The Princess with 20 Skirts
This is a story from the land of Holland, whose people are called Dutch. Many, many centuries ago, in Holland, there lived a king and a queen who had a wonderful daughter.
The princess was beautiful and she knew it very well. So, out of the whole kingdom, what she liked most was to look at her beautiful face. Back then, there were no mirrors or metals, so the princess would go to the forest, to the lake, and delight in looking at her shining reflection.
The Princess and Nature
She loved nature and the forest so much that she played in the mud all day long. She frolicked with the animals every morning and evening, and when she returned to the palace, her hair was tangled like a bird's nest.
— Oh, my dear princess, how will I untangle this hair now? — Well, I don't know, that's your job. — Come here and let me brush your hair. It will hurt a little. — Ow! You don't know how to do anything right. You're a big, big cow! — Your Majesty, she's calling me a cow? How rude, princess! — Learn to brush me properly and then we'll talk about politeness. A cow! — Ah! Oops, that's hot! Can anyone do anything right around here? Eh?
The Princess's Behavior
As you may have noticed, the princess's behavior was not as wonderful as her face. It was fine to play with the forest creatures and tangle her hair, but insulting her servants, many of whom were older than her and trying to help her, was not nice at all.
The queen spoke to the king about the princess's naughtiness. The king loved his daughter very much and had no intention of punishing her. He merely reassured the queen.
— Well, our daughter isn't that bad, my dear. Like me, she loves animals and trees and the forest. Yes. Remember how carefully she looked after the calf you found injured in the forest, and how all the birds gather around her when she's in the garden.
The King's Memories
Although the king comforted himself with the princess's kindness towards animals, he didn't know what kind of queen she would become. So he took his worries with him and went to his favorite spot in the forest, the place where his friend, the great oak, once stood.
Many, many years ago, when the king was a 10-year-old boy, he saw some woodcutters coming to cut down the tree.
— I won't let you cut it down! No, no! — Prince, we need wood. — Then go and find a dry tree, but I won't let you cut this one down. If you want to cut it, you'll have to cut me too, know that!
So the woodcutters had no choice and left, leaving the tree in peace. The prince insisted that a royal peacekeeper be placed in the forest, so that no one would cut down healthy trees, only those that were already dry. No one was allowed to hunt animals or catch birds in the forest.
The King's Friends
Another day, when the prince was playing in the forest,
— Where is that sound coming from? It sounds like an injured animal.
The young prince searched everywhere, through bushes and thickets, and found a buffalo calf. The buffalo was in great pain, for its leg had been struck, and the wound was deep. The king took the buffalo to the palace and cared for it day and night, until it recovered and could return to the forest.
When the young prince grew older, around 20 years old, he visited his old friend, the oak tree, again. But it was dying.
— My oak, my dear oak, how did you come to be like this? Why do you look so dry, my friend? I must bring you a doctor or a gardener, someone who knows how to save you. — It's no use, young prince, for the time has come for my spirit to leave this world. You have been good to me and saved my life many times. Now it is my turn to return the favor. — My time has come too. — My dear buffalo, you too look tired and aged. — The oak and I are brothers. We were cursed to live as a tree and an animal, and now the curse ends. It is time for us to return to our realm, among the stars. But before we go, oh noble prince, we wish to bless your land with immense wealth and happiness, for you are so good that you deserve it. After I die, take one of my horns and make a comb from it for the daughter you will one day have. — And when I fall, cut my bark and make staves from it. When your daughter turns 17, take the staves and make her a skirt to wear when she is naughty, alright? Then, one day, she will find a purple flower in the place where my brother the walnut tree is now. May the women of the kingdom weave the fiber of the flower. And in a blink, this dark forest will become a land full of flowers like those from which your people will weave the softest and finest fabric ever seen by man, and your kingdom will become one of the wealthiest in the world.
The Princess's Lesson
Today, after so many years, the king sat in the forest and remembered what his old friends, the oak and the buffalo, had told him. His worried heart began to hope, and thanking them in his thoughts, the king quickly went to the palace. He had a skirt made from the oak staves and a comb made from the buffalo horn.
— Oh! Our daughter has made the nursemaid cry again with her impoliteness. — Call her here!
The princess was summoned. When she came,
— I heard you were naughty again. — Father, everyone, absolutely everyone is good for nothing! — Enough! From now on you will comb your hair with this. And now, every time you are rude, you will wear this. — But father, I... — The discussion is over! Wear it now! It is an order!
And so it was. When the princess was impolite or naughty, she was made to wear the wooden skirt. The princess didn't like this at all. So she started to be more well-behaved.
Each time the princess combed her hair with the comb made from the buffalo horn, she became more and more polite.
— I really like this comb. It's very fine. — But your hair is very tangled, Your Majesty. It will hurt. — Yes, maybe. Don't worry, dear nursemaid. I will sit still. — Ha! Are you alright? — I am very, very, very sorry, Your Majesty. — The important thing is that you are alright. Don't worry. Anyone can slip.
Transformation and Fashion
Everyone was surprised by how the princess, who used to be arrogant, impolite, and selfish, had changed. In a word, she behaved as beautifully as she looked. There was no need for her to wear the wooden skirt anymore, and she was the kindest and nicest person in the kingdom.
One day, when she went to the forest as usual, she arrived at the spot where the old oak tree used to be and saw the most beautiful and delicate flower in the world. She took the flower to the palace and showed it to her mother and her aunt, who had come to visit.
— Mother, Aunt, look what I found in the forest today! — What a strange and beautiful flower! — It's not just any flower. It's called flax. — Flax? What's that?
Aunt showed the women of the palace how to weave the fiber and how to extract the flax from the flower and turn it into a soft and beautiful fabric. Soon, the entire forest was filled with flax flowers, and all the people in the kingdom were making beautiful fabrics from them. Tailors made wonderful shirts for men and skirts for ladies. The princess liked the fabric so much that one day, she said:
— This skirt is so soft. Bring me another one! Look how wonderful I look! Bring me another one! Ah, the more I wear, the more wonderful I feel. Bring me another one!
The princess dressed in 20 skirts in total and walked with such elegance through the palace that all the ladies believed they had to wear 20 beautiful skirts. This fashion spread throughout the kingdom, and every girl, every woman, and every bride had to wear 20 skirts. And to this day, the fashion started by the princess continues in the Dutch land, among the Dutch people.
The Moral of the Story
The fashion brought by the princess who wore 20 skirts. And more importantly, we must remember that this was the same princess who had to wear a skirt made of wood. And now, she wore such fine fabric that she was comfortable even with 20 skirts on.
When we are willing to accept our mistakes and try to correct them, we become cheerful and happy, and then people feel good around us and appreciate everything we do. After the princess became polite and kind, no one ever mentioned that she used to be impolite, because when we give up our bad habits, others immediately forgive us. That's how the world works.
