ne
night he listened at the door of the house where the three sisters
lived, and heard them disputing about something. The oldest said: "If I
were the wife of the royal butler, I would give the whole court to drink
out of one glass of water, and there would be some left." The second
said: "If I were the wife of the keeper of the royal wardrobe, with one
piece of cloth I would clothe all the attendants, and have some left."
The youngest said: "Were I the king's wife, I would bear him three
children: two sons with apples in their hands, and a daughter with a
star on her brow."

The king went back to his palace, and the next morning sent for the
sisters, and said to them: "Do not be frightened, but tell me what you
said last night." The oldest told him what she had said, and the king
had a glass of water brought, and commanded her to prove her words. She
took the glass, and gave all the attendants to drink, and there was some
water left. "Bravo!" cried the king, and summoned the butler. "This is
your husband. Now it is your turn," said the king to the next sister,
and commanded a piece of cloth to be brought, and the young girl at once
cut out garments for all the attendants, and had some cloth left.
"Bravo!" cried the king again, and gave her the keeper of the wardrobe
for her husband. "Now it is your turn," said the king to the youngest.
"Your Majesty, I said that were I the king's wife, I would bear him
three children: two sons with apples in their hands, and a daughter with
a star on her brow." The king replied: "If that is true, you shall be
queen; if not, you shall die," and straightway he married her.

Very soon the two older sisters began to be envious of the youngest.
"Look," said they: "she is going to be queen, and we must be servants!"
and they began to hate her. A few months before the queen's children
were to be born, the king declared war, and was obliged to depart; but
he left word that if the queen had three children: two sons with apples
in their hands and a girl with a star on her brow, the mother was to be
respected as queen; if not, he was to be informed of it, and would tell
his servants what to do. Then he departed for the war.

When the queen's children were born, as she had promised, the envious
sisters bribed the nurse to put little dogs in the place of the queen's
children, and sent word to the king that his wife had given birth to
three puppies. He wrote back that she should be taken care of f