The Queen Bee
Two of the King’s sons left home and led a carefree life. After a while, their younger brother, Witless, went out to find them. When he found them, the older brothers ridiculed him. If they, so much cleverer than he, were not successful in the world, how could he do well?
The three brothers came to an ant-hill. The two older brothers wanted to destroy it, so they could enjoy seeing the little ants hurrying away carrying their eggs, but Witless objected, saying, “Leave them alone. I won’t allow them to be disturbed.”
The younger brother was kind to animals.
They went on farther until they came to a lake, where a number of ducks were swimming around. The two older brothers wanted to catch a couple and cook them, but Witless objected, saying, “Leave them alone, I won’t allow them to be killed.”
The three brothers then came to a castle. They found a stable filled with horses that were made of stone. They entered the castle and went from room to room and found nobody there. Finally, they came to a door with three locks. In the middle of the door was a small opening. Looking through the opening, they saw a small, older man sitting at a table. After they called out to him three times, he got up, unlocked the door, and came out.
Without saying a word, he led them to a table stacked with wonderful food. After they finished eating, he brought each brother to his bedroom.
Then they came to a beehive in a tree. There was so much honey in it that it overflowed and ran down the trunk of the tree. The two older brothers wanted to make a fire under the tree, so that the smoke would suffocate the bees, and they could take all the honey. But Witless objected, saying, “Leave them alone, I won’t allow them to suffocate.”
The next morning the man came to the oldest brother, and showed him a piece of stone. Written on the stone were three tasks that had to be done to free the castle from enchantment. The first task was to collect a thousand pearls that belonged to the King’s daughter that was under moss in the woods. This had to be done by sunset, and if one pearl were missing, the person searching for the pearls would be turned into stone.
The oldest brother went out and searched, but at the end of the day he had only found one hundred pearls, and he was turned into stone. The second brother tried the next day, but only found two hundred peals, and he was also turned into stone.
Finally, it was Witless’ turn, and he began to search for the pearls. It was very hard work, and it went slowly. He got very discouraged, sat down on a stone, and started to cry. While he was sitting, the King of the Ants and five thousand other ants that Witless had saved appeared. In a short time, the ants collected all the pearls and put them in a pile.
The oldest brother went out and searched, but at the end of the day he had only found one hundred pearls, and he was turned into stone. The second brother tried the next day, but only found two hundred peals, and he was also turned into stone.
Finally, it was Witless’ turn, and he began to search for the pearls. It was very hard work, and it went slowly. He got very discouraged, sat down on a stone, and started to cry. While he was sitting, the King of the Ants and five thousand other ants that Witless had saved appeared. In a short time, the ants collected all the pearls and put them in a pile.
The second task written on the stone was to retrieve the key to the Princess’ bedroom from the bottom of the lake. When Witless came to the lake, the ducks whose lives he had saved dived underwater and brought the key up from the bottom.
The third task was the most difficult, and that was to choose the youngest and loveliest of the three Princesses as they lay sleeping. All three were identical. The only difference was that before going to sleep, each had eaten something different: The oldest one had eaten a piece of sugar, the middle one a little syrup, and the youngest one a spoonful of honey.
The Queen-bee from the hive Witless protected from the fire arrived just at this moment, and tasted the lips of all three Princesses. She landed on the mouth of the one that had eaten the honey, and the King’s son then knew which one to choose.
The magic spell was broken immediately, and everyone in the castle awoke and took their human form again. Witless married the youngest and loveliest princess, and became King after her father’s death. But his two brothers had to marry the two other sisters.
The End