Once upon a time there was a wise king who lived In a magnificent castle surrounded by rose gardens and centuries-old trees. His name was Bernard. He had a daughter, named Magnolia.
She was a girl with a kind heart and eyes so bright they resembled the morning sky. She loved long walks in the castle gardens, where she would stop at every flower, pet a deer, or chat with the birds, who brought her news from the outside world.
One sunny day, a little songbird whispered a secret in her ear—Prince Alexander of Beautiful Valley was coming to the castle. He was not just any prince. Magnolia had met him long ago at a ball in a neighboring kingdom and had often thought of him since then; he was her secret love. And it seemed that he had not forgotten her either. He was coming to the castle to ask for her hand in marriage!
But not everyone in the castle was as kind-hearted as Magnolia. The evil queen, the stepmother who had wormed her way into the king’s favor, and her daughter Matilda, a proud and spoiled girl, secretly hated the princess. When they heard that the prince wanted to marry her, they were both furious. “Matilda, that prince will be yours, even if I have to turn this place upside down!” hissed the queen, and immediately had Magnolia locked up in the highest tower.
But alas, Prince Alexander firmly rejected Matilda. “My heart belongs to Magnolia,” he said, “and I am not interested in anyone else.” This enraged the queen so much that she turned to an old witch from the Black Forest. She offered her a chest full of gold in exchange for a curse—and so Prince Alexander turned overnight into a blue bird with sad eyes.
Meanwhile, Magnolia lingered alone in the dark tower. One night, an unusually beautiful bird visited her and perched on her window. “It’s me, Alexander,” he whispered. When Magnolia saw her beloved and assessed their situation, instead of despair, courage was born in her.
She called on her animal friends—a mouse and an owl—for help. The mouse brought her a key she had stolen from the queen’s chamber. Magnolia unlocked the door and asked the owl to take her to the wizard Balthamir, who was said to live in the forest. She sat Alexander, in the form of a blue bird, on her shoulder and followed the owl into the forest to find the wizard.
When Magnolia and the two birds arrived at his birch wood cottage, she told him what had happened to her and her beloved. The wizard was moved by her courage and love and agreed to help. He mixed a magic potion that broke the spell, and Alexander regained his human form. The two returned to the castle before dawn.
The queen and Matilda did not escape justice. With a wave of his wand, Balthamir turned them into pigs. “You will remain in this form until you show true remorse for what you have done to Magnolia and Alexander,” he said. Matilda was still young, her heart was not so hardened. After a few days in pig’s skin, she regretted envying Magnolia and Alexander. She cried and begged them for forgiveness. The wizard Balthamir restored her human form. But the evil queen felt no remorse, so she is probably still grunting and rooting around in the dirt somewhere.
However, the story ends happily and cheerfully. Joy returned to the castle along with Magnolia and Alexander. A few weeks later, a wedding took place—people celebrated for three days and three nights, and at night the gardens were lit by thousands of lanterns. Magnolia and Alexander promised each other faithful love, which lasted until the end of their days.
