The Golden Haired Children

Long ago so long ago there lived a poor woodcutter. He had three beautiful daughters. The daughters stitched the most beautiful dresses and sell them in the market. On a fine day, the King came up with a rule that the town should not light up candles for 3 days and 3 nights. But the three girls secretly closed their house’s door and windows with thick curtains and lit up candles and started to sew and do their household chores.

The King wanted to inspect and to know whether all the people are following his rules. He came in disguise and went around the city. He paused by the woodcutter’s house. He heard the daughters speaking among them about whom they would like to marry. The elder daughter said “I wanted to marry the royal cook from the palace, so I can eat delicious food everyday and I can also weave a big carpet for the King”. The second daughter said “I wanted to marry a royal tailor so I can wear the best clothes and also weave a big tent for the King”. And the youngest daughter said “I wanted to marry the king himself and will give birth to two twins with golden hair”.

Listening to this conversation, the very next day the king asked the three daughters of the woodcutter to assemble in the palace. The king questionably asked “can you two make a large carpet and big tent for me?”. The elder and middle daughters answered “Yes, Our Highness!”. The King immediately ordered them to start making it and a tailoring room was given to them for the work. But both the daughters failed to make neither the carpet nor tent. The angry king threw them away from the palace. But the King married the youngest daughter. The two sisters envied the youngest sister. They wanted to make her life a miserable one, so they got help from a Bad witch.

As the youngest sister promised she gave birth to golden haired twin babies. The evil witch secretly went into the palace and swapped the babies with pups and ran away. The witch kept the babies inside a basket and cast it in a river.

On the other side of the river there lived a shepherd who had no children. He saw the basket coming along the river and discovered the babies inside it. He and his wife took a good care of the babies and grew them up. After many years the shepherd and his wife died, leaving the kids all alone. The kids grew up to be a boy and a girl. The boy hunts and brings the hunted animals. The girl cooks for them and took care of the house.  

One fine day the young boy goes for hunting and accidently meets the King (each other not knowing that they are father and son). The King seeing the boy found an emotional connection between him and the boy. When days passed, the King fell sick thinking about his gone babies. An old Good witch hears about the king’s health and wanted to help him recover. The Good witch went to the boy and girl’s house and convinces them saying “Only you two can save the king from his illness spell”. The boy and girl agreed.  

“To break the spell, the boy must find a magical branch with small leaves with a little bird singing a song from Queen Peris’s Garden” said the Good witch. Queen Peris is a young, beautiful and wise woman. She also acquires magical powers. The young boy managed to bring the branch to the good witch. The Good witch appreciated him.

She said “The next task is, you should again go to Queen Peris’s palace and get her magical mirror from the dresser”. Again the boy succeeded bringing the magical mirror to the Good witch.

The Good witch asked the young boy to bring Queen Peris herself to his home. The young boy raised his brows and asked “How can I? She is a Queen with magical powers? Will she come with me to my home?” The good witch said this is the last task and if you succeed this, I can save the King.

The young boy crossed all the hurdles on his way to go to Queen Peris’s Palace. The boy met the Queen and convinced her and brought her to his home. Seeing the boy’s good and kind nature she agreed to help him.

When he returned back to his home, the good witch asked the boy to marry Queen Peris. They both got married. With Queen Peris’s and the good witch’s magical powers they saved the king. Later the King came to know that the young golden haired boy and the girl are his children. As a family they lived happily together.

This story is adopted from a Classic Turkish Fairytale.