关单词：reigned
reigned解释：vi.当政，统治（reign的过去式形式）
reigned例句：
Silence reigned in the hall. 全场肃静。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
Night was deep and dead silence reigned everywhere. 夜深人静，一片死寂。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
相关单词：cloak
cloak解释：n.斗蓬，披风，掩饰，幌子；vt.掩盖，掩饰
cloak例句：
The snow covered up the fields with a white cloak.积雪给田野盖上了一件白色的外衣。
She threw a heavy woollen cloak over her shoulders.她把一件厚重的羊毛斗篷披在肩上。
相关单词：determined
determined解释：adj.坚定的；有决心的
determined例句：
I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。
相关单词：eldest
eldest解释：adj.最年长的，最年老的
eldest例句：
The King's eldest son is the heir to the throne.国王的长子是王位的继承人。
The castle and the land are entailed on the eldest son.城堡和土地限定由长子继承。
相关单词：heartily
heartily解释：adv.衷心地，诚恳地，十分，很
heartily例句：
He ate heartily and went out to look for his horse.他痛快地吃了一顿，就出去找他的马。
The host seized my hand and shook it heartily.主人抓住我的手，热情地和我握手。
相关单词：uneasy
uneasy解释：adj.心神不安的，担心的，令人不安的
uneasy例句：
He feels uneasy today.他今天心里感到不安。
She had an uneasy feeling that they were still following her.她有一种他们仍在跟踪她的不安感觉。
相关单词：draught
draught解释：n.拉，牵引，拖；一网（饮，吸，阵)；顿服药量，通风；v.起草，设计
draught例句：
He emptied his glass at one draught.他将杯中物一饮而尽。
It's a pity the room has no north window and you don't get a draught.可惜这房间没北窗，没有过堂风。
相关单词：trod
trod解释：v.踩，踏( tread的过去式 )；踩成；踏出；步行于
trod例句：
Ouch! You trod on my toe! 哎哟！你踩着我的脚指头了！
Every day he trod the same path through the woods. 他每天沿同一条路走过森林。 来自《简明英汉词典》
相关单词：delightful
delightful解释：adj.令人高兴的，使人快乐的
delightful例句：
We had a delightful time by the seashore last Sunday.上星期天我们在海滨玩得真痛快。
Peter played a delightful melody on his flute.彼得用笛子吹奏了一支欢快的曲子。
相关单词：grove
grove解释：n.林子，小树林，园林
grove例句：
On top of the hill was a grove of tall trees.山顶上一片高大的树林。
The scent of lemons filled the grove.柠檬香味充满了小树林。
相关单词：glittered
glittered解释：闪烁，闪耀，闪光( glitter的过去式和过去分词 )； 眼睛闪现（某种强烈情感）
glittered例句：
The ceiling of the cathedral glittered with gold. 大教堂的天花板金光闪闪。
The green boughs glittered with all their pearls of dew. 绿枝上闪烁着露珠的光彩。
相关单词：sparkled
sparkled解释：v.发火花，闪耀( sparkle的过去式和过去分词 )；（饮料）发泡；生气勃勃，热情奔放，神采飞扬
sparkled例句：
Her jewellery sparkled in the candlelight. 烛光下，她的首饰光彩熠熠。
Her eyes sparkled with excitement. 她的眼睛由于兴奋而发亮。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
相关单词：token
token解释：n.筹码，信物，纪念品，礼券；adj.象征性的
token例句：
This little gift is a token of our regard.这点礼物是我们大家的一点心意。
Black is a token of mourning.黑色是沮丧的象征。
相关单词：glittering
glittering解释：a.闪闪发亮
glittering例句：
He has a glittering career ahead of him. 他前程似锦。
He strove for the glittering prizes of politics. 他力争在政界取得辉煌的成绩。
相关单词：illuminated
illuminated解释：adj.被照明的；受启迪的
illuminated例句：
Floodlights illuminated the stadium. 泛光灯照亮了体育场。
the illuminated city at night 夜幕中万家灯火的城市
相关单词：trumpets
trumpets解释：喇叭( trumpet的名词复数 )； 小号； 喇叭形物； （尤指）绽开的水仙花
trumpets例句：
A wreath was laid on the monument to a fanfare of trumpets. 在响亮的号角声中花圈被献在纪念碑前。
A fanfare of trumpets heralded the arrival of the King. 嘹亮的小号声宣告了国王驾到。
相关单词：promising
promising解释：adj.有希望的，有前途的
promising例句：
The results of the experiments are very promising.实验的结果充满了希望。
We're trying to bring along one or two promising young swimmers.我们正设法培养出一两名有前途的年轻游泳选手。
