The Tower Maiden

Once upon a time, in a distant land, there were a king and a queen with three daughters and a son. The daughters were named Rose, Lily, and Briar; and in the palace garden there grew a rosebush, a lily, and briars. Unfortunately, when the children were all very young, the pretty queen took ill and died.

When the children had grown older, one night, the prince had a dream. He dreamed that a beautiful lady that looked like a fairy showed him a palace in the middle of an overgrown wood. She told him that there were mountains of gold and precious gems inside; and that in the topmost tower, there slept the most beautiful maiden in the world. She led him up there, and showed him the maiden. Her fair hair gently lay over her pink and white face. The fairy told him that if he wanted to seek her, he must take the road going to the left on the way into the wood, and then he woke up.

He told his father about the dream, and gave to his father a knife, telling him that if the blade should ever grow tarnished, he would be in need of help. His father, the king, tried to persuade him to stay, but the young prince was firm and adamant. Then he set out. On his way, he passed a wolf.

“Good day to you, my friend,” the prince said.

“Good morning; and where are you going, young prince?” asked the wolf.

“I’m going to seek the fair maiden who lies in the castle yonder,” replied the prince.

“Oh, no! Don’t go there!” cried the wolf, and he ran away.

The young prince kept on going, for he had fallen in love with the maiden he had seen in his dream. When the young prince had almost reached the wood, he met a fox.

“Good day to you, my friend,” the prince said.

“Good morning; and where might you be going?” asked the fox.

“I’m going to seek the fair maiden that lies in the castle yonder,” replied the prince.

“Oh, no! Don’t go there!” cried the fox, and she ran away.

The prince did not heed the fox’s warning, and so he kept on going. When he got to the path into the wood, he followed it until he came to a fork in the road. He took the left side. The forest started to get gloomier, and there were fewer animals going about now. He was starting to run, to get to the castle quickly, when out came a hare.

“Good day to you, my friend,” the prince said.

“Good morning; and may I ask where you are going in this gloomy wood?” asked the hare.

“I’m going to seek the fair maiden that lies in the castle yonder,” replied the prince.

“Oh, no! Don’t go there!” cried the hare, and she ran away.

The prince had not gone long when he saw a great gray wall loom up ahead. He knew that it was the castle, and he quickened his pace to try and reach the tower with the beautiful maiden in it. All of a sudden, he felt a sort of stiffening in his limbs, and he looked down. His hands and feet were becoming as gray as the walls in front of him. As he slowly turned to stone, the beautiful fairy-like lady that had shown him the castle in is dream appeared before him with a wicked smile. She waved her wand and countless other stone princes turned visible.

“You’ll stay here until I choose to let you go. You’ll never feel anything except for your own sadness!” with that, she turned and faded away.

Back at the palace, the king anxiously glanced at the knife his son had left with him, and, to his horror, it was covered with rust. He called his daughters to him and told them of the fate that had befallen their brother. Rose, the eldest, spoke first.

“I will go look for him, and bring him back, if it would make you happy.” She volunteered.

The king somewhat unwillingly let her go, knowing that if anything befell her, the rosebush in the garden would droop and wilt, and he could send someone to rescue her.

The very next day Rose set out, knowing which road to take. She passed by the wolf, the fox, and the hare, but paid them as little heed as her brother had. Finally, she got to the castle. She began to get uneasy, because all sorts of wild beasts were prowling around it. She knew that her bother must be inside, though, so she bravely tucked up her skirts and ventured closer. Hardly had she taken more than a step forwards when the wicked enchantress who turned the princes to stone appeared, and told Rose that since she was pretty, she would be spared the indignity of being turned into an ugly wild animal. Rose begged to be let go, but as soon as the words were out of her mouth, she was spiraling down into the form of a glossy white tiger.

Back at the palace, the king was walking in the garden, and as he was looking at his three favorite plants, the rose drooped and wilted before his eyes.

“Some evil fate has befallen poor Rose! I must send out someone to look for my poor children at once.”

