I read Twelve Dancing Princesses written by the Brothers Grimm. This fairytale is about twelve princesses who were the daughter of a great king. These princesses shared the same bedroom with twelve beds. Every night the king locked his daughters in their room, but in the morning, their shoes were always worn as if they had been dancing all night. The king wanted to know what they had been doing all night so he said that if anyone in the land could figure out their secret they could become king after his death. However, they were only give three days to figure it out and if they couldn't, they would be put to death. A king's son came and the king allowed him to stay in chambers next to where the princesses slept and keep watch. He ended up always falling asleep and woke up to find the princesses shoes with holes in the soles. After three days he would put to death. Many more came and tried and all failed. One day, a wounded soldier came passing through and ran into an old woman. He told her that he would like to try and figure out the dancing princesses. She told him the task would be easy. When one of the princesses offers him wine to drink before bed, do not drink it. She said to pretend to be fast asleep. She gave him a cloak and said that it would make him invisible so he could follow the princesses wherever they go. He took the cloak and went to the king saying he was willing to accept the task. He was led to his chamber and just as he was about to fall asleep, the oldest princess brought him a glass of wine. He took it but made sure to throw it out without drinking any of it as soon as she left his room. He pretended to fall asleep and snore loudly making the other princesses laugh. The princesses dressed in find clothes and made sure that the soldier was asleep. The oldest princess opened a hatch in the floor and all of the princesses followed down into it. The soldier put on his cloak and followed them. They went into the forrest and everywhere they stopped, the soldier took a small branch from each tree as evidence. As the princesses approached a lake, the soldier saw twelve small boats waiting with a prince in each of them. The princesses stepped into the boats and the soldier sat in the boat with the youngest princess and they rowed into the lake. They rowed up to a castle and entered. Inside, there was dancing and a lot of wine that the soldier drank up. After the princesses had worn out their shoes, they were obligated to leave. On the way back across the lake, the soldier sat in the same boat as the oldest princess. As soon as they returned back to their castle, the soldier ran ahead of them and jumped into his bed pretending to be asleep. The princesses returned and saw him asleep, undressed, and went to bed. In the morning, the soldier didn't say anything to the princesses about what had happened the night before. The soldier stayed the second and third night and followed them to the castle and watched them dance. On the third night, he took a golden cup as a token to prove what he had seen. The next day he was called before the king to tell him where his daughters go at night. He told the king the whole story and showed him the branches and cup as proof. The daughters were called in and confessed that what the soldier had told him was the truth. The king asked which daughter the soldier wanted to marry, he asked to marry the oldest. The oldest daughter and soldier were then married and the soldier became the heir to the king.
I think this fairytale would be appropriate to read to my students. The only concern I have with reading this to a younger class is that the king kills any man who doesn't correctly tell him what his daughters do at night. I think this would make for a great puppet show with younger students.
Subject: Perserverance
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