The princess who saw everything

Once upon a time, in the castle on a hill, there lived a princess so beautiful that people all over the kingdom talked about her beauty. Her chamber was strange – it had twelve windows, and the further the princess went from the first to the last, the farther she could see. From the twelfth she could see her entire realm – from the mountain tops to the most hidden corners of the earth.

The princess was clever and cunning, and she wasn’t going to marry anyone who didn’t show wit. Therefore, she declared that only the man who could hide from her so well that she could not see him from the twelfth window would become her husband. Anyone who failed would be banished from the kingdom for seven years.

Priče za djecu - The princess who saw everything
The princess who saw everything

News of this challenge spread far and wide, and many noble suitors tried to succeed, but in vain. The princess was quite amused by this, for she was in no hurry to get married.

One day three brothers came to the kingdom and decided to try their luck.

The eldest hid in a pit, but the princess saw him from the first window. She discovered the middle brother just as easily when he hid in the castle cellar. Both were banished.

Then the youngest brother, a handsome and clever young man named Peter, came before the princess and begged for three attempts. “If you find me a third time, I will leave forever,” he promised. The princess agreed – she liked the young man, but she knew he would still fail.

The young man thought for a long time, but no hiding place seemed good enough. So he took his rifle and went into the woods to hunt, to calm his mind. He raised the rifle to his shoulder and aimed at the raven, but before he could fire, the raven cried out:

“Don’t shoot! I’ll be useful to you in the future.”

So Peter left the raven live.

He walked on and saw a fish in the lake. He raised his rifle again, but the fish called to him:

“Don’t shoot! I’ll help you one day.”

So he let it go.

On the forest path, he met a fox limping. He aimed at it, but the fox begged:

“Don’t shoot! “Pull the thorn out of my paw instead.”

The young man helped her, and in return the fox promised to come to his aid when he was in need.

The day was drawing to a close and he still had no hiding place. So he remembered the raven and called him. The bird brought him an egg, broke it open, hid the young man inside, and put the shells back together. Then he took the egg to the nest and sat on it.

The next day the princess began to search. She peeked out the first window – nothing. From the second window, still nothing. She went to the third, fourth, fifth… Until she saw something suspicious in the crow’s nest from the eleventh window. She immediately ordered the egg to be broken and the young man was revealed.

For a second attempt, Peter tried asking a fish for a hiding place. It hid him in its belly and dove to the bottom of the lake. This time the princess had to go as far as the twelfth window to discover him. “You only have one more try,” she warned him.

The young man turned to the fox in despair. She plunged into the forest well, and when she emerged she was a noble merchant. “Now you dive,” she urged him. He obeyed her – and in an instant was transformed into a cute little guinea pig.

The merchant set off for the city with the guinea pig, and soon the princess heard about him. When she saw the soft little creature, she longed to have him and bought him immediately. The fox-merchant leaned over to the young man and whispered to him, “When the princess goes to look out of the windows, hide under her braid.”

The princess began to look again. She looked out of the first window. Then from the second window. And so it went on until all eleven windows were closed. Shakily she reached the last one, but looked around in vain. She slammed the window shut in disgust and then felt something move under her ponytail.

She grabbed the little guinea pig, flung it against the floor and screamed:

“Get out of my sight!”

The young man ran to the well, plunged into it, and returned to his form. The fox smiled at him and ran back into the forest, wishing him luck.

He returned to the castle, and the princess, though a little displeased, had to admit that he had fulfilled her conditions. What’s more, she liked him. So the great wedding took place and was celebrated for seven days and seven nights. But he never told the princess how he hid himself – she wouldn’t have believed him anyway.

The princess understood that she had almost spoiled her happiness by her whims, and became a prudent young lady and a wise queen. Young Peter, with his kind heart, was a good husband and king. And so they lived happily ever after.

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