She delivered them to a humble farmstead, where a childless couple nurtured them as their own, but instead of living in a palace, the three princesses lived in a cottage. Instead of dining on exotic spices, they dined on food they harvested. Instead of wearing fine silk gowns, they wore homemade cotton and wool clothes.

Years passed, and the three princesses grew into little women named Adallinda, Minna, and Kreimhild. One fateful day, the witch returned and revealed their true lineage. Adallinda and Minna believed the witch's words, but Kreimhild did not. The witch granted them three weeks to prepare for their return to the palace, whereupon she would remove the enchantment of forgetfulness.

As the days passed, the princesses went about their chores as usual. Adallinda toiled in the fields, Minna tended to the animals, and Kreimhild idled in the shade. Resentful of her sister's respite, Minna joined Kreimhild in the shade until Adallinda found them.
"Sisters," Adallinda said, "this is not becoming of a princess, and we are princesses."
Kreimhild argued, "If we are princesses, then why should we labor?"
"It is our actions, not our status, that will define us," Adallinda explained. She urged her sisters to finish their chores. Minna came, but Kreimhild did not.

The next week, Kreimhild sought solace at the local tavern where she drank herself silly and laughed at crude jokes. Minna passed by while on errands and was drawn in by the allure of merriment. A little time later, Adallinda came by, seeking her sisters. Finding them in the tavern, Adallinda bid them to return home with her.
"This is not becoming of a princess," she said. Minna followed her home, but Kreimhild did not.

One week later, the three sisters attended an evening dance with drums, flutes, and viols. While many of the community laughed, danced, and feasted, Kreimhild sat aloof from the crowds, scorning the musicians, deriding the simple gowns of the farmgirls, and mocking the clumsiness of some dancers. Afraid of becoming a target of her sister's insults, Minna joined Kreimhild's ridicule.
While dancing among the people, Adallinda overheard her sisters. She excused herself from the party and reprimanded her sisters for their rudeness.
"This is not becoming of a princess," she said, then she encouraged them to join the folk with joy and delightful humor. Minna joined her, but Kreimhild did not.

At long last, the witch lifted the spell of forgetfulness, and the kingdom remembered their three princesses. Adallinda, Minna, and Kreimhild returned to the palace to claim their rightful inheritances. Upon seeing Adallinda and her sincerity, the king and queen welcomed her by placing a crown on her head and ring on her finger as the future queen. Upon seeing Minna and her humility, the king and queen welcomed her as an administrator in the palace. Upon seeing Kreimhild and her arrogance, however, the king and queen cast her out, banishing her to forever wander the realms far from her lost birthright while the others lived happily ever after.
The end.

(The Three Princesses © 2024 by C. Rae D’Arc is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 )