THE TWELVE DANCING PRINCESS.

Once upon a time, there lived a King, who had twelve daughters, that is, twelve Princesses! Each one of them was more beautiful than the other. All of them were young now, and the King had a plan for them to get married. But, soon, he came to know about the fact that all the twelve princesses danced all night. Nobody in the castle knew where they would go. The King was worried. He used to lock the door of their chamber, so as to avoid them from going out. But all his attempts were in vain, as he found the holes in the princesses' shoes. He got worried and made an announcement.

King: Any person who would discover the secret about the Princesses' dance shall be given a choice to marry any of the Princesses and will be the King after my death. But if the person fails to do so in three nights, his life shall be forfeited. The news spread with the wind, and soon, a Prince came forward to discover about the Princesses' secret.

The Prince: I am the Prince from your neighborhood Kingdom. And I am here to discover the secret about the Princesses.

He got a warm welcome at the King's place. In the evening, after dinner, he was offered a room to sleep. The room was adjacent to the Princess's chamber. His bed was placed in a way that he can easily keep an eye on the Princesses, to see where do they go dancing. The door of the Princesses' chamber was left open. The Prince was in his room. A couple of princesses came to him and offered him a glass of drink. The Prince drank some drink, and started observing what were the Princesses were up to. He sat for time but grew heavy lead, and he fell asleep. He woke up in the morning to find that the Princesses had already danced, This followed for the next couple of nights too. On the fourth day, when the Prince failed to provide an answer, he was killed by the King without any mercy. Later on, many people came forward for the same cause, but all of them failed to discover the secret. All of them were killed by the King. The King was not happy to kill them, and he was sad for he could not get the answer for the Princesses' secret dancing. There was a soldier in the kingdom, who had to leave the army because of injury. Now, as he had nothing to do in life, he decided to go to the king's city. On his way to the capital, he helped an old lady. She thanked him and asked..."Where are going?". "I don't know. I was thinking to go to the King's city", replied the soldier.

Old Lady: Oh! For the princesses?

Soldier: No...what is it related to the princesses?

Old Lady: Don't you know about the King's announcement?

Soldier: Oh! I have heard about it. But I think if I go after that cause I'll lose my life. Just like many others who made an attempt.

Old Lady: You must not drink that offered to you before going to bed, and pretend to be asleep.

Saying this, the old lady offered him a cloak and said: You will be invisible when you put this on. It will help you follow those twelve princesses! The soldier thanked the old lady and left for the king's castle. The King welcomed him too. The soldier was treated just like the other candidates. Later in the evening, he was allowed to the room, adjacent to the princesses, chamber. After some time, the eldest Princess entered the soldier's room.

Soldier: Hello Princess!

Eldest Prince: Hello! I've brought some drinks for you. Please accept this as a welcome drink from all of us.

The Soldier was aware of it He drank all the drink, but didn't gulp it, as he had kept a sponge under his tongue. As the Princess left his room, he took up the sponge and pretended to be falling asleep. All the Princesses were happy to see him sleeping. They all got dressed up to go out. As all of them were ready, the eldest princess tapped her bed, which immediately sank into the earth. The twelve Princesses, one after the other, went down through the opening. The Soldier was watching it. He wore the cloak and followed them. He was going down with the youngest Princess. Halfway down the steps, the youngest Princess felt scared.

Youngest princess: I think someone is walking with me.

Eldest Princess: Sometimes, it feels like, when you are walking through the dark. Come along.

The Soldier pulled her dress a bit. She got more scared.

Youngest Princess: Someone is pulling my dress! I am so scared!

Eldest Princess: you've caught it on a nail. take it out and come along.

The Soldier smiled and walked with the Princesses. The Princesses went to a beautiful garden, where all the petals on the trees were silver. The Soldier plucked one of them, as proof. As he did so, there was a cracking sound. The Youngest princess got scared again.

Youngest Princess: Did you hear that sound?

Eldest Princess: Yes. It was the gunfire of joy because we have got rid of one more man.

They went ahead to enter a garden with Golden leaves on every tree. The Soldier plucked a leaf. Again there was a cracking sound. The eldest princess asked the youngest one to ignore. moving on, the Princess entered an avenue full of diamonds. The Soldier picked up a diamond. This time too, the youngest princess heard a cracking noise and got scared. where twelve Prince was waiting for them, with their twelve boats. Each Princess sat along with each one of the Prince. The Soldier opted to accompany the youngest Princess. The twelve boats reached the other side of the lake, where there was a beautiful, splendid castle! The twelve pairs entered the castle, and so did the invisible soldier. As they entered the hall, the music began. The twelve Princess danced with those Princes with vigor. They danced till Three o'clock, till their shoe boreholes. They decided to return. The twelve princes rowed them back to the other side of the lake. This time, the Soldier sat with the eldest Princess. As they were about a return to their chamber, the soldier ran ahead and lay down on his bed. By the time Princesses came to their chamber, slowly. " Ah! we're safe! Let us change our clothes and go to bed", said the Eldest Princess. This happened every night. The soldier followed them, collected the evidence with him, and returned to his bed before them. On the concluding day, when the king called the soldier...

Soldier: My Lord, all the twelve princesses go beneath their chamber. There is a castle under your Kingdom!

And he explained the complete story. The King looked at the Princesses, who were listening to him from behind a big curtain.

King: Is this true?

Soldier: Here are the proofs, My Lord.

And he presented the Silver and Golden leaves, and the diamond he had picked. The Princesses, now, admit the fact. They confess about what they were up to. The King was happy to know the fact. He felicitated the soldier.

King: With which of my daughter would you like to marry?

Soldier: I know more of a young guy. So I would marry your eldest daughter.

The King ordered his men to arrange the necessary things for the wedding. And the ceremony took place on the same day.

King: My son-in-law shall be crowned after my death.

They all lived happily ever after...

THE END.

Thank You!!!!