Once upon a time, there was a princess named Svetlana who loved to dress up so everyone would admire her. She had a beautiful dress, lovely earrings, a sparkling crown, but best of all were the colorful beads that she wore around her neck.
One morning, Svetlana was playing in the garden when the string of beads broke. She didn’t notice until lunchtime, and then she burst into tears. Those were her favorite beads, the ones her mom, the queen, had bought her long ago.
The king immediately sent his servants to find the beads and bring them back. But not one of them found a single bead. Soon, the servants even ran right out of the garden altogether.
“Why aren’t you looking for the beads?!” the king scolded the servants.
“We’d like to, Your Majesty, but a mole showed up and chased us away,” said the servants.
“How could a little mole chase you away?”
“He’s not so little. And he’s mean. He threw dirt at us. He said that if we keep bothering him and stomping over his head, he’d bite us.”
The king sent the gardener to drive the mole away and find the beads. But the gardener soon returned.
“Your Majesty, I saw a blue bead. The mole was carrying it to his burrow. When I tried to stop him, he bared his teeth and bit my rake in half,” whimpered the frightened gardener, holding up his rake broken in two pieces.
“What a mess,” grumbled the king. “Can moles really bite through rakes?”
“Maybe it’s some kind of magic, Your Majesty.”
The king shook his head and stroked his chin thoughtfully, almost pulling out his beard. Then he had an idea.
“Let it be known that we’re looking for someone to get rid of that mole”, he proclaimed. “He needs to be strong, clever, and have sharp eyes to find all the beads.”
The royal message spread to every corner of the kingdom. Before long, three young men showed up, each boasting eyes as sharp as a hawk and a determination to outsmart the mole.
“Wonderful, three fine lads,” said the king with delight. “Now hurry out to the garden, surround the mole, and deal with him.”
“No way,” the young men said, shaking their heads. One after another, they added: “I’m not sharing the victory with anyone.”
“Very well, you’ll go one at a time. Let’s start with you,” He pointed to the first. “You’ll go first. What’s your name?”
The young man took a bite of carrot and said, “I’m Sir Sharp-Eye from the island of Carrotcaskar. I’ll lure your mole in with a carrot, then stomp him into his mound so hard that he’ll pop out on the other side of the world.”
The knight set off into the garden, but when he didn’t come back for a long time, the servants went looking for him. They found him buried up to his neck in a molehill, with only his head sticking out and a carrot stuck in his nose. The Mole had done this to him.
“You go next,” said the king, pointing at the second young man who was holding a small piece of glass.
“I am Jeremy, ruler of the land across the sea, where we make magical magnifying glasses like this one. With it, I can see every little bead as if it were a giant ball. Just look, Your Majesty.”
“Very nice,” said the King, examining the little glass. “We call that glasses around here. Good luck, Jeremy.”
Jeremy was gone for a long time, so the king sent the servants to look for him. They found him buried in a molehill as well, with only his head sticking out and the magnifying glass crammed into his mouth. That mole had taught him a lesson, too.
“Now it’s your turn, boy. Tell me, what do they call you?” asked the king, turning to the last young man, who just stood there grinning like a fool.
“I’m Miles. I always try to solve things peacefully and with kindness. You just have to give that mole a hug and show him some love.
With those words, Miles headed into the garden. When he didn’t come back by dinnertime, the king sent the servants to dig him out. But the servants were quite surprised when they found the molehill empty. As it turned out, Miles was buried a little further away, in a pile of manure, and his nose was swollen where the mole had bitten him. Apparently, the mole did not appreciate the warm hug.
The king was desperate, but not as much as the princess. Feeling very sad, she went into the garden, sat down, and began to sing:
“Beads, my beads,
you’ve rolled away so far from me.
Whoever helps me find them,
I’ll take him for my husband.”
Suddenly, a handful of lost beads appeared at her feet. More followed, as mole brought them one by one from the garden. The princess gathered them up, strung them onto a thread, and put them around her neck.
“What I promised, I’ll do, dear mole,” said the princess, and the next day she announced that there would be a big wedding.
“You can’t marry a mole,” the king protested.
“He brought me beads. Besides, I gave my word,” the princess insisted.
On that grand day, the princess stood at the altar in a beautiful dress, holding her future husband, the mole, in her hands.As soon as she kissed his little snout, a sparkling mist surrounded him. When it cleared, a handsome young prince stood in his place.
“Thank you, Svetlana, for breaking the wicked spell. I am Prince Charles. An evil fairy cursed me, and only a kiss of true love could set me free.”
What joy! Svetlana was glad to have such a handsome and, most importantly, kind husband. Together they became king and queen. From then on, however, King Charles was known to everyone as King Mole. He didn’t mind at all. He was a wise and kind ruler, and he and Svetlana lived happily ever after.