He summoned Lily and Briar, and he told them of what had happened for poor Rose. Lily told him that she would go and search for them, or perish in the attempt. The king argued, but in the end, Lily won. All things fell for her the same way they had for Rose. The enchantress turned her into a tawny lioness. Rose and Lily recognized each other, and fell together, weeping and lamenting. Now that they were animals, they could see the stone princes, and they recognized their brother. He had seen the enchantress turn them into animals, and he felt horrible to know that he and his foolish dreams were the cause of all their misfortunes.

Briar and her father were sitting in the garden and watching the lily, when all of a sudden, it fell over to the ground, wilted.

“Oh, no! The same thing must have happened to both my sisters as it has my brother, and I must go search for them!”

The old king tried to make her let himself go instead, for she was his youngest and favorite daughter, but Briar was firm, and she forced him to let her go.

“After all, what good would a kingdom be with no ruler but an inexperienced young princess?” she argued. The king had to let her go.

She was walking down the road, when the wolf came out.

“Good day to you, my nice wolf,” the princess said.

“Good afternoon, my pretty princess; will you share some of the meal you have brought with me?”

Briar gladly consented, and the two ate the meal in silence.

After they had eaten their fill, the wolf asked, “And where are you going on this fine day?” Briar told him of the fate that had come upon her siblings. She told him that she must go to the castle, even though she believed, and knew, that she shouldn’t, for there was great danger ahead. He realized that nothing would make her go back, so he explained to her how the enchantress’s power could be taken away: her only power was the maiden locked up in the tower. This maiden she used to lure princes to her castle, and, by turning them to stone, she took their power, and used it for her own evil magic. The wolf gave Briar a golden stick and bade her sit on his back. He told her that the golden stick would remove all enchantment; and that he knew the way, and with him, she would be safe from the enchantress and the wild animals. She gladly accepted his offer, and rode on his back to the wood. There they met the fox, and when she saw that the wolf was going with Briar, she decided to come too.

“Extra help can always be handy,” she explained.

When they had gone a little further, they met the hare, and when she saw that both the fox and the wolf had decided to go with Briar, she decided to go with them too. When they had gotten to the castle, the hare, who could see the invisible stone princes, went forward and touched Briar’s brother with the golden stick. He instantly sprung up, and hugged the hare, who turned into a beautiful princess, and explained that she, her brother the wolf, and her sister the fox, had been enchanted to become animals to warn people away from the castle.

Meanwhile, the fox took the golden stick, found Rose and Lily, and touched them with it, thereupon they became princesses again. They hugged the fox and told her that hey could never thank her enough, and she turned back into the princess she once was.

Briar knew, however, the wolf having told her, that to destroy the enchantress’s power, she must go up to the tower, and find the sleeping maiden that her brother had dreamed of. She went up, and when she saw the sleeping maiden, she was so shocked that she was about to fall off the wolf, because the maiden looked exactly like her. Briar hastened over, and woke the maiden, who smiled sleepily, and got out of her bed. The moment she got out of her bed, the enchantress arrived, and, realizing that if she didn’t leave at once, that her power would be gone forever, flew out of the window with a terrible scream of rage, and has not been seen to this day.

The maiden told Briar that she had been enchanted, and put up here, just to lure princes to the castle. Briar, meanwhile, turned around, solemnly thanked the wolf, for she could never have rescued anyone without him; and kissed him. All of a sudden, before her stood a handsome prince. He asked her to marry him, and who wouldn’t say no?

The marriage was celebrated with much rejoicing, and many guests; for the maiden in the tower, the fox, the hare, and the wolf were all the children of the neighboring king, who had given them up for gone long ago; and all of the enchanted princes and princesses came to the wedding too. It was actually a double wedding- Briar’s brother got married to the hare-princess. Briar and the wolf-prince were very happy, and if they haven’t died of old age, then they must still be living happily ever after.

And if you look in the king’s garden to this day, you will see a rosebush, a lily, and a patch of briars all intertwined and growing happily.