Donkey-SkinAlderstilpasset version

Once upon a time there was a King, so great, so loved by his people, and so respected by all his neighbors and allies that you might almost say he was the happiest king alive. His good fortune was made even greater by the wife he had chosen—a Princess as beautiful as she was kind, with whom he lived in perfect happiness. From this happy marriage came a daughter blessed with so many gifts that the king and queen never regretted not having more children.

Splendor, good taste, and plenty reigned in the palace. There were wise ministers, loyal courtiers, and faithful servants. The spacious stables were filled with the most beautiful horses in the world, covered with rich blankets. But what amazed strangers the most was to see, in the finest stall, a donkey with great long ears.

The King had not placed this donkey there for fun, but for a good reason. This rare animal was special: every morning its straw was covered with beautiful golden crowns and gold coins of all kinds, which were collected daily.

But troubles come to kings as well as to their subjects, and good is always mixed with bad. So it happened that the Queen suddenly fell ill with a deadly disease, and despite all the doctors’ skill, no cure could be found. There was great mourning in the land.

The King, who loved his wife deeply, was terribly sad and prayed to all the temples in his kingdom, offering to give his own life for hers. But his prayers to the gods and fairies were in vain.

Feeling her last hour approaching, the Queen said to her weeping husband, "I must speak to you about something before I die. If, by chance, you should wish to marry again…" At these words, the King burst into tears, took his wife's hands, and assured her that it was useless to speak of a second marriage.

"No, my dear spouse," he said at last, "tell me rather how I may follow you."

"The kingdom," continued the Queen with a finality that only made the King weep more, "the kingdom needs successors. Since I have only given you a daughter, the people will urge you to have sons who resemble you. But I ask you earnestly: do not give in to their pleas until you have found a Princess more beautiful and more perfect than I. Swear this to me, and I will die content."

Perhaps the Queen, who did not lack self-esteem, demanded this oath believing that there was no one equal to her in the world, and thus she was sure the King would never marry again. At last she died, and never did a husband mourn so much. The King wept day and night, and doing all the little things a widower does was his only occupation.

But even great sorrows do not last forever. After a while, the nobles of the kingdom gathered and came to the King, urging him to take another wife. At first, this request seemed harsh and made him shed fresh tears.

He pleaded the vows he had made to the Queen and dared his counselors to find a Princess more beautiful and better formed than she, thinking this impossible. But the Council treated the promise as unimportant and said it mattered little about beauty if the Queen were but good and fertile.

The kingdom needed princes for peace, and though the Princess his daughter had all the qualities for a great queen, she would have to marry a foreigner who would take her away, or if he stayed, their children would not be considered pure native stock, and neighboring peoples would stir up wars.

The King, impressed by these arguments, promised to think it over. So a search was made among all the marriageable princesses for a suitable one. Every day, charming portraits were brought, but none matched the beauty of his late Queen. Instead of deciding, he brooded over his sorrow until he lost his reason. In his madness, he imagined himself young again, and thought the Princess his daughter in her youth and beauty was his Queen as he had known her. Living in the past, he urged the unhappy girl to become his bride quickly.

The young Princess, who was virtuous and pure, threw herself at the feet of the King her father and begged him with all the words she could find not to force her to agree to his unnatural desire.

The King, in his madness, could not understand why she refused so desperately and asked an old Druid priest to set the Princess's conscience at ease. This Druid, less religious than ambitious, sacrificed innocence to please the King. Instead of restoring the King to his right mind, he encouraged him in his delusion.