乐播传媒

Tale Summary

Once upon a time, there was a King and Queen who had three daughters, the most beautiful of them all being the youngest, named Anima. It happened that one day the princess found a bush of lovely flowers. When she tried to dig it up, she uncovered a staircase that lead to a magnificent palace, and, being very brave, Anima traveled there herself without calling out to her sisters. The rooms were empty, and wherever she explored, lovely music broke out, and when she, at last, rests on a couch, a table appears to her with many treats which she eats before falling asleep. The princess awakens when it is dark, and candlesticks begin moving on their own accord to give her light. Someone from the shadows tells her that he is a prince, that she may stay with him and have anything she desires, but that she must not look upon his face because his mother does not want him to wed. Anima consents, but after a time, begins to miss her people. She asks if she can again see them. Despite saying that he feared ill would come from seeing them again, he consents to her parents and two sisters staying for several days while he is himself away. Her sisters are so jealous, they insist there must be something he is concealing from her by staying hidden in the dark, and the Queen insists that she lights a candle while he sleeps to see him. This Anima does, and finds him to be perfectly handsome, but spills a drop of wax onto his cheek. He awakens to see she has broken her promise and tells her they must part until she can persuade his mother, the Queen, to let her see him again. She falls into a swoon and awakens on a bleak moor, where an old woman provides her housing. She explains to Anima that her sister is the mother of the prince and that she must convince her by completing a series of tasks that she demands. The old woman gives the girl a twig and sends her to another one of her sisters for help, who gives her a raven feather. When Anima arrives at the palace and demands to see her husband, the Queen agrees on the condition that she is able to sort a heap of mixed grains into separate piles of wheat, oats, and rice, by the end of the day. The girl strikes the twig thrice upon the ground, and ants come to her aid. Furious that she has had help, the Queen demands a second task: by the end of the day sort through a room of mixed feathers to stuff four mattresses with swan feathers, four with eider-down, and the rest with goose feathers. Anima waves her raven feather, and the task is done by birds. The Queen demands one more task: deliver a letter and a flask to her sister, Queen of the Nether-World, and bring back what she gives her. Anima has no idea where to begin and sets out. She hears the voice of her husband, telling her the way and advising her to bring a copper coin and a loaf of bread. She is to put the coin in her mouth so that she may be ferried across the river and give the bread to a guard dog in order to get to the Queen. His last advice is not to eat anything while she is there or sit down in the cave. She listens to all of this and carries back from the Queen of the Nether-World a strange box, which she is not to open. Nevertheless, curiosity overcomes her, and she opens it to find a number of dancing dolls, which she could not get back into the box. She again hears the voice of her husband, who reprimands her for her curiosity, but takes pity on her weeping, and instructs her to strike the ground three times with a bough from a nearby tree. Anima is able to deliver the box of dolls to the Queen, who laughs and says she knows that her son must have helped her. The two are reunited and live happily ever after.听

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