The Fate Of The Three Sisters

Once, three sisters met an old fortune teller on the road to town and the two eldest ones pestered her to tell their fortunes.
But when the fortune teller looked at the palm of the eldest sister she sighed,
"I see no good future in this hand", she said, "No golden fortune shall it bear nor golden ring shall it wear for the owner of this hand shall die from a terrible fall".
The eldest sister, hearing this was very angry but before she could shout at the old woman, the middle sister pushed her aside and said,
"Never mind about her hand, read my palm. What do you see in it?".
But then, when the fortune teller looked at her palm, she looked no happier. Again, she sighed and shook her head.
"I see no better future in this hand", she said, "No golden fortune shall it hold nor will it wear a band of gold for the owner of this hand shall go mad and all her hair turn white".
And hearing this, now the middle sister became angry.
But then the fortune teller seized hold of the hand of the youngest sister and, after only gazing upon it for an instant, the old womans eyes lit up and, nodding, she smiled, saying,
"Ah but this hand is filled with blessings".
"It is?", asked the youngest sister, surprised.
"Yes", said the fortune teller, "The owner of this hand shall wear a white wedding gown and on her head, a golden crown for she shall meet and marry a handsome prince".
Now, angry and jealous of their younger sister, the two older sisters shouted at the old woman that she was a liar and a beggar, throwing stones at her and then they dragged their youngest sister away.
But when they got home, the two older sisters started to plot against the youngest sister,
"If she was to suffer a terrible fate", said the eldest one, "Then the old womans prediction would be wrong for her and if it is wrong for her then it would also be wrong for us".
"But what kind of a fate?", asked the middle sister.
The eldest sister told the middle sister about a cave she knew of in the woods where a monster lived that, coming out only after sunset, ate young women.
"If we were to leave her outside that cave", she said, "Then the monster would surely eat her".
And so the two eldest sisters prepared dinner for the youngest sister and poured out their best wine for her saying to her that it was a sumptuous meal to celebrate the good fortune that the fortune teller had predicted for her.
And the youngest sister, because she was a trusting soul, happily ate the food and drank the wine that was put before her.
But, no sooner had she finished the meal, when she fell into a deep sleep because the two eldest sisters had drugged the food and wine.
Then, before the sun could set, they put their sister into a whicker basket and carried her to the cave in the woods where the eldest sister said the monster lived, leaving her just outside the entrance to the cave before, smiling evilly and wishing the monster "A good appetite", they ran away back home to their cottage.
After the sun had set however the monster who lived in the cave came out but when he saw the youngest sister lying in the basket he did not eat her. Infact he only started to cry.
And as he was crying, hearing the sound of the creatures sobbing, the youngest sister woke up.
Naturally, the moment she saw the monster, she was afraid.
But the monster pleaded with her.
"Please", he said, "Don't be afraid for I am not really a monster. I was turned into one by an evil witch who put a spell on me; a spell that can only be lifted if a beautiful young maiden were to kiss me".
And feeling sorry for the monster, the youngest sister said she would kiss him but only after he had done one small thing for her.
And so, because it was what the youngest sister wished, the monster went to her cottage and said to her two older sisters,
"I ate your younger sister but she was so tasty that now I want to eat you two up aswell".
And, hearing this, the two women were so frightened by the monster that one, the middle sister, went completely mad, her hair turning white as snow while the eldest sister ran off into the forest but, because she didn't look where she was running, fell into a deep hole and was instantly killed.
After that the girl kissed the monster and, immediately, he was transformed into a handsome prince and not long afterwards they were married. Just as the fortune teller had predicted, the girl wore a white wedding gown with a golden crown upon her head and the prince and the girl lived happily ever after.