Hans and The Three Princess’s

Once, in the house of a witch, an evil witch who turned to stone whenever the sun came up, there were three princess’s, identical to each other in every way but only one of them was a real princess, the Princess Glindabel who the witch had abducted, the other two were the witches cat and dog who the witch had made into her likeness and given the power of speech and her voice.

 

“Now, if any one comes to look for you, my pretty, they shall not know which is the real princess and which is an impostor”, said the witch, cackling as, the sun coming up, she folded her arms and turned into a hideous stone statue.

 

But though the witch had turned to stone, still the Princess could not escape for whenever the princess tried to step outside the door of the witch's house, the two other Princess’s grabbed hold of her by the hair and dragged her back in again; the Princess that had been a dog barking and threatening to bite her and the Princess that had been a cat hissing and threatening to scratch her.

 

But not only that, the witches mean cat and dog would taunt the princess by impersonating her. Whenever she started to sob, they would start to sob and whenever she begged to be let go, they would beg to be let go.

 

But then one day a peasant lad named Hans was walking through the woods when he heard the sound of three girls sobbing and, following the sound, he came to the house with the three princess’s inside.

 

And the real princess, seeing him said,

 

“Please help me. I’m a Princess that a witch kidnapped. These other two women are not princess’s, they are the witch’s cat and dog made to look and sound like me”.

 

But then the other princess’s said just the same thing and Hans didn’t know which the real princess was.

 

Just then, however, he noticed an old bone that had been chewed upon lying on the floor and picking it up he threw it out of the door.

 

Immediately, the princess that was the dog; barking like a dog and getting down on all fours, ran after the bone.

 

“That must be the witch’s dog”, he said.

 

Then, looking around, the Prince saw a bird twittering in a bird cage; a yellow canary, and opening the cage, he let the bird out and it flew around the room before flying out of the open door and the moment that it did, another of the princess’s, snarling and shrieking like a cat and getting down on all fours ran after it.

 

“That must be the witch’s cat”, said Hans.

 

Now there was only one princess left and so Hans knew it had to be the real princess and taking her hand he started to leave the witches house with her.

 

“But what shall we do when the sun sets again and the witch turns back from stone into flesh”, asked the Princess of Hans, "Surely she will come after us".

So then, picking up a hammer that was lying in the witches house, Hans started to strike at the stone witch breaking her into pieces and, when she was lying in smithereens picked up the pieces of her that were her feet and placed them in his pockets.

 

“Now, even if she can put herself back together, she shall not have feet to walk upon”, he said, before, taking the princess by the hand he took her home to his cottage.

 

But then, later that day, as the sun started to set the shattered pieces of the witch leapt up from the ground and started to put themselves back together then the witch, growling angrily, because she had no feet to walk upon, whistled for her broom and, when her broom came bursting from her cupboard, snatching hold of it, she climbed upon it and flew to the cottage of Hans.

 

“I’ll teach you to steal my feet”, said the witch calling to Hans and the Princess who were hiding in the cottage, “When I’m finished with you it will be you who is in pieces and I’ll feed them to the crows”.

 

And as the Witch said this, Hans saw the witch’s feet leap out of his pockets and run towards the door of his house and if the door had not been bolted shut the feet might have escaped and run back to their mistress.

 

Just then however, Hans had an idea and, taking some feathers out of his pillow, he grabbed hold of one of the witches feet and started to tickle it.

 

Suddenly, from outside the cottage, they heard the loud noise of laughter and, looking out of the cottage window saw a ticklish witch who, having fallen off of her broom was rolling about on the ground laughing uncontrollably.

 

“Stop, stop”, said the witch, “Stop tickling me”.

 

And seeing this, Hans had another idea.

 

Taking his hammer and nails he nailed the witches feet to the floor of his house then, picking up his axe, he went out of his cottage and ran towards her with the axe.

 

Now the witch tried to move but because her feet were nailed to the floor of Hans’s cottage, she couldn’t move and Hans cut off her head.

 

Immediately the witch turned back into stone, this time forever.

 

Then, the witch defeated, Hans and the Princess were married and lived happily ever after.