Princess Rose and the Golden Bird
Once upon a time, in a very distant kingdom, there lived a beautiful princess. Her beauty was unique, for she had long red hair and loved roses so much that everyone called her Princess Rose. Everyone in the kingdom loved her.
Some children came to her with bouquets of roses. One had a red bouquet, one had a white one, and one had a yellow one.
— Princess Rose, which roses do you love the most?
— Ah! I love every rose in the world, my dears.
And she hugged them all, tickling them. All the children burst into laughter.
The Princess's Lullaby
Every evening after dusk, Princess Rose would go out onto her balcony and clap her hands.
— Come, dear bird!
A golden bird flew from nowhere and perched on her shoulder. At that moment, the princess's hair began to shine, to glow with a bright red light.
— Aha! Sweet and mischievous bird. Do you like to play with my hair?
Soon, the bird began to sing her an enchanting melody. Princess Rose joined the song, and everyone in the kingdom fell asleep and had pleasant dreams until dawn.
— Ah, what a sweet voice! — Good night, my dears! Sweet dreams!
The Witch's Curse
Thus years passed. Every evening, Princess Rose, alongside the little golden bird, sang a beautiful lullaby, so that all the people would fall asleep and have pleasant dreams until dawn.
Until one day, something terrible happened. An evil witch heard about Princess Rose.
The princess sang again, and the witch covered her ears.
— Lalalalala, lalalalala, lalalalala! — Ah! I don't like her. She's too good, too nice!
The evil witch decided to curse her.
— Abracadabra, simsalabim! Let the color of the rose fade!
And Princess Rose's hair instantly turned black as coal.
— Oh! Alas! But what happened to my hair? But I must sing to my people, to lull them to sleep with sweet dreams.
Bad Dreams and an Unexpected Solution
But that evening too, Princess Rose went to the balcony and clapped her hands. But when the golden bird appeared, her hair no longer shone red.
— Oh, no!
The bird sang its enchanting melody, and Princess Rose sang her lullaby. Everyone in the kingdom fell asleep. But that night, they only had bad dreams and nightmares.
— Oh, it was so scary! — All I saw was darkness! — And I saw snakes everywhere! — I saw myself drowning in the ocean! — Oh, I'm too scared to sleep now!
The next day, the saddened princess called the bird and told it of her worry and asked for a solution.
— Ah! Tell me, golden bird, how can I make my people's dreams beautiful again until dawn?
— Black hair in rose water! — Hmm? Black hair in rose water? Will it help? I wonder.
The princess had doubts about this advice, but nevertheless, she followed it. She filled a basin with water and sprinkled rose petals on the surface. Then, she dipped her hair in the rose water, and instantly it turned red again.
— Oh my! It's red again! Thank you, little bird! Thank you!
That evening, when the bird perched on her shoulder, the radiant red glow of her hair lit up the dark sky once more. The princess sang her lullaby, and everyone in the kingdom fell asleep and had pleasant dreams until dawn.
A New Curse and Lost Hope
— What? It's back?
The evil witch was so annoyed that her curse was broken that she decided to cast it again.
— Ah! Now I'll show her my power! Abracadabra, simsalabim! Let the color of the rose fade!
And the princess's hair turned black as coal again.
— Oh, no! Not again! What's happening to me? Ah, ah!
Only this time, the witch gathered all the roses from the entire kingdom. She saw the princess sighing and was very happy.
— Ha, ha, ha! Let's see how you can break my curse now!
Again, the sad princess asked the bird.
— Tell me, golden bird, how can I make my people's dreams pleasant again until dawn?
And the bird gave the same answer as last time.
— Black hair in rose water! — But there are no roses left in the entire kingdom! — Black hair in rose water!
The bird chirped and flew away.
— Oh, please, don't go! Give me another solution, please!
The Tear and the Strand of Hair
The princess didn't know what to do. So great was her sorrow that her eyes filled with tears, and one of them fell to the ground.
At that moment, a young and handsome prince, who had stopped beneath the princess's balcony, took out a small box and a single red strand of hair from inside. He bent down and placed the hair on top of the princess's tear.
Then, a miracle happened. Suddenly, the red hair transformed into a red rose.
— Ah, that should work!
The prince picked up the rose and brought it up to the princess.
— For you, beautiful princess! — Ah! A rose! How did you find it? — I created it with a tear of yours and the red hair.
Delighted, she took the rose, immediately wiped her tears, and plucked its petals to add them to the water in the basin. Then, she dipped her hair, and the curse was broken. Everyone marveled.
— Oh, what magic! — Young man, where did you find that red hair?
Love Conquers All
— Dear King, when the princess and I were children, I took a single strand of hair from her head as a sign of my loyalty to her. And she did the same, pulling a strand of mine. — It's true, Father!
The princess confirmed and took out a small box. She opened it and showed a single strand of hair from the prince's head. Everyone was delighted by this news. The Prince and Princess Rose were married that same day.
Learning that her curse had been broken again, the evil witch swelled up so much that she exploded into a thousand pieces.
— No!
Finally, roses bloomed again in every garden in the kingdom. And so it was every evening. Princess Rose sang her wonderful lullaby, so that all the people fell asleep and had pleasant dreams until dawn.
True love and kindness can overcome any evil and bring beauty and happiness back into the world.